Filter It

Why are you still drinking bottled water? If you are drinking one per day, your habit will cost $474 per year. This does not include the effect packaging does to the environment. Why not filter your own? Most bottled water companies are actually just filtering municipal water, which is the same idea.

The difference is the same money will allow you to filter 4,000 Gallons of water rather than 45.63. That's a 1,000 time premium for bottled water.

Here are two to consider:

Everpure PBS400 (I have this one): Filters 4,000 gallons right through the main faucet. Simple, easy filtering for drinking water.

Parallel 202 Whole house Filter: Try buying a water filter for your home. It's worse than insurance. Everpure has a number of cartridge options and filter replacement is easy.

A Novel Way To Save Some Money

Bottled water always intrigues me. This is great marketing. Charge $1.29 for 16 ozs of fitered (Aquafina and Dasani). If a family only buys 2 bottles of water a day, the yearly cost will be $928.

The Everpure PBS-400 will filter 4000 gallons of water for $398....Now do the math and save some money.

Filter it

I will never understand this...

These bottles belong to my neighbor and friend, Roger. Rog will be flying home on the red eye and will be greeted by these 3 bottles. Upon unpacking, he will have to bring these down 20 stairs into a tight closet where the cooler currently resides.

Instead, he can buy one of these filters and have filtered water on demand

My favorite (as I have posted before) is the Everpure PBS-400, which filters 3000 gallons for $379 or 12.6 cents per gallon

At least Rog wont have to go to the gym later...

Water Math

Lets look at this bottle of quality V water purchased at the airport for $2.49. Its 25oz so 5 of these are a gallon (I looked it up on Google).



Now lets assume that a better deal is available than this airport V water...Lets say $1.25, so the price of a gallon would be $6.25 or 1 bottle every 5 days. So the price of buying 3300 gallons would be $4,917 plus for one bottle of water per work day at $1.25.

If you look under my sink, you will understand why I do not drink bottled water (unless faced with interminable delays at the airport).





This is the Everpure PBS400. It filters through the cold water line, so no additional faucets are needed. The system costs $349 and the filter is $130 for 3300 gallons or $4500 cheaper than bottled (it then becomes just 150 per year for the filter).

Most bottled water is just that. Its municipal water filtered through large filters. Seems much cheaper to simply buy a filter and do it yourself

KitchenAid Vs Bosch

Have a look at the two best selling dishwashers in the market, Bosch and KitchenAid.



They both sell well, yet both are different ...Cliff Note differences below.

Bosch: Quieter, uses less water and energy, has lower starting prices and heats the water hotter.

KitchenAid: Has a grinder (you do not have to clean a filter like Bosch), better racks in the higher models, more features, cycles and a heated dry option.

Both companies are offering rebates in February of $50-150 on their best models

Aqua-Fridge

Look at any refrigerator:





At 18 cents per Kilowatt Hour, the average consumer should save around $100 in just energy....But the savings could be much greater....Look again





Depending on when you are reading this, you are probably drinking a bottled water. That bottled water costs about $1.29 on average. Multiply that number by how many you drink per week, month and year.

Guess what, the water filter in the refrigerator will deliver better water for a fraction.


Now what are the true savings

SubZero

I actually visited SubZero in Madison, Wisconsin last weekend. I am a big fan of this company. Like us, SubZero is a third generation business. They have dominated the cooking business by buying and reanimating the Wolf brand. Similar forays into wine and integrated refrigeration have been equally successful.

Recently, they have discontinued the most popular built in refrigerator ever manufactured. The 650 was the original bottom mount pull out drawer on the market.
With two compressors and a vacuum seal, the 650 was the best product in its class.

Lets look at its successor, the BI36.

First they re-engineered the hinges for a more flush installation.




Secondly, a water filter was added. This filter can even eliminate viruses from the water.




You are looking at an air scrubber. As food begins to spoil, it emits gasses. The scrubber eliminates these gasses allowing food to stay fresher for a longer period of time.

KitchenAid Vs Bosch

With all due respect to the folks at Miele who manufacture undeniably a superior product, most dishwasher purchases under $1,000 seem to be between KitchenAid and Bosch

BTW, I am no way supporting these brands or any other brands on this blog. Its a more than casual observation. Personally, more people should look at JennAir, Miele or Maytag as well

So lets deal with the current reality:


KitchenAid: Your folks probably owned one in their home, and your family couldn"t beat it to death. KitchenAid has a commercial pedigree as it once was owned by Hobart. Of course it was purchased by Whirlpool almost 20 years. It still is a great machine with an evisserator(you read that right) at the bottom, which will grind small bones etc left on plates and tons of options even on the basic models.







Bosch: Bosch successfully rolled into the US about 15 years ago. They were the first with a stainless rather than a plastic tank and a heat boost for water to 161 degrees for cleanability. Consumers, however, purchased Bosch, because it was incredibly quiet.







Now how do you compare? Kitchen has more features, the dreaded evisserator(Bosch uses a filter) and on their better models a very useful 16 position upper rack. Bosch is a bit quieter and heats the water 10 degrees hotter.

Energy Tip Of The Day

As I am writing this, I have not read the Globe article on Green as of yet. I realize the Tip Of The Day is more or less a misnomer at this point. However, next year will be better as the lighting industry will finally start manufacturing consistent LED lighting. That is, if the lighting industry, the ALA, doesn't lobby against LED as they have fluorescent. Stupid.

This year has been interesting observing the nations slow awareness to conservation. I have saved a small fortune myself, by switching to fluorescent in my halls(earlier posts...How to save watts) and by drinking my own filtered and not bottled water, (which is filtered water anyway). I probably saved $20 per week alone and thereby eliminated the generation, transportation and disposal of plastic bottles.


Most Green is just commonsense really. Here is an example. I walk to my local coffee shop to have their tuna pannini. It is a great sandwich(tuna, olive oil, capers and black olives on a spinach rollup), but the amount of packaging is unbelievable: There is the cardboard container, the paper around the sandwich, 10 napkins and a bag. The Egyptians buried their dead with less(get it?). All I really need is the cardboard box


So for the holidays please remember this: Less packaging means more trees and all the implied environmental ramifications of removing a forest for non essential packaging. Before you wrap gifts for the holidays, please consider what you actually need

Water Filtration

I saw this demonstration and had to tape it. I love these visual comparasons, but this is pretty basic when you really think about it. The Everpure and WaterX filters are larger, three stage filters of carbon, ceramic and resin. Add water pressure and out pours clean water.







Now honestly, how many Brita owners just gagged?

Filter Your Own Water

We have about 75 active blog readers. Most are still drinking bottled water, despite the math to the contrary. Any simple water filter will save serious money


The breakdown:


The WaterX(or similar) will filter 5,000 gallons of water for $400 through Carbon, ceramic and resin filters. The price is 8 cents a gallon. Bottles water costs $1.67 per gallon on average or.....$8,350 for 5,000 gallons




With filter replacement, any standard system, WaterX, Everpure or GE, the price drops to 2 cents per gallon. This of course does not include benefits to the environment such as the transportation, manufacture and disposal of 1 billion dollars worth of plastic annually.

50 tips to Conserve Energy and Save Money

I found this website called FtostFirefriends.com, and they publish 50 tips for energy efficiency. Rather than being dishonest, I would rather be truthful and tell you I am stealing.

One small note: There is growing sentiment that eating red meat actually causes global warming for two reasons. The transportation of said meat uses gas, adds pollution, etc. Belching of cows is another reason. This future steaks(or pot roasts) actually belch so much methane that it registers as a small percentage of the overall global warming problem.

Here you go:

Here is a list of 50 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the Global Warming phenomenon: some of them are at no cost, some other require a little investment but can help you save a lot of money, in the middle-long term!

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl)
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Install a programmable thermostat
Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning. They can save you $100 a year on your energy bill.

Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer
Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple adjustment. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling.

Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner
Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases
Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models available.

Do not leave appliances on standby
Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. A TV set that's switched on for 3 hours a day (the average time Europeans spend watching TV) and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.

Wrap your water heater in an insulation blanket
You’ll save 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year with this simple action. You can save another 550 pounds per year by setting the thermostat no higher than 50°C.

Move your fridge and freezer
Placing them next to the cooker or boiler consumes much more energy than if they were standing on their own. For example, if you put them in a hot cellar room where the room temperature is 30-35ºC, energy use is almost double and causes an extra 160kg of CO2 emissions for fridges per year and 320kg for freezers.

Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly
Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

Don't let heat escape from your house over a long period
When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (10ºC or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 ton of CO2 emissions.

Replace your old single-glazed windows with double-glazing
This requires a bit of upfront investment, but will halve the energy lost through windows and pay off in the long term. If you go for the best the market has to offer (wooden-framed double-glazed units with low-emission glass and filled with argon gas), you can even save more than 70% of the energy lost.

Get a home energy audit
Many utilities offer free home energy audits to find where your home is poorly insulated or energy inefficient. You can save up to 30% off your energy bill and 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Energy Star can help you find an energy specialist.



Cover your pots while cooking
Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!

Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full
If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Nowadays detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.

Take a shower instead of a bath
A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximise the energy saving, avoid power showers and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.

Use less hot water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of carbon dioxide saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot.

Use a clothesline instead of a dryer whenever possible
You can save 700 pounds of carbon dioxide when you air dry your clothes for 6 months out of the year.

Insulate and weatherize your home
Properly insulating your walls and ceilings can save 25% of your home heating bill and 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year. Caulking and weather-stripping can save another 1,700 pounds per year. Energy Efficient has more information on how to better insulate your home.

Be sure you’re recycling at home
You can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates. Earth 911 can help you find recycling resources in your area.

Recycle your organic waste
Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions through the methane is released by decomposing bio-degradable waste. By recycling organic waste or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem! Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.

Buy intelligently
One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can
You will also cut down on waste production and energy use!

Reuse your shopping bag
When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

Reduce waste
Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.

Plant a tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Switch to green power
In many areas, you can switch to energy generated by clean, renewable sources such as wind and solar. The Green Power Network is a good place to start to figure out what’s available in your area.

Buy locally grown and produced foods
The average meal in the United States travels 1,200 miles from the farm to your plate. Buying locally will save fuel and keep money in your community.

Buy fresh foods instead of frozen
Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Seek out and support local farmers markets
They reduce the amount of energy required to grow and transport the food to you by one fifth. You can find a farmer’s market in your area at the USDA website.

Buy organic foods as much as possible
Organic soils capture and store carbon dioxide at much higher levels than soils from conventional farms. If we grew all of our corn and soybeans organically, we’d remove 580 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere!

Eat less meat
Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

Reduce the number of miles you drive by walking, biking, carpooling or taking mass transit wherever possible
Avoiding just 10 miles of driving every week would eliminate about 500 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions a year! Look for transit options in your area.

Start a carpool with your coworkers or classmates
Sharing a ride with someone just 2 days a week will reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds a year. eRideShare.com runs a free national service connecting commuters and travelers.

Don't leave an empty roof rack on your car
This can increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up to 10% due to wind resistance and the extra weight - removing it is a better idea.

Keep your car tuned up
Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Drive carefully and do not waste fuel
You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car mantainance.

Check your tires weekly to make sure they’re properly inflated
Proper inflation can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Since every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, every increase in fuel efficiency makes a difference!

When it is time for a new car, choose a more fuel efficient vehicle
You can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year if your new car gets only 3 miles per gallon more than your current one. You can get up to 60 miles per gallon with a hybrid! You can find information on fuel efficiency on FuelEconomy and on GreenCars websites.

Try car sharing
Need a car but don’t want to buy one? Community car sharing organizations provide access to a car and your membership fee covers gas, maintenance and insurance. Many companies – such as Flexcar - offer low emission or hybrid cars too! Also, see ZipCar.

Try telecommuting from home
Telecommuting can help you drastically reduce the number of miles you drive every week. For more information, check out the Telework Coalition.

Fly less
Air travel produces large amounts of emissions so reducing how much you fly by even one or two trips a year can reduce your emissions significantly. You can also offset your air travel by investing in renewable energy projects.

Encourage your school or business to reduce emissions
You can extend your positive influence on global warming well beyond your home by actively encouraging other to take action.

Join the virtual march
The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to bring people concerned about global warming together in one place. Add your voice to the hundreds of thousands of other people urging action on this issue.

Encourage the switch to renewable energy
Successfully combating global warming requires a national transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass. These technologies are ready to be deployed more widely but there are regulatory barriers impeding them. Take action to break down those barriers with Vote Solar.

Protect and conserve forest worldwide
Forests play a critial role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on forests and global warming.

Consider the impact of your investments
If you invest your money, you should consider the impact that your investments and savings will have on global warming. Check out SocialInvest and Ceres to can learn more about how to ensure your money is being invested in companies, products and projects that address issues related to climate change.

Make your city cool
Cities and states around the country have taken action to stop global warming by passing innovative transportation and energy saving legislation. 194 cities nationwide representing over 40 million people have made this pledge as part of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Find out how to make your city a cool city.

Tell Congress to act
The McCain Lieberman Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act would set a firm limit on carbon dioxide emissions and then use free market incentives to lower costs, promote efficiency and spur innovation. Tell your representative to support it.

Make sure your voice is heard!
Americans must have a stronger commitment from their government in order to stop global warming and implement solutions and such a commitment won’t come without a dramatic increase in citizen lobbying for new laws with teeth. Get the facts about U.S. politicians and candidates at Project Vote Smart and The League of Conservation Voters. Make sure your voice is heard by voting!

Share this list!

Energy Tip Of the Day

Two tips:

Stop bathing. Bathing uses about 70 gallons of water, which is more than double a shower

Fix that toilet: A leaky toilet can waste over 200 gallons per day or the equivalent of three baths(that was a trick as you no longer bathe)

Some of you are probably saying duh or other words that I cannot publish. However, if you read the various tips, you will save money without any compromise in lifestyle.

For example, I actually have change in my pocket, because I filter my own water instead of buying bottled. My energy bill has dropped $30 last month despite my transient roommate watching television 24/7...The reason? Energy saving bulbs and a 4 degree change in the thermostat.

You can save money, lesson your carbon footprint and help save the environment just by effecting small changes...

Energy Tip Of the Day

So I am in the grocery store and the cashier says paper or plastic. Unfortunately, either way I am doomed. Either I exarcerbate deforestation or create demand for petrochemical plants.....Unless


I bring my own bag. You are probably thinking that I am an anarchist or a communal type. I am neither.


Its simple. We can save money very easily by being more aware to the simplest of ideas. It starts a whole beneficial cycle of saving resources and the environment.


Have a nice weekend


Steve



PS: We threw 38 billion bottles in landfills last year. How about filtering your own water or drinking tap....Save yourself $750 per year

Water Filtration(again)

Saturday, I stopped to fill the car and realized gas is now over $3. I live 2 miles from work so I do not have the raw excitement of visiting a gas station every couple of days. Fast forward to Monday and I am having a salad at Lambert's(a local place) and notice that bottled water is $1.29...for 20 ounces.





Lets calculate this to a gallon. There are 126 ounces to a gallon, so if we multiply just by 6, and we are almost at $8 a gallon. Unlike gas, there are alternatives that are way cheaper. First, I have to point out the new advertising campaign from a bottled water company.."We filter it, filter it and then filter it again"...I love this campaign, because it describes exactly the process of a home water purifying system. Typically water is filtered by carbon, ceramic and resin cartridges:





Lets look at a few:





WaterX Wx500: 5000 gallon filter can be installed under the sink without a separate water tap, and can be siphoned to other appliances. It costs around $400 for 5000 gallons or the equivalent of $40,000 worth of bottled water.









Everpure: Easy snap in filter is the unique to this company. This does need another point of use faucet, but there seems to be a number of really nice looking options for this









Franke Tri Flow: Want a great looking faucet with an incorporated filter? The Franke Tri-flow is a good choice. The downside is the price tag, which is over $800









Franke Dw100: Franke has also just the point of use water filtration. With the faucet, it is only $295 and up









WaterX Whole House filtration: Finally, a product to filter everything from the shower to the bath and all water generating pieces therein. It is great for people with problem water as the filter is customized specifically your type of water such as hard water, well water, etc

The Real News on Bottled Water

I visited Toronto this weekend. When I travel, I like to read a few magazines. Fast Company is pretty interesting with Al Gore on the July issue(Ever wonder if 2000 went Democratic). Along with his environmental stance, his reemergence as a political force is noteworthy.

He wasn't, however, the best story. This months focus was bottled water entitled 15 Billion Down the Drain. Its timely since we just published a blog entry about residential water filtration last week


The following are the highlights:


24% of bottled water is tap water repackaged by Coke or Pepsi

We pitch 38 billion water bottles a year into landfills, an average of 1 billion per year

If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000....You read that correctly 9,000 per month


As such, my days of drinking bottled water are over. We actually have filtered water in the store that is actually better than the water I have been drinking for 10 years

More Essential Homebuilding Tips

This post should be titled "more essential tips not included from the last post"

Water Filter: You are drinking a pint of filtered water at $1.00, so the cost per gallon is $8. Then the price for 5,000 gallons becomes $40,000. How about buying a 5,000 gallon filter for $500-700. It seems to be cheaper and better for the environment(no plastic)

Undermount Sink: Lets face it: It looks much better and is easier to clean.

Pull-out Faucet: In other words a faucet that incorporates a spray with the faucet itself....Its much neater without 4 impliments to turn and adjust water

Front Load Washer: Mathmatically, there really is no smarter choice


Focal Lighting Piece: It does not cost very much in the scheme of your budget($75-150) to really have distinctive lighting. Lighting defines your environment

Water Filtration

So far most of the posts have been dedicated to Energy efficiency, appliances and lighting. Air and water quality have been hot topics as well. So lets try something new

Water puification is a simple and inexpensive product to purchase. Everyone buys bottled water at $1-1.99 per bottle, which essentially is filtered water(although it is unregulated). We throw away our plastic bottles without even thinking. I am guilty as well to a certain degree. You can buy a product that can filter 5,000 gallons for about $400

Lets talk about the companies and the most common technology sold in the country. Water-X, Everpure and Franke are the biggest names in our channel. Their basic filter is three stage with carbon, ceramic and resin filters. These filters serve to draw sediments and impurities to .01 of a micron. These type of filters range from 1.000 to 3,000 gallons and are dispensed through a separate tap or faucet. Water-X does manufacture a filter at 5,000 gallons that filters through a normal kitchen faucet.

Whole house filters have also become more popular simply because it filters all impurities throughout your house. At all levels, water for showers, laundry as well as drinking are filtered. Water plants are available at all sizes and prices. Typically, the company will customize the filter based on your water as different regions have different issues.

If you are planning a new kitchen dedicate at least $400 for a water filter.

Ventless Drying

This will be a great post for a very few people. Have to be honest. Increasingly developers are limited the use of venting for cost savings. For range hoods, its simple, just redirect the exhaust through the front of the hood and add a filter.

The issue with the dryer becomes more complicated, because it emits heat and moisture. Moisture will peel wallpaper and serve as a healthy environment for otherwise unhealthy stuff. In other words, you want heat and moisture out of your condo or apartment. Fortunately, this problem seems to have been rectified in Europe. Miele, Bosch and Asko all manufacture a condenser dryer, which transforms the moisture into water. The water is then eliminated through a connection with the washer and then sent out with the waste water from the washer.

Unfortunately the problem has not been rectified cheaply Per Se. A very good washer and dryer will cost $1200 to 2000. A washer and ventless dryer runs $1700 to $3500, but it is certainly less frustrating than the laundrymat.