Best Closet Layouts For Storage Space Efficiency

The proper closet Layouts are critical to maximizing the efficiency of your storage spaces. For every given storage space there are literally hundreds design options available. If you use computer aided design software (CAD) finding the closet layouts that meets the needs of your home or business is relatively easy. A quick check of the Internet will provide you with lots of design ideas. Most of the top closet design and installation companies provide good online software that allows you to initially design your storage area. Depending on your needs and budget you may want to call in a closet design specialist to assist you.

In the past closet design and construction were relatively simple. You basically had one clothes pole or rod that ran the length of the closet with a single shelf located above. If you have ever been in any older home you have seen these age old designs. When in use these closets have the top shelve full of boxes and on the floor is a mixture of footwear, boxes and bags of clothing. The clothes pole is full from wall to wall with very little organization. Any clothing removed from the closet looks just awful with wrinkles and stretched fabric. These old closets were fine back when most people had few clothes and only one or two pairs of shoes and boots.

Efficiency

Today's closet layouts reflect the changes in our lifestyles. Analyzing what you are going to store in your closet or storage area is a critical first step in any design. Obviously storage areas for a business, home, basement or garage are all going to have different requirements.

Never the less there are still just two basic types of closets. The "reach in closet" consists of a single wall layout that can be accessed from outside the closet simply by opening the closet door or doors. All shelves and/or clothes poles are located along the back wall of the storage area or closet. Reach in closets are the most common closet found in any home or office. Again maximizing the efficiency of this space requires you to itemize all the possible items that would be stored within the storage space.

Walk-in closets come in many different size and shapes. The largest walk-in closet layouts allow for at least 3 walls of shelving and clothes poles. In general well designed U-shaped closets and storage are very efficient in maximizing space. Proper design and installation of a walk-in closet will most often require the expertise of a closet or storage space specialist or contractor.

Locating the expertise that you need will depend on where you live. One of the easiest places to find assistance is you local home improvement store. Both Lowes and Home Depot provide simple closet layouts assistance. They also have contractors that can install your closet for you. If you live in an urban area most likely there will be closet and storage space designers and contractors that will provide you with the ideas and options that will meet all your storage needs.

Best Closet Layouts For Storage Space Efficiency

The Closet Ideas website is located at http://www.closet-ideas.com providing information on maximizing your home or business storage. Investing in good closet layouts and installation is a great investment in the efficiency of your home or office.

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Home Made Energy Review

The Home Made Energy book is about using free and environmentally friendly renewable energy resources to produce electricity to reduce the amount of power we need to purchase from the big power concerns. The primary methods of producing electricity in this book are from home built wind and solar powered generators.

According to this instructional manual, one of the biggest advantages of making your own electricity generators is that they cost only about 0 USD to construct. They pay for themselves in only a few weeks. In contrast, buying and professionally installing a commercial grade system can cost over ,000 and require 8 to 15 years to recoup the investment.

Energy

What you get: Home Made Energy is an instant download, 44 page eBook that you can read directly from a computer monitor or print out for more traditional reading.

The Negatives: The book is poorly written as if by a high school student that had a book report assignment that was intended to be used as background material rather than a complete how-to-actually-build-it manual.

It appears to be a really low grade knock off of the more popular eBooks called Earth4Energy and Home Made Power Plant.

It has many missing essential details like the exact specifications for the motor/generator required for the wind turbine project for example.

The Positives: The concept of inexpensively building your own solar and wind powered generators that pay back your investment in just a few weeks instead of 8 to 15 years in some commercially products is a significant breakthrough.

The topic of producing at least part of your own electricity for the good of the planet and to save money is important and timely.

Home Made Energy is offered in an instant download format which means in just a few minutes after ordering it is available on your computer.

After Purchase Support: Email only.

Guarantee: 60 days money back

Cost: USD

Bottom Line: This eBook is incomplete, confusing and poorly written. For these reasons and the fact that other better eBook programs are available for about the same price I cannot recommend Home Made Energy.

Home Made Energy Review

To purchase the Home Made Energy eBook or for more details including comparisons to other top instruction manuals on the topic of how to build your own solar and wind powered generators, just follow this link to http://www.Wind2Electricity.net

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Solar Energy at Home - Will it Solve the Energy Crisis?

Solar energy at home will make a difference in your energy cost but can it solve our energy crisis? Even the most cynical among us can see that we are facing an energy supply problem of world wide proportions. The industrialized nations use far more than their share of a dwindling supply of fossil fuels. China and India are fast becoming the world's top super-consumers of oil and gas. Without a doubt, energy resources will continue to become a bigger and bigger problem globally.

The evidence is all around us in rising prices and declines in supply so sharp that politicians hint at tapping our strategic national reserve just to ease pressures at the pump. Some scientists have speculated that we have already reached 'peak oil,' that moment in time when the rate of oil production enters a state of ultimate decline. Meaning, we will never pull more oil from the earth in any given year than what we have already extracted.

Efficiency

Not only have there been three major energy crises here in the US in the past thirty-five years but we have seen numerous conflicts recently that either directly or indirectly involved access to or production of oil. We have also seen staggering increases in the price of oil in the past five years alone. That all adds up, my friends, to a problem.

The real problem is that, by all accounts, it is only going to get worse. Worldwide demand increases as more countries industrialize, supply decreases because there just isn't that much left and we need to start talking about a solution, as in right now.

What can we do about it? Just saying, "Stop using oil," is a trite, unhelpful and unrealistic answer but it is, unfortunately the ideal. Our economy, and security, not to mention our social infrastructure have been built around cheap and plentiful fuel. Going cold turkey is just not a good answer. Our entire infrastructure is built around oil.

But, a slow gradual decrease just might take too long.

And technology, seems to be a two edged sword in the discussion. On the one hand advances in efficiency of solar and wind power make them more affordable and viable alternatives but at the same time, increases in efficiencies of oil extraction seem to make all the fuss about renewables sound like overkill.

But this is not just an one point problem. Fossil fuel consumption leaves massive amounts of pollution in its wake. Any attempt to shift from oil and coal towards wind, solar and hydrogen not only eases pressure on dwindling sources but reduces the amount of smoke, smog, carbon dioxide and dozens of other chemicals that are released into the air and water. Reducing use of fossil fuel is just cleaner.

There are steps each of us can take to reduce oil consumption. Scour your daily activities and find ways to cut down on extraneous energy use. A conscious effort to consolidate car trips, turn off the lights when you leave the room and a serious consideration of solar and wind energy for your personal use is what each individual can do.

Reduce the amount of energy you need and find a way to produce the amount you do need via renewable sources will not only improve your bottom line but reduce demand, thereby increase supply and reduce the price of energy but, you'll be eliminating pollution and pave the path towards a better world of the future.

The increase in technology and interest in alternative energy like solar panels and wind turbines have brought the price of home energy production to within the reach of most of the homeowners in the U.S.

Solar Energy at Home - Will it Solve the Energy Crisis?

Solar energy at home is the next step to save the world and eliminate your power bill. Get our complete guide at http://solarpanelsforhomeuse.com

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Solar Energy Pros and Cons

There is no single "perfect" energy producing technology. All of them have advantages and disadvantages, even solar power. Let's take a look at both sides of the issue for solar power.

Solar Energy Advantages:

1. Solar energy is a renewable resource, for all practical purposes.

Energy Efficiency

2. Except for the processes involved in manufacturing the materials, solar energy does not give off any harmful substances.

3. Sun, unlike fossil fuels, does not exist only in specific pockets of the earth: it is everywhere, although not in evenly distributed concentrations.

4. Sunlight is free.

5. While far from perfect, the technology required to use solar radiation as energy to produce heat, light, mechanical power and electricity already exists.

6. Small solar power systems are easily installed.

7. The systems are very low maintenance: they have no moving parts (except for fans and pumps, for example) and can last a long time.

8. Small systems require very little in the way of "monitoring" for routine operation.

9. Given the right data, it is almost always possible to predict how much power a solar energy system will produce.

10. The systems are quiet and increasingly unobtrusive.

Solar Power Disadvantages

1. The initial costs for components can be high.

2. Rarely efficient enough, predictable enough, or powerful enough to provide a substantial portion of a specific user's needs: needs efficient storage for "down" times.

3. Not every location is a feasible site for solar.

4. Solar "farms," like almost all large-scale building projects, are subject to the "NIMBY" syndrome ("Not in MY backyard!").

Solar Energy Pros and Cons

Alternative Energy is a crucial link in our energy future if we are to cut the oil cord. We present thoughts, ideas, info and news about alternative energy at Alternative Energy HQ - http://alternativeenergyhq.com

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Hydro Energy

Water is a renewable energy resource, and one that offers the greatest variation in power production. We can harness the water energy through what is known as motive energy or through the differences it experiences in temperature.

Water is nearly one thousand times as dense as our air. What this tells us, then, is that a slow moving stream of water is more powerful, in terms of renewable energy than wind. A wave or swell of the sea can deliver many times that energy.

Energy Efficiency

We have many forms of renewable water energy from which to choose.

There are many forms of water energy.

The first type of water energy, and the one we most commonly think of when we think of renewable water power, is hydroelectric. This is the power that commonly is created by large hydroelectric dams.

You can also have what are called micro hydroelectric systems. These are small power installations that produce as much as 100 kilowatts of power. The most common places to find these renewable water energy sources are in areas where water is abundant and the hydro system can be used as a remote area power supply RAPS. While there are many RAPS around the globe several are functioning in the Solomon Islands.

Wave power is another way of using water as a renewable energy source. The waves are used to create an up and down affect for pontoons that float in the water. This has just started to be used commercially as renewable energy.

Tides can produce renewable energy as well. As the ocean tides come in the water level is raised in the water basin. Then, at low tide the basin water gets discharged through the water turbine. Tidal stream power is different in that it captures the energy produced by the tidal flow. This usually is accomplished through the use of an underwater plant that looks like a small-scale wind turbine. While governments have set up demonstrations for this type of tidal power, any large scale commercialization of this renewable tidal energy would require extensive upfront capital. This has yet to be attempted.

Ocean thermal energy conversion OTEC is yet another form of water energy. OTEC uses the different in temperature between the oceans surface water and the water at deeper points. To do this it uses a cyclic heat engine. This form of renewable energy has had no large scale field test as yet.

Though not technically a form of generating renewable energy the cooling of the water in deep lakes is an efficient way to save energy during the hot summer months. Pipes are submerged and used as heat sinks. The bottom of these lakes typically stays at less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Blue energy, which is really desalination in reverse, is a renewable energy resource still being researched. There is no data at this point to show whether it will work.

Hydro Energy

James Copper is a writer for http://www.plumbingcareer.co.uk where you can find a plumbing course

Tags : Energy Efficiency

Vertical Axis Windmills - A Home Windmill Design That is Quiet and Efficient

The vertical axis windmill may be just the breakthrough needed to make real progress toward bringing wind generated electricity to the average home owner. It is no secret that the cost of just about all forms of energy has been rising at an unprecedented rate. Yet, we are surrounded by so much clean, free wind energy that just goes to waste day after day.

Homemade power plants for generating electricity, whether using vertical axis windmill designs or the more familiar horizontal axis type, are not exactly a new concept. But, one of the biggest reasons that they have not been utilized by more homes is that they are just too expensive. New commercial systems can cost from ,000 to well over ,000 to purchase and install.

Energy Efficiency

The Make-Your-Own-Windmill Movement Solved The Price Problem

Along came inexpensive and sometimes even free materials including the Low cost DC motors necessary for generating power. This, along with good windmill plans for making simple but effective horizontal axis windmills, has forced the cost down to about 0 with an investment payback range from only a few weeks to a few months. (Horizontal axis windmills look like a large airplane propeller).

Horizontal Axis Home Windmills Are Effective But With Some Public Relation Problems

These horizontal wind turbines are very effective for taking a huge chunk out of electric bills but there are still a few nagging problems that have been left for vertical windmills to solve. Windmills sometimes face resistance in neighborhoods where the homes are relatively close together. So much so that in some cases zoning boards have disallowed these projects. The typical worries have to do with noise, appearance and blade safety in high winds.

Vertical Axis Windmill Designs To The Rescue

The vertical axis windmill is designed so that its wind catching blades spin around an axle that is vertical as opposed to the popular horizontal airplane propeller style of windmills. The Advantages Of The Vertical Windmill Design Over The Horizontal Axis type are as follows:

1. The vertical windmill generates more electricity with less wind. It can be 50% more efficient in generating electricity because it captures wind from all directions with out having to shift to face a change of wind direction.

2. Quieter

3. Safer in high winds

4. More esthetically pleasing because the blades can be designed artfully for blending into the surrounding environment

5. Birds are much less likely to fly into this windmill design

6. Easier and safer to maintain because the electrical generator is located at ground level.

7. Solves many of the typical residential windmill concerns in neighborhoods with homes located relatively close to each other.

It all Starts With A Clear Plan

There has never been a better time for building a home windmill. The need to slash the cost of electricity has never been at such a high level. The necessary strong but light-weight technology in the form of inexpensive or even free materials is readily available. And importantly, there are now some excellent illustrated instruction manuals written by authors willing to share their successful hands-on experience in building horizontal or vertical axis windmills.

Vertical Axis Windmills - A Home Windmill Design That is Quiet and Efficient

Be sure to read my detailed reviews of some of the top homemade windmill plans. Learn which guides are excellent and which ones to avoid. Just follow these links: http://www.wind2electricity.net/Home-Made-Power-Plant-Review.html and http://www.wind2electricity.net/Earth4Energy-Review.html

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Wind Farm Efficiency

Wind power is an incredibly clean renewable power source. To capture the energy in wind, wind farms are used. So, how about wind farm efficiency?

Wind Farm Efficiency

Energy Efficiency

Wind power is the process by which wind is used to generate power or electricity. The power of the wind is actually a form of solar power - wind change and variability is caused by uneven heating of the ground by the sun. In order to fully use the power that the wind is capable of generating, many countries have set up wind farms. In a wind farm, many different wind turbines (a structure that uses a propeller-like blade to take in the wind's power) are set up in an area. With all the wind turbines working at the same time, it's thought that these farms are a great way to produce large amounts of electricity.

To determine the efficiency of wind farms, you need to know how a wind farm works. The wind turbines collect the power of the wind in two steps: the propeller blades are turned by the gusts of wind, and the propeller then turns a shaft. This turning shaft is connected to a generator. The spinning action cranks the generator, which then produces electricity. The process is exactly like hydropower, but with wind acting as the energy source instead of flowing water. Just one wind turbine set up in an area will not produce very much electricity, and is not very good for powering large areas - these small turbines are usually used to power just one farm or house or occasionally to pump water.

Wind farms, on the other hand, are more powerful because there is a large grouping of the wind turbines in one area, all working in unison to produce electricity. The energy can then be run to whole communities through existing utility grids or stored in battery-like storage cells. Wind turbines can be set up to face the wind or face away from the wind. Modern wind turbines can also turn to catch the wind as it gusts from different angles, a factor which makes them far more efficient than before. The larger the turbine's blades and the taller the turbine's height will increase the efficiency as well.

The exact efficiency of wind farms is nearly impossible to pinpoint. The problem is found in the factors that go into the analysis. The terrain, amount of wind, size of turbines and so on varies from wind farm to farm. There is no constant, which makes it difficult to nail down general efficiency ratings. In general, a single wind turbine will convert about 20 percent of the energy in wind to electricity. The most efficient production occurs between five and 20 miles an hour of wind speed. This general 20 percent efficiency rating is roughly seven to five percent more efficient than solar power, but sunlight is constant whereas wind is not.

While wind technology has not yet progressed to a point where no energy is lost while harnessing it, it is fair to say that the platform is favorable compared to other renewable sources. It may take a while for the whole world to catch on to using the power of the wind, but it's definitely fast becoming an important alternative energy source. Countries such as Germany are certainly investing a lot into the platform.

Wind Farm Efficiency

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com. Visit us for more wind farm articles.

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Solar Energy Advantages Disadvantages

Many of us know that solar energy is a good thing, but few really understand why. Therefore, I compiled a comprehensive list of solar energy advantages and disadvantages that will enable you to make an educated decision whether on not Solar Power is right for YOU.

Solar Energy Advantages

Energy Efficiency

1. Saves you money

• After the initial investment has been recovered, the energy from the sun is practically FREE.
• The recovery/ payback period for this investment can be very short depending on how much electricity your household uses.
• Financial incentives are available form the government that will reduce your cost.
• If your system produce more energy than you use, your utility company can buy it from you, building up a credit on your account! This is called net metering.
• It will save you money on your electricity bill if you have one at all.
• Solar energy does not require any fuel.
• It's not affected by the supply and demand of fuel and is therefore not subjected to the ever-increasing price of gasoline.
• The savings are immediate and for many years to come.
• The use of solar energy indirectly reduces health costs.

2. Environmentally friendly

• Solar Energy is clean, renewable (unlike gas, oil and coal) and sustainable, helping to protect our environment.
• It does not pollute our air by releasing carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide or mercury into the atmosphere like many traditional forms of electrical generations does.
• Therefore Solar Energy does not contribute to global warming, acid rain or smog.
• It actively contributes to the decrease of harmful green house gas emissions.
• It's generated where it is needed.
• By not using any fuel, Solar Energy does not contribute to the cost and problems of the recovery and transportation of fuel or the storage of radioactive waste.

3. Independent/ semi-independent

• Solar Energy can be utilized to offset utility-supplied energy consumption. It does not only reduce your electricity bill, but will also continue to supply your home/ business with electricity in the event of a power outage.
• A Solar Energy system can operate entirely independent, not requiring a connection to a power or gas grid at all. Systems can therefore be installed in remote locations (like holiday log cabins), making it more practical and cost-effective than the supply of utility electricity to a new site.
• The use of Solar Energy reduces our dependence on foreign and/or centralized sources of energy, influenced by natural disasters or international events and so contributes to a sustainable future.
• Solar Energy supports local job and wealth creation, fuelling local economies.

4. Low/ no maintenance

• Solar Energy systems are virtually maintenance free and will last for decades.
• Once installed, there are no recurring costs.
• They operate silently, have no moving parts, do not release offensive smells and do not require you to add any fuel.
• More solar panels can easily be added in the future when your family's needs grow.

Solar Energy Disadvantages

• The initial cost is the main disadvantage of installing a solar energy system, largely because of the high cost of the semi-conducting materials used in building one.
• The cost of solar energy is also high compared to non-renewable utility-supplied electricity. As energy shortages are becoming more common, solar energy is becoming more price-competitive.
• Solar panels require quite a large area for installation to achieve a good level of efficiency.
• The efficiency of the system also relies on the location of the sun, although this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain components.
• The production of solar energy is influenced by the presence of clouds or pollution in the air.
• Similarly, no solar energy will be produced during nighttime although a battery backup system and/or net metering will solve this problem. See http://www.dsireusa.org for details on how net metering allows you to save electricity and money.
• As far as solar powered cars go - their slower speed might not appeal to everyone caught up in today's rat race.

Solar Energy Advantages Disadvantages

To learn more about solar energy, go to http://facts-about-solar-energy.com/

You'll discover ...

• what solar energy is
• how solar energy works
• interesting facts about solar energy
• how much solar energy costs
• passive solar energy for homes, and
• how to build solar energy systems

There's a whole section for students, teachers and parents; whiles homeowners can obtain FREE QUOTES for their solar energy projects. You'll find book and product reviews some helpful energy saving tips.

Please email any questions to info@facts-about-solar-energy.com

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Infrared Heater - Save on Your Energy Bill

Do you need an additional heater, to complement your central heating system? Sometimes it just doesn't make sense to turn up the temperature in the entire house so you can warm up one room you are in. It is much better to use an additional heater. Infrared heater can be of great help. Find out what are the benefits of infrared heaters comparable to other heaters.

Infrared heater efficiency

Energy Efficiency

Most heaters work by warming the air in the room. People in the room are warmed by the air. Not only this wastes energy on warming up the air, but also you don't feel the benefits of the heater as soon as it is switched on. It might take several minutes for a room to warm up. Infrared heaters work differently. They don't heat up the air it heats objects that are directly in its path. As a result people in the area are warmed directly by the heater and not by the air.

This principle makes infrared heaters very energy efficient. Another advantage is that you don't have to turn the heater on half an hour or hour in advance to pre-heat the room. You feel the warmth immediately.

Types of infrared heaters

Here are the most popular types of infrared heaters:

- Metal-sheathed tubular heaters

- Quartz tubes

- Quartz lamps

- Gas fired catalytic

- Flat-faced panels

- Ceramic emitters

Often people are worried that infrared heaters are not safe. There is really no need to worry. Most modern infrared heaters have a protective sheath to cover the heating elements. The cover is usually made of metal such as aluminum, brass, copper, iron or stainless steel. Blowing curtains won't become a fire hazard with an infrared heater. Most home models are pretty safe, but of course children shouldn't be allowed to play with the heating unit.

Another advantage is that infrared heater doesn't make the air in the room dry. The principle of its work is very similar to the way sun warms us on a bright day.

You can find indoor infrared heaters as well as outdoor and patio heaters. The source of fuel can be different, infrared heater can run off electricity, natural gas or propane.

More tips for efficient heating

Using an additional infrared heater can save you a great deal on your energy bill. But there is more you can do. First, check for drafts and boost the insulation. At the beginning of winter, make sure that window caulking and storm windows are in good shape. You should also check thermostats and install timers for your central heating.

Infrared Heater - Save on Your Energy Bill

For information on selecting the best infrared heater for your family visit Heater Buying Guide. We provide consumer tips for all types of heaters.

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