Posts Tagged ‘Hubbard’

What Is Geothermal Heating?

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

Having a geothermal heating system installed in your Hubbard home means that you will actually be able to heat your home with heat extracted from the ground. If this sounds a bit preposterous to you, you are certainly not alone. But this type of home heating does actually work and the technology is not actually that much different from what is used in a standard heat pump system.

Regular heat pumps are able to remove heat from the outdoor air and transfer it into your house to maintain a comfortable temperature in the winter. You may think that there is no heat in the outdoor air in the winter, but that is not actually the case.

Air contains a substantial amount of heat even at very cold temperatures, and heat pumps are able to work quite well, particularly when the outdoor temperature is above freezing. Conveniently, the same process used to heat your house in the winter can be reversed in the summer to extract heat from the indoor air, providing you with a year round home comfort solution.

Geothermal heating works in much the same way, except that geothermal heat pumps extract heat from the ground rather than the air. In order to accomplish this, a loop of pipes is installed in the ground near your house and your geothermal heating system will pump a liquid, generally either antifreeze or water, through those pipes.

As it passes through the pipes, the liquid will absorb heat from the ground and carry it back to a heat exchanger within your house. At that point, the heat from the liquid will be released into air, which is then blown throughout your house.

And just as conventional heat pumps can cool your house in the summer by removing heat and pumping it outside, so too can geothermal heating systems. They do this simply by letting the liquid flowing through the pipes absorb the heat from inside air and then release it into the ground as it travels through the pipe loop below your house.

Because the ground is never as cold in the winter or as hot in the summer as the air, geothermal heat pumps are actually able to work effectively in more extreme conditions than many traditional heat pumps. However, because they require an entire system of pipes to be installed underground, they can be quite a bit more expensive initially as well.

Keeping Your Home Toxic Chemical Free

Monday, July 4th, 2011

So, you have decided you want to try to go chemical free in your home. Whether you want to be friendlier to the environment at large or just foster a healthier home environment for yourself or your kids, eliminating toxic chemicals is a big step. Below are some tips to help you go about it the right way.

Removing Toxins

The first step is to eliminate some of the major toxic chemicals that may already be in your home. First, make sure your home’s ventilation system is functioning properly. Clean vents regularly and inspect the system and change the filter annually.

Consider using a water purification system to remove chemicals like chlorine — which is used to kill microbes in many water systems — as well as drug residues and heavy metals. Remember as well that lead is a dangerous toxin, so have your home inspected for it. Remove and replace any paint, pipes, or other materials made of lead. This is especially important if your home was built prior to 1978.

Finally, have your home checked for radon and asbestos. These are both harmful toxins that can easily be breathed in without being noticed. Check for radon especially if your home has a finished basement, or if your family spends a significant amount of time in the basement.

Keeping them Out

Now that you have expelled these contaminants from your home, look for ways to avoid inviting other potentially dangerous chemicals in. Most of us use toxic chemicals every day without even realizing. To help keep these toxins out of your home, you should look for cleaning supplies that are chemical-free. Companies that manufacture and distribute chemical-free cleaning products include Method, Seventh Generation and Ecover.

You can take it a step further by using DIY cleansers. Baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar and salt are all useful in household cleaning and are much safer for children and pets than chemical-based products. Drain clearing products contain extremely harsh chemicals that can contaminate water supplies and even damage your plumbing. A combination of baking soda, vinegar and boiling water can be just as effective without the toxicity.

Finally, use soap as an alternative to chemical air fresheners. Simply leave a few bars around the house in strategic locations. The soap will absorb nearby odors. For added effect, use scented soap.

Start with these simple steps and you will be off to a good start in keeping harmful chemicals out of your home and away from your family.