Brave New Leaf

How to build your own solar-powered hot water heater

Take a look at this fellow in Florida that built his own solar-powered hot water heater for only $160 in materials. The construction is surprisingly straightforward.

One note: the design that he builds doesn't include anything that prevents the pipes from freezing during the winter, so it's impractical for a Pacific Northwest home like mine, but it still provides some great inspiration for simple, green construction techniques!  Read the article.

Water Project: How to check your toilet for leaks

With our water supply secure until 2050 in the Pacific Northwest, we don't focus on water saving projects as much as we ought to. Fact is, a global water crisis is looming, and even those of us swimming in H2O riches need to consider conservation a priority.

Toilet leaks can be one of the most wasteful sources of water in a home. A bad toilet leak could cycle through 300 gallons of water a day, whereas more subtle toilet leaks might just go through 5-10. We should all get in the habit of checking our toilets for leaks 2-3x/year.

It's incredibly easy, and kind of fun. Here's how:

1. Get some food coloring
Any color will do. I chose red and green for our two toilets because blue water isn't very exciting and yellow water...well...you can guess the rest.

2. Put 4-6 drops of food coloring in the tank
Open the thing on the backside and drop 4-6 drops of food coloring in that water. Don't worry, it won't stain the bowl or anything.

For some reason, one of my toilet tanks had the stillest water you could possibly imagine. The red food coloring just hung there in a cloud, not dispersing in the least after several minutes. It was a little bit creepy.

3. Wait
Wait 10-15 minutes. Don't flush! Once the time is up, peek into the bowl. Water still clear? No leak. Water have some color in it? Uh-oh, you have a leak.

I had no leaks. Yay.

4. Enjoy flushing the next 2-3 times
The next 2-3 times you flush, your toilet bowl water will be a purty color.

5. Have a leak? Fix it
If you have a leak, get it fixed ASAP as most toilet leaks get worse with time. The problem could be a lot of things: deteriorated flapper, high water level in the bowl, corroded float ball, etc. It's best to have a professional look at it.

The Green Economics of Tankless Water Heaters

In theory, a tankless water heater seems like a no-brainer. Why heat your water all day when you're not using it? Providing on-demand hot water is much more energy-efficient. It's the dominant water heating technology in Europe and Asia. Plus it saves tons of space in your home previously occupied by an enormous water holding tank.

With all of this in mind, I started to look into tankless hot water heaters as a possibility in my home. Unfortunately, the economics are incredibly unfavorable.

The total cost of a tankless hot water heater is about $1521. Here's how it breaks down:

• Bosch Aquastar unit: $671. Cheaper and more expensive models exist, but this is one of the most widely-used models.
• Installation: $1000. Installation estimates online varied wildly, but seemed to range from about $500-$2000. I picked a median estimate.
• Energy Company Rebate: $150. To offset the cost some, PSE offers a $150 rebate for tankless water heaters.

I use about $7 of natural gas on water heating per month. The EPA estimates that the tankless water heater will increase my water heating efficiency by about 40%. That's $2.80 saved on my monthly water heating bill.

If you calculate that out, it would take 45 years for the tankless water heater to pay back that money. The projected life of the unit is only 20 years. I'm out about $849 by the time it stops working.

It's simply not worth it. Not when I can buy a 30% more efficient tank heater for a fourth of the cost. This is one green project that sadly, I will not be implementing.

I'm Quitting Diet Coke to Save the World

It's getting around time to green my food and beverages. I've done the research, and now I'm ready to make some changes. I'm going to start with beverages first, because it is a much more finite universe.

A quickie beverage audit reveals what I drink in a week:

• 28,000 Diet Cokes (you think I’m exaggerating but little do you know…)
• A few cups of coffee, brewed at home
• A few glasses of water from the fridge
• One plastic bottle of water, purchased at the gym
• Two cups of tea
• One beer
• One glass of red wine
• Two glasses of San Pellegrino

Yes, I know. Not the most healthy set of beverages in the world. Remarkably unhealthy, in fact, with all of the data coming out about the link between aspartame and metabolic syndrome. And yes, my blood is caramel color and carbonated.

It’s time to green my beverages. First stop: I’m quitting Diet Coke.

There, I said it. I’m going to stop drinking Diet Coke. I’ve drunk 4-6 per day for 10 years, and I’m putting an end to it. Not only should this increase my health, but it should help the environment as well. Why?

No more aluminum cans
In our waste audit, you saw how many aluminum Coke cans we generated in a week. We’ve gotten wonderful at recycling these, but aluminum is still incredibly energy-intensive to mine, produce, and recycle.

Plus, many people still don’t recycle them. In 1999, 44 billion cans and bottles from soft drinks were thrown into landfills. Given the Coca-Cola Co.'s 44 percent market share, that means that 19 billion cans and bottles with Coca-Cola Co.

Water Scarcity
On a global level, the Coca-Cola company is responsible for aggressive policies that are contributing to water scarcity.  Generally, that seems like a silly thing to worry about, since the product they are producing is 99% water, but many people do not know that it takes three times as much water to make soda products as is produced. That’s 6.24 liters of water to make your two-liter bottle of Diet Coke.  Do the math – it doesn’t make sense.

The Corn Crunch
Making high fructose corn syrup is the second largest use of corn in North America; feeding livestock is the largest. But corn prices are going up because more and more of it is being used to product ethanol. Now, the effectiveness of corn-as-fuel can certainly be debated, but drinking regular pop doesn’t help the issue any.

I’ll discuss how I’m going to green the rest of my beverages a bit later. I think I feel a caffeine headache coming on…

The Revolution will look like Tupperware Parties

Today's NYTimes highlights a growing trend happening in surburban living rooms across America. EcoMom Parties are the new Tupperware party, with neighborhood mothers gathering together to discuss how they are evolving their lives to reducing their carbon footprint, in order to combat global warming.

These women both share tips and tricks, and embark on projects in each other's homes. Can you imagine how fast changing your light bulbs would go if you had a dozen women over at your house?

I think it's fantastic that these women are banding together to create a support structure for greening their lives. Going green is not simple, and it's not a fixed path yet. It's very much a lifestyle change that requires an ongoing commitment, and having the support of those around you would be invaluable. It's making me consider setting up my own green group.

Check out websites like http://www.eco-chick.com and http://greenandcleanmom.blogspot.com to learn more.

Reset your fridge and freezer temperatures

Refrigerators are big energy sucks in the average household, averaging 20% of your yearly energy bill.  That's why I was delighted when I read a great green tip in a magazine. The tip in question:

"To help your refrigerator be as energy-efficient as possible, set your fridge temperature to 37 degrees Fahrenheit, and set your freezer to 0 degrees Fahrenheit."

The magazine estimated that this would reduce the energy consumption of my fridge/freezer by 25% for each 10 degree correction! It sounded like an awesome, easy project.

But like so many of these green projects I've embarked on, not so much...

I raced over to my fridge, opened the door to find the temperature gauge I would easily program, and was met with this:


Um...what? Are we consumers so stupid that we can't be trusted with a temperature slider? Instead, we have temperature "levels" from 1-9?  My fridge is supposed to be the height of modern technology and it doesn't even have a built-in thermometer? Thanks a ton, GE.

I immediately went to my kitchen drawers, hunting for thermometers. Candy thermometers, meat thermometers, human thermometers. I had nothing that could measure below 60 degrees.

Luckily, the problem was easier to remedy than I thought. Since refrigerator manufacturers are not kind enough to build thermometers in, extremely cheap fridge/freezer thermometers are widely available. I bought this one for $3.00.

When it arrived, I put it in the fridge first, for 24 hours on a middle shelf. It read about 34 degrees, so I gently eased the slider up the scale until it read 37. This process took a few days, because it takes about 24 hours for the fridge temperature to normalize. Rinse and repeat for the freezer.

Overall, I've upped my fridge/freezer temps about 8 degrees, so I estimate it's running 20% more efficiently now. Not a bad project for $3.00.

Which is greener: shopping at the mall or online?

I needed new underwear. So, without really thinking, I put in an order to Victoria's Secret online for a dozen pairs or so.

All told, I ended up with four packages shipped to me: one box and three bags, 4 shipping invoices, 6 catalogs, 8 printed promotions, and 12 individually wrapped pieces of underwear in large plastic bags.

It got me thinking: what is better for the environment? Shopping online or going to the store?

My initial instinct is that online shopping would be greener. After all:

• It takes less energy to power a warehouse than hundreds of stores across the country.
• It seems likely that UPS dropping off packages to geographically targeted areas is more fuel-efficient than those millions of people all getting in their cars.
• People return significantly less things when they online shop, creating less in shipping and return costs back to manufacturers and distributors.

However, recent studies show that may of these benefits are negated by the increased packaging sent out through the mail, a significant portion of which is not recyclable.

Here are your tips for minimizing your online shopping footprint:

1.  Whenever you order online, note with your order that you'd like to minimize your packaging. If your retailer doesn't allow this, send a message to their customer service department.

2.  Recycle whatever you can out of your order. Boxes can be recycled. UPS stores love to accept styrofoam peanuts. Most inserts, invoices, and catalogs can be recycled.

3.  If you encounter an online retailer who is notoriously wasteful with packaging materials (like Victoria's Secret), post about it to Brave New Leaf! The more pressure we can put on e-commerce retailers to shift their ways, the more likely they will adopt greener practices, making it a more sustainable channel.

Make your own Plastic Bag Dryer

While we're trying to reduce plastic bags in our household, sometimes they are an inevitability. Going to the airport, for example, requires us to break out a few ziplocks. Not just for the security check, but to make sure our shampoo doesn't explode in flight and get all over our clothes (it's happened a few times).

We still use zipped bags extensively for storing food in our fridge and freezer as well. We're trying to train ourselves to use our tupperware more, but the convenience of the bags is often too tempting.

Every time I throw one of the bags out, I wish I didn't have to, but I haven't been able to find an alternative. Washing them is easy, but drying them is extremely difficult.

When wet, the inside plastic sticks together, and makes it hard to find anywhere to lay them to dry out the inside. I've tried turning them inside out, but doing so with any amount of frequency seems to tear the plastic, rendering them useless.

Enter a brilliant product idea: The Plastic Bag Dryer. Just looking at it, you can imagine this will do the job. And it's kind of cool and funky looking on your counter top as well. You can purchase one at Greenfeet.com for 16.95.

Or, if you have thirty seconds, you can just make one yourself. 

Here's what you'll need:
1. Good sized mug or glass
2. Leftover chopsticks from asian take-out runs
3. Scotch tape or rubber bands
4. Dish towel

Instructions:
1.  Lay the dish towel on your counter.
2.  Tape or rubber band two chopsticks together, end-to-end, for height
3.  Put the chopsticks into your mug. Another alternative is to use pens, but only when capped, otherwise they might rip the bag. You can also try using a rubber spatula, put in spatula-side down, but will probably only be able to fit one or two.
4.  Wash out your ziplock bag in the sink.
5.  Hang it on your chopsticks upside down, and watch it drip-dry over the course of the next day.

The finished product:

Though certainly not as attractive as the store-bought version, it gets the job done. It's also easy to take apart, store, and put back together when you need it.

And thus completes today's awesomely silly project. :)

Junk Mail Project Update

About 10 weeks ago, I started a trial of a couple of services claiming to reduce my junk mail.

Good news is, I have seen a noticeable change in the number of catalogs I receive. Some rather insistent catalogs still refuse to comply (Curse you, Victoria's Secret!), but overall I'm receiving noticeably less.

Since it's been ten weeks, I went back to Catalog Choice and marked off the 4 of 53 catalogs that I still seem to be receiving. Catalog Choice says they will escalate those requests more firmly now since the first round did not seem to hold.

Unfortunately, in terms of credit card offers, coupons, and circulars, my experiment with ProQuo.com hasn't seemed to do much good. In reading the Washington Attorney General's website yesterday, I came across a recommendation for a new site called OptOutPreScreen.com

OptOutPreScreen.com allows you to opt-out of "pre-approved" offers for credit cards and insurance. If you use the website only, you can opt-out for five years. If you mail in a signed waiver, you can opt-out permanently.

Another useful site allows you to opt-out of the blue Valpak coupon envelope you receive weekly in the mail. Just go to the Cox Target website and enter in your Valpak information exactly the way it appears on the envelope.

Related Articles:

• My original waste audit, where I discovered I get 10 pounds of junk mail a week.
• Reducing your junk mail

Dishwashers are a greenie's dream

Dishwashers are a greenie’s dream: an appliance that works AND is more efficient than doing it the manual way. Several studies show that today’s dishwashers save energy and water overall doing your dishes by hand (not to mention time!).

But that doesn’t mean we can’t optimize its efficiency even further. Armed with some tips I pulled off the internet, I set out to make mine better. Some of it was a little trickier than I thought it would be.

Lower your hot water temperature
When I did my hot water heater audit last year, I noted that I didn’t want to lower the temperature below 120F because I wanted my dishes to be sanitized. Little did I know that most modern dishes have built-in heaters that heat the water to 140F degrees to make sure all the bacteria and mold gets burned off. So lowering my hot water temp has little to no impact on my dishwasher’s sanitary effectiveness. Cool.

Running a full load
In the “duh” category of green tips, the best way to increase dishwasher efficiency is to always run a full load. Figure out who in your family has a talent for stuffing the dishwasher the fullest. My husband is a whiz at fitting more in the dishwasher. Even when I think I’ve totally maxed it out, he’ll fiddle for a bit and magically slide four more bowls in. I think it’s all of those years playing Tetris.

I used to worry about letting dishes hang out in the sink or dishwasher with gross food stuff on them for a few days while I waited for the dishwasher to get full. Sometimes little fuzzy colonies of mold would start to emerge. However, studies show that dishwashers are remarkably efficient at sterilizing these bad boys too.

Don’t Pre-wash
I grew up washing the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher. It was only after I got married that my husband observed me cleaning up one day and offered “Um, you don’t actually have to do that”. I didn’t believe him, but I tried it his way, and lo and behold – the bowls absolutely caked with marinara sauce came out perfectly clean!

Today’s dishwashers are much better at cleaning the gross grit off of your dishes. Save yourself dishwater hands and hot water by just slapping your dishes in the dishwasher. Like I was, you may be surprised at the results.

Air Dry
This suggestion makes perfect sense. Why bother using energy to dry my dishes, when I can just open the door a crack and have them dry overnight anyway? But I was completely stymied by the confusing display of options on my dishwasher. Which one was going to turn off the dry cycle? Look at these buttons – it’s not exactly clear.

I fished out my dishwasher manual which ended up being for a completely different model of dishwasher (huh?). The GE website didn't have the manual for my model. The only thing left to do is experiment.

Turns out turning off “speed dry” is the right thing to do. With this off, the dishwasher will not enter a dry cycle, saving lots of energy. Sometimes bowls or tupperwares in the top rack have a tough time getting dry, but we just let those rack dry a little longer and they’re fine. It’s a minor inconvenience.

My particular dishwasher doesn’t have an “energy saver” mode, but I’ve heard this is the most efficient way to run your dishwasher. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

The last set of things I looked into was my dishwashing detergent, but this ended up being such a complex issue, I’m going to save writing about it for tomorrow.

What steps have you taken to optimizing your dishwashing for maximum green-ficiency?