In this environmentally friendly world that we all live in certain steps have to be taken to ensure that there is still a world for people to inhabit in the future. People all over the world are looking at ways to help save energy and the world’s resources. Household heating is a major consumer of energy so whatever can be developed to reduce the effect on the environment has got to be a step in the right direction.
By extracting heat from the ground or air (geothermal energy) and then compressing it to raise the temperature significantly, the heat generated can then be used for water or space heating.
Since there is quite a lot of heat energy in even very cold materials, heat pumps can use sources that appear to be very unpromising. For example, if the temperature of the air is 5°C, that might appear to be too cold to extract any heat. In reality 5°C is pretty hot compared to absolute zero (-273°C) and therefore an air source heat pump can produce useable heat all year round. Think of your deep freeze. Heat continues to be extracted from that area even though it’s well below freezing.
Heat pumps can use air, water and, increasingly commonly, the ground below your feet as a source of energy. Ground water is a particularly useful source of heat since it rarely gets much colder than 7°C.
Unlike more conventional heating or air conditioning, heat pumps minimise pollution and fuel use. By utilizing entirely free and renewable geothermal sources of energy they are very low carbon and very economic to run. During hotter summer months the latest models can even be run in reverse to passively extract heat from inside a home and ‘dump it’ into the ground. This method of cooling is one of the lowest carbon and lowest energy approaches available.
For every unit of electrical power needed to extract the heat, up to six units of heat can be obtained. That’s right, heat pumps can be up to 600 per cent efficient. It’s like buying a low-energy light bulb with an output rating of I00 watts but with an energy usage of only 20 watts. Remember, we spend very little on electricity for light bulbs in our homes compared to running our heating and hot water systems – so the savings are much greater.
The attraction of running a heating system this efficiently is obvious. It saves money and makes a real contribution towards a low or even zero carbon building and towards reducing the devastating impact of climate change. It’s worth recalling how, by 2016, every new home in the UK will need to be rated ‘zero carbon’. Given that the law in this area is getting tougher all the time and the 2016 date is now fixed, new business opportunities are growing rapidly.
More and more heat pumps will be installed in the coming years which can only be good news for the environment. Pioneering companies have already gotten to grips with issues around the ground works required and enterprising trades people are discovering how they can become part of the future of our industry.
The next generation of heat pump technology that is even easier to install, and operate further reduces running costs and improves the already impressive efficiency which will make the models of the future even more appealing to the mass market. These will offer air, water and ground source heat pumps to suit all household heating needs, helping to reduce the cost of heating water for your bath as well as heating the whole house during the colder months. In addition to being powerful systems in their own right the heat pumps of the future even come ready to connect to a solar heating system, complete with flat-panel collector array and solar cylinder, providing an integration of solar energy and heat pump for domestic hot water and central heating.
Heat pumps will make a huge difference to the way we heat our homes as well as making a big difference, for the better on the environment.
By: Harwood E Woodpecker
Many symptoms that can not be diagnosed by X-rays, ultrasounds and blood work may be caused by a chemical sensitivity.
#1 Tap water
Tap water contains fluoride, chlorine and arsenic that is making many people sick. For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency set an acceptable arsenic level of 50 parts per billion in drinking water. But recent studies suggested that this level was too high and increased the risk of bladder and lung cancer. Some 13 million people in the United States routinely drink water with a high amount of arsenic. Most of them are in small towns and rural areas but some in cities as large as Albuquerque. Independent studies found many bottle waters have varying degrees of contamination.
Chlorination of municipal water supplies dramatically reduced the death rate from typhoid fever, a bacterial infection which is spread through drinking water. But chlorine reacts with organic matter dissolved in water to form cancer-promoting organochlorines like the trihalomethanes (THMs), of which the best known is chloroform. Drinking chlorinated water increases the risk of developing cancer of the rectum or the bladder, the risk increasing the more tap water is drunk.
Fluoride allergy can cause high cholesterol, bone tumors, chronic osteomyelitis, chronic polyarthritis, and rheumatoid disease. Tap water may have very serious consequences for children in the long term. Recent reports from the CDC, indicates the drugs and medications are included in our public water supply, nationwide.
#2 Air pollution
Sensitivity to gasoline exhaust & smog can cause drowiness; mental confusion; loss of reasoning ability and memory; dizziness; anger; irritation of eyes, nose and throat; and wheezing or coughing. Diesel emissions can trigger these same symptoms as well as disturbances of digestion and appetite.
#3 Farm pesticides
Pesticides are used to control weeds, insects, rodents and other organisms that people consider to be pests. Rodenticides, insecticides, ascaricides, herbicides and fungicides are all pesticides, and many of them were developed as nerve gases during WW II. There are many classes of pesticides, but perhaps the 3 major classes are carbamates, organophosphates and organochlorines. Pesticide are very toxic to humans. The agriculture industry uses 90% of the pesticides in this country, but pesticides can be found in plants, carpets, paper, dentures and contact lenses. Because of the routine spraying of buildings and crops, we can be exposed to pesticides anywhere we go.
#4 Plastic containers
Half of the total production of phenol is used in the manufacture of plastics. Common exposures include phenol emissions from computers, televisions, plastics, cleaning products and newsprint. Serious effects include gangrene, circulatory collapse, respiratory failure, paralysis, convulsions and death.
#5 Ethanol
Ethanol is one of many different alcohols and is the alcohol in liquor. It is clear, colorless, and has a pleasant odor with a burning taste. Ethanol may be synthetic, such as that used in industry, or it may be “organic,” made by fermenting grains, sugars, fruit juices and potatoes. Ethanol is rapidly absorbed through the intestines which has the capacity to multiply the severity of an allergic reaction. It is formed naturally in the intestinal tract from the fermentation of sugar, alcohol, and simple carbohydrates, and can be formed in excess in the lower bowel by the action of Candida albicans. Central nervous system depression, feelings of exhilaration and talkativeness, impaired motor coordination, dizziness, flushing, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, headache, wheezing, vision problems, impaired perception, stupor and death can be all be caused by ethanol. Ethanol is often used as a preservative.
#6 Building chemicals
All forms of formaldehyde cause many symptoms include eye, nose, and respiratory tract irritation, asthma, contact dermatitis, nausea, chronic headache, and memory lapses.
Unfortunately, formaldehyde makes colors brighter and surfaces smoother and manufacturers use it to produce attractive consumer goods, making many new products a formaldehyde exposure. When it combines with other chemicals it forms a resin, making it very important industrially. Among its many uses are setting dyes; waterproofing fabrics; tanning and preserving hides; manufacturing building materials; and in manufacturing of artificial silks, cellulose esters. dyes organic chemicals and glass mirrors. It is also used as a germicide, disinfectant and fungicide. It is a major, continuous indoor pollutant. Neutralizing a formaldehyde allergy is the secret to eliminating sick building syndrome.
#7 Cleaning materials
It is not unusual to be allergic to all the chemicals used in cleaning products, often used in detergents and fabric softeners.
#8 Food enhancers
Artificial sweeteners & food additives may affect our children’s health and behavior. Symptoms range from hyperactivity to seizures. MSG can cause a serious major health problem, especially for children.
#9 Nicotine
Tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor allergens, and cigarette smoking remains the single most preventable cause of cancer deaths in the US. Breathing smoke is unhealthy. Everyone is exposed to tobacco smoke in varying degrees, resulting in typical allergic symptoms. It is estimated that cigarette smoke alone kills 434,000 Americans each year. Science has proven that second-hand smoke is unhealthy.
People that suffer from symptoms, with no apparent cause, often are having an allergic reaction or sensitivity to something. It can be determine with kinesiology (muscle testing) if your symptoms are due to an allergy or chemical sensitivity.
By: Mike Greenberg