Columbus Ohio real estate

Use Air Conditioning Condensate Water to Water Plants

backyard MI Homes Olentangy Falls

OK it's Furnace Friday in Central Ohio and it's hot, so I was looking for air conditioning posts and up this pops.  This is an interesting idea. 

Sam Chapman in Texas wrote this post a couple of years ago.  I would bet we have a lot more humidity in our air, than they do.  The condensate line is just sending it down the floor drain isn't it? You would have to lug the water up out of the basement in most Central Ohio homes...  The condensate might not be good for fruits or vegtables but flowers?

Last Friday was Furnace Filter Friday, a reminder to change or clean your furnace filter if you change it monthly.

 

Via Sam Chapman (Private Label Realty):

I am collecting between 8 and 10 gallons of water per day from my air conditioning condensate line. I simply put a 10 gallon tub under the drip line and while the AC runs, it drips. I use what I collect to water outdoor and indoor plants. I put mosquito dunks in the tub to control those pesky critters. Folks, this is a no-brainer. The first thing an air conditioner does is wring water out of the air. The water drips on the ground and evaporates.  Why not put it to good use?

If you have a backyard garden or any plants at all and your AC condensate line is high enough, put a barrel under it and collect the water. If you want to estimate how much water you might collect, my guess is that you will get somewhere around a gallon per day from each 200 square feet of space you are cooling. How much you run the system and things like how much shade your house gets will come in to play, but that is about what I am getting out of my 1665 square foot Austin home.

As hot as it has been in Texas this summer, the air runs almost non-stop.  Lake Travis is lower than half empty and water is becoming more precious all the time.

Got questions about Lake Travis homes?  Give me a call at 512-293-2422.

Sam Chapman
Private Label Realty
512-293-2422
schap50@gmail.com

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This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

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Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

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4 comments • Maureen McCabe Columbus Ohio real estate • July 08 2011 04:06PM

Changing the Light Bulb, Changing the World

 

Get ready for change America. 

This is a Re-Blog of info from Ki Gray.

 

Via Ki Gray - Austin Real Estate:
Most of us have them in our homes. They still innocently line the shelves of grocery and home improvement stores by the thousands. But all that will change by the year 2012. As reported by NBC Nightly News recently, Europe is in the process of phasing out incandescent light bulbs and America will soon follow. Last year the European Union reached an agreement that included 27 countries across Europe to ban the manufacturing and importation of the good ol' incandescent light bulbs first invented by Thomas Edison. Over the next three years the old bulbs will be phased out completely.

The traditional bulbs, whose design is largely unchanged in the last 130 years, is being replaced by longer lasting fluorescent and halogen bulbs. The Earth Day Network lists changing light bulbs as the number one thing people can do to help the earth. Longer lasting fluorescent and halogen bulbs are far more energy efficient than traditional bulbs. According to the Earth Day Network, "If every household in the U.S. replaced a burned-out bulb with an energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulb...it would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere--which is like taking more than a million cars off the road for an entire year."

The plan is also supposed to save consumers 25 to 75 percent on their energy bills. But as NBC's Donna Friesen reported, not all Europeans are happy about the change. The complaints include not liking being forced into green habits and the inferior lighting of the newer bulbs. In fact, hoarding of the still available incandescent bulbs has been reported across Europe.

But the new rules are here to stay. According to Friesen, the British government estimates that if every household across England switched just three bulbs to the newer energy-efficient bulbs, it would save enough energy to power the whole nation's streets for a year. Most homes use a lot more than three light bulbs.

The EU has touted the positive impact this plan will have on the environment and the economy. The switch to the newer bulbs is projected to pump 14 billion into the European economy, according to the Associated Press. Even countries outside of Europe are hopping on the light bulb bandwagon, like Australia and Canada. Cash and energy strapped Tajikistan in Central Asia is banning the bulbs in an effort to loosen its reliance on imported electricity. According to the AP, last winter Tajikistan experienced devastating power shortages.

Get ready Americans. In 2007 President George W. Bush signed a bill that will have the U.S. begin phasing out the incandescent bulbs in 2012. But with the impact this simple change can have on both the environment and the wallet, why wait?


Ki graduated from UT, and stayed in Austin to work in the Austin real estate market. He has a buyer focused website with a searchable database of the Austin MLS. His site also has information on Austin real estate and Pflugerville.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This post provided by Maureen McCabe of Real Living HER

Contact 614.388.8249

Website: MaureenMcCabe.com

Search Columbus mls online


email: MaureenatMaureenMcCabe.com   @

Information is deemed to be accurate but should be verified to your satisfaction.  Information provided herein is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice.  Opinions expressed are solely those of Maureen McCabe.

Non Member comments occasionally closed due to heavy spam! 


 

4 comments • Maureen McCabe Columbus Ohio real estate • October 07 2009 02:10AM