We are all conscious of our monthly energy bills these days. We look closely at those news feature pieces which give us tips on cutting energy loss in hopes of realizing a savings next month. Get our weather stripping up to snuff, use energy conserving light bulbs and insulate the water heater. What else? Besides the refrigerator, one of the biggest culprits in energy loss is our windows.

Those lovely large picture windows are letting in heat in the summer and cold air in the winter. You’ve surely noticed the chill in winter, when you snuggle up to read, in your favorite chair next to the window. These cold blasts of air make your heating system work overtime. No matter how heavy and lined those drapes are, cold air still falls and heat rises, right into your rooms. This translates to a higher energy bill.

One great solution is to install double-pane insulated window glass. Each insulated window glass has two panes, one on the outside and one on the inside. There is a small gap between the two panes, which serves to trap the hot or cold air, keeping it out of your home. The difference in comfort is remarkable, as is the savings on your energy bill. People in areas such as Minnesota, with sub-freezing temperatures in winter and blistering hot days in summer, use insulated window glass as the standard in their homes.

Although the double-pane insulated window glass is more expensive to buy and install, it’s well worth the price. Depending on the number of windows in your home, you may easily recover the cost of this energy-saving glass within a year. You’ll get payback every month with a reduced bill from the power company.

Many power companies, overburdened with supplying the energy, offer incentive programs to homeowners, some financing the cost of the insulated window glass over time. So, before shopping for new windows, check with your power company to see what programs they may have to offer. These collaborative programs help both the homeowner and the energy supplier, leading to fewer brownouts and blackouts during peak energy use times.

Another nice feature of insulated window glass is that it makes your home both quieter and cleaner. The double panes serve to insulate you from outside noise and dust and pollen that might have found its way inside through a single-pane window. Insulated window glass also helps to cut glare.

Now, before winter is in full swing, is a good time to consider replacing your standard windows. Your wallet will surely be fuller.

The mechanics of the toilet are straight forward and simple, and have changed very little since invented in the early 1800′s. There are two main parts to a toilet – the tank and bowl. The tank houses the working parts of the toilet, and works as follows (with accompanying illustrations from yours truly):

1. When the toilet is flushed, the trip handle lifts the tank ball (or rubber flapper or tilting bucket), opening the outlet and letting water flow into the bowl;
2. When the tank is nearly empty, the ball falls back in place over the outlet. The float falls with the water level, opening the water-supply inlet valve just as the outlet is being closed, and the tank is refilled through the filler tube;
3. Water flows through the bowl refill tube  into the overflow pipe to replenish the water;
4. As the water level in the tank nears the top of the overflow pipe, the float closes  the inlet valve, completing the cycle.

Ball Flush

Most toilet tank troubles in older toilets centers around the tank ball and its lift wire. The best fix is to replace the lift wires, guide arm, and tank ball with a rubber flapper which is anchored to the overflow pipe. When the toilet flushes, the tank ball gets raised by a chain fastened to the trip lever.

Flapper Flush

Green architecture and sustainable design have become buzzwords recently, but few people really understand the full importance of these concepts. The benefits of green architecture are generally known. Everyone knows, for example, that if you use local materials that are produced in a way that is not environmentally hazardous, you can save a lot of energy and reduce pollution. People also have some idea that if you insulate your house well, use fuel-efficient, or EnergyStar rated appliances, and turn off lights when you leave the room, you can save energy. What people don’t understand is how important the benefits of green architecture are.

One of my neighbors is a green architect, and he is always telling me about his newest accomplishments. What I have realized from talking to him is that green architecture does not have one meaning. One green architecture plan, for example, creates conventional buildings while using the latest materials in a way to try to make it more energy efficient. Another firm might completely redo the design, using earth-based materials as insulator and recycled building materials for the walls. Green architects can be radical or fairly moderate in their designs. Some of them are reformers, others are visionaries. There is plenty of room for diversity in the field.

More and more people are taking notice and starting to make their architecture green nowadays. Even some of the most mainstream design firms are taking advantage of energy saving devices such as double pane glass, new installation techniques, and energy saving light bulbs. Combined with green architectural techniques that make buildings more insulated and take advantage of natural light to supplement artificial lighting, these developments may usher in a new era of energy efficiency.

Some argue that green buildings alone are not enough, and we also need green urban planning. The typical modern urban sprawl is a thing of the past. Cities of tomorrow will combine green architecture, efficient public transportation, and well thought out design to create viable, vibrant communities.

With crime rates increasing across the country, it seems that even middle-class suburbs are no longer the safe havens that they once were. I don’t consider myself an alarmist by any means, but I do take safety seriously – particularly where my family is involved. That’s why I’ve recently begun shopping around for a good home security system.

I have never had a home security system before, so I was under the impression that they were extremely expensive, complicated to set up, and required long-term contracts with an alarm monitoring company. However, as I am looking into these products a bit more, I have learned that none of my initial fears have any real merit, as home security systems have become far more affordable to the average consumer in recent years. Additionally, there are some great DYI home security systems available that were not available a few years ago.

The first issue I thought about was whether to go with a home security system that is installed and monitored by a security alarm firm, or go the DIY route. With the professionally installed and monitored system, I know that it will be installed correctly and that the system will be monitored 24/7; however, this comes at a cost in the form of some combination of upfront installation costs and ongoing monitoring fees.

The DIY option is attractive because technology has both driven the cost of equipment down, and has made installation simple, even for a neophyte like me. The big advantage is that once you pay for the equipment, you own it and have no additional monthly charges. The system monitors itself and can be configured to call several phone numbers in the event of a problem.

The second thing I thought about when I first started shopping for a home security system, was which features I should look for. At the very least, I wanted a product that would sound an alarm if any of my doors or windows were tampered with, but beyond that, I had no idea what else would be useful.

Were motion sensors worth the extra money or were they too inconvenient to work with? Would having dogs in the house lead to too many false alarms or are today’s home security systems sophisticated enough to tell the difference between pets and intruders? Is a perimeter alarm necessary or could I do without it? Are cameras a good idea? These were some of the questions I had in mind while comparing all the different products.

As I am doing my research, I was able to find a few very informative websites that told me just about everything I needed to know about home security systems. After reading about the various features that the newest safety products come with, I feel like I am fairly well prepared to make a decision about what would be best for my family.

So you are one of those people who always thought that home security systems were way out of your budget, I suggest that you take another look. They’re surprisingly affordable, and are the best way to protect your family and belongings from break-ins, intrusions, and even natural disasters.

When you are working on your own home décor, you have a lot of things that you must consider. You know you have to choose colors, and you may even know that you need new furniture, but have you considered all of the special touches that will really make your rooms pop and give them that special touch that will make your home a place that feels like home? You can have a great design and great looking rooms, but if you don’t make them personal, you really aren’t going to feel like you are in your own home after the newness has worn off.

What you don’t want for your home décor is something that looks like it belongs in a magazine. That would mean you have not added anything personal that makes your home your own. You want to have some personal touches that let others know that you love your family, what you like to do with your spare time, and that you have not chosen a cookie cutter décor that anyone could have. The special personal touches will make it sensational.

Think about family pictures when putting finishing touches on your home décor ideas. You don’t have to have the standard frames for your walls. You can find all types of neat and unique ideas for framing and hanging your family photos in a way that will go with your décor choices. You can have black and white shots that don’t look like portraits, and you can also have photos that look more like art than photos. They will add to your home décor, and they will also make your room special.

You should also include some of the things that you love in your home décor. You have probably collected things in your travels that are special to you, or perhaps you have a collection of things that mean something. You don’t have to use everything, and that might not be smart with most decors, but you can use a few of them to add a personal touch to what you have done with your home. Choose some amazing pieces and put the rest away. You can always change them up as time goes on to give your room a new feel without having to redo the entire thing each time you want a change. Keeping things personal does not mean you have to compromise your décor ideas, but it does mean your house feels like a home.