Recent content by nma

Meh - certainly be cautious of a wet basement, but the issue is to understand why it's wet. Sometimes that can be fixed super easily by mending gutters or drains.

Wow - that took a dark turn...

I am wanting to put a subfloor in an attic space with very limited hatch access. There's no easy way to get 4x8 pieces up there - is it possible to use 2x8 pieces? Are there any changes to how you would do this, or is it a no-go? Thanks!

This is nonsense. No modern CFL draws more power on startup than at any other point. I have no idea where you got this incorrect idea. You are misquoting from the EPA site. Please don't propagate incorrect opinions on this.

This is nonsense. There is some mercury in CFLS, and broken cfls should be cleaned up and the area vented, but the total amount of mercury added through cfls is far less than the total saved by the reduction in coal burning mercury emissions. The whole mercury hazard thing is largely an urban...

They don't require hazmat treatment. That is ridiculous. "CFL starters use lots of energy just to fire the lights up so turning them on/off uses as much energy as running them a few hours." That is completely untrue.

Well it's cheap, but that is about all it has going for it. It is pretty much the worst option on all other measures.

Well yes, that's another issue. ;)

Well, the question here is to do with weight ratings. You can certainly stand on it if you are normal weight - the thing is supporting the roof, it will bear your weight. What it is not rated for is moving weight of people living in it. Even setting aside the issue of the beams in inconvenient...

Modern CFLs get bright pretty much immediately.

It's possible a thermostat might be worthwhile if your water heater is really old and poorly insulated, but modern ones it really probably isn't worth it.

No. Maintaining a temperature over a period of time is always going to be more expensive than just heating it up when you need it. Having said that, I'm doubtful that this is going to save a lot of energy - it will save some though.

I agree, there could be more, but there is quite a lot of this available already, some federal, some state, and some utility funded. Well, these kinds of public service announcements are targeted at the general public, there will be some fringe cases. If all of your power really is hydro, then...

At the moment it totally depends on the type of system (water or pv) and the incentives available in your area. All other things being equal though, you should spend money on efficiency and insulation until you have run out of projects to do, then put a solar array on the roof. Having said that...

I am looking to replace an 80% efficient gas tank heater with either a gas tankless or a Marathon 50 gallon tank unit. At the moment I'm tempted to go for the electric tank unit. We used our 1500 federal tax credit on a 2.3kw solar system last year, and so our electric bills are cheap and we...