Cooperative Living August 2014 - 12

ENERGY BANG FOR YOUR BUCK by Dan Nichols, Contributing Writer
Can't take the heat? Get out of the kitchen.
S
ummertime can bring plenty of joy, but
it can also bring some expensive energy
bills. So with the summer season
well underway, we thought it appropriate to
spill some ink on how you can reduce the
amount of energy you use and take a bite out
of those high summer energy costs. And you
can start with tonight's dinner. It's a rule of
thumb that goes like this: when summer's heat
starts to make cooking oppressive, turn off the
oven and fire up the outdoor grill.
You see, heating up your oven daily adds
more heat to your interiors by way of a
ghastly thing called a thermal plume - a blob
of warmed-up air consisting of oil, water
vapor and a lot of heat. In short, it's your air
conditioner's worst nightmare. After all, the
more heat in the house, the harder and longer
your A/C unit has to labor to cool the increased
heat load. And the cumulative burden
of all that added heat and humidity can
be quite significant. The U.S. Department of
Energy estimates that cooking accounts for
4.5 percent of total home energy use. That's
not including the added energy needed to recool
the house after tonight's casserole just
spent 45 minutes at 375°.
Simply put, cooking in the house is about
as close as you can get to turning on your
heater without turning on your heater. That's
why when the dog days strike, one of the best
ways to beat the heat, keep your house cooler
and save energy is to cook outside.
GREAT GEAR FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS
- Take advantage of various ways
to cook beyond your four walls:
KETTLE GRILL
This uniquely American grill can be used
as either a smoker (using wood chips) or an
outdoor oven. What makes kettle grills
unique is their ability to cook indirectly as
well as barbecue.
CURRENTS by Dan Nichols, Contributing Writer
Not using a pool cover? That's like running your heater with the windows open in the winter.
The proper selection of a pool cover is one of
s pool owners know, heating a swimming
pool can consume a lot of energy and add
up to high heating bills. But very few ever
stop to think about why it costs so much to heat a
pool, or for that matter how to reduce heat loss.
It all has to do with a little thing called evaporation.
Remember learning about evaporation in
science class? It's the process in which a liquid
(your pool's warm, cozy water) is changed into a
vapor, and then poof - it's gone. Simply put, it's a
huge energy guzzler. And all that energy from
the gas and electricity used to heat the water gets
expensive to replace.
In fact, almost all of a pool's heat loss -
about 90 percent - occurs at the surface, mostly
through evaporation to the air and radiation to
the sky. So what's a pool-lover like you to do to
prevent all that warm water and hard-earned
money from vanishing into thin air? Enter the humble
pool cover. Pool covers significantly minimize
evaporation, so much so that covering a pool
when it's not in use is the single most effective
means of reducing pool-heating costs, and can
lead to savings of 50 percent to 70 percent.
10
the most important factors contributing to the increased
efficiency of your pool. So choose
wisely. Some things to consider include the size
and shape of your pool, the conditions and climate
in which it will be used, as well as available
storage space. You can select from automatic
and manual covers. Cover materials vary from
UV-stabilized polyethylene, polypropylene or
vinyl. They can be transparent or opaque. Covers
can even be light or dark colored.
One of the most popular and most affordable
covers made is the bubble (or solar) cover. Solar
pool covers are made of thick plastic material
with UV inhibitors, and they look similar to bubble
packaging material. Like other covers, solar pool
covers also minimize evaporation, keep out
debris, and reduce chemical consumption, but
they also help heat the water of your pool, and
by keeping your water temperature up, you decrease
the workload of your pool-heating
sources. That's a win-win.
In addition to adding a pool cover, there are
a few other things to consider that will help keep
GAS GRILLS
An American favorite, gas grills are
ideal for the outdoor chef looking for
easy temperature control and cleanup.
Today's models usually have multiple
cooking zones to accommodate indirect
as well as direct heating.
COOKERS
Shaped like big eggs, cookers have
attained a cult-like status among grilling
aficionados. They utilize an ingenious
venting system that allows you to cook at
either very low or very high temperatures.
Regardless of the outdoor cooking
options you choose, having alternate
means of cooking outside your home
provides many benefits. Plus, by some bit
of magic, food always seems to smell
and taste better under blue skies. So this
summer, let the grilling and the energy
saving begin. 
the cost of
heating your
pool to a
minimum
and still
allow you to
enjoy comfortable
water
temperatures.
For
instance,
if you're planning a new pool think about locating
your pool in the sunniest part of your yard to make
optimal use of the sun's solar energy. And since
wind both lowers water temperatures and increases
evaporation, screening your pool with a
windbreak, such as a solidly built fence, is always
a good idea.
Whatever water temperature you desire for
your swimming pool, be sure to utilize the evaporation-reducing
and cost-saving benefits of a pool
cover. You'll spend a lot more time enjoying your
pool and a lot less time (and money) heating it.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Cooperative Living/August 2014
XSHALAMOV/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK

Cooperative Living August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living August 2014