Household Water – DIY Water Harvesting and Recycling
Background
Initially I was interested in building DIY solar hot water panels. I found a community group who had a jig made up for pressing the grooves into the copper sheet to locate where the copper tubes are to be soldered. They also had a jig for positioning the ” holes in the 1″ header and footer pipes. This was a great start, and then I silver soldered the risers into the 1″ pipes, and soft-soldered the risers onto the sheets. After painting the copper sheet and pipes with black-board paint, I built a box with timber sides and a plywood back, with fibre-glass insulation, and assembled it with a glass sheet over the top, sealed with silicone.
I bought a second-hand water tank, and mounted them all on a frame screwed through the metal roof, into the timber roof frame. The panels are still going strong 30 years later.
I bought a second-hand water tank, and mounted them all on a frame screwed through the metal roof, into the timber roof frame. The panels are still going strong 30 years later.
Success in Home Water Conservation
The three main things you need to know in order to successfully develop your home water program are: how much water of what quality you need; how to harvest and store rain water; and how to safely re-use waste water.
While we only need a few litres each of drinking water each day, cooking water should be potable quality, and laundry washing water should be free from impurities that would stain, such as iron deposits. The next quality down would be grey-water for vegetables and fruit trees, but only if it is applies via dripper, and not sprayed. Septic tank effluent is suitable for fruit trees, but must be applied via underground methods, such as gravel trenches, covered with soil. Ornamental plants and trees can use any standard of water in regard to cleanliness, however salt, nutrient, detergent and particulate content can be problems, as they can also be for the other uses.
Grey water systems are reasonably cheap, off the shelf, and government rebates help off-set the cost. However, to qualify, you need a plumber to install it, and that takes up a lot of the rebate. An economical DIY system, which I have found to work very well, consists of a 200 litre plastic barrel ($30.00) with a pump incorporating a float switch. You cut a hole in the top and lower in the pump. Locate the barrel under your discharge pipe from the laundry and bathroom (not the toilet). As a filter, you double up a pair of panty-hose to give a two-layer filter, and put it over the end of the pipe, taping it in place. Every few months, replace it. The pump is connected to 20mm black poly pipe for distribution to the garden. A secondary filter – a commercial one- is needed if you use dripper hose. Don’t buy the recycled rubber hose, it goes brittle after a few years, and leaks and breaks. For recycled water, use the purple one, as its holes are bigger, and less likely to clog. Every now and then, open the end of the dripper hose, and flush it out.
Grey water systems are reasonably cheap, off the shelf, and government rebates help off-set the cost. However, to qualify, you need a plumber to install it, and that takes up a lot of the rebate. An economical DIY system, which I have found to work very well, consists of a 200 litre plastic barrel ($30.00) with a pump incorporating a float switch. You cut a hole in the top and lower in the pump. Locate the barrel under your discharge pipe from the laundry and bathroom (not the toilet). As a filter, you double up a pair of panty-hose to give a two-layer filter, and put it over the end of the pipe, taping it in place. Every few months, replace it. The pump is connected to 20mm black poly pipe for distribution to the garden. A secondary filter – a commercial one- is needed if you use dripper hose. Don’t buy the recycled rubber hose, it goes brittle after a few years, and leaks and breaks. For recycled water, use the purple one, as its holes are bigger, and less likely to clog. Every now and then, open the end of the dripper hose, and flush it out.
Getting Started
You can calculate the likely rain available using information from your local Meteorological Bureau. They will give you average rainfall each month. For example, in a location like Melbourne, it rains about 600mm each year, with rain pretty much uniform through the year. If your roof area is 200 square metres, and you want to catch it all, and assuming you want to store enough to water your garden for about a month, the tank volume needs to be about 1,000 x 200 x 0.6 / 12 = 10,000 litres. This gives you 10,000 / 30 = 333 litres per day. If you add this to your grey-water, originating from mains water supply, this gives you about 500 litres available for the garden. However, it is less if you use the tank water in the laundry.
Getting Started
You can calculate the likely rain available using information from your local Meteorological Bureau. They will give you average rainfall each month. For example, in a location like Melbourne, it rains about 600mm each year, with rain pretty much uniform through the year. If your roof area is 200 square metres, and you want to catch it all, and assuming you want to store enough to water your garden for about a month, the tank volume needs to be about 1,000 x 200 x 0.6 / 12 = 10,000 litres. This gives you 10,000 / 30 = 333 litres per day. If you add this to your grey-water, originating from mains water supply, this gives you about 500 litres available for the garden. However, it is less if you use the tank water in the laundry.
Becoming Proficient
It may take a while to get all the skills you need, and this is where the net can be useful. There are lots of government authority sites with heaps of information, as well as dedicated societies with lots of technical articles. Just have a go, and get started. The skills will build up as you go.
How Much Experience Is Needed?
You can do most of this sort of work without any experience, except for the electrics, that must be left to a qualified electrician, and any plumbing to do with sewage. Of course, working at heights, doing connections to gutters for example requires good safety practices.
The Best-Kept Secret About Home Water
By zoning your plants in the garden-planning phase, you can optimize your water use, by having the frequent- drinkers all grouped on the same pipe, and the bigger trees on a separate pipe. (I think you should also go for the biggest tank you can afford).
The Best-Kept Secret About Home Water
By zoning your plants in the garden-planning phase, you can optimize your water use, by having the frequent- drinkers all grouped on the same pipe, and the bigger trees on a separate pipe. (I think you should also go for the biggest tank you can afford).
Common Problems
Regulations require that your grey-water doesn’t seep onto the public nature-strip or roadway, or onto your neighbour’s property.
Evaporation is a huge waste of water in the garden. A thick layer of mushroom compost and pea-straw is best in the vegetable patch and orchard (because this will break down fast to provide nutrients for the plants), and wood-chips are best for ornamentals.
Frank is a civil engineer practicing in the fields of geotechnical and structural engineering. He is a keen organic gardener, and has projects going to re-establish local-provenance flora and trees in local parks.
Tank systems need mosquito-proof inlets and outlets.
Evaporation is a huge waste of water in the garden. A thick layer of mushroom compost and pea-straw is best in the vegetable patch and orchard (because this will break down fast to provide nutrients for the plants), and wood-chips are best for ornamentals.
Blocked gutters are a problem, and regular maintenance is needed. Leaf-guard over the gutters is great, but quite expensive. In-line leaf-diverters are a good option. But they also need regular clean-outs.
Tank systems need mosquito-proof inlets and outlets.
If you are going to drink rainwater, your roof can’t be zinc-alume, as the aluminium is not good for you. You have to be aware of animal and bird droppings, as well as pollution fallout. A first-flush diverter will help a bit here.
A Great Investment
While it may take a bit of planning, money and work to get your system up and running, once it’s done, there is just a bit of regular maintenance, and you have a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, that you are doing your bit, and getting substantial benefits as well.
Learn more about Solar Panels. Stop by Ilina Hadzhieva’s site where you can find out all about Solar Power and what it can do for you.
Simple Green Techs
With the high cost of living more and more people are looking at ways to save money. We waste so much energy though our everyday living and its costing us.Solar panels With fuel prices constantly going up we need to use every trick in the book to keep the bills as low as possible. Below are some suggestions to make your home energy efficient.
Rechargeable batteries. This is one technology some folks never see as green. This may be caused by some folks seeing Ni MH or NI Cd as harmful wastes. But have you thought about the wastes from other non-rechargeable batteries?
Natural lighting is a good way to keep workers feeling awake and refreshed. Furthermore, the design must also take into account where shading comes from in order to keep the building itself well lit, but keep air conditioning costs down. High value insulation should be used in the walls and ceilings in order to keep the natural heat or air conditioning in, lessening the frequency of running the building’s HVAC system and saving money in energy costs.
The heating system in your home could be years old and not efficient. There are many types of energy efficient heating systems including reusable heat systems. Gas is becoming very expensive but with a combination boiler you will only heat the water you use and thus save money and energy.
You could install your own renewable energy system. Solar panels, wind turbines or air source heat pumps are available and look set to stay. That is just the tip of the iceburg. There are lots more systems some using hot rocks, others using biomass. Renewable energy is the only way forward and more and more companies are popping up offering installation of renewable energy systems.
The obvious tips are to remember to turn off electrical appliances when they are not in use. This sounds easier than it sounds. We have all taken energy for granted and often leave lights on. This can be stopped now with energy monitors. You can see exactly where the energy is being used which should then give you the incentive to change your behaviour and start turning things off.
Mr. Abernathy is a marketing agent of Servidyne. The building management experts can help you cut energy consumption and save money on energy bills. Servidyne also offers complete building management system software and programs to keep your building running efficiently and without any problems.
Looking to find the best deal on Solar panels, then visit www.yoursite.com to find the best advice on Solar panels for you.
Before You Buy a Photovoltaic Solar System
Thinking of making the switch to clean and green? Don’t go shopping for your solar array before you’ve looked at some strategies for keeping the cost down.Solar Panels
If you’ve done any research at all you already know that the cost factor is what’s preventing a large scale solar powered system from adorning every roof. The good news is that new technologies have recently been perfected that will dramatically reduce the cost of a solar power system.
Also, there are easy and affordable changes you can make right now that’ll save you tons on your conversion to solar energy while keeping the planet a shade greener.Solar Paower
Reduce Your Use
How much power do you use right now?Your monthly energy bill will report how many KWH or kilowatt hours your household used during that month. If you haven’t done anything to reduce your use up to this point you should realistically be able to cut your current amount of power use in half.
Here’s how to painlessly reduce your use:
1 – Insulate, insulate, insulate.
* Plug every escape route you can identify.
* Double up on the insulation in floors, walls and attic.
* Ensure that no air is passing through dryer vents, chimneys, attic doors, electrical outlets and around doors and windows. On a breezy day hold a match or lighter flame near any suspicious areas. If it flickers, air is moving in or out. Find the leaky spot and plug it.
* If it’s time to replace the windows, seek out the most energy efficient types available.
2 – Hot water solutions.
* 120 F (48 C) or less is the ideal temperature for your hot water heater for energy reduction and safety from scalding. Most families use their hot water in the morning and after supper yet the water is kept hot even when no one is in the house or everyone is asleep. Programmable water heaters only heat water when you tell them to – saving hundreds of dollars per year on your hot water heating bill.
* Wrap your hot water tank with an insulating blanket (made especially for this purpose).
* Better yet, install a solar hot water heater. More about that below.Solar Power
3 – Use a power bar.
* Plug your TV, computer and stereo equipment into a power bar which can easily be turned off when the equipment isn’t in use (at night and when you leave the house). When left plugged in to a regular outlet these types of equipment continue to use small amounts of power while in stand-by mode even when they’re turned off.
4 – Reduce heating and cooling costs.
* Turn the air conditioner off or up and furnace off or down when you leave the house and save scads of money every month.
* Progammable heaters and air conditioners, like programmable water heaters, heat and cool your household only when you need it.
* Heat and cool only the rooms you’re using at the moment and close doors to the unused rooms.
* Strategically placed ceiling and rotary fans reduce the need for air conditioning.
* Insulating draperies and shutters keep the indoor temperature where you want it. By preventing the escape or intrusion of air you’ll have more control over the temperature in your living space. There’s little point in cranking the air conditioner up if the sun is blazing through the windows, conversely, you’ll lose precious heat especially at night, through uncovered windows when the weather is cold.
* A solar power attic fan expels trapped heat from the attic space reducing your home cooling costs in the summer and prevents the accumulation of health threatening molds.
5 – Make Use of Small Appliances and Laptops
* Toaster ovens, electric kettles, electric fry pans, slow cookers, etc. need much less energy than the stovetop or oven.
* Laptop computers use way less energy than desktop models.
6 – Lighting Options.
* Incandescent bulbs convert most of their energy to heat rather than light which makes incandescent light inefficient and expensive. Switch to those curly fluorescent bulbs or LED lights for big savings (We really like the LED bulbs which stay cool, draw very little power and emit a clean white light).
* Install dimmers on your light switches to get lots of light when you need it and less light when you don’t.
* Eat by candle light a couple of nights a week.
* A scented candle in the bathroom provides enough light while keeping the air sweet.
* Use solar powered motion lights around your yard to light the way safely for family and guests and to discourage intruders.
* LED string lights reduce electricity needs at Christmas and look lovely year round.
7 – Laundry Strategies.
* Front loading washers use less power, water and detergent than top loaders.
* Look for the energy star when purchasing a new washer to ensure that you’re getting one of the most energy efficient models on the market.
* Wash and rinse your laundry in cold water (studies have proved that there is little benefit to using hot water for laundry) and wash full loads only.
* Use a solar powered clothes dryer (commonly referred to as a clothesline). Not only will you save a bundle on energy costs but the sun will bleach your whites while adding a delightful fragrance.
* When you must use a dryer make use of the cool cycle as often as possible.
* Appliances that make things hot or cold use the most household power. Focus on temperature altering appliances for the most dramatic energy savings. These include, refrigerator, electric oven, central air conditioning, central heating, freezer, washing machine,
dryer, electric stovetop and dishwasher. Dust or vacuum the coils on the back of your refrigerator every month or two. When the time comes to replace these appliances, purchase the most energy efficient models available.
* Unplug the fridge and store perishables in a basement cold room or underground pit and add a wood burning stove or use energy efficient space heaters to further reduce your energy needs.
Passive Solar Principles – Use the Free Stuff
Passive solar applications can dramatically reduce the need for heating and air conditioning.
Before you spend tens of thousands of dollars on a photovoltaic array (solar panels) take advantage of the free stuff. Incorporate as many passive solar strategies as your situation allows. It’s as simple as letting the sun in where and when you want it and keeping it out where you don’t along with making use of shade trees and natural breezeways available on your property. Here’s how:
Staying Cool with Passive Solar Strategies
If you’re trying to keep a box of air cool in a hot environment, it makes good sense to keep the hot air out of the box by using insulation on the walls, floor and ceiling and plugging any holes that let the hot air in. Adding window and door openings to that box makes it a little trickier to keep the interior temperature stable. Here are some passive solar energy techniques to help you keep your cool.
* Insulation… Lots of insulation
* Awnings keep the area immediately around windows and doors from heating up and prevent overhead sun from entering the house. Install retractable roll up awnings if you want to let the light in during the winter.
* Covered Verandas provide deep shade on a sunny side of the house and along with making a shady outdoor space they keep the sun from making the house overwarm.
* Ceramic, stone or marble floors stay cool underfoot and can be covered with area rugs during cooler seasons.
* Take advantage of the wind if you’re building or renovating. Situate openings so that seasonal breezes can wend through the house.
* Add shutters or insulated window coverings especially over south and west (north and west in the southern hemisphere) facing windows.
* Trees, trellises and potted plantings can be situated in front of south and west facing windows to keep the sun out. Choose deciduous trees if you want the sun to come in during winter months.
* Plant more trees. The shade and evaporation produced by a single, mature, hardwood tree in a day is equal to the effect of 10 window mounted air conditoners running for 20 hours. All that and it purifies the air too.
* Create a shady oasis on the cool side of the house. Arrange trellises, potted shrubs and plantings around a pergola and train hardy foliage to grow up the trellises and over the pergola. Surround a free standing awning with leafy plantings to establish a cool gathering place for family and friends.
* Add an outdoor cooking area and keep the heat out.
* Skylights and windows that are slanted inward make it very difficult to keep the sun out when you want to. If you really love the idea of a skylight and live in a hot climate, situate it in an area where direct sun will not be allowed to enter.
* High ceilings work well in hot climates by allowing hot air to rise above the living space.
Warming Up with Passive Solar Energy
* Insulation, it can’t be overstated. Insulation is the key to maintaining a desired indoor temperature.
* Thermal Mass absorbs the heat of the sun and radiates the heat into the home. Very dense materials such as ceramic tile, stone, brick and concrete soak up the heat of the sun and continue to warm the interior space for hours after the sun has set. In order to be effective the material should be at least 4 inches thick and situated where direct sunlight strikes it. Floors, window seats or half walls constructed of thermal absorbing materials situated close to south and west facing windows are some ways to catch the sun’s warmth and use it to heat your home. Once you get the heat in, keep it in.
* Shutters or insulated window coverings help to keep the cold out and heat in. Keep them open to allow the sun to stream through the windows and heat your space during sunny times. When the sun isn’t shining, close them to prevent the loss of heat and preserve the warmth in the house.
* Windows and Doorways should be most abundant on the south and west sides of the house to allow lots of winter sun access to the house. Minimize windows and doors on the north side to prevent the escape of your hard earned heat.
* Trees and plantings. On south and west sides of the house deciduous (leaves fall off in the winter) trees and shrubs or annual vines (hops grow really fast) shade windows during the hottest part of the year but allow the winter sun to warm your interior space when the branches lose their leaves. On the windy side of your property a row of evergreen trees block winter winds and make it easier to maintain heat in the house.
* A mudroom or separate entry area gives you more control of your interior temperature by containing cold air when the door is opened to the outside.
* Pergolas and Arbours – Rather than deeply shaded porches, in a cool climate you’ll want to have more control over the amount of sun allowed to access your home. Train seasonal vines over a pergola or arbour to provide shade during warm seasons and sun, when the leaves fall off during cool seasons.
* Roll Up awnings are a great way to shade windows during hot seasons while allowing you to let the sun’s heat in during cold seasons.
* Low ceilings keep your hard won heat in the living area. It’s much easier and less expensive to keep a space with an 8 foot ceiling warm than it is to keep a room with lofty 16 foot ceilings heated.
* Skylights, if you can’t live without them, should be constructed of very well insulated glass to prevent the loss of heat.
Add a Solar Water Heater
Why start with a solar power hot water heater? Because water heating costs represent about one third of your energy costs and a solar water heater uses a low tech flat plate collector to heat the water. That means that it’s the cheapest way to get into the solar energy market. Add to that the fact that cost recovery time for solar water heaters is 5 years or less and that gives you the biggest and greenest bang for your buck.
There are tons of things you can do that’ll make your home more efficient and prepare your space to take best advantage of the free solar energy that falls on your property every day. By themselves these changes will save you thousands on your energy bill but more than that they’ll dramatically reduce your setup costs when you’re ready to add a residential solar power system.
When you add your solar array, start with what you can afford and ensure that you can add to it in the future.
Looking to find the best deal on Solar Panels, then visit to find the best advice on Solar Power for you.
Tips to Save Money With Alternative Energy and House Solar Power
As gas prices soar utility bills rise as well. Natural disasters are occurring more and more shutting down power for days or weeks. With alternative energy sources such as solar power and wind power you do not need to worry about such issues. Solar energy, power from the sun, is free and inexhaustible. Learn to set up house solar power today.
Solar power or solar energy is indeed a good alternative source of energy. Aside from being a free resource, it is also a clean and renewable source of energy. Among the advantages and benefits of using solar power water heater are its being environment friendly and does not produce pollution to the environment.
Passive solar heating is achieved by storing and releasing the energy from the sun without any external pumping machinery. Setups that use these methods can be either very simple or very complex, but are generally low cost and low technology know how.
Another big advantage of having a water heating system that runs on solar energy is of course, the cheaper cost and the less maintenance that it requires. As this option is environment friendly, you can also benefit a tax credits from the government as well.
During the warmer months, this type of design might cause your home to become too overheated, so natural cooling effects would be managed by implementing natural vents or roof overhangs that block the stronger sun rays during those months.Solar Panels
The savings can typically pay for a solar system in one month’s time. Plus, the fuel is free, with no moving parts, the cells require little upkeep and because they burn no fuel and have no moving parts, solar systems are clean and silent. Another great reason to install a renewable energy system in your home is that you will increase the value of your home by thousands!
You will be able to go completely off-grid if you want, knowing that rising energy prices will not affect you. Also, you could possibly be able to make the electricity company pay you, because the surplus of what you produce will make the meter go the other way, in case you want to stay on-grid. What? Your probably wondering right now, but it’s true. Most electric companies utilize net metering, which means your electricity meter can run forwards and backwards.
Insulation is also a primary concern with regards to passive solar heating home. Ideally you would insulate every wall in your home as well as the space between the ground and the floor and the ceiling and attic. Everywhere your home is adjoined with an adjoining “outdoor” room you would want to ensure you insulate also (for example between the front of the house and an enclosed porch).
Carolyn Anderson is a freelance author, book reviewer and an avid reader. For a good resource to guide you in making your own solar powered water heater, check out this DIY solar water heater. Also check out Solar Power Formula, where you can learn how to generate your own solar energy.
Learn more about Solar Panels. Stop by Ilina Hadzhieva’s site where you can find out all about Solar Powe and what it can do for you.
A Look at Active and Passive Solar Systems
A solar panel is a sizable flat, rectangular shape, usually somewhere between the dimensions of a radiator and a door. Power collectors, called solar cells, make up solar panels. A solar cell is usually 8-sided and blue-black in color, about the size of your palm. Just like the cells in a battery, these cells are intended to generate electricity. However, these cells use sunlight instead of chemicals to create electricity. Solar panels are also called photovoltaic panels (or PV panels), which comes from a combination of the Greek word for light, and electricity pioneer Alessandro Volta.
You may be curious about how sunlight is transformed into electricity. When the sun shines onto a solar cell, photons (light particles) are bombarded onto the upper surface of the cell. Each light particle then carries its energy down through the cell. The photons then transfer their power to electrons in the lower layer of the cell. The electrons use this energy to escape into the circuit by jumping the barrier into the upper layer. The movement of these electrons through the circuit generates the power for our lights and appliances.
Active systems are more recognizable as they use solar panels to harness the light of the sun. These can be used to either generate electricity or to heat water that is then used in a variety of ways. The benefit to active solar systems is that they are able to capture solar radiation even on days when it is overcast, whereas a passive system may be more dependent on outdoor weather conditions.
Solar water heating VS power generation
Solar systems that generate power are slightly different than those that heat water. With a system designed to generate power, photoelectric cells are powered by sunlight and create an electric charge. This is then stored in batteries and can be harnessed at any time of the night or day, even when the sun is not shining.
Water bills can be cut by 50 to 70 % by using a first-rate solar water panel system. Apart from the evident environmental benefits of solar power, it makes financial sense. By combining both solar water panel and PV panel systems you can save even more. Installation costs for solar energy systems are high, although there are different grants available to help finance solar technology. A much more reasonably priced option is to assemble your own solar panels.
Both forms of active solar energy can be used even when sunlight is not strong. All a solar panel needs is to be fairly unobstructed by trees or buildings in order to generate enough power for a home or office.
Property value can be increased by the addition of solar panels. According to HUD, for every $1,000 you save in annual utility bills the value of your home rises by $20,000. A house which is energy efficient is of great value in the eyes of a potential buyer. In addition to the other benefits, a solar system means a home has a back-up system during electricity blackouts. A home-buyer knows that if they buy a house with a solar power system installed, they are also buying peace of mind – knowing that during any power outages they will be unaffected.
Actor, Edward Norton was so inspired by the solar panels installed in his own house that he created a program, in partnership with BP, to provide solar energy systems to lower income households in the LA area. Through the BP Solar Neighbors program a free solar system is offered to a low income household each time a celebrity buys one. An outstanding idea, the project has already had some of the best of Hollywood talent participating in it, including Owen Wilson, Alicia Silver stone and Will Ferrell. This project is probably contributing to the 30% annual growth of BP solar division.
The United States is by far the major energy consumer in the world. 25% of the world’s power consumption is by the US – even though it accounts for only 5% of the entire population of the earth. A 100mw solar energy plant in Israel will provide more than 200,000 people with electricity, and they have plans to build an even bigger plant in the future – a 500mw plant. The world’s largest solar electricity system can be found in Bavaria, while around 1/2 of solar panels manufactured worldwide are used in Japan. When looking at these facts we can see how far America has to go in order to make the most of solar energy.
Learn more aboutsolar panels. Stop by Ilina Hadzhieva’s site where you can find out all about solar power and what it can do for you.
