Archive for August, 2009
Adjust Your Thermostat – Save Energy and Money
Maintaining a comfortable temperature level in your home is the biggest hitter on your energy bills. Did you know that your heating and cooling system accounts for around 45% of your total utility cost? The easiest and most cost effective advice I can give you is simply adjusting your thermostat up in the summer and down in the winter.
This suggestion probably sounds obvious to most but many are unwilling to even consider making a small adjustment. I’m not expecting anyone to be uncomfortable in their own home, but you can save 3% per degree in the winter and 3-4% per degree in the summer. Now 2 or 3 degrees is hard to physically notice but can reduce your energy consumption throughout the year considerably. How about a 6-10% yearly savings, are you willing to consider a small bump now?
Another thing to consider is installing a programmable thermostat. You can program these thermostats to automatically change the desired temperature of your home while you are away at work or on vacation effectively saving you money. Of course you could do this yourself before leaving but the possibility of forgetting is always there.
A programmable thermostat is a great cost effective solution and will easily pay for itself in less than a year. You won’t have to be uncomfortable when you get home because your smart new thermostat will have made an automatic adjustment and started working towards your desired temperature before you get home.
There are of course a wide variety of programmable thermostats ranging from inexpensive to highly advanced and very costly. You can get the job done with a very basic version found at any home improvement store. Anyone can switch out a thermostat even if you aren’t the advanced DIY type. Thermostats run off of low voltage so there’s no need to worry about electric shock, just follow the provided instructions and your upgrade will be done in less than 10 minutes.
Very important notice of extreme money and energy waste
Keep in mind that cranking your thermostat way up or down doesn’t actually make your system heat or cool any faster, so adjust your thermostat in small increments. In fact, if you have a heat pump installed and you crank the heat way up, it may actually turn on the backup or emergency heat which can turn on heat strips and unnecessarily jack your electric bill up costing you money and wasting energy.
( 0 )
August 31st, 2009
Mercedes Thermostat – Key to Smooth Performance
With their founder being the first person to officially release a “true” automobile, Mercedes Benz has always been about coming up with many firsts in their line of work. Founded by Karl Benz in 1871, the Mercedes Benz company has made a name mainly for their limousines and sports cars. Mercedes Benz also made some notable contributions in automotive technology, this would include, but not limited to fuel injection, anti-lock brakes, stability control, and brake assists, most of which are now incorporated by their competitors’ own designs. Since being one of the oldest car automakers still operational today, it can be argued that Mercedes Benz has a better understanding of what makes a car tick. Internal combustion engines have been the industry standard for more than a century, and is projected to retain that status for a few more years. While most of the innovations that Mercedes has pioneered steers (no pun intended) more to the safety side, the German automaker has kept the quality up on the engine side, as evident in the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren (fastest automatic road car), BRABUS W211 (fastest street-legal saloon), or the Mercedes-AMG 6208cc M156 (most powerful naturally aspirated V8 engine). Producing engines that perform on those levels requires an effective cooling system, as the heat coming produced by the engine can be quite damaging to numerous parts including the engine itself. Earlier automobiles were produced with air-cooled engines, but nowadays, most engines use fluid-cooled systems which normally uses a mixture of water or antifreeze. Equipped with a radiator fastened behind the car’s grill to hold the coolant, the process generally means circulating the fluid to absorb the heat and disperse it through to the air that passes through the grill as the car moves forward. Of course a cooling system does lower the temperature generated of the engine, but in reality a certain heat is still needed for the engine to work on optimal levels, hence there is as a need to control the flow of the coolant. Mercedes Benz and other car makers have always relied on the use of thermostats to get the job done. A Mercedes Benz thermostat is standard to all models and product lines, which is normally a wax pellet sealed inside a chamber. An expansion provision is located in the same chamber which operates a rod that opens the valve which regulates the flow of the coolant. As the engine hits operating temperature, the wax melts and expands to the provision, thus toggling the rod and opening the valves to let the coolant flow freely into the engine. The composition of the wax is matched to the operating temperature of the particular engine, since engines have different operational levels. Worn out thermostats could prove problematic, causing overheating in worst case scenarios. Most modern engines are also susceptible to increase emissions since they need to run in particularly high temperatures to decrease the amount of pollutants. A replacement for Mercedes thermostats are easy enough to find, either with a local dealership or through the Internet.
( 0 )
August 31st, 2009
Saturn Thermostat: the Solution for Better Performance
General Motors boasts a lot of quality car makes under its belt, all of which are made with the finest of materials and assembled with careful hands. One GM make that the company is truly proud of is their Saturn line of vehicles. But in order to experience the full potential Saturn vehicles could reach, owners should first be aware to always warm it up before taking it on a drive. Thus, to warm up the vehicles appropriately, automakers and car engineers designed the Thermostat and Saturn was fast on acquiring its function.
The Saturn Thermostat is located between the engine and the radiator. It helps in the warming up period of the engine, making the temperature rise up quickly but keeping the engine at a fixed degree of temperature. This is a temperature-sensitive valve and therefore it remains closed during engine warm up. The reason behind this is to prevent the coolant from circulating through the radiator until the right degree of temperature is reached. However, the Saturn Thermostat starts to open up when the temperature reaches 180-195F to let the coolant out into the engine. The thermostat should have then opened all the way once the temperature reaches 200-218F.
For it to function well, it uses the little cylinder located at the engine-side of the device. This cylinder is filled up with a wax that would begin melting at 180F. A rod connects it into the valve which presses into the wax. When the wax starts melting, it expands and that’s what pushes the rod out of the straw, which would then open the valve.
Knowing its function would tell car owners of the significant role a Saturn Thermostat plays in their vehicles. Warming up the car at the right temperature would help drivers experience the full potential of their Saturn cars. For this reason, drivers should be regularly checking this part for its condition so that future Saturn Thermostat problems can be remedied before it contributes more damage to the car.
( 0 )
August 31st, 2009
How to Set a Programmable Thermostat in Hot Weather
If you want to cut costs on your utility bill and save energy, a programmable thermostat is just what you need. Honeywell and other top thermostat manufacturers produce programmable that can help you manage your home more efficiently. Here are some tips to set a programmthermostatsable thermostat in hot weather to operate your air conditioner efficiently.
Step1
Learn how to manually program your thermostat by reading the printed instructions that came with your programmable thermostat. Do not worry if you cannot find them – simply search the internet for the model name (e. g. , Honeywell RTH230B or RiteTemp 6022) to find the instructions online.
Step2
Set the temperature at the time you get out of bed in the morning to the desired standard home temperature. ENERGY STAR recommends a standard home temperature of 78 F in hot weather. (See the Resources section below for a direct link to more ENERGY STAR tips)
Step3
Increase the temperature by at least 7 F at the time you go to work. If there are others in your household, use the time the last person leaves for work/school.
Step4
Lower the temperature back to the standard temperature at the time you return home for the day (or the time the first person in the household returns home). Consider setting this time a half hour or so prior to your return to cool the house down before you get home.
Step5
Raise the temperature a few degrees at bedtime. If you prefer a cooler house at night, you can skip this step or consider using fans to cool the room.
Tips & Warnings
( 0 )
August 31st, 2009
I’m Lost? Which Thermostat to Choose?
First of all, which system do you have?
There are 4 categories your home heating system has: either single-stage, multi-stage, heat pump, or line voltage.
After you have taken note of your system, which choices remain? Now you can begin to explore your options as you have narrowed down your individual home heating system category. Thermostats to choose from now are electromechanical or digital. Basically, electromechanical models are the older styled, mercury thermostats that are inexpensive and recognizable to most people, although for safety reasons have become quite outdated. Digital thermostats use sensors to recognize temperatures and then direct your heating and/or cooling systems to work to meet your desired, set temperature.
Do these categories break down even further? Yes After you have recognized your system and decided on either electromechanical or digital, you have another choice if you have chosen digital. This category breaks down into manual digital or programmable digital. These titles sound exactly as their functions. Manual digital thermostats need to be adjusted each and every time you would like your desired temperature setting to change. Programmable digital thermostats are able to be programmed for different times and settings to begin on their own for automatic temperature results!
Are there different programs to choose from if I have decided on a programmable digital? Yes, there are four different versions of programs designed to fit your needs and routines when choosing a programmable digital thermostat: 5-2 day, 5-1-1 day, 7 day, or 24 hour. Each of these, also, are exactly as they sound. 5-2 day is able to program five same days with two different ones (for the weekend), 5-1-1 day is for 5 days with two separate proceeding days, 7 day indicates one straight week of a programmed setting, and 24 hour means hourly changes can be programmed for any amount of days. Whatever works best for you is available to fit your schedule. Sometimes you can even find a thermostat that has the option for 5-2 or 5-1-1, programmable or non-programmable so if you change your mind for the type of program your lifestyle requires, you certainly do not need to rush to buy a new thermostat.
Can you break down the steps in choosing a thermostat one more time?
I. My Home Heating System
a. Single-Stage
b. Multi-Stage
c. Heat Pump
d. Line Voltage
II. Electromechanical or Digital
a. Manual Digital
b. Programmable Digital
1. 5-2 Day Programmable
2. 5-1-1 Day Programmable
3. 7 Day Programmable
4. 24 Hour Programmable