Home and Earth

Where We Live and Grow

A Tips and Information Site For Making Our Home and Earth A Better Place To Live

A

aerator

Round screw-on tip on the end of a faucet spout that mixes air into flowing water, and controls flow to reduce splashing. It can reduce the flow to 2.5 gpm.

attic fan

Pushes hot air and humidity out of a house's attic, while pulling air in through open windows and doors.

B

blower door test

A temporary door and blower are used to force air into or out of the house or building. The blower door measures how leaky the building and ductwork are, and can be used to find the location of the major leaks.

C

caulk

A material used to seal air and water leaks around windows, doors and other similar applications.

ceiling fan

A ceiling fan is a device suspended from the ceiling of a room that circulates air in order to produce a cooling effect.

cloths dryer

An appliance that dries wet clothes after they've been washed.

compact fluorescent light bulbs

An energy efficient light bulb. (incandescent light bulbs will be phased out of use in the next few years.)

D

deciduous

A tree or other plant that sheds its leaves at the end of its growing season.

E

exhaust

To remove air out of a room or an enclosure.

F

foam insulation

It is used in small applications to fill cracks in walls, open spaces around ductwork, pipes, windows and doors. In large applications it is used to insulate walls, crawl spaces and the under sides of roofs.

G

geothermal heat pump

A geothermal heat pump is a heat pump that uses the Earth as either a heat source, when operating in heating mode, or a heat sink, when operating in cooling mode. It is used to heat or cool a house.

gpm

gallons per minute

H

heat transfer

The flow of heat from one area to another by conduction, convection, and/or radiation. Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler material or space.

hibernate

Similar to standby mode, a computer can be put in a power off mode to save energy. It is commonly used to conserve battery power on laptops. The contents or data being worked on is saved from memory, and is written to the hard disk and the computer shuts down. When it is restarted, the data is loaded back into memory and work can be continued from where you stopped.

high-reflectivity window film

A window film that helps block summer heat gain. Silver, mirror-like films typically are more effective than the colored, more transparent ones. East and west facing windows, because of their greater heat gain, can benefit more from window films. North facing windows won't really benefit from them at all, and south facing windows may benefit somewhat, but it may be best to leave these windows clear to gain passive heat from the winter sun.

I

insulation

A material that slows or stops the movement of heat through a wall, ceiling or floor. Two of the most common types are fiber glass and spray foam.

Types of insulation:

• batts and blankets
• loose fill
• rigid board
• spray foam

insulation blanket

An insulating cover for a water heater that helps to reduce heat lose.

J

K

L

LED

(Light Emitting Diode) A light that is very bright, but uses a small amount of electricity and last a long time.

low flow shower head

Water saving shower head.

M

manufacturer's warranty

An assurance by a company or others that certain facts or conditions are true. The party accepting the warranty is permitted to rely on that assurance and seek some type of remedy if it is not true.

N

non-renewable energy

Energy resources that are naturally replenished very slowly or not at all. Non-renewable energy, like fossil fuels, may one day run out completely or become depleted to the point where it is too expensive to extract.

O

operational specifications

Information on an appliance or product provided by the manufacturer. It may contain instructions on how to use the product and warranty information.

P

passive solar

Using sunlight for energy without active mechanical systems. Convert sunlight into usable heat (water, air, thermal mass), cause air-movement for ventilating, or store heat for future use, without the assistance of other energy sources.

phantom loads

See: standby power

portable fan

Box fans, oscillating fans, table or floor fans that can be moved from one place or room to another.

power meter

A meter used to measure the energy used by appliances. It can be used to determine the energy efficiency of an air conditioner, computer, refrigerator, microwave or washing machine.

programmable thermostat

An adjustable thermostat that can be set to automatically change the temperature at different times of the day.

Q

R

renewable energy

Any energy source that is naturally occurring and that can be replenished or replaced at the same rate as it is used.

S

solar power

Energy from the sun that is converted into thermal or electrical energy.

standby

See: standby power

standby power

The electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode. Over time this small amount of power can waste electricity.

T

tankless water heater

A water heater that doesn't have a tank and produces hot water on demand.

tubular skylight

A highly reflective tube that allows sunlight to come into a room directly from the rooftop.

U

V

ventilation

The process of moving air into and out of a home or enclosed area.

W

water heater

An appliance that heats water.

weather stripping

A material used around windows and doors to keep unwanted air and water from getting into a house.

Types of weather stripping:

• door sweep
• felt
• foam
• magnetic
• rubber
• threshold
• vinyl

wind break

Trees or shrubs planted for shelter from the wind.

whole house fan

A type of window exhaust fan that pulls hot air out and cool air in through open windows and doors. Best used when the outside air feels cool.

X

Y

Z