To be Energy-Efficient - Buy Energy-Efficient

When you buy an appliance, you commit to paying both the first cost and the operating cost for as long as you own it. And over the life of an appliance, the energy cost to run it can be many times greater than the first cost. So it pays to buy an energy-efficient appliance.The energy efficiency of a storage water heater is indicated by its energy factor (EF), an overall efficiency based on the use of 64 gallons of hot water per day. The first national appliance efficiency standards for water heaters took effect in 1990. New standards, which took effect in January 2004, increased the minimum efficiency levels of water heaters.

The most efficient gas-fired storage water heaters have energy factors ranging from 0.63 to 0.67, corresponding to estimated gas use below 170 therms/year. Condensing water heaters have energy factors as high as 0.86. The most efficient electric storage water heaters have energy factors ranging between 0.93 and 0.95, resulting in estimated annual energy use below 4,725 kWh/year.There is little difference between the most efficient electric resistance storage water heaters and the minimum efficiency standard. Fortunately, heat pump water heaters using less than half as much electricity as conventional electric resistance water heaters are becoming commercially available. If you use electricity for water heating, consider installing a heat pump water heater. Otherwise, look for the most efficient electric resistance unit in your size range. Even if you arent going to buy a new water heater, you can save a lot of energy and money with your existing system by following a few simple suggestions.

• Conserve water: Your biggest opportunity for savings is to use less hot water. In addition to saving energy (and money), cutting down on hot water use helps conserve dwindling water supplies, which in some parts of the country is a critical problem. A family of four each showering five minutes a day can use about 700 gallons per weeka three-year drinking water supply for one person! Water-conserving showerheads and faucet aerators can cut hot water use in half. That family of four can save 14,000 gallons of water a year and the energy required to heat it.

• Insulate Your Existing water Heater: If your water heater was installed before 2004, installing an insulating jacket on your existing water heater is one of the most effective do-it-yourself energy-saving projects, especially if your water heater is in an unheated basement or space. The insulating jacket will reduce standby heat lossheat lost through the walls of the tankby 2540%, saving 49% on your water heating bills. Water heater insulation jackets are widely available for around $10. Some newer water heaters come with fairly high insulation levels, reducing the economic benefits of adding additional insulation. In fact, some manufacturers recommend against installing insulating jackets on their energy-efficient models. Always follow directions carefully when installing an insulation jacket. Leave the thermostat(s) accessible. With conventional gas- and oil-fired water heaters, you need to be careful not to restrict the air inlet(s) at the bottom or the draft hood at the top.

• Insulate hot Water pipes: Insulating your hot water pipes will reduce losses as the hot water is flowing to your faucet and, more importantly, it will reduce standby losses when the tap is turned off and then back on within an hour or so. A great deal of energy and water is wasted waiting for the hot water to reach the tap. Even when pipes are insulated, the water in the pipes will eventually cool, but it stays warmer much longer than it would if the pipes werent insulated.

• Lower the Water Heater Temperature: Keep your water heater thermostat set at the lowest temperature that provides you with sufficient hot water. For most households, 120F water is fine (about midway between the low" and medium" setting). Each 10F reduction in water temperature will generally save 35% on your water heating costs. When you are going away on vacation, you can turn the thermostat down to the lowest possible setting, or turn the water heater off altogether for additional savings. With a gas water heater, make sure you know how to relight the pilot if youre going to turn it off while away.

Whether youre replacing a worn-out existing water heater or looking for the best model for a new house youre building, it pays to choose carefully. Look for a water heater that satisfies your hot water needs and uses as little energy as possible. Often you can substantially reduce your hot water needs through water conservation efforts.Resource Credit: Commission of Public works, south Carolina 2007 Avis Ward of AWard consulting, LLC

Avis E. Ward is a visonary called to unite the personal, spiritual and political through Love. She is an Ambassador of Love and Certified Seminar Leader. Avis is also a Dental Marketing Consultant specializing in Orthodontics. Avis invites you to view her blog. http://aviswardconsulting.com/ or Avis Ward

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Why The Cheapest Prices For Digital Home Entertainment Can Be Found Online At Christmas

If your holiday gift list includes electronic gifts, then here's a clue for you - shop online to get the best prices anywhere. Whether you're looking for a digital camera for your dad, a PC game for your little brother or an X-box 360 for yourself (hey, why shouldn't YOU be on your holiday list?), you'll find the cheapest prices when you shop online.

Why Buy a Digital Camera Online?

The better question is - why not? It's not as if you need to try on a digital camera to be sure that it fits - they're one size fits all. You can compare reviews on each digital camera online to check out features and drawbacks, then shop for the cheapest price at any one of several different shopping search sites. Unlike the High Street shops, online retailers don't have to pay for fancy carpeting and window signs that drive merchandise prices up. They can pass their savings on to you - and that means you pay less for the digital camera than you would if you spent hours fighting bargain hunters in the shops.

Is it safe to buy a digital camcorder online? It's just as safe as shopping for the latest models in the shops. All the usual cautions apply. Be sure that you're shopping on a secure, trusted site. Do your comparison shopping in advance. Skip the auctions and fly-by-nights and shop at trusted sites that can guarantee your delivery. And thanks to the laws, if you shop online with a credit card and something goes wrong, you're protected from fraud.

Buying PC Games online

If you're looking for the perfect gift for a mate, little brother or friend, you'll seldom go wrong with a PC game - but the prices in the shops are outrageous. When you shop online, you're not confined to the local shops and stores. You're shopping the entire world - and that means lower prices. The top PC games and cheap prices for this holiday season include:
The sims PC game as low as 17.99
world of Warcraft online PC game as low as 9.99
Age of Empires 3 as low as 17.99
Grand Theft Auto San Andreas as low as 14.99

You'll do even better if you shop the bargain bins and online auctions, where you'll find prices as low as 2.99 for The sims or Roller Coaster Tycoon. How can you go wrong?

The Year's Hottest online Gift: xbox 360

And the xbox 360 is about to get a major boost. According to the latest news from microsoft, the xbox 360 team is working to redesign the xbox 360 chip and drop their price by about 200 this holiday season. If the retail prices for the xbox 360 drop to about 220, you can bet that you'll find them online for about 30%-50% cheaper.

Whatever your pleasure in electronic gifts this holiday season, you're bound to find it cheaper online. Keep your eyes peeled for the best shopping bargains as the holidays heat up. When the price wars start, the winners will be the consumers - that's you.

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South Africa - How To Speed Up You Internet Surfing

So you've finally had enough of battling with that dodgy old dial-up connection and are now contemplating going broadband. Or your current broadband connection is not meeting your needs and/or is too expensive and it's time for a change.

The choice you need to make is between Iburst, HSDPA (Vodacom and MTN) or ADSL from Telkom, which can be quite a daunting decision for the technically non-inclined. HSDPA and Iburst are "long range" wireless options not to be confused with "short range" wifi, while ADSL needs a fixed telephone line. So here are a few pointers to help make that decision a little easier.

Connection speed
First you need to decide what Internet speed you need. Obviously the faster the better. Below are the theoretically "maximum" speeds on offer:

Iburst: Up to 1Mbps
HSDPA: Up to 1.8 Mbps. Drops to GPRS rates in non coverage areas.
ADSL: Up to 384 kbps, 512kbps, 1 Mbps and 4 Mbps (1024 kbps = 1Mbps)

In South Africa, however, the reality is that these maximum speeds are rarely achieved (if ever) because actual average speed achieved is dependent on factors such as time of day, location, supplier capacity, remote site being accessed and technical problems. For example, right now my current speed is averaging around 175 kbps on a 512 kbps ADSL link. Obviously the higher the maximum speed capability of your link, the higher the average speed you will get while surfing.

Price per bandwidth
Next you need to decide between the different packages on offer. All companies charge differently although, after installation, price essentially boils down to cost per Mbyte. With Telkom this price is also dependent on the speed of the ADSL link chosen, as well as the cost of your ISP (Internet service Provider). What you need to decide is how many Gigabytes (1024 Mbytes) you need per month and at what speed, and select a package that is appropriate for your needs.

As a comparison, I have listed below the comparative monthly costs for roughly the same packages (+- 3 Gigabytes of data) at speeds of 1 Mbps (or higher) as of 12th June 2007:

Iburst: R0.17/Mbyte/month (3500 Mbytes pro Classic package, no modem)

HSDPA: +- R0.20/Mbyte/month (2048 Mbytes in bundle rate from MTN/Vodacom)

ADSL: R0.21/Mbyte/month (3 Gigabytes Cap with 1Mbps line using Axxess as ISP at R125/month)

(Prices do not include once off costs such as routers/modems etc)

Although the Iburst option works out the cheapest at 1 Mbps (or greater), if you are happy with a 384 kbps line speed, then the ADSL cost reduces to +- R0.12/Mbyte i.e. you are sacrificing speed for price. On the other hand, if you need the faster speeds and are confident that the wireless coverage will be reliable in your area, then one of the wireless options may be the way to go.

Reliability
Unfortunately the reliability of each of the above connections is hard to predict and I have seen and heard of cases where all connection types have been unreliable and slow. This usually boils down to one of the following reasons:

Time of day: At certain times of the day, there will be more users online sharing the same resources, so overall speeds obtained will be lower than at other times.

Your location: Especially true for the wireless options as in certain locations, speed will be much better than in others. This is because the wireless signal coverage is affected by objects such as distance from the transmitter as well as buildings, weather, mountains etc between the transmitter and your router. For example, I have used HSDPA cards at the CTICC centre in Cape Town and got average speeds of only 270 kbps. While the coverage for all is increasing, ADSL is the most likely only choice for many areas because of Telkom's huge infrastructure. Iburst and HSDPA are mainly focused in major cities. It is however important to check the reliability of wireless coverage at your site before going ahead with using a wireless connection.

Technical problems: All the suppliers will experience technical problems from time to time and that invariably effects connection speed - unfortunately in South Africa this is far too common a problem at the moment.

Internet Needs
If you are planning to use the Internet while on the move using a laptop, for example, then Iburst and HSDPA are the only options available ADSL needs a fixed phone line.

However, if you will be accessing the Internet from one location then you have the option of using any of the three. Personally I prefer using a fixed ADSL line because, in my opinion (and Telkom technical problems and personal dislikes aside), a physical wired solution should always be more reliable than the wireless options. If you need wireless with ADSL, you always have the option of using wifi, which will give you short range wireless connectivity (+- 35 meters from the router with longer ranges possible using the right setup).

Also, the type of applications you will be running will influence your selection. If all you need is "reasonable" Internet speed for email and browsing, then 384 kbps from Telkom may be all you need. On the other hand, if you are downloading large files or need a fast connection between two offices, then you will need a faster connection.

My Preferences
Home/Business fixed location: ADSL from Telkom (Non Telkom Router) Roaming user with laptop: HSDPA from MTN

This article is adapted from one that first appeared on the ITRoadblog published by Precision Networks

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