Builders Twits (RSS 2.0 Feed)

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-20

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:03:00 +0000

• New post: Is Me (http://bit.ly/9Auy2g http://bit.ly/atwIct #

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-20

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 04:03:00 +0000

• New post: Is Me (http://bit.ly/9Auy2g http://bit.ly/atwIct #

Is Metal Roofing For You? Reasons for The Rise of Metal Roofing

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:02:28 +0000

Just a few years ago, metal roofing hardly accounted for 5% of re-roofing jobs. With metal roofing now accounting for almost 15% of re-roofing jobs in the US, the question arises as to what has contributed to this increase? Here are some of the main factors that have contributed to the popularity of metal roofing throughout the US and reasons why you should consider this highly durable roofing option.

1. Tax Credits
Metal roofing tax credits, available through the federal government, have encouraged homeowners to consider metal roofing. The tax credits are still available through December 31, 2010. The tax credit is for 30% of the cost (up to $1500) for Energy Star metal roofs with pigmented coatings.

2. Reduction in Homeowners Insurance
Many homeowners insurance agencies are willing to reduce premium costs for homes with metal roofing. The reductions are being given because insurance companies recognize that metal roofing can prevent damage to homes occuring from severe weather. In states that experience severe weather, such as hurricanes and tornadoes, metal roofing is known to hold up better than any other roofing type.

3. Excellent Investment
More and more homeowners have realized the long term investment that metal roofing provides. Most metal roofs come with a 50-year warranty and can last that long without major repairs or replacement. Asphalt roofs, the current leader in re-roofing, need repairing and maintenance every few years and don?t last more than 25-30 years. While metal roofing costs about double what asphalt roofs do, you?ll be saving in the long run by avoiding the need to replace your roof.

4. Staying Put
According to an article in the August 2009 issue of Professional Remodeler magazine, homeowners are less transient than a few decades ago. More and more homeowners in their 30s and 40s are choosing to stay in their homes as they age. For this group of homeowners, metal roofing is a great option as they will have the peace of mind knowing that they won?t have to replace their roof again.

5. Energy-Savings
The current economic challenge in the US has made homeowners more aware of the financial savings associated with energy savings. Metal roofing reduces energy output in two ways. First, the metal works as an insulator, which helps to keep the warm air in and the cold air out during the winter and the cool air in and the hot air out during the summer. This will enable you to save energy by allowing you to run your a/c and heating unit less. Second, most metal roofs contain a reflective pigment coating. The coating works to reflect the sun and keep a cooler home.

6. Environmentally Sound
Going green isn?t just for the environmentalists anymore. Green building has become mainstream as the significance in doing do is greater understood by the general public. Metal roofing is good for the environment. Interest in green roofing options has risen, thus metal roofing installations have risen. Metal roofing is environmentally friendly for a number of reasons. First, most metal roofs can be installed over an existing roof. This avoids the need for a roof tear-off, which yields waste that ultimately ends up in a landfill. Second, most metal roofs are made from recycled scrap metal. Third, metal in itself is a recyclable product.

7. Low Maintenance
Time is money and one of the most dreaded home repairs is fixing a leaky roof. Nowadays, people are looking to reclaim their time and less maintenance is a welcome perk of metal roofing for many. Additionally, there is no need for roof cleaning to remove the roof from moss and algae growth (as there is with asphalt roofing).

If you are in the market for a new roof, explore the advantages of installing a metal roof on your home, as it could really benefit you. As with many home improvement projects, it?s often better to invest in a good-quality, long-lasting product than in a product that will need replacing.

###
Marcy Tate is a home improvement blogger at Networx. She recently worked with roofers learning about eco-friendly roofing options.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-06

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:03:00 +0000

• University of Illinois Scientists Indicate Us Little Known Techniques to Create More Efficient Solar Panels #
• New Link Posted: Trenchless.us http://www.trenchless.us/ #

University of Illinois Scientists Indicate Us Little Known Techniques to Create More Efficient Solar Panels

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:39:47 +0000

While silicon is actually the industry standard semiconductor in almost all electric units, which includes the pv cells that pv panels utilize to convert sunshine into energy, it is hardly the most cost-efficient material readily available. For example, the semiconductor gallium arsenide and associated compound semiconductors provide practically two times the performance as silicon in solar products, however they are rarely utilized in utility-scale applications because of their excessive manufacturing cost.

U. of I. (http://illinois.edu/) teachers J. Rogers and X. Li explored lower-cost ways to manufacture thin films of gallium arsenide that also made possible flexibility in the kinds of products they could be included into.

If you can minimize significantly the price of gallium arsenide and other compound semiconductors, then you could increase their variety of applications.

Generally, gallium arsenide is deposited in a individual thin layer on a small wafer. Either the ideal device is made right on the wafer, or the semiconductor-coated wafer is break up into chips of the preferred dimension. The Illinois team decided to put in multiple layers of the material on a simple wafer, creating a layered, ?pancake? stack of gallium arsenide thin films.

If you increase 10 levels in a single growth, you simply have to fill the wafer one time. If you do this in 10 growths, loading and unloading with temperature ramp-up and ramp-down take a lot of time. If you consider exactly what is needed for every growth ? the machine, the preparation, the period, the workers ? the overhead saving this approach presents is a substantial price decrease.

Following the experts separately peel off the levels and transport them. To achieve this, the stacks swap levels of aluminum arsenide with the gallium arsenide. Bathing the stacks in a solution of acid and an oxidizing agent dissolves the levels of aluminum arsenide, freeing the individual small sheets of gallium arsenide. A soft stamp-like system picks up the layers, just one at a time from the top down, for transfer to one other substrate ? glass, plastic material or silicon, depending on the application. Next the wafer may be reused for one more growth.

By performing this it’s possible to create much more material a lot more rapidly and a lot more price effectively. This process could make bulk amounts of material, as compared to simply the thin single-layer way in which it is usually grown.

Freeing the material from the wafer additionally starts the possibility of flexible, thin-film electronics produced with gallium arsenide or many other high-speed semiconductors. To make units that could conform but still retain high performance, which is considerable.

In a paper written and published on-line May 20 in the magazine Nature (http://www.nature.com/), the team details its methods and displays 3 kinds of units utilizing gallium arsenide chips manufactured in multilayer stacks: light units, high-speed transistors and photo voltaic cells. The creators additionally offer a detailed cost evaluation.

Another benefit of the multilayer approach is the release from area constraints, particularly important for photo voltaic cells. As the layers are removed from the stack, they may be laid out side-by-side on another substrate in order to create a significantly greater surface area, whereas the standard single-layer procedure confines area to the size of the wafer.

For photovoltaics, you need big area coverage to get as much sunshine as achievable. In an extreme case we may grow enough levels to have 10 times the area of the traditional.

After that, the team plans to explore more potential item applications and additional semiconductor resources which could adapt to multilayer growth.

About the Article writer – Shannon Combs publishes articles for the residential solar power shingles web site, her personal hobby blog based on suggestions to aid home owners to conserve energy with solar power.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-23

Mon, 24 May 2010 04:03:00 +0000

• New post: Going Green. What Makes A Home A Green House? (http://bit.ly/9NqJED http://bit.ly/cZ7VFV #

Going Green. What Makes A Home A Green House?

Sun, 23 May 2010 21:55:24 +0000

by Preston Guyton

One of the hottest topics these days is about being environmentally friendly or going green. There are many ways to preserve water and reduce energy consumption around the home. This can not only help you feel good about reducing your impact on the environment, but save you money as well by lowering your monthly utility bills. Let?s take a look at what makes a home green.

Reduced Energy Use

Energy comes in many forms such as electricity, natural gas, oil, etc. The creation or use of this energy results in greenhouse gas emissions that affect our planet in a negative way.

Methods of Reducing Energy Usage

? Tight Insulation ? One of the best things that you can do to make a green home is to ensure that the walls, windows, attic, and floors are all well insulated and draft free. The majority of the energy used in a home goes towards heating and cooling the house. Good insulation will prevent the comfortable air temperature from escaping the home and save you big on your utilities.

? Energy Star Appliances ? When one of your appliances has gone on the fritz, or when you are building a new home, consider installing an appliance that meets energy star requirements. This will ensure that it will use over 30 percent less electricity or fuel than a typical appliance of that type.

? Advanced Mechanical Systems ? On demand tankless water heaters, geothermal HVAC equipment, and even solar power is a great way to reduce the amount of energy that is wasted to run the plumbing, heat and air, and electrical systems in the home. While they can have a higher upfront cost than a typical unit of its kind, tax incentives from the government can offset a good deal of the extra cost and allow you to make the money back within a few years time.

Reduced Water Use

Water is another essential resource that can be preserved in our day to day use around the house.

? Low Flow Fixtures ? Many low flow shower heads and toilets developed a bad reputation in the past because they could not live up to their less efficient counterparts. Fortunately, today?s better engineered models and aerators allow you to experience the luxury and ease of use that you prefer, while additionally using a significantly lower amount of water.

? Efficient Clothes Washers ? Many of the newer front loading clothes washers use as little as half of the water of a typical top loading washer. For families who are constantly putting in a new load of dirty clothes, this can lead to a significant savings in cost and water usage over time.

? Use Rain Water For Irrigation ? For those who want to really cut down on water usage, storage tanks that collect rain water during a storm for latter use to water the garden and lawn can save thousands of gallons over the span of a summer.

These are just a few of the many ideas out there that will help ensure that your home is green. Environmentally friendly decisions in the home can lead to wallet friendly results over time and allow for the satisfaction of knowing you are reducing your negative impact on the planet.
###

Preston Guyton is a Realtor and Custom Home Builder serving the Myrtle Beach Real Estate Market. For more information on Myrtle Beach custom homes and green construction, contact Preston today or visit our Myrtle Beach Real Estate website.

Help With Power Bill ? 5 Things to Know About Solar Energy

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:56:35 +0000

Article by Pascal Colman

Need help with power bill after power bill, each and every single month? Don’t know how to pay those darn bills any longer? Well, read on and take in consideration what I will tell you.

More and more people these days start using solar panels as a means of energy supply. It would be easy to simply state that “it is cheaper”. Well, there are 5 things you should consider before making any decision at all.

Help With Power Bill – 5 Incentives For Going Solar

1. Did you know that going solar creates jobs? Our economic recession is what caused life to become more expensive by the day. However, a lot of people want to have a solar panel installed and have an annual maintenance done, but don’t want to make their own hands dirty. Somebody has got to do the job, isn’t it? National studies pointed out that, if Congress in the U.S. would extend the federal tax rebates for solar energy with 8 more years, this would create about half a million permanent jobs.

2. Efficiency: there was a time when solar panel installations were a less evident alternative, as they were not optimized for domestic use. Over the years, this has changed drastically. Nowadays, solar energy systems have become safe, eco-friendly and extremely efficient.

3. The government recognizes the benefits of using alternative energy resources, which makes it obvious why it is trying to stimulate us to turn to alternative energy. Most states in the U.S. offer large tax credits, and most of them even combine them with solar rebates. Now that’s what I call an incentive!

4. Independence: Not only does it feel great when you’re no longer dependent from energy companies, but it also gives a feeling of security if you know that your country no longer depends on other nations for its energy supply. The global oil reserves are constantly shrinking, but who cares if simply switch to solar energy?

5. Saving money: building your own solar panels sounds a little tricky, doesn’t it? Don’t you need a skilled technician for this? Won’t it cost you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, even if you build your own kit? Well, it might sound too good to be true, but all you need is a budget of less than $200, some components you find in a nearby material store, about 6 hours of your time and a brain inside your head. It?s an interesting fact that the majority of unskilled people are first afraid to take the risk, only realizing afterwards there is nothing difficult about building your own solar energy installation.

Of course, these are only a few examples of the benefits of using solar energy. The final choice whether to opt for alternative energy or not is entirely yours. However, this article attempts at giving a better view on the pros and cons of having your own solar panels for your home, as it may be clear both the economy and the current environmental situation demand a change.

###
More info on how to reduce your power bills can be found on Cut Electricity Bill For a simple step-by-step walk-through with instructional videos on how to build solar panels, visit Help Power Bill