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 Beauty and fashion, health updates, pets, gadgets Hands On DIY - Helpful hints for around the house How to save money and help the environment Whether or not you believe that the Planet is under threat from global warming, you can still take advantage of money-saving opportunities.  Energy-saving light bulbs These will soon be the only ones available. However, you can start to save money now. For example, all these lights use 18W bulbs. You can run five of these for less than the running cost of one 100W traditional bulb. They cost more to buy, but they are guaranteed to last up to 8,000 hours. This means a saving of up to €15 over the lifetime of the bulb in addition to the saving on running costs. This table is a guide to Energy Star bulbs which are very similar to those found in Leroy Merlin or the big supermarkets. Apparently, you can save even more money if you run your light bulbs off a solar panel or wind turbine. However, those available on the island will only generate direct current (similar to a car battery). The supply to your house is alternating current. The panels or turbines available for the DIY enthusiast are only really suitable for recharging your mobile phone or other batteries. You would have to buy special bulbs or use the sort of gadgets that can be run off a car battery, for example a small portable TV that you might take camping, or a laptop computer. It would take a long time to recover the cost of buying one of these renewable energy systems. The other type of solar panel is the one which heats water. This is much more cost effective. There are several makes available on the Island. These fall into two types. Glazed flat-plate collectors are insulated, weatherproofed boxes which contain a dark absorber plate under one or more glass or plastic (polymer) covers. The other type, evacuated-tube solar collectors, feature parallel rows of transparent glass tubes. Each tube contains a glass outer tube and metal absorber tube attached to a fin. These are more commonly used in Northern Europe and are more expensive. Many new homes have the pipework necessary to connect to a solar hot water system. It makes the job of the DIY installer that much more straightforward. However, it is possible to install your own system from scratch. Most of the modern panels are reliable, although beware of cheap versions from China! Boiler manufacturers such as Junkers are now producing their own versions. We are fortunate that here in Tenerife, we have an excellent system, made by Constante Solar in Santa Cruz. These systems were developed to the highest specifications at ITER (the Institute for Renewable Energy). All parts are guaranteed for eight years, so you are certain to get several years of totally free hot water, once you have recovered your initial outlay. If recent price rises are anything to go by, how much will it cost to heat water with electricity or gas in eight or ten years’ time? There are systems on the Island which have lasted 20 years and more. What will your electricity bill be in 2029? In the next article, Robert visits the factory in Santa Cruz to see for himself the quality of the systems and to find out what they have to offer to the environmentally friendly DIY enthusiast. This is a cheap and easy way to save money, using solar energy. Robert is laying plastic water pipe on a terrace. This will be concreted and tiled in the normal way. It will pre-heat the cold water supply for a remote bathroom which is too far away from the solar panel on the main roof. The water can be brought to the required temperature in any electric water heater. If the pre-heated water is to be further heated by gas, a special boiler is needed. This is also an inexpensive but effective way to heat a swimming pool. Useful vocabulary Hot water / agua caliente light bulb / bombilla Pipe / tubo Photovoltaic / fotovoltaico Solar panel/ Panel solar Wind turbine / turbina de viento or aerogenerador If you would like advice or help with plastering or re-plastering or any other DIY projects, you can call Robert on 922 814073 or 605 469 352. E-mail rjmcalees@yahoo.com This article appears in the print edition 606 of Island Connections
| Puerto Santiago - 06.02.2012 - The controversial circumstances of the death of a Moroccan man whose body was recovered from the sea in Puerto Santiago at the week-end are being investigated. more... Tenerife - 06.02.2012 - Several parts of the coast of Tenerife took a severe battering at the week-end due to the strong winds, which sent waves crashing onto the shore. more... Santa Cruz - 06.02.2012 - Yesterday's big game against promotion rivals Albacete was an emotion-filled day for the family and friends of Andy Glover, who died recently. more... 03.02.2012 - The Tenerife Cabildo has issued a warning that people should take extra this weekend and avoid unnecessary journeys with high winds forecast with gusts of up to 90 kph expected tomorrow (Saturday). more... La Laguna - 03.02.2012 - The owner of a pack of pit-bulls that attacked a man and his dog while they were walking in a La Laguna park is being sought by police. more...    Banish the blues They tell us that this is one of the most depressing times of the year more...   | E-Zigarette Die E-Zigarette Classic ist das robuste Modell für den täglichen Gebrauch. www.elektrische-zigarette.eu Holiday car Tenerife We have been in the rent a car business since 1976 in Tenerife. Our experience - your advantage. www.hermanns-cars.com Electronic Cigarette The Electronic Cigarette SLIM is recommended for smokers with few consume, occasional smokers and to go. www.liquid-shop.eu Real Estate Tenerife We are a real estate company, constituted in the year 2002, and nevertheless our professional team possesses a long trajectory in the real estate sector in the north of Tenerife. www.optima-tenerife.es ic media group |
