Go Green
A Blog by WARM Training Center
Energy Audits
Sep 25th
We have a superinsulated home and a superinsulated business in the Brighton area. We would like to have someone come out and do energy audits and thermal scans to find the leaks and losses and improve them further. Who does this in the area? Any idea of the cost?
- Jim in Brighton
You’re certainly off to a good start – and incentives are now available for this service! Of course, energy audits are not all made from the same cloth, and different folks offer different services. Let’s start by considering the primary options offered: Continue reading “Energy Audits” »
Energy Star Home incentives
Sep 3rd
Can you give me information on whether any home finance lenders have incentive for Energy Star homes?
- Trisha, Macomb County
Well, there’s no one simple fix for this, but there are a variety of programs in place right now that might help. Continue reading “Energy Star Home incentives” »
Cooling without AC
Sep 3rd
It’s ridiculously hot out right now. But I don’t have an air conditioner and I don’t really want to buy one. I’ve heard that there are better and worse ways to use a fan to cool down. Is that true?
- Amy in Ann Arbor
Hi Amy,
Summer days in Michigan can get pretty hot. But cooling is not nearly the challenge here as heating is.The good news is that we generally only need to cool things down a little to be comfortable. Just blowing a fan helps a person feel cooler while the fan is on them, but it doesn’t necessarilly cool the home down at all. With a little more strategy, fans can be a powerful tool for keeping your home cool. Continue reading “Cooling without AC” »
Recycling Medicine
Aug 19th
How should I dispose of old pharmaceuticals from my medicine cabinet? Can these be recycled?
- Jennifer in Detroit
Well this one is a bit easier than we might have thought. This question is certainly beyond our in-house knowledge at WARM. So, we called the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality’s environmental assistance center at 1-800-662-9278 (a great resource!). The folks at the MDEQ said that the main concern was keeping these medicines out of the water supply and out of the hands of any people who might be tempted to take them without really knowing what they are. Continue reading “Recycling Medicine” »
Solar Power for a Garage
Aug 18th
I’m considering adding solar panels to my garage to get electricity there. Can you help me make sense of the wattages and determine what I would need?
Tim in Detroit
Hi Tim,
A number of factors go into determining what system would best suit your needs when considering solar panels (or PV, for photo-voltaics).
Around Detroit we have good (though not excellent) solar radiation for powering PV panels. How much solar power you need depends on how much energy you’ll need, and what other components you’ll need. Continue reading “Solar Power for a Garage” »