A General "Green" Thread

[Txuraeyktan]

Well who likes my ideas?
My first idea is to get as many kids from my school to ride bikes, cutting off bus fuel, and getting America healthier
second i convinced my school to do a annual tree plant thingy so every year they take out the 20 strongest 8th graders and plant about 25 trees throughout the day.
and me and my sister and my brother made a garden with a lot of things bee's use therefor makeing bee population higher (healthier plants, trees, ect)
And i made bee hive thing in my backyard (cause bees are awsome.)

[Rain]

Whoah, you have a beehive? Pics!!!

[Eyamsiyu]

Not a fan of bees, unfortunately.  I mean, I am... it's complicated.

I don't like the thought of being stung, but bees are one of the most beneficial animals to our environment.  And what's worse about this fact is that they are dying out at a rapid rate...

[Rain]

He should definitely look into beekeeping, and caring for native bees. I know my mother wants an apiary, but OKO how serious she is about it. I'm game though...

[tirea kaya'evengä]

I LOVE THIS THREAD! 
I'd love to hear more ideas and more in depth explanation and discussions.

At the moment it's pretty hard to make the changes I'd like to because of lack of money and living with my mum, but it's nice to know for the future and it'd be good for educational purposes.

Maybe a good idea would be to kind of ride the Avatar boom wave? A massive amount of people have seen the movie now, and it seems like a lot of them are interested in the message that it brought. So it offers an opening for Education, does it not?

[Txuraeyktan]

I will try to get pics asap but my phone pics cant be posted on here, so i gotta buy camera.
But it is really fun thou, i got about 2000 at this point,

[Technowraith]

Reviving our green thread, I found something out very interesting regarding my parent's solar panel array. Since the array's installation several years ago, i've tallied up the energy we've sent back to the power company: it's equivalent to 1 megawatt. The array was installed over 10 years ago. 1 megawatt is 1 million watts. Or enough power to run 60 homes for a summer season (i'm going off some old numbers here, so feel free to correct).

Eat that PPL... lol. That's 1 megawatt you can overcharge someone else for. LoL

[Eyamsiyu]

Reviving our green thread, I found something out very interesting regarding my parent's solar panel array. Since the array's installation several years ago, i've tallied up the energy we've sent back to the power company: it's equivalent to 1 megawatt. The array was installed over 10 years ago. 1 megawatt is 1 million watts. Or enough power to run 60 homes for a summer season (i'm going off some old numbers here, so feel free to correct).

Eat that PPL... lol. That's 1 megawatt you can overcharge someone else for. LoL

Holy Cannoli!  Getting a solar panel now...

[Technowraith]

Holy Cannoli!  Getting a solar panel now...

They are worth investing in, trust me. Nothing is better than thumbing your nose at the power company and saying, gimme money! The up front cost isn't cheap for solar, but over the life of the array, it will pay for itself many many times over. Even if you don't produce enough power to sell back to the utility, it will lower your bill to an extent. There are an estimated minimum 150 million houses in the United States. If each house had a solar array that produced just 100 kilowatts (.10 megawatts) a year, that's 150,000 megawatts of power that is produced annually. 150,000 megawatts is a lot of power. Enough to power New York city in it's entirety for 6 months straight. O_O Probably with some left over, too.

[Rain]

Tecchie, I would hug you if I could for all of this fantastic information. Instead, I will give you Karma points.

[Technowraith]

Keep in  mind for solar power that most arrays are rated in watts, and to achieve a certain number of watts, you have to have so many square feet of roofing available. If you don't have enough roof available, you can build a stand-alone solar array in an open sunny area of your property. The best thing to do is have a contractor who can install solar panels come in and evaluate your property or roof. This may cost you some money, as the contractor may bill you. OR you could say you need an estimate on a solar array and the contractor may not bill you. In any case, determine how much power you want to produce in watts. Go around and look at all the labels on the appliances in your house. Most state a wattage of some sort. Add up all the watts and then base your array off that number. The contractor can also help you figure out this number as well. I had my parents add up all the wattage of all the appliances in the house and then i gave that number to the contractor. He in turn came up with an array that met our initial needs. Then i had mom and dad expand the array as extra money became available. That's how we ended up with over 2000 square feet of panelling. Our electrical needs only require 1800 square feet. Dad is now adding panels to the shed out back, another 500 square feet.

[Rain]

Seriously, Techhie, you are amazing.

[Technowraith]

Keep in mind that you should still keep your power connection. In some cases, people only build an array that's large enough to power the "big boys" like the dryer, the water heater, the fridge, a dishwasher and maybe one or two televisions. A heavy duty array can easily power those appliances and more. Again, everything depends on how many watts you make your array for. If you over shoot your arry's wattage, the power connection will just feed you the rest. You already know what happens if you make more power than you use.

[Puvomun]

I have looked into solar panels a few times, but my apartment is not really set up to do something sensible with them. I had someone over to have a look, but that did not work out. :-(

There are a few other small things possible though, not related to electricity, but to getting around. I don't drive fast. Speed limit on the motorway here is 120KM/hour (about 80mph). Usually I drive 90KM/h, falling in with the trucks. That lowers fuel consumption dramatically (hence CO2 emissions).

Granted, that requires more time in the car, but that's okay. I just leave in time. I take my time. Which I benefit from, as that makes for a much less hastened life. And that is less stress. My next car will be a full hybrid. I'd love a fully electrical one, or a hydrogen powered one, but that is not feasible here yet. No fuel-stations for those. Which is weird, as the technology for these cars is ready.

Also I use my bicycle as much as I can. Can't get around much greener than that, unless walking is included.

Don't buy stuff that is packaged in too much wrapping. All you unwrap is all you throw away and less garbage is less strain on the earth. Where possible I go to local farmers and buy produce directly from them. They don't wrap things up too much, it's much fresher too. And once they know you, you can get a good deal also at times. ;-)

[Zalorticus]

I have heard of this motorcycle that is 100% electric. These guys took the route of the three top automobile companies took to D.C. It only cost them $4.

http://www.brammo.com/  Is the website for the bike.

[Technowraith]

There are a few other small things possible though, not related to electricity, but to getting around. I don't drive fast. Speed limit on the motorway here is 120KM/hour (about 80mph). Usually I drive 90KM/h, falling in with the trucks. That lowers fuel consumption dramatically (hence CO2 emissions).

Granted, that requires more time in the car, but that's okay. I just leave in time. I take my time. Which I benefit from, as that makes for a much less hastened life. And that is less stress. My next car will be a full hybrid. I'd love a fully electrical one, or a hydrogen powered one, but that is not feasible here yet. No fuel-stations for those. Which is weird, as the technology for these cars is ready.

Also I use my bicycle as much as I can. Can't get around much greener than that, unless walking is included.

Don't buy stuff that is packaged in too much wrapping. All you unwrap is all you throw away and less garbage is less strain on the earth. Where possible I go to local farmers and buy produce directly from them. They don't wrap things up too much, it's much fresher too. And once they know you, you can get a good deal also at times. ;-)

"Hyper-miling" is the term that refers to drivers who use every trick in the book to stretch their gas tank miles as far as possible. Some "hyper-miling" tips and tricks:

-Shift into Neutral when approaching a down grade or a stop light. Use your car's weight to slow the vehicle or coast down a grade rather than use engine power. Your brakes will still function. However, depending on the age, make and model of your car, you should be very careful when you shift back into drive. Some transmissions will not re-engage drive if the car is traveling over a certain speed. (This is a safety feature to prevent losing control of the car).  Coasting to a stop and stopping will not have this problem, as you re-engage drive from a standstill.

-"Drafting" big rigs at a distance of about 10-12 feet saves you gas mileage. The truck is doing the heavy work of moving the air for you. Your car will gain a slight advantage in the trailer's slipstream. DO NOT tailgate a truck or drive in his blindspot as this is very dangerous.

-Don't "jack-rabbit" when the light turns green. Accelerate gradually. Sudden bursts of speed waste gas and put undo wear and tear on the engine.

-Fill your car's tank in the early morning or early evening hours if possible. Gas expands and contracts as it heats up and cools down. During  the cooler hours, you actually get more gas per dollar than you would if you filled your tank at high noon or hotter parts of the day.

-Wash and wax your car on a regular basis. This increases aerodynamics and makes your car more fuel efficient.

-Drive at about 5 miles above or below, or at the speed limit. This saves gas in the long run. Once you hit 10mph above the speed limit, your gas efficiency begins dropping by a higher percentage for every mile above the speed limit you drive.

-Learn the traffic light timing for the roads around your area. One thing people don't pay attention to much is "synchronized traffic lights." Synced traffic lights are designed to keep traffic moving more efficiently in cities. The setup is basic: on a road with synced lights, when you approach on a green light and you drive at a certain speed, you will hit all green lights for a relatively decent distance, about 4-10 city blocks. Obvious factors like slow, turning or stopped traffic will affect how many greens you will make. Results will vary widely, but as an example, a road near my area uses synced lights. If i hit the northernmost traffic light as it turns green and drive at 32 mph, i will hit every green light for a distance of about 3 miles before hitting a red. When the light turns green again, i can achieve the same result for about another 3 mile stretches if i drive  32 mph. The entire length of the synced light corridor is 11 miles.

-Slow down for a red light rather than speeding up to stop. Yes, i've seen cars rocket past me only to have to jam the brakes at the next red. There's nothing wrong with going a little slower. Half the time, i time it so that i am still rolling when the light turns green again, and never have to come to a complete stop. That saves gas and engine wear.

-Keep your car maintained. A smoother running car saves gas and money in the long run. Keep up with your scheduled maintenance.

-Proper tire pressure also saves gas and wear and tear. Keep the tires at the proper pressure to ensure safety and gas efficiency.

-Carpooling, public transportation and bicycling are ways to save money by not using your car at all.

I also tend to buy stuff with less packaging, and I also make the recycle bin very accessible so that recyclables can be thrown right into the bin. Our curbside pick-up program does not require sorting. So now that i keep the recycle bin right next to the kitchen trash can all the recyclables get captured much easier than when we stored the bin elsewhere. The local public transit in my area recently began converting to hybrid diesel electric clean buses. And they are also exploring solar panel installation on maintenance sheds and yard buildings to power parts of the electric system for the trains or the building power feeds. This will reduce the power draw from the public grid by a small percentage, which will help no matter what.

[Tompa'Ivong]

well, research riding the clutch, if done right I believe you can save some mileage by reducing the bump the clutch makes between shifting gears, it really takes a feel for it, ONLY works in a manual or a standard.

[Puvomun]

well, research riding the clutch, if done right I believe you can save some mileage by reducing the bump the clutch makes between shifting gears, it really takes a feel for it, ONLY works in a manual or a standard.

Another thing that many people don't seem to understand or know is that you don't need to rev up the engine to 3000rpm or more before you shift gears with a manual gearbox. I shift gears depending on the gear. 1 to 2 at 1500rpm, 2 to 3 at 1500rpm, 3 to 4 at 2200. etc. It takes some learning where the car stqrts protesting (rumbling engine) but that too helps a lot.

[Roiki]

well, research riding the clutch, if done right I believe you can save some mileage by reducing the bump the clutch makes between shifting gears, it really takes a feel for it, ONLY works in a manual or a standard.

This isn't exactly true, for one, slipping the clutch isn't healthy and you'll wear your clutch out. Secondly, when you slip it, it wastes power(and fuel). Smooth transition between gears is a trick anyone who drives a manual pretty much knows, makes for a comfier ride. Fuel economy, not so much, it has more to do with when you change, rather how you change gears.

Another thing that many people don't seem to understand or know is that you don't need to rev up the engine to 3000rpm or more before you shift gears with a manual gearbox. I shift gears depending on the gear. 1 to 2 at 1500rpm, 2 to 3 at 1500rpm, 3 to 4 at 2200. etc. It takes some learning where the car stqrts protesting (rumbling engine) but that too helps a lot.

That way, you're only increasing your fuel economy and hurting your engine, it's true you don't have to rev the engine too hard, but if you constantly drive it at low rpms, you lose part of the torque and power it has to offer for fuel consumption, so you get less with the same amount of fuel burned, the key here is to know your engine and what kind of power band it has, to utilize it as best as you can and not over rev it or let it near stall. This all depends on the engine and most modern engines get around 80% of their grunt at low rpms, but you're still wasting something.

-Shift into Neutral when approaching a down grade or a stop light. Use your car's weight to slow the vehicle or coast down a grade rather than use engine power. Your brakes will still function. However, depending on the age, make and model of your car, you should be very careful when you shift back into drive. Some transmissions will not re-engage drive if the car is traveling over a certain speed. (This is a safety feature to prevent losing control of the car).  Coasting to a stop and stopping will not have this problem, as you re-engage drive from a standstill.

I'm a little confused about your meaning of "down grade" but i assume you mean downhill? When driving either downhill or at any speed and take your foot off the gas pedal, the engine cuts fuel and let's itself rotate on the momentum of the car itself, thus using zero fuel. In the past automatics couldn't do this but today they do. Until you reach a speed when the engine would stall, when it decouples and goes to idle, it  lets the car turn the engine. Same with manuals except you need to control the clutch yourself and change to a lower gear when necessary. This is called engine braking.

Overall it's usually more efficient to accelerate as fast(and utilising you engines powerband to the max) to the desired speed and then either glide or cruise at as low engine power as possible. It's against common sense, but it's the laws of physics. When you need to accelerate, you need to constantly add power, short burst of power tends to be more efficient than slow gradual acceleration since acceleration always requires more fuel.

[Eyamsiyu]

^^^ By downgrade he means a reduction of speed limit.  For example, going from interstate speed (Approx. 65MPH) to highway speed (approx. 55MPH).