appliances

There has been a spike in the amount of repairs all across the board in terms of electronics. It seems that largely due to financial woes, people are going back to get their electronics and appliances repaired rather than buying the latest and greatest. Also though, you can't dismiss the fact that the public is becoming more aware of issues like ewaste.

Solar power and alternative forms of energy are transforming many of our appliances, which should really help in all of the excessive battery waste that is seeping into our waters.

E-waste only accounts for 3 percent of the total waste in landfills. This a good, I guess, until you factor in that the 3 percent equals 70 percent of the total toxic wast in landfills. This does not take into account that the majority of our e-waste is legally/illegally shipped to poorer countries who loosely manage the ewaste for higher profits than the United States policies allow.

So a wave of repair shops have been popping up on street corners and google. Topics like Mac Computer, iPod and iPhone repair are popular. You can easily figure out how to fix things like a iphone screen repair for a cracked glass display. If you buy the tools and screen and followed the needed steps, you could save big for not buying something new or even used.

Electronic items vary though and most don't yield the potential profits other big name appliances yield. 10 new e-waste plants are opening in the United States to deal with the issue but it's not enough.

Just think of all the big TV rear projectors of yesteryear, that are not trying to be sold on craigslist. It's almost comical how people can't even give them away. America truly stepped away from the 'bigger is better' motto quickly when it came to certain things.

Cash for Appliances is the the latest rebate incentive from the government. It requires the new appliance purchased to have the Energy Star sticker, in order to be approved for the incentive. The incentive gives the appliance industry a boost while helping the country to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For the buyer, you will be saving money in the long run on your energy bill! If you're wondering if you should invest in a new appliance if yours is working fine, it is recommended that if your appliance is fifteen years old, or older, it should be replaced. Also, if your appliance doesn't have the Energy Star sticker it is most likely wasting energy, (and money!) Let's talk incentive.

How much $$$ will be available? The answer to that will vary, but is said to range from 50 to 200 dollars. That's a lot of cash back. Each state gets approval for the incentive and how much money they get will be determined. The allocated funds are supported with additional funding from each state. Each state has up to February 17, 2012 to apply the incentive.It has not yet been determined if rebates can be applied retroactively, so it might be better to wait and find out just when your state's incentive is in effect.

Also,' each state will indicate which Energy Star® appliances qualify for their programs and the exact rebate amount for each home appliance.' REBATES It has not yet been determined if rebates can be applied retroactively, so it might be better to wait and find out just when your state's incentive is in effect. Also,' each state will indicate which Energy Star® appliances qualify for their programs and the exact rebate amount for each home appliance.'

The other day I was doing a post on my site about one of the Case Study Houses, the Greenbelt by Ralph Rapson (CSH#4). It's an interesting house; very simple but intriguing in the way it incorporates a green space between its public and private functional areas. It's the kind of house I go for.

I'm fascinated by an original illustration of the Greenbelt, seen here on the cover of Architecture magazine (March '05):

The image is an interesting snapshot of the naive optimism of the era. There's a commuter helicopter hovering over the house. Clearly, even as suburbia was being born, the problems of sprawl and disconnectedness were apparent. I suppose that at the time the solutions looked obvious. I also like the Jeep in the driveway, just ready and waiting for weekend fun. Even then we were fascinated with SUVs as fashion statements, expensive toys, symbolic of a new lifestyle halfway between city life and country pursuits remembered from childhood days on the farm. When you have new found wealth and freedom on Saturday you need a vehicle that can take you, say, to the nearby mountains for skiing, or on an adventurous day trip into the desert, or just up to the cabin in the woods.

But the image that gets me the most is that of the lady of the house hanging out the family's laundry to dry on a clothesline in the yard. I cannot remember the last time I saw that, but it was a long time ago. I do specifically remember from my childhood in the seventies that both my grandparents dried their clothes on a line, and so did most of their neighbors.

Those days seem to be very long gone. It's even more ironic to me to see a suburban family drying clothes on a line. I live in the burbs of Detroit, and I can say without doubt that if I did that it wouldn't be long before the neighbors started whispering and I got a call from the homeowners association. The bylaws of most subdivisions wouldn't stand for it for a minute.

Laundry is on the mind because our washer went out recently, for good this time, and we ended up buying a new washer and dryer. We bought the most efficient we could, and I've noticed a huge difference already, especially in the dryer. We're using much less water in the wash and our clothes dry much, much faster in the new dryer. But I still can't help thinking how much energy we could save by simply hanging clothes out on a breezy day.

And then just tonight I was surfing around the Web and out of the blue I stumbled on this very recent Seattle Times article: A Hip, Modern Clothesline Can Turn Your Laundry Green. According to the story a clothes dryer is responsible for up to 1,440 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, and can account for as much as ten percent of your home's energy consumption. That's a lot. If you could just dry half your clothes outside over the course of the year you'd make a meaningful difference. It's something to think about.

Of course, the Seattle Times article ends with "Before you let the family's laundry all hang out, check with your condo or homeowners association. Some associations ban hanging clothes outdoors." That's something to think about too. If we want to change our habits we need to change the rules too. That's the real challenge, and it doesn't stop with just laundry.

If you're building a new home, upgrading to EnergyStar appliances is standard practice in this day and age. But why not take it one step further, and shop for appliances on the bleeding-edge of the technological frontier--Europe, that is? Conservationists from a-way back, Europeans are decidedly ahead of the curve when it comes to energy saving household appliances.

Bosch has announced two new lines of dishwashers that it claims are the quietest and most energy-efficient in the country. We like the sound of that--or rather, the lack of sound.

Or how about a detergentless washing machine? According to the FreshHome blog, the Haier WashH20 "works by breaking water molecules into its OH- and H=+ ions components. OH- acts as the cleaning agent by attracting and retaining stains while the H+ ions sterilizes the clothes." It's currently available only in Europe, but hopefully not for long.

In the meantime, why not make do with an EcoBalls Wash Kit, good for 1000 washes, or more exotically, use Sopods Soap Nuts, both British products available from Nigel's Eco Store.

Then try out this low-tech solar and wind-powered clothes drying apparatus: the whimsical Alberto clothesline--perhaps the most energy-saving appliance of all!