Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) May 28, 2014

Pro Ace Heating & Mechanical Ltd has recently announced that it uses its patented tablet technology for air conditioning Vancouver. Using this technology, the companys HVAC experts can help maintain the air conditioning systems of their clients by carrying out maintenance inspections for air conditioning and heating systems. The detailed checklist tablet checklist carried by Pro Aces professional staff will not only make sure that the service provided is comprehensive, but will also extend the life of the air conditioning systems.

Air Conditioning Vancouver

An efficiently running air conditioning system in Vancouver can lead to immense energy savings and also keep the living area functioning at a comfortable temperature. Pro Aces commercial and residential air conditioning repairs will remove all dust particles from the air vents, making the air clean and safe to breathe. A good quality installation and repair service can reduce the risk of respiratory diseases and decrease energy bills by up to 12%.

If you install any type of air cooling unit we offer a full financing with 1 year no payment or interest option! We also will beat any same size competitor price by 10%, states a company representative. We guarantee the lowest rates and we will get you going as soon as possible. We also have a ten year warranty on parts and a one year warranty on labor for any new installation. So let our professionals work for you. Contact Pro Ace with your air conditioner repairs, service, and maintenance and AC air conditioner installations questions.

About the Company

The motto at Pro Ace is low price and great service, something that has resulted in 75,000 delighted customers as of May 2013. With the help of bonded, insured and certified technicians, Pro Ace can provide the cheapest heating repairs in Vancouver. Available one year no interest, no payment financing on installations, visit the website at http://www.acecare.ca for more details. Pro Ace also offers free quotes and estimates for prospective clients call 604-293-3770 to book an appointment.

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Pro Ace Uses Patented Tablet Technology for Air Conditioning Vancouver

If you believe the weekend rumors, Apple will announce a connected-home platform next week at WWDC. But before you get too excited about an iThermostat and an iFridge and an iCamera watching you sleep, consider this: If Apple does get into the home-automation market, that doesn't necessarily mean it'll make smart-home gadgets of its own.

Sure, the Nest thermostat looks like an Apple product; after all, it was designed and made by ex-Apple employees. But Apple doesnt need to start up its own smart-home hardware division, or even buy a company in that space. That's because plenty of companies are already making awesome connected-home products that solve real-world problems right now. And pretty much all of those gadgets work with the iPhone already.

So Apple could just ink partnership deals with the best players in the category. If it did so, the company would enter the market with a couple of potent weapons: tight iOS integration and the Apple Retail Store.

Consumers looking to smarten up their homes essentially have two options: You can go for a comprehensive managed system or just dip your toes in bit by bit.

Managed systems are popular if youre building a brand-new home and can install everything at once, or if youre comfortable turning to companies like Comcast, AT&T, or ADT to install the whole kit and kaboodle and then charge you monthly to monitor the service. I dont know about you, but my experiences with AT&T and Comcast dont make me super-eager to put them in charge of my entire home.

Nest cofounder Tony Fadell worked on the original iPod.

The bit-by-bit approach has the advantage that each gadget you add solves a particular problem. You get a Nest so you can save money on heating and cooling, you get a Dropcam so you can watch your home, and you get a Belkin WeMo plug so you can set up an IFTTT recipe that has the lamp in your foyer light up when you approach your front door. You know why youre installing each piece, rather than just chasing after the vague promise of a smart home.

The problem with bit-by-bit is that each of those gadgets uses its own app. Companies like Revolv and SmartThings are working on integrating multiple gadgets from different companies into a single easy-to-use app. But Apple could do them one better by adding smart gadget integration into iOS 8.

When Apple added Twitter integration to iOS 7, it suddenly became easier to share everything on Twitter, no matter what app you were in, and to log in to new apps with your Twitter credentials too. Adding similar integration for smart-home gadgets would be just as great, whether Apple wants to hand-pick preferred partners or to provide open APIs in the iOS 8 SDK. Either route would let these gadgets work with Siri, for starters, and provide a lot more benefits too.

iBeacons are already at work in retail locations, but Apples rumored smart-home platform could use them too.

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Apple doesn't need its own gadgets to dominate the smart home

Commercial buildings use large amounts of electricity and natural gas. Significant reductions in energy use can be achieved by installing new modern systems but this requires a significant capital cost.

It is possible to install modern control systems at much lower cost and these can also significantly reduce energy use, and improve comfort at the same time! A new study by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory shows that commercial buildings could cut their heating and cooling electricity use by an average of 57 percent with advanced energy-efficiency controls, according to a year-long trial of the controls at malls, grocery stores and other buildings across the country. The study demonstrated higher energy savings than what was predicted in earlier computer simulations by the same researchers.

"We've long known that heating and cooling are among the biggest energy consumers in buildings, largely because most buildings don't use sophisticated controls," said the study's lead researcher, engineer Srinivas Katipamula of the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. "But our tests of controls installed at real, working commercial buildings clearly demonstrate how much more energy efficient air-conditioning systems can be."

This research was supported by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Sitting on the roofs of many commercial buildings are shiny metal boxes containing heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning (also known as HVAC) units. These are pre-made in a factory and have all their components inside a box, leading the industry to call them "packaged" HVAC units. Another kind of commercial HVAC, called air handling units, have long used sophisticated controls to ensure they work as efficiently as possible. But packaged units are often allowed to run for hours on end, even if they aren't needed, and receive little maintenance.

Skyscraper image via Shutterstock.

Read more at PNNL.

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Why don't building owners install modern controls?

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Newswise RICHLAND, Wash. Commercial buildings could cut their heating and cooling electricity use by an average of 57 percent with advanced energy-efficiency controls, according to a year-long trial of the controls at malls, grocery stores and other buildings across the country. The study demonstrated higher energy savings than what was predicted in earlier computer simulations by the same researchers.

Weve long known that heating and cooling are among the biggest energy consumers in buildings, largely because most buildings dont use sophisticated controls, said the studys lead researcher, engineer Srinivas Katipamula of the Department of Energys Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. But our tests of controls installed at real, working commercial buildings clearly demonstrate how much more energy efficient air-conditioning systems can be.

This research was supported by DOEs Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and the Bonneville Power Administration.

Sitting on the roofs of many commercial buildings are shiny metal boxes containing heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning (also known as HVAC) units. These are pre-made in a factory and have all their components inside a box, leading the industry to call them packaged HVAC units. Another kind of commercial HVAC, called air handling units, have long used sophisticated controls to ensure they work as efficiently as possible. But packaged units are often allowed to run for hours on end, even if they arent needed, and receive little maintenance.

Packaged HVAC units consume the same amount of electricity each year as 8 million U.S. residents, or about 2,600 trillion British thermal units of energy. All those ignored and often-inefficient HVAC systems add up, creating higher power bills and contributing to the nations greenhouse gas emissions.

Putting an idea to the test Katipamula and his PNNL colleagues have spent their careers thinking up ways to reduce energy use in buildings. In 2011, they set out to adapt the controls already found in air handling HVAC units for use in packaged rooftop HVAC units. The goal was to enable packaged units to automatically adjust their operations based on conditions inside and outside a building. Using sensors and variable-speed motors, the controls decide when and how fast ventilation fans should run, and if the units can use naturally cold air from the outside instead of mechanically cooling indoor air.

While the PNNL team was evaluating how these controls could work, they learned a few companies were simultaneously and independently in the process of developing such advanced controls. During the summer of 2012, the team installed one of the commercially available control kits on 66 rooftop HVAC units at eight volunteer commercial buildings in Washington state, Ohio, California and Pennsylvania. The buildings included shopping malls, grocery stores, big-box stores and a medical clinic. The installed devices, manufactured by Transformative Wave of Kent, Wash., were chosen because they most closely resembled the advanced controls PNNL had envisioned.

Real energy savings Katipamula and his colleagues found that, compared to standard operations, the HVAC units using advanced controls cut their energy use by an average of 57 percent. The actual energy savings ranged from 20 to 90 percent. Larger buildings such as malls, which need bigger HVAC units, saved more energy than smaller buildings. And buildings that ran ventilation fans more, such as stores open long hours, tended to save more energy.

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Electricity Use Slashed with Efficiency Controls for Heating, Cooling

Residential and Commercial AC Repair in North Las Vegas, Nevada (PRNewsFoto/Silver State Refrigeration & HVA)

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev., May 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Extreme temperatures are just ahead in North Las Vegas. As an air conditioning contractor, Silverstate http://www.silverstateairconditioning.com/ has to plan ahead, as this will be our busiest time of the year. Because everyone wants to lower their power bill, you should plan ahead, too and find ways to the lower your Nevada Power bill.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140521/89825

Silverstate HVAC reminds homeowners in N. Las Vegas that any energy you consume inside of your home creates heat. It just stands to reason if you can reduce the power consumption inside your home you will reduce the load on your air conditioner. In general, anything appliance that you can replace with a more energy efficient one will lower the amount of energy consumed and the amount of heat produced inside your home.

Two quick things come to mind when it comes to energy consumption in the home: cooking and lighting. Both of these activities produce a lot of heat. Anything a homeowner or commercial property manager can do to lower the amount of heat generated will lower the amount of heat the air conditioner must remove from the space to keep everyone comfortable this summer.

Cook Outside on the Grill

Silverstate Air Conditioner Repair suggests homeowners think of firing up the barbecue for supper instead of cooking in the kitchen. Grilling outside keeps the heat outside. If residents must cook inside the house make sure to use an energy efficient appliance.

For instance, when cooking outside, not only should you cook tonight's meal there, but you can also cook a whole chicken, or meatloaf for tomorrow night's supper. Two meals off the same charcoal!

When cooking indoors, make sure to use the smallest appliance possible. Why use the entire oven to bake a small entre for one? Use the toaster oven instead. If cooking on the stove top, make sure the pan covers the entire eye on the stove. In other words make sure the pan is the proper size.

Install Energy Efficient Lights

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North Las Vegas Residential and Commercial Air Conditioning Contractor Offers Tips to Lower Nevada Power Bills This ...

WHAT THE DISTRICTS WANT

BELLEVUE SCHOOL DISTRICT: Seeking $12 million to build new classrooms, improve technology infrastructure, install additional bathrooms at Meadow View School, pay off solar installation debt, put in new heating and air conditioning districtwide, as well as pay for new windows and lighting at Kawana Academy of Arts and Sciences. Taxpayers would pay $18 per $100,000 in assessed value.

COTATI-ROHNERT PARK:

$80 million would be used to improve classrooms and science labs, upgrade plumbing and technology infrastructure and replace Rancho Cotate High School gym. It would cost taxpayers $49 each per assessed $100,000 in property value.

PETALUMA CITY SCHOOLS, high school district:

$68 million is sought for plumbing and sewer repair, construction of performing arts centers at both Petaluma and Casa Grande high schools, modernizing the swimming pool at Petaluma High, and building a pool at Casa Grande. It would cost taxpayers $29 per assessed $100,000 in property value.

PETALUMA CITY SCHOOLS, elementary school district:

Seeking $21 million to modernize classrooms, improve technology infrastructure, repair leaky roofs and renovate bathrooms. The cost to taxpayers per $100,000 in assessed property value is $21.

RINCON VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT:

Wants $35 million to modernize classrooms; upgrade libraries, fields and playgrounds; renovate bathrooms; replace portable classrooms and upgrade kitchen equipment. It would cost $30 per $100,000 in assessed property value.

Link:
County schools turning to ballot to raise cash

Montreal, Quebec (PRWEB) May 21, 2014

Consumers know hot water costs money. But they may not be aware that its the second biggest energy expenditure after heating and cooling. Now theres an answer. Ecodrain, a simple, elegant way to save on hot water for homeowners tired of wasting energy they paid hard-earned money for.

Ecodrain is the first practical heat recovery solution for home shower use

The principles of heat recovery are well known but were only viable in large scale commercial applications until now. With Ecodrain's next-generation design, anyone can save energy when remodelling a bathroom or building a new home.

A low cost way to fight the high cost of energy

Ecodrain is very affordable initially, with the cost of a unit just a fraction of that of a modest bathroom remodel (consumers could easily pay more for a showerhead!). Best of all, Ecodrain pays for itself quickly, helping you save energy while you shower. In households with normal hot water use and average energy prices, that usually means a payback period of three to five years.

Keeps on saving beyond the payback date

Because Ecodrain is a robust, well-engineered unit fabricated with quality copper components, the savings on hot water continue for 10, 20, or even 30 years. Extensive testing by the manufacturer indicates the domestic heat recovery unit will likely outlast the brand new bathroom it was installed in.

No reduction in water flow

Unlike devices such as low-flow showerheads, Ecodrain does not constrain water flow to save energy while you shower, rather it recovers a substantial amount of the heat that would otherwise have gone down the drain.

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Ecodrain Launches First Practical Home Improvement Product That Increases Your Shower's Energy Efficiency

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) May 16, 2014

The weather in Atlanta is quickly heating up and homeowners are turning on their air conditioners for the first time this season. Bardi Heating, Cooling and Plumbing provides AC inspections in Atlanta and is currently offering homeowners 10% off duct sealing services to improve air flow and reduce energy consumption and cooling costs. The discount is available until the end of May.

Air ducts comprise the ventilation in a homes forced-air HVAC system. Holes, poorly connected ducts or ducts that are improperly sealed can cause cool air to leak out or, even worse, can suck in hot, dirty air from attics and crawl spaces. This forces the air conditioner unit to work harder and run longer, which increases a homeowners utility bills. Leaking ducts also introduce unfiltered humid air in to the home which can exacerbate allergies and cause elevated humidity levels in the home, causing discomfort.

In addition to offering duct sealing, Bardi provides a range of residential air conditioning services including tune-ups and inspections, regular maintenance, repairs and replacement. Bardi provides economical and environmentally-friendly options and can install solar panels that power a homes HVAC system and other small appliances.

Ducts are an integral part of a homes heating and cooling system and have a direct impact on the temperature and the comfort level in each room, said Bardis Residential General Manager Gresham Ard. When there are holes in the ducts or cracks in the seals, cool air can leak out and be replaced by hot and humid air from the attic or under the house where ducts are often found. This causes unhealthy conditions in the home and disrupts air distribution to each room, so homeowners may experience areas that are hotter. This may cause them to turn down the thermostat, running their air conditioner longer and racking up those energy bills. It may also lead to investing in 'symptom' solutions such as duct cleaning or portable air filtration, instead of getting to the root of problem, leaky ducts. Our duct sealing solves these problems.

Bardi Heating, Cooling and Plumbing is a family-owned HVAC and plumbing company in Atlanta. Founded in 1989 by Alex and Susan Bardi, the company has been providing the Atlanta area with quality HVAC services for over 25 years. Bardi also offers plumbing repairs and services, and is home to an experienced management team as well as an outstanding team of NATE certified technicians, whose number one priority is to keep their customers satisfied by always, always, always doing the right thing. Bardi provides free electronics pick-up and recycling on all service calls benefiting Nobis Works. For more information about energy efficient HVAC products, visit http://www.bardi.com or call 770-263-5355.

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Atlanta HVAC Repair Company Now Offering Discount on Residential Duct Sealing

Each year, thousands of Arizona residents email or call Rosie Romeros radio show with questions about everything from preventing fires in their chimneys to getting rid of tree roots invading their sewer system. His goal is to provide answers that suit the specific lifestyle wherever someone lives in Arizona. Here are questions about home maintenance and improvement from the Tucson area.

Q: We own a home in Tucson with a huge backyard with almost nothing in it. Can we start raising cacti and agave plants and sell them for a profit? We have plenty of room to plant things.

A: Its going to take a fair amount of research and work to start a business like this. You might start by visiting local nurseries to find out if they buy young plants that you might grow. You probably also need to find a special niche to fill; ask about plants that might have high value like totem pole cacti, for example. That way you can make more money per plant. Once you decide to do this, its going to take you about six months to get started. Youll have to buy containers and get pups or small plants to use as starters. Its probably also going to take you a couple of years before you show a profit on your investment, however.

Q: I was thinking of putting in a propane generator that would serve as a backup to my electrical system. But then, I wondered, can I do something like that using solar power instead? Then maybe if there is a power failure, I could switch over to a solar-powered battery backup?

A: Yes, you can certainly do that. But depending on how big a system you might need, it could be very expensive. Battery systems that are very large can be very costly, but then generators are costly, too. You need to be conscious of comparing the practical application of the system you intend to install against the capital expense and maintenance of the system. Keep in mind how much actual use the system will get.

Q: The back bedrooms in our house where our children sleep do not have adequate air conditioning. We had someone inspect our heating and cooling system and found out that one room was not even connected to the air conditioner installed when we switched over from an evaporative cooler. We had that fixed and had the ducts taped, but the system is still not cooling off the bedrooms enough. Is there anything we can do ourselves to fix this problem without spending a lot more money?

A: Its not scientific, but you can try to balance your cooling system. Walk around your house, and while the AC is running, close all the vents in every room by about 60 percent a little over half. Then go back to the childrens bedrooms and open the vents in those rooms completely. That way, youll be trying to force the air into those rooms. See if that works. Then retrace your steps and open the vents in the other rooms a little bit more.

You may have to keep adjusting the vents several times to reach the amount of air flow that you want in each room. You dont want to close any of the vents, however, to the point where you hear air whistling through them while the HVAC system is running. These changes in the vents may make the air flow more even throughout the house.

Q: I planted a Meyer lemon last year in a spot in my yard that turned out to be a real wind tunnel. To protect it, I put up some stakes around the plant and wrapped burlap around them to cushion the tree against the wind. The burlap is not touching the tree itself. The tree is doing well and has a lot of blossoms this spring. So when can I take that burlap down, if at all?

A: If the tree is doing well, you can probably remove the windbreak in about six months. It was a great idea to do what you did because the burlap helps protect the blossoms from being knocked off. Those blossoms should turn into your crop of lemons later this year.

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Can I Start an Agave Farm in My Backyard?

Webster University will be installing a new chiller and cooling tower plant in the East Academic Building (pictured above). The chiller and cooling tower project is scheduled to start as early as mid-May and be completed by late August. photo by Diana Linsley (click for larger version)

May 09, 2014

An important reason for the project is the university's planned interdisciplinary science building that will be located near the East Academic Building, Greg Gunderson, the university's chief financial officer and vice president, said at one of two meetings the university sponsored on April 30. The East Academic Building is located at 545 Garden Ave.

"That new facility will require an enhancement to provide more capacity for heating and cooling," he said.

"Also, the area's electrical grid supporting Webster Groves has reached capacity, and we need to install a new electrical substation to take the university off that grid," he explained. "We'll help the city by freeing up the university's loads on the local electrical grid and allowing more capacity for growth in the Webster Groves community.

"By rerouting campus electrical lines underground, our work will also let us eliminate overhead power lines, beautifying the campus," he continued.

"When we built our East Academic Building and Webster Groves High School built its addition, we had shared a substation, which is now at capacity due to all the campus buildings tied in, as well as local homes and other uses, and Ameren Missouri told us we needed to build our own substation," Miller said.

About one mile of new underground electrical ductbank with manholes and more than three miles of underground electrical conduit extending from the electrical customer substation will be installed to serve various university buildings during the first phase of work.

Miller said the installation will look to the future.

"We only need four conduits on Garden Avenue but we're putting in eight to serve us for 20 or 30 or 40 years out," he said. "The substation will have a slab available for a second transformer if it's needed in the future."

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Webster U. To Add Electric Substation, Cooling Tower