Home Removal Services Blog

Water heating is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions from the average home (excluding the family car).It’s also power hungry, using up to 35% of a home’s energy. 
The cost of installing and running a solar hot water system is less than most people realise.  The fact is, solar hot water systems generally pay for themselves within two years from installation and then the real savings start adding up.
A solar hot water system can save up to 90% of an average household’s hot water energy requirements.It can also save up to 3.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions from an average household per year.There are factors to consider such as the direction of the roof, quality and location, but in essence, the sun can provide the bulk of the energy requirements for domestic hot water.Conventional gas or electricity sources can make up any shortfall.  
The cost of electricity is growing and there is greater emphasis on finding renewable energy sources.When one counts the cost that generating electricity has on the environment, the argument for solar power is even more convincing.
Solar hot water has been the subject of massive technological development in recent times.  Consumers now have a choice between roof or ground-mounted systems, which are suitable for any weather conditions from below freezing to the harshest desert heat.
Solar hot water can be installed anywhere, new buildings and old.It is a relatively simple process to replace an electric hot water system, and many governments around the world are encouraging and incentivising householders to do so.
In Australia for example, eligible property owners, landlords and tenants are rewarded with generous government rebates when they replace their electric storage hot water systems with solar.The Australian Government is currently offering a 600 rebate per eligible installation of solar hot water to help people reduce greenhouse gas emissions.It is currently estimated that the average family can reduce their annual energy bill by up to seven hundred dollars by installing a solar system.  
Perth solar hot water company, Solar MyWorld, have experienced a huge increase in demand for their systems since Government announced the rebates.The company says people are making lifestyle adjustments to meet growing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, and they have seen a consequent increase in demand.  
A study commissioned by the Australian Government, ‘Energy Use in the Australian Residential Sector 1986-2020 projected a 56% increase in residential sector energy consumption from 1990 – 2020.Water heating was the only major energy use predicted to decline over the study period, predominantly due to Government and State energy programmes.Water heating energy use reached a peak in 2002 at 92.4 petajoules (PJ) and is anticipated to decline slowly to 8.5PJ by 2020. 
Solar hot water is one of the simplest lifestyle changes that people can make. There are no reasons not to go this route.It is both cost-effective and low maintenance and on top of that, is kind to the environment too.Plus, a solar hot water system that has been correctly installed using quality parts should last at least a quarter of a century.That should warm you up!

Dehumidifiers are your first port of call for preventing overly humid conditions in your work place or home. Humid conditions can create an ideal breading ground for all sorts of undesirable conditions such as mould, musty smells, rusting and so on. A home dehumidifier can overtime completely eliminate the need for the use of a home dehumidifier. Here is our short buyers guide to getting the best dehumidifier for you:

Firstly a short explanation: if how dehumidifiers work will enable you to gain some valuable insights to allow you to find the best dehumidifier for your needs:

Most dehumidifiers work by absorbing excess moisture and water vapour from the air. Via an air vent air will be sucked in, the temperature of this air is then reduced so that it condenses. A fan then aids the expulsion of the air. The water which has condensed inside then runs off into a water bucket or alternatively it is attached to a hose to drain off elsewhere. The best air dehumidifiers are not however only useful for lowering the humidity level, they are useful in order to:

Save energy– When the air around you is less humid you can feel cool regardless of whether the temperature is warmer, thus saving you on energy billing costs.

Supplement ACs To feel cool two things need to happen 1) cool enough air 2) dry enough air. Many times people leave their air con running because the air is musty, they will never actually reduce the air humidity significantly. The air conditioner unit would naturally become more efficient if you used a home dehumidifier and it would decrease the need for you to keep it operating for long periods of time.

In the long term excessive moisture may cause structural damage to your property. Buckling floor panels, rotting support beams can be very costly to mend not to mention decreasing the price of your house.

There are a range of different types of dehumidifiers on the market today. They are most commonly categorised by their functionality. The usual categories consist of: commercials, residential and industrial. When deciphering which is the best dehumidifier for you it is worthwhile considering the following elements:

Size: Dehumidifiers are designed in order to remove a  set amount of water out of a set amount of air per day. It is most easy to think about the size of the area you wish to be dehumidified as opposed to the volume of water you wish to have removed as this is far easier to estimate. Sometimes square foot measurements/guidelines are provided in shops for guidance but even these my not be accurate as your area depending on where you are located may have more or less than the average humidity level.

It may also be worth purchasing the next size up on the guidelines if your room is at the higher end of the scale for the dehumidifier you have selected. This will prevent overstressing your dehumidifier and ensure it’s longevity.

More commercial sized and priced units may well be worth considering for areas that have particularly heavy humidity levels. If a smaller home dehumidifier is used then it will have to work for a greater periods of time which will affect its longevity and the amount of breakdown costs it may require. Very humid areas like basements and bathrooms have their own specially designed dehumidifier range to help deal with them especially.

Lots of dehumidifiers are not meant to be ran in cold conditions so again you should take this into consideration whilst making your purchase, the best dehumidifiers are often fitted with anti-frost sensors so they will turn themselves off if they are getting too cold thus stopping themselves from getting damaged. For basements and outdor buildings these are even more important.

As ever there are high end and low end products. The main variances are due to the range of features that are present on the dehumidifier and the amount of litres each hour they are able to draw out of the air. What you ideally need to do is think about what exactly it is that you want and then match these features up with an existing product to find the best dehumidifier for you. Of course shopping around for a home dehumidifier is essential to make sure you are not paying over the odds and get the best dehumidifier (ebac dehumidifiers are highly recommended). Prices can range from 0 to over 00, so there will be something to suit everyone.