This blog is all about innovations that add to home efficiency, or in some cases are simply cool.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
DIY Parts: Cord Switches That Don't Suck
Many low cost electric appliances save money by not including a power switch. It's one of those little annoyances that tends to grate over time. The cord switches you typically find at hardware stores are made for lights and generally can't handle much load, but online you can get some that go as high as 16 amps. This means they can control a 110 volt appliance that draws 1,760 watts and a 220 volt one that draws 3,500 watts. Best of all, they tend to be inexpensive and easy to install. I've retrofitted a rice cooker, an electric grill, and a battery charger.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Toilet Tank Sink
As it is a common misconception, I should address the fact that water from your toilet valve is perfectly clean: it comes from the same water supply as the rest of your house. As to the reasonable concern that the water will be cold, I would observe that for bathrooms that have any significant length of pipe to the hot water supply, it will take a fair amount of time for the room temperature water resting in the pipe to be expelled anyway, so if water efficiency is your aim it's difficult to avoid. There are ways to get around this, yielding instant warm water, but the energy required to keep it at that temperature, as well as the additional equipment needed, should be considered.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Magnetic Blind Holder
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