Crunchy Dad

This is cool and a bit disconcerting. I’m not one to pass medical judgement based on a bunch of lightbulbs but the fact that the electric field emenating from power lines can power 1301 fluorescent bulbs sure isn’t natural. Fun to try with your kids one evening but I might not want to live there.

Richard Box via io9

You may not want to do the work yourself, as this family did, but this is a pretty cool house. I’d definitely stay for the weekend.

4 months
1000-1500 man hours
£3000

“The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature.”

Check it out at www.simondale.net/house/index.htm

I was taking a walk (to get a break from my monitor) and noticed the maintenance crew had 3+ hoses strung together. Every connection was leaking a significant amount of water. I’d guess 10%. It reminded me of 2 things: 1. I have a pin hole leak in a hose at my house that should be fixed. 2. As a society, we waste a lot of water.

I’m all for major initiatives that decrease energy and water use like solar panels and catching rain water but we seem to forget all the simple fixes. Small corrections like fixing leaks would save us money and reap huge benefits for very little effort.

1. Little water leaks that aren’t fixed can amount to a lot. 8,000 gallons per year from a toilette and 52,560 from a water line. – USGS
2. A faucet leak at 1 drip per second amounts to 8.64 gallons per day and 3,153 gallons per year. American WaterWorks Drip Calculator
3. May 4-10 is water week. I know it seems like there’s a week for everything but it’s a good opportunity to focus on long term changes to reduce your water use.
4. Download this PDF on identifying and fixing leaks from savingwater.org.

If you want to reduce your wasted water but don’t want to spend $250 on a plumber, check out these how tos for some common problems.

1. Stop a running toilette and save some water.
2. Fix a leaky garden hose.
3. Save more water by repairing a leaking faucet.

Leave a comment if you know about other solutions for common water leaks.