Green Blog

All across the planet, people are making the switch to products that are healthier for the planet and for themselves and their families. This movement, called Planet Green is becoming the popular choice for conscientious people far and wide. Healthy home cleaning services are no exception. If you have your home cleaned by a professional cleaning service, check with them to see if they use

Most companies use harsh chemical products to clean your home. These chemicals leave behind a dangerous residue that is harmful to everyone that comes into contact with them. They are on everything that the cleaning service has cleaned, including the kitchen and your bathtub. You may want to check with your cleaning service as they may offer all natural cleaning with products that have no toxic chemicals.

New chemicals come out everyday that are designed to clean your home and many of these products do not list every chemical on the label. The government does not require companies to put all of the chemicals on the label unless they are being used in industry. Meanwhile, there are over seventy thousand cleaning products to choose from that have the chemicals in them that over time can harm you and your family. Even your pets are not safe with all those chemicals in the cleaning products we use.

New studies have shown that it takes only seconds of exposure to household cleaning chemicals before they can be detected all over the body. You and your family are exposed to these chemicals every day in your homes without realizing it.

Exposure over time to chemicals that are found in everyday house cleaning products can have an adverse effect on a person’s health. In fact, over the last sixty years, diseases such as cancer have been steadily rising and claiming lives. Household chemicals have been in households for about sixty years.

Fortunately, more companies that use products that have natural ingredients and are healthier for their employees and for you and your family. These cleaning services can be found in the telephone book and on the internet. The products that they use are just as effective in household cleaning and are comparatively priced.

New products have emerged with all natural ingredients that are just as effective as chemical filled products. These products are reasonably priced and are available over the internet and in a few stores also. Soon these products will be more readily available as awareness increases.

There are many benefits to using healthier products in the home including the health benefits to you and your family. Purchasing these products is good for the environment, your pets and the economy as more companies emerge when the demand for them rises. Get on the bandwagon for a healthier home and help to protect the health and well-being of your family.

If you would like to make the change to healthy home cleaning services, check with your current company or check the internet to find a Green home cleaning service near you.

Since 1986, our efficient cleaning services Toronto and in the GTA have been offered to many residential homes, apartments, and offices with glowing feedback. In addition to house cleaning, we also provide services like laundry, maid service Oakville, and renovation at affordable prices.

Unless you’re an aquarium hobbyist or own a water purification system that uses carbon, the idea of activated carbon in HEPA air purifiers probably seems strange to you. Even if the concept isn’t completely foreign, most still don’t know exactly what activated carbon actually does.

What Does Activated Carbon Do In A HEPA Air Purifier?

The first time most people encounter activated carbon is in choosing HEPA air purifiers. When most customers begin searching for air purifiers, generally due to allergies or asthma, they really have no idea how they work. As they are further educated about HEPA air purifiers, however, they will learn that odors and chemicals are the cause of the vast majority of their respiratory problems. Most quality HEPA air purifiers are designed to take care of not only allergens, but also the odors and chemicals in the air as well.

Was Active Carbon Used Before HEPA Air Purifiers?

Oddly enough, we humans have been using activated carbon to filter water for a long time; as long as two centuries. Way back then, they already knew of activated carbon’s great absorption qualities. Beginning in the early 1900’s, activated carbon was produced and sold commercially in the form of a powder. Only used to remove taste or smell from water or color from sugar, we really didn’t know at that point exactly what all it could do for us. Once World War I was in full swing, it was discovered that it could be used in gas masks for protecting our soldiers from the chemical agents in the air. The soldiers also used it, as did their ancestors, for water purification. By this point, commercial activated carbon had evolved from powder form to a granular form, which was the beginning of activated carbon being used in even more other ways.

What The Word “Activated” Means

So, what is “activated” carbon, and is there such a thing as non-activated carbon? The heat used in “activating” the carbon drives the impurities out of the carbon itself, leaving places for the impurities of the water or air or whatever it is the carbon is filtering to reside. In a way, carbon can act sort of like a sponge, only instead of squeezing out its contents, one heats it out. Once the activated carbon is full, it can be reactivated by re-heating it, though this is considered to be impractical and dangerous. Non-activated carbon would basically be carbon that has stuff in it already, such as soot or charcoal.

Different Types Of Activated Carbon

There are a variety of types of activated carbon, and it is described in a variety of ways, but generally activated carbon includes a wide range of amorphous carbon-based materials. These materials have a high degree of porosity (lots of holes) and a relatively large surface area. Basically, this means it has excellent absorbent characteristics. These absorbent characteristics are why activated carbon works so well filtering air and water both.

Want to learn more about the HEPA Air Purifier? Check out HEPA Air Purifiers Info.

Prior to their adoption of the Western solar calendar system, the Chinese almost exclusively followed their own lunar calendar for working out the times of planting and harvesting and festival holidays. Although people in China today use the Western calendar for almost all business, governmental and practical matters of daily life, the old system still serves as the basis for determining many recurring holidays. This coexistence of two calendar schemes has long been accepted by the people of China.

However, this does not only happen in China, it also happens in most other Eastern countries, like Thailand, and most Arabic countries.

A lunar month is calculated by measuring the period of time needed for the moon to finish its full cycle of 29 and a half days, a standard that makes the lunar year a full 11 days shorter than its solar counterpart. This disparity is made up every 19 years by the addition of seven lunar months.

The 12 lunar months are further divided into 24 solar divisions characterized by the four seasons and times of heat and cold, all of which bear a close relationship to the yearly cycle of agricultural work.

The Chinese calendar - very much like the Hebrew calendar- is a combination of the solar and lunar calendars in that it attempts to have its years coincide with the tropical year and its months coincide with the synodic months. It is not surprising that a few similarities exist between the Chinese and the Hebrew calendar.

For instance, an average year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months. An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days. When working out what a Chinese year will be like, one needs to make a number of astronomical calculations.

First of all, you have to work out the dates for the new moons. In these instances, a new Moon is the completely black Moon (that is to say, when the Moon is in conjunction with the Sun), not the first visible crescent, as is used by the Islamic and Hebrew calendars. The date of a new moon is then the first day of a new month.

The reason why the majority of countries which had their own calendars had to dump them in favour of the Western, Julian calendar that we use today, is business. First the British and then the Americans ran international business and they used the Julian calendar.Anyone who sought to work with them had to follow suit. This is why national policy often varies from local custom in Third World countries.

The government desires to deal on the International markets, but the ordinary family in the country can not. So, the government adopted the Julian calendar but the people only pay lip service to it. I live in Thailand and people here do not even use the 24 hour day divided into two halves. Their day has four sections of six hours each and the first part starts at 6AM, not midnight. Therefore, they have four 4 o’clocks a day, for example but no 7 o’clocks. They are also 543 years ahead of us, although this is more common, for example in Muslim countries.

Fascinated by astronomy, please pop along to our website at: Astronomy Today

Handling wastewater in a safe way is vitally important for all of us who need water to survive. Wastewater treatment therefore is a viable and important procedure for us to obtain viable and usable water. There are a variety of different methods and disposal of the waste water that is created on a daily basis.

The definition for wastewater treatment would be using known technology to enhance or improve the quality of our water. What is normally done with most waste water is to gather it up and make sure that it is run into a common area for the beginning of its treatment. This is usually your local area wastewater treatment plant.

Water that needs to be treated is generally put through a variety of different processes for complete treatment. When it is large flows of water, then the water will be in a continual flowing state and be treated in than manner. There are times though that certain wastewater treatment is handled in batches.

Even though wastewater is handled with the continuous flow procedure there are times that a batch process is used. This is generally when the water is known to have sludge in it and they need to treat the water and the sludge in a smaller contained area. This is when they will add chemicals to this particular water to try and break down the sludge.

There are three different categories that the procedures can be put into. The first one being physical, the second is chemical and the last one is biological. Some of the wastewater will sometimes need all three categories to process the water properly.

Also certain types of wastewater need specific categories for treatment and not all three. Below are the different categories and what is used in them for the treatment process.

Physical category would use these items for processing; sedimentation, filtration, aeration, floatation, skimming, etc.

Chemical category would tend to use the following; chlorination, neutralization, coagulation, etc.

Biological category would deal with active sludge treatment, trickling filtration, oxidation ponds, aerobic digestion, septic tanks and more.

The physical category means that they use physical objects to help with treatment like screens and filters for example.

The chemical category is when they chemicals to cause chemical reactions in order to change the quality of the water.

The biological category means that they use organisms, especially bacteria that will help decompose items that need to be broken down into organic material.

When using the chemical treatment they make use of units called feed units, mixers and other similar devices.

Treatments have different types of levels, preliminary, primary, secondary and tertiary. Tertiary is the only one that can not be done alone, this generally is added to the secondary treatment.

Preliminary is when they need to remove items that might damage the equipment that is used for treatment. This is done with shredders, screens, grinders, etc.

Primary is when the water is gathered into settling tanks and give the water time for the sediment to drop to the bottom of the tanks.

Secondary treatment is the use of aerobic organisms that will help break down anything that can not be broken down on its own. Some of the items they use in this procedure are filters, sand filters, final settling tanks and stabilization ponds.

Installing septic tanks is an effective and highly recommended method for reducing the ecological impact on the environment. Nowadays, wastewater treatment has innovative technologies such as dispersal pipes and grease trap interceptors.

Getting your children to become interested in science is often a difficult task. With the use of kid friendly science lab equipment and some easy projects the kids will be begging to do more science oriented projects. And will soon be searching ideas of their own unique ways to implement science into fun.

Parents have difficulty with science sometimes as much as their children do. They have the idea that it takes rocket science degrees to become science oriented. The following projects are super easy and fun. They will get your kids not only having fun with science but eager to do more.

This first project is great for teaching things such as how stuff grows, the process involved and the end results with a lot of indiscreet learning in between. As you complete each step explain the process in kid friendly terms and encourage them to ask questions. Both projects are only four easy steps but packed with information.

For step one, purchase some science lab equipment like inexpensive sponges. The sea sponges that are used for crafts and painting work great because you can give explanations about where they come from. Use a microscope to let them view what the sponge looks like dry and wet. If using cellos sponges the kids can cut shapes from the square sponge. Use this as an opportunity to learn geometry.

Step two teaches why water is needed for growing food and plants. Soak the sponge and place in a baggies that has been filled with seeds of your choice. Roll the sponge around in the bag until it is covered with seeds.

Step three: tie a piece of string around the sponge or if preferred feed string through a hole in the sponge. Hang the seed covered sponge in an area that will provide lots of sunlight. In a week or less there will sprouts forming on the sponge.

Step four will teach them how to care for the plant and the result of caring for them. When sprouts have begun, remove string and place in a clay pot that has been half filled with potting soil. Sprinkle soil over the sponge and put in a sunny area until fully grown.

Parents and kids of any age love to do this next project which is a lava lamp of sorts without the light. To start fill a jar with two cups of water and few drops of food coloring. Stir will and set aside. This will teach your children how to use measurement and mixing.

Step two is adding the oil. Measure a half of cup of vegetable and pour into the jar of colored water. Allow to sit for a few minutes so the oil will separate from the water.

In the third step kids learn about weight and gravity. Without shifting the jar pour a teaspoon of salt directly in the jar. When the salt lands on the oil it will form some clumps. The clumps will begin to sink due to the weight.

Step four encourages the learning of movement, gravity and separation. After the clumps reach the bottom the salt will start dissolve and cause the oil to float back to the top. Each time you want to sink the oil, just add salt.

Science is fun for parents and children. It encourages children to ask questions and look up the answers with their parents. The more gadgets kids have the more interest they have in using them. For gifts opt for microscopes and other science lab equipment to encourage learning science.

Since 1970, the premier retailer for science lab equipment offers a wide variety of resources to young aspiring scientists. Children can learn about alternative energy with educational science toys, or about solar power with high-quality energy equipment.

Once the decision is made to install solar panels, one must determine how to mount them effectively. The mounting system should be simple, reliable, and provide for all your performance needs.

Solar panels are often mounted on roof tops, because the roof structure is strong and already exists. If your roof is sloped in the right direction, then how convenient this is. And convenience is a legitimate player in any decision making process.

As natives of northern and higher altitude climates, we discovered a couple issues that pushed our solar panel installation in a different way. We’ve been working on ideas to improve the convenience, flexibility, and performance of a basic solar power system.

The first thing to think about is snow. Every time snow gets on the solar panels, they have to be cleaned or they won’t put out much electricity. If your solar panels are mounted to your roof then you can imagine this difficulty.

In the mountains of Washington and Colorado, we have been working on a solution. We are designers and craftsman who desire convenience and performance with our own home based solar power systems. And like everyone else, we don’t want to spend an arm and a leg. We call this solution the Rotek system.

With the Rotek system your solar panels will be installed away from the roof, so the solar panels can be rotated easily and smoothly to any tracking angle. With this configuration we can make seasonal adjustments and more accurately track the Sun.

A second advantage comes in Winter when the solar panels can be rotated toward the ground, and operated at steeply sloped or negative tilt. This prevents the buildup of snow on the photovoltaic surface. It is also good for periodic glass cleaning, maintenance, or for dumping a load of snow if the panels were left up in a storm.

Many of us know that orienting the panel with a negative tilt is not the best thing for tracking the Sun. But keep in mind the snow pack’s high reflectivity. As long as the ground has snow cover, the panels will receive this reflected radiation. The losses, therefore, are not that great. Whether after a snow storm, or after the worst weeks of Winter are done, the solar panels can be oriented back to the normal tracking angle whenever desired.

A second important consideration with solar panels is heat. Roof top structures will accumulate heat, and so roof mounted photovoltaics will tend to run warm. This is a disadvantage, at higher operating temperatures solar panels create less electricity. The ideal environment for a solar panel is something cool.

The Rotek system has the added benefit of running cool, because fresh air will circulate on the backside of the solar panels. The advantages with heat reduction are double. There will be an increase in electrical performance, and a general reduction in wear and tear from maintaining lower temperature.

You will have to come up with a way to install your solar panels. It should be simple, reliable, and mounting them on your roof may be the best option. For those who have to deal with the snow, or who would like to fine tune their performance, they should consider a remote installation like the Rotek system. The Rotek system is a simple to use and easy to install system designed for the home enthusiast.

Walter Hull is a mechanical engineer with expertise in solar power systems. For a short time you can get his free guide to solar power from your own backyard.

There’s no limit to the products that refer to themselves as HEPA, or HEPA-type. You can find everything from HEPA air conditioner filters to HEPA vacuum cleaners, usually just by wandering around your local big box retail store. Since so many manufacturers use the term, it can be hard for many to know exactly what it is they should be aiming for when they buy a HEPA air purifier. The following should help you decide if Hunter HEPA air purifiers are right for you.

A Quick Background Of Hunter

Hunter has actually been around for a long time. In fact, even though they make their living on products that require electricity, they’ve been around since before electricity was a household thing. Way back in 1886, they go their start by inventing a water-driven ceiling fan. It doesn’t get much more innovative than that. Nowadays, Hunter is a fairly well known name in electric ceiling fans, as well as thermostats. They also manufacturer air purifiers and humidifiers.

How Does Hunter Compare On Prices?

Hunter HEPA air purifiers come in three different flavors. The older line, HEPAtech, are the cheapest air purifiers that you’re likely to find. Although they’re no longer manufactured, you can still find them new at various retailers. If an inexpensive HEPA air purifier that carries a known name is the main goal, then the HEPAtech line should be your target. Just like any other HEPA filter air purifiers, purchasing and changing the filters is mandatory. Replacement filters directly from Hunter are cheap, and often come as packs. The currently manufactured series, dubbed QuietFlo, are aggressively priced as well.

Is The Hunter A True HEPA Air Purifier?

Excepting the old HEPAtech purifiers, Hunter’s machines all use a true HEPA air purifier. The fact that they are true indicates that they will filter at least 99.7% of those air particles that have been shown to be the most dangerous. HEPA air purifiers without the “true” label aren’t held to specific standards, which means they could, theoretically, not filter air in any way. That doesn’t mean every HEPA-type machine is total trash, but you’re totally dependent on the quality control of the manufacturer.

How Does Hunter Stand Out From The Crowd?

Hunter HEPA air purifiers stand out in a couple of ways. First, there’s the low price. Like mentioned earlier, if you compare a Hunter HEPA air purifier with a similar device from a competitor, the Hunter will likely be less expensive. The other obvious difference are the features. Although not the most cutting edge, Hunter does include most of the tried and true features, and their models are quite scalable. For instance, in the current QuietFlo series, you have more than a dozen models to choose from, differentiated mostly by the feature sets, meaning you won’t have to pay for what you’re not going to use. Can we say that Hunter makes the best HEPA air purifier out there? When it comes to value, probably.

Still not sure that a Hunter HEPA air purifier is for you? Visit HEPA Air Purifiers Info for answers to all of your questions.

One of the more significant emerging technologies with solar energy has been photovoltaic (PV) electricity. Photovoltaics use special materials to convert solar energy directly into electricity. This electricity can be used immediately or stored in a bank of DC batteries.

How photovoltaic panels convert solar energy is a subject of advanced physics. In simple terms we can say they take advantage of new age materials and a phenomenon called the photoelectric effect. Solar energy on the atomic level displaces electrons, which in turn creates the flow of electricity.

Photovoltaics were originally developed as part of the space industry. The long life of the panels combined with no moving parts made them ideal for space bound equipment. Solar energy is much stronger outside the Earth’s atmosphere which also helps.

In recent times photovoltaic panels have been converting solar energy for residential homes in far away places. The cost of a photovoltaic array will often offset the costs of routing power transmission cables from the Electrical Grid. When this distance exceeds 1 mile, then the prospects of converting solar energy with photovoltaics makes more and more sense.

There are two types of radiation that are important and contribute to solar energy. The first is beam radiation, which are the direct rays of the Sun. Beam radiation is the strong warm rays we feel on a clear sunny day.

The second type of radiation is diffuse radiation. Diffuse radiation is scattered radiation, and is what we experience on a fully cloudy day. Diffuse radiation is not very strong, but still contributes to the total overall solar energy.

In order to use photovoltaics wisely, one should be in an area abundant with solar energy. Deserts are obvious candidates, in addition to semi-arid and tropical climates. Northern and coastal climates are tougher decisions due to extensive cloud cover, fog patterns, and rains in the winter. Each case should be considered respectively, however, as not all coastal climates are the same.

Photovoltaic panels come in several sizes and voltage ratings. They should be wired in series or parallel as required to meet the inverter / storage bank power requirements. PV panels have maximum system ratings, and so these should be verified before wiring a large array. New photovoltaic panels will convert solar energy between 12 to 14%, with more cutting edge and difficult to obtain units pushing 20%. Life expectancy will typically exceed twenty years.

One downfall of photovoltaic panels is that they can involve significant up front investment. This is due, in part, to the high purity silicone materials used in their construction. New types of panels are under development, however, and the price of photovoltaics is expected to drop in years to come.

Using photovoltaics to convert solar energy can be a complicated decision. One must consider the cost of local Utility’s rate of electricity, and know the solar energy data for their location. In some cases, as with distant properties and transmission cables, the decision can be easy. But in most cases, an investigation of the payback period will be necessary to know if one is making a cost effective decision. In times of uncertainty and surging fuel costs, the simple piece of mind of energy independent technologies may be well worth the effort.

Walter Hull is a recognized expert in solar power systems. For a limited time you can get his free checklist to solar power from your own backyard.

Gold has an atomic number of 79. It is one of many chemical elements. Lot’s of people seek gold. It is a precious metal. One of the things gold is commonly used for is art.

Gold is found in rocks. It is usually found in the form of a nugget or grain. Some of the time you can find gold in the veins of rocks. These veins are spaces inside the rock that contain crystals.

So what are the characteristics of gold? Gold is soft, shiny, and dense. It is the most malleable metal known to man. Malleable meaning it can be hammered into really thin sheets.

Pure gold is gold that doesn’t contain any additives. It is a very bright yellow. It has a very shiny luster to it. This metal doesn’t oxidize in water or air which helps it maintain its yellow color and lustrous shine.

Pure gold is too soft for most things. In order for it to be manageable and useful you need to add metals to it. Copper is a popular metal that is mixed with gold to make it harder. But because of pure gold being mixed with other metals a measurement called the carat (k) was to created to know exactly how much of the substance was pure gold. This helped determine the mixtures value.

How much gold is there in the world? There was a study done in the year 2006. This study found that by the end of 2006 about 158,000 tons of gold had been pulled from the earth. That’s a whole lot of gold.

Gold has excellent qualities. Due to this excellence it is used in many modern industrial things. Dentist use gold for its ability to avoid corrosion and resist oxidation. Gold is also a great conductor of electricity and is used in modern electronics.

Today we use paper money, but that was not always the case. In the past gold was used for money. The reason that stopped is because there is only so much gold in the world. With paper money you can print as much as you want without fear of hitting a limit. Switzerland in 1999 was the last country to switch from gold to paper money.

Read Aaron’s article about gold studs.

Wind energy has been used for many years as individuals have used wind power for sailing, wind mills for manufacturing and pumping water and more recently conversion into electricity using wind turbines. Wind power is a renewable energy that is considered a good option instead of burning fossil fuels. Of all the renewable energy sources it is the most efficient and you only need a light breeze to produce electricity.

The very first uses of wind for energy was in the form of wind mills and sailing as people have been using wind for more than thousands of years to propel ships. Windmills have also been used for many years for milling grain as well as pumping water for irrigation. These irrigation windmills was the main reason that farming and ranching could occur in the US, as there are vast stretches of land that do not have ready access to water.

The very first usage of wind to create electricity occurred in 1888. The first wind turbine was used to create hydrogen in the 1890s but it was soon converted to producing electricity. Small wind turbines are used to provide power to rural buildings and today there are larger wind farms that are being used to produce electricity for large networks. What is known as the modern wind industry really began in 1979 when wind turbines began to be regularly produced.

Wind occurs because the surface of the earth is not evenly heated, as the poles get less sunlight than the equator. This causes cooled and heated air to move which in turn produces wind. It is projected that the amount of power that could be harnessed form the wind is more than the human population currently uses. So just think about having almost cost free power.

The amount of power that is generated by the wind is dependent on the speed and as the wind speed doubles the amount of power produced increases eight fold. However there is a cap as wind turbines can only go so fast and generate so much energy. You do not need high winds at all time though as a lot of energy can still be produced with 15 mph breezes. As such, wind power is a valuable method for alternative energy.

The main issue with wind energy is storage as wind power cannot be dispatched at different times but needs to be used immediately. Many companies have looked into different types of batteries, storing it within the energy grid and even hydroelectricity. Many times surplus energy from domestic wind turbines are fed back into the electrical grid and the energy company will purchase this energy and you will receive electricity credits.

A wind turbine used to collect the power of wind will contain a rotor shaft, gearbox and brake assembly. Generally within a wind farm the different turbines are interconnecting for power collection and communication networking. Wind energy uses induction generators to collect the power and change it to electricity.

The best types of generators are doubly fed machines as they will function when errors occur within the grid. You need to be aware of the power factor, dynamic behavior and frequency constancy when a system fault should occur.

Wind power should be thoroughly considered in order to promote a greener society. Educate your children to become future scientists by purchasing them science lab equipment.