[StBernard] Donna - New Rebuilding Ideas

[Westley Annis]

Melissa, the electric tank less water heater sounds interesting.  Did you
get the name of the company or the brand name of the product?  I'd like to
do some research on it.  I've seen the gas ones on TV (This Old House, or
one of those type shows), but never electric.  The concept as explained on
the program made so much sense.  Thanks!

Linda

-----Original Message-----
Donna
        I was starting to wonder. Actually, I was about to resend my email,
thinking it didn't go through and that you were wondering what had happened
to me! (haha) Anyway, I went this weekend to the Ponchartrain Center for
that Home Depot energy efficiency home expo and didn't learn a whole lot of
new things. It was a lot of "buy energy-star appliances" and "insulate your
exterior walls". Most of that we already knew. There were some things of
interest though. Celulose insulation got my attention right off the bat. It
doesn't present the same hazards as fiberglass insulation and according to
them cheaper and insulates better. Its an insulation that is either blown in
or it also comes in a packed sheet form. One booth's was made from recycled
paper and another's was made from cardboard. It has absolutely no health
hazard qualities, they informed me that its completely safe, and it is
supposed to be denser which would help insulate. The chemicals in the
processing leave boric acid in the product which keeps rodents out of it as
well. I also know that a denim insulation product is on the market too.
Unfortunately I didn't see a foam insulation booth. I've heard really great
things about that product too.

        Another thing of interest was an electric tank less water heater.
Until then, I have only been able to find gas ones. The tank less heaters
use 25% less energy to run and you never ever run out of hot water. There
isn't the tank filled with hot water that could build up pressure and
explode either. These only turn on when you turn the hot water on at the
faucet, then the heater kicks in and heats up the water passing through the
pipes as its going out. They are incredibly small and can fit in a standard
cabinet. I love these and will definitely get one. The rep I spoke with
mentioned that they were working on a heater for pools and that it wouldn't
be much longer till one for a pool would be available on the market.

        Also there was a hurricane shutter booth, a door booth, a booth with
hurricane clamps, etc. Its really too many to name, but since Home Depot put
it on, I'm guessing that all these things can be found there. Lots of ideas,
but I was sort of disappointed. I was expecting an expo on environmentally
safe, energy efficient homes. Other than the insulation people, there really
wasn't any earth-friendly products there. Hopefully, we'll have the internet
up soon so I can delve into more research and answer some of our questions.
I'm still looking into the possibility of grants or financial help for this.


        Speaking of money, I spoke with the department of agriculture or
some dept that had a booth there and I was incredibly disappointed with the
solar panel idea we've been throwing around. Apparently, to buy solar panels
coast somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 per watt. So for a single 60 watt
light bulb, you'd have to spend roughly $360. He told me that its an
incredible amount of money just to buy the panels and its takes an average
of 29 years to recoup your investment, providing that energy prices remain
the same. Obviously, if prices rise the number of years drops and vice
versa. So I'm more that a little disappointed with that one. I'll let you
know when I get more info.

Melissa