Go Greener Tips

Posts Tagged ‘Electricity Consumption’

Green, Greener, Greenest

Hot Tub Manufacturing has never been anywhere near GREEN, and most Hot tub companies just manufacture hot tubs, spray fiberglass and resins, use plastics and steel without much regard for the environment, except to follow EPA guidelines. The California Energy Commission (CEC), with probably the most rigid standards in the country, monitors energy efficiency and recently passed a bill called “title 20″, which sets a standard amount of allowable energy used by a portable spa/hot tub. The amount of allowable energy per the new guidelines, was not met by 65% of hot tub manufacturers who failed an independent study done by California Polytechnic State University. Softub was the only manufacturer to pass these new guidelines without having to make any changes to its manufacturing process.

Although there are some hot tubs that comply with these new regulations or have since complied with manufacturing changes, Softub is a first in the Hot Tub Industry considering its unique design, function and in its green industry standards that have been a part of the “Green Movement”, since its inception. Many states are now adopting the CEC standards and implementing these energy requirements.

Softub, formed in 1985 is one of the leading spa manufacturers worldwide and minimal changes to the product over the years including our “patented ozone water sanitation system” and our “smart chip power monitoring system” have added to this green product to make it the most energy efficient hot tub on the market.

The Softub Eco-Advantage Includes:
-California Energy Commission Registered.
-Lower Energy Bills – Plugs Into Any Standard 120 V Outlet
-The Energy Efficient Hydromate System.
-Patented Ozone Water Sanitation System.
-The SmartChip® Power Monitoring System
-Sealed, High Density Insulated Cover.
-Manufactured in a Green Facility = No Harmful VOC* levels.

Energy Efficiency - The state of California is the first governing body to adopt energy efficiency guidelines for hot tubs. Similar to fuel economy standards for automobiles, all hot tubs sold in the state of California must meet a baseline energy usage level. All Softub models operate well under the required baselines for the units.

SmartChip® Technology – The patented Softub Smartchip recognizes low power situations and shuts off your tub before any damage occurs. It is also programmed with a patented energy efficiency system. When the Smartchip senses a voltage drop it will shut down the pump. It will continue to monitor the in-coming power and will automatically restart the spa when the voltage returns to a normal level. In the event of a power outage, Smartchip automatically resets at 100 degrees. The patented “Energy Efficiency Program” monitors the filtration system. If the system filtrates during standard heating cycles, the programmed filter cycles are by-passed to save energy. If adequate filtration does not occur during heat cycles, the automatic filter cycles occur.
Thanks to the Softub Smartchip, you can run all electrical appliances normally, without fear of damaging your spa or other household appliances.

Softub Patented Ozone Water Oxidizing System – For sparkling clean water and less chemical use, all Softub units come with a built-in ozone system. In Softubs, ozone is distributed evenly through all jets as opposed to other spas that utilize only 1 jet as a delivery port. This system is the only method that controls ozone delivery throughout the entire body of water. Ozone attaches to dirty chorine and oxidizes the contaminant and makes the chlorine new again, thus utilizing fewer chemicals.

In summary, Softub has many green aspects, but simplicity of operation, durability and true portability are its biggest assets. If you enjoy a good soak rather than the noise and splashing of 57 jets and waterfalls, Softub is your tub of choice. Most hot tubs require 220 v 50Amp service that can cost between $800 and $2200 dollars to install, they require special foundations costing from $400 to $800 and the bigger the tub, the more maintenance. Softub was designed around all the complaints of hot tub users and to this day, is the most advanced hot tub on the market for therapy and/or pleasure.

You can visit Softub at: www.MontanaSoftubs.com

*Use Softub Every Day For Less Than $10/month. Softub spas are remarkably inexpensive to operate. This calculation is based upon CEC protocol, using a model 220 Softub every day for 20 minutes, with the jets on. The water temperature was maintained at 102° Fahrenheit at all times, with an ambient temperature of 60° Fahrenheit or lower. Using the national average cost of energy of $0.1097 per kWh, the monthly cost calculates to $9.12 per month.

Saving our planet is important, but that doesn’t mean you have to live in a tree and forgo your gadget pleasures. There are plenty of gadgets out there that will help you live a greener life and while most LCD televisions don’t come with a way to turn them off you can get devices to help combat that. Here are some of my favourite ones.

Cranking MP3 player

With a 1GB capacity and a design that won’t win any red dot awards, the main USP for this new MP3 player is its green credentials. One minute’s worth of cranking will give you playback of 10 minutes – although there is USB charging too for when your arm gets tired. Including shipping, it’ll cost 55 euros, which is around 43 pounds, but consider what you’ll save on batteries.

Neuton Battery-Powered Mower

The Neuton CE 6.2 Mower gives you the powerful performance of a gas mower with convenience of battery technology. And because it is battery-powered it is also easy to operate.
At only 69 lbs. and half as noisy as an average gas mower, the Neuton CE 6.2 is easy on you and the neighborhood. The battery recharges on about 10 cents worth of electricity – so the Neuton CE 6.2 is also easy on your wallet. The approximate cost to operate a gas mower (including gasoline, oil, spark plugs, filters and tune-ups) for 4 years is $260.

Four years of mowing 28 times per year with a Neuton Mower is only $11.20! You’ll save almost $250!! All Neuton Mowers are backed by a 2-year warranty and Neuton’s own customer service technicians, web site and live chat.

Efergy meter

The Efergy meter is a compact monitor that allows the user to see electricity consumption in real time in your home. Made up of three components: a portable display monitor, a sensor which is clipped around the power cable feeding electricity into the premises, and a transmitter which is connected to the sensor and which sends the information to the monitor the data on the screen of the Efergy meter is refreshed every 5 seconds, so the impact on power usage of turning an electrical appliance on or off can be seen immediately. The Efergy meter costs 44.95 pounds.

The Standby Buster

You want to turn your television off at the main, but the sockets at the back and out of the reach of your arm. The Stanby buster basically gives you a remote for your plug. The easy to use, remote-controlled electrical socket lets you switch off multiple appliances completely rather than leaving them in standby mode – all from a single button press. Sockets are simply plugged into existing power outlets allowing any connected appliances to be switched on and off using the remote control. Standby Buster uses Radio Frequency (RF) rather than Infra-Red (IR) to switch appliances on and off, so it is not impaired by objects in its way.

Moixa USBCELL batteries

The USBCELL as an environmentally-friendly alternative to normal AA batteries. The top of one side flips up to reveal a USB connector, and the battery simply plugs into an open port. It takes five hours to charge one of the cells if it was fully discharged; each battery has a capacity of 1300mAH. The USBCELL cost around 12.99 pounds for two AA batteries.