Wood burning boilers: the other renewable energy source

What springs to mind when you think of renewable energy? Solar power? Wind farms? Chances are that last one didn’t even come up, yet log and wood pellet boilers are one of the simplest ways in which you can manage rising energy costs and help save the environment. What is it? Wood fuelled heating is a biomass system which burns logs, pellets or chips to power a central heating or hot water boiler. Unlike a wood burning stove which heats only one room, a wood burning boiler is connected directly to your central heating and hot water system, like a gas boiler would be. How can burning wood help the environment? When you fire up a wood boiler, the carbon dioxide released by the process is merely the same amount as if the plant had died and decomposed naturally. Think of it as stored solar energy which will not contribute to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. What’s the difference between a wood burning boiler and a pellet boiler? Wood pellets are made from processed wood like old sawdust, wood shavings or forestry residue. They are a relatively new fuel on the UK market, designed to strict regulations with a low moisture content making wood pellet boilers a good choice. Wood burning boilers, on the other hand, are fuelled by wood logs. Typically, wood burning boilers have to be manually fed but a lot of boilers which burn pellets are automatic. You may also have heard of wood chip burning boilers: these are much larger and generally only suitable to heat large buildings or groups of houses. Will burning wood or pellets make my house smell smoky? No, boilers which burn wood or pellets incorporate very sophisticated technology, designed to release only a pleasant woody smell in the small area around the boiler. If you did see any smoke coming from the boiler’s flue, it is likely to only be water vapour released during the process. How much can I save? According to the Energy Saving Trust, Wood burning boilers could save you up to £600 a year compared to electrical heating – but the real benefit here is to the environment. The expected carbon dioxide saving of a wood burning boiler compared to a gas boiler is three tonnes every year. The UK government is currently running a renewable heat incentive scheme for eco boilers installed in commercial properties. Each MCS accredited boiler which is installed by an MCS installer will qualify for a one-off payment of £1250. Ruth Dawson.

Live A Green Life With Garden Studios!

Garden studios represent the perfect solution for the people who would like to create a perfect sense of equilibrium in their gardens. These constructions will help you make the most of the space you live in. Just like the name suggests, garden studios are special structures that are assembled in the garden. Usually, they have a single room and this is what has given birth to the name „studio”. The wonderful thing about garden studios is that they are made of sustainable materials. This characteristic makes them more energy-efficient than many other constructions.

 Having a studio in your garden will help you change the way you live. It will enable you to „live green” through the development of a sustainable lifestyle. Garden studios can be made of timber, which is a material that can be renewed and recycled. If you want to modify the size of your studio, you can do do this without major efforts. Given the fact that the studio has a limited size, it will be easy to operate any changes on it. Garden studios can be easily heated and cooled if they are well insulated starting with the top and ending with the bottom. However, if you still feel cold in your garden studio, you can ask the manufacturer to insulate the roof with recyclable cellulose fiber, which is an environmental friendly material. This way any trace of chill will disappear. There are many advantages of building a garden studio next to your home and I will reveal some of them right now.

 First of all, such a construction is beautiful in itself. It will embellish the area where it is placed and improve the design of your garden. For instance, if your house seems lost in the middle of the garden, the addition of a garden studio will restore spatial equilibrium. Another reason for which garden studios are ideal for any home is the fact that they are multifunctional. Both you and all your family members can use such a construction to perform an array of activities. A garden studio represents a wonderful the perfect recreational space. Here is the place where you can spend your free time, receive guests and even put into practice your artistic hobbies.

 The construction of such a structure will also bring you financial benefits. Since they consist of sustainable materials they will help you save a lot of energy and you will not have to spend so much money on the utility bills. By now I am sure you are convinced of the utility of garden studios. If you want one, you can contact a company that specializes into the manufacturing of such annexes. Atelier is one of them. Professionals from Atelier will listen carefully to what you want and they will find a way to bring to life the garden studio of your dreams. With garden studios, you can create the perfect place where you can enjoy the communion with nature without giving up the comfort of a modern day living. So, call the professionals from Atelier today and let them help you achieve your dreams.

Fireplaces That Help You Save Money

Can you think of a way in which you can put some money aside, make your house warm and cozy and also relax yourself  in front of some burning flames? If the answer is affirmative, then you probably have a fireplace in mind.

The type of building we live in makes a great difference when thinking about buying a fireplace. Whether it's an apartment, a cottage or a house, whether it's big or small and the fuel available, all these are good reasons to take into account when making such investment. Inside an apartment there definitely isn't room to storage pellets or wood for a fireplace that works on these fuels.

Being put in the position of choosing an efficient and cheap solution for heating our house, we should probably think of buying a wood fireplace. Wood is much cheaper that gas and electricity and it serves the owner in reducing his or her heating costs. It can also be available in any region, where gas or even electricity are not in reach.

A wood fireplace can have several benefits when it comes to your mind and body. The burning flames can relax your vision and the crackling wood can entertain your hearing. And knowing the fact that it uses a renewable and a not so much polluting fuel makes the wood fireplace the best decision when it comes to heating your home.

There are several things we should take into account when using a wood fireplace. First of all, we should provide it with a regular cleaning, because during the burning process chemicals are being produce, and their long presence can explode or catch fire. We also need a storage room for the wood needed in order to make the fireplace function.

The wood fireplace has certain advantages, among which we mention the fact that it can function without using electricity, thus being really effective in case of a power outage. It reduces the costs when heating a house and it helps bringing the old times atmosphere into our hearts. The wood fireplace can also satisfy any need and taste.

Wood fires are more efficient than gas fires.

Home Decoration: Living Room Tips

If you display strong feelings as far as home decoration is concerned and you wish to have the "it" living room, then you can picture the elements that concur to make it whole and appear stylish. The living room symbolizes pleasurable times and can be used for leisure purposes and can represent a perfect social connection environment.

When you complete your living room you should focus on selecting the appropriate type of furniture. The shade, the form and the material from the pieces of furniture tell a story about the character of the owner of the living room. If for example you set your mind to find terrific living room ideas now is the time to select from a category of top quality items made available by Furniture Emporium. Thus, take a chance and discover the multitude of furniture possibilities and forge a singular space!

If capturing that luminosity effect is what you want, you can select a pair of arm chairs with a pale tint such as white and beige and integrate between them a stunning oak wooden coffee table to originate a contrast with the effect of mesmerizing one's eyes. If you cannot imagine your life without a TV set, you can find a location for it by positioning it within a bookcase setting "inhabited" by your precious books or CDs.

The living room is the area where you meet your friends and should radiate a touch of innovation and exciting decor options. If your living room has furniture with light colors you can enhance the idea of vitality by choosing a vibrant shade of green or blue for the walls. When composing a living room it is all about making a terrific impression and you can achieve that by hanging a painting thus chosen as to be both a practical and pleasant element in your interior living room decorum.

An essential element for the ideal living room is the appropriate sofa selection. You can purchase a leather couch with personality and enhance that much wanted sense of coziness and fun times with your best friends. Memories can be cherished and triggered by the perfect furniture selection. What is a living room without a mirror? Round, oval or square are forms that render a contemporary ambience or a purely traditional one according to your taste.

If you wish to reflect a balanced decoration environment you can use suspended shelves for that unwonted up to date twist bestowed on your living room. You have to simply enjoy your living room and seize the essence of memorable times in a decorated space that breathes creativity!

If for example you are seeking for high quality living room ideas do not hesitate to make a search among a range of first-class items insured by Furniture Emporium.

Don't Kill Your Garden This Summer! Keep It Alive and Well

Depending upon your location, the intense heat and arid conditions this summer could cause a massive failure in your gardening efforts. Learn how to maintain a healthy vibrant home garden during the summer months.

Nothing is worse than spending time, money and energy on your home's yards and gardens only to discover that the harsh summer months are negatively impacting your efforts. If you enjoy spending time cultivating plants, trees and shrubberies around your home, there may be some questions and concerns about how to best maintain your gardens during the summer months. Even if you are not an ardent participant in planting and developing perfect landscaping, but simply enjoy clean, healthy plants in your yards, taking the time follow some best practices could mean the difference between keeping your garden alive and well and killing it off this summer.

Summer gardening tips are important because you want your plants to look good and live healthy lives. If this is not the case, then consider hiring the services of a gardener or professional landscaping company. The challenge of providing the best environment for the landscaping around you home is one that many home owners embrace. In addition to being able to feel great about a well tended home garden, ones property values are also likely to to reflect the lovely surroundings of the yards and gardens.

As important as why to pay extra attention to the garden this summer is when the following tips should be implemented. In order for ones gardens to be at their peak, consider instituting the following year round:

• Watering: plants hanging or in pots tend to dry quickly and may require more than one watering per day. If possible, consider setting up a drip system to ensure adequate hydration to all of your plants. Trees and shrubs that are less than four to five years old can suffer stress during the dry summer months. Again, the drip system would work well with these plants.
• Feeding: Proper preparation of soils, either in the pots or the grounds around your garden or yards, can help ensure a long successful growing season over the course of the summer. Some gardeners are tempted to over feed the gardens, but this can result in lush, fast growth that tapers off sooner than nature may intend.
• Weeding: This was one of those tasks that should have been done in the spring time and if done properly with a layer of weed suppressing mulch, much of the summer weeding efforts will be minimized. Even if everything was done correctly and on time, be sure to remove any new weed sprouts as they are discovered. Anything growing in your yard or garden that is not intended to be there robs your desired plants of water and nutrients.

During early summer, the following gardening tips should help most amateur gardeners get the most form their efforts to keep their plantings alive and well:

• Plant out summer bedding: The frost danger is now passed, so start planting your tender bedding.
• Support your plants before it's too late: Waiting until a plant droops in order to stake it is usually too late. For those plants shooting up, get them staked with materials easily found at your favorite home and garden supplier.
• Prune your tomatoes: Pinching off those outside shoots on your tomato plants will ensure bigger and tastier fruit in a month or so.

And finally, don't forget to perform the following acts during the late summer time:

• House Plants: Giving your indoor plants a week or two of summer holiday will provide them with the rejuvenation they need for another beautiful year of indoor living.
• Dead Head: Early evening hours are a perfect time to stroll around the grounds snipping off the dead blooms from the flowering plants. This action provides the plants with the impetus to bloom for longer periods of time during the summer months.
• Harvest Your Veggies: As soon as the fruits and vegetables are ready, pick them and get them eaten. If you have more than you can eat before they go to waste, freeze, can or put them up for consumption later in the year and over the winter months.

Post by,

Kara Taylor

Kara Taylor is a freelance writer for Gemplers.  She absolutely loves to write for them about gardening, and is a big fan of their sun hats.

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Let Bi Fold Doors To The Walls Of A Thing Of The Past

Most of the basic components that make up your house was almost exactly the same for many years. Walls, doors and windows, set up with varying degrees of innovation and change. As technology evolves on a few things have changed with modern glass production, this means that windows can be both revolutionary glazing larger and thinner, and the double allows large parts of the window let in light without allowing heat to escape. Fundamentally, however, a window is still a window even if it is larger and clearer than it would have been in the past. Bi fold doors on the other hand, is something else, blurs the distinction between the doors, walls and windows, playing the role of all three at once.

Sounds unlikely? Imagine a wall made entirely of glass panels held in a thin metal frame, reaching from floor to ceiling and a view over the entire length of one side of a room is open to the light and look outside. Quite spectacular, but now imagine being able to grasp the handle at one end of the wall and fold it over itself until the wall is essentially stacked at one end of the room, leaving wide open space and make the border between inside and outside completely obsolete.

Sounds unlikely again? Not at all. This is precisely what two times the doors are. Where once the best they could expect would be a great set of French windows thet could only be opened on nice summer days, is a solution that will radically change the shape and function of the room next to the garden variety.

Finally the dream of longtime unification of inner and outer life, bi folding doors are a stylish and attractive solution to the riddle of how to make a living space as open as possible and providing adequate protection against harsh climate. When the rain starts to fall or the wind picks up, just shoot the "wall" in place, and still enjoy the extra light and the sense of opening doors that provide twice, while dropping in the heat and the protection offered the modern glass and steel building.