Around the world and throughout Florida, the sustainable development movement continues to define the future of our built environment. Abney+ Abney Green Solutions guides project teams through the green building certification process.

RESIDENTIAL

Consumers are increasingly demanding healthier, more efficient buildings. To meet these needs, many projects are pursuing a green certification to add value to their investment and stand out amongst the competition. Green homes use less energy, water and natural resources, create less waste, and are more durable, comfortable and healthier for the occupants. Rented or owned, affordable or market-rate, single-family or multi-unit, urban, suburban or rural -- if it’s housing, it can be green. AbneyGreen is an approved certifying agent for all three available green home certifications in Florida.

See more: http://www.abneygreen.com/solutions.html

Abney + Abney Green Solutions began on a beach in Stuart, Florida with an “if you could do anything what would you do” conversation. The answer started as a dream, but today owning a successful green building consulting firm is our reality. We value integrity, personal relationships and believe in having fun along the way. We love what we do and hope it shows.

De 'grote zes' energiebedrijven zijn wettelijk verplicht om te helpen huishoudens in brandstofarmoede – hier Naseem Hussain verteld hoe hij en zijn familie hebben geprofiteerd van een nieuwe energie-efficiënte ketel

Dertig-negen-jaar-oude Naseem Hussain woont met zijn vrouw en drie-jaar-oude dochter in een Victoriaanse rijtjeshuis in Sheffield. In augustus had hij een nieuwe boiler geïnstalleerd onder de energie bedrijven verplichting (ECO), een initiatief van de regering dat loopt langs de groene deal om mensen maken hun huizen meer energie efficiënt, te helpen geld te besparen op hun rekeningen.

Hussain, die werkt voor de Sheffield Star krant, verplaatst naar de drie-slaapkamer, een badkamer eigenschap ongeveer acht jaar geleden, en heeft het gebruik van de bestaande ketels voor centrale verwarming en warm water.

EBRD tukee nykyaikaistamiseen ja laajentamiseen Gradske Toplane vaalea, vaalea, Kaukolämpö toimittaja lainaa enintään 4,5 miljoonaa euroa. Yleishyödyllinen yhtiö "Gradske Toplane" kalpea, joka on kokonaan omistama vaalean kunta Bosnia Herzegovina. Laina käytetään uuden biomassan kattila ja jälleenrakentamiseen ja lämpöä jakeluverkon laajentamiseen. Hyödyllisyys palvelee kaupallisen, julkisen ja yksityisen asiakkaita kunnassa Pale, Bosnia ja Hertsegovina Itä osassa.

Thirty years of experience in boiler technology is not a mean accomplishment for a company such as Walia Boilers. Its claim as a leading designer and manufacturer of steam boilers is, therefore, not an unfounded, self-serving statement. We can easily look it up for ourselves to find out that it has the excellent track record to make it at par and even above with other companies in the boiler industry.

Since 1977, Walia Boilers has been able to install more than 1800 boiler systems in various industries throughout the globe, or an average of about 50 installations per year. That should have kept this company busy all month long -- and all week long, for that matter. At that pace alone, we can imagine the dedicated service the company provides for a large country such as India and the rest of the world. 

Walia prides itself for its “distinctive advantage of lowest fuel consumption with economy in operation” of its boilers systems. This has been tested and proven in various industries which include textiles, paper, oil, plywood, rubber and pharmaceuticals. Walia also holds various patents for inventions in boiler technology, such as the world’s first Triple Individual Furnaces (Independent Operation); Three pass, Fully Wet Back designed Stem Boiler and the Twin Furnace Design; Three pass, Wet Back boiler with two Independent flue gas Paths.

The quality of Walia’s products and services assures its clients of the units’ endurance and reliability – qualities which reflect the essential character of the company itself. With its vast experience, its enduring commitment to excellence and its consistent delivery of dependable products, Walia has lived up to its widely recognized reputation and its goal of maintaining its position as a pioneer and leader in boiler technology.

When it comes to boiler technology, Walia Boilers keeps the competition on its toes, even if they are not busy trying to keep in pace.

With this steam boiler, one gets the advantage of having a double-furnace design, that is, two furnaces for firing and two individual flue paths going to the outlet of the boiler. With this feature, you can operate only one furnace during partial loading condition, saving energy for the business. Likewise, using only one furnace allows user the freedom to clean one furnace, including tubes, while operating the other one.

An additional feature of this type of steam boiler is its two reversing chamber design providing amazing fuel saving compared to double-furnace types which only have a single-reversing chamber and single I.D. fan

This steam boiler has a capacity of 1000 kg/hr. to 6000 kg/hr. and also utilizes solid fuel of any form, from coal, wood, bagasse or lignite. With its much larger capacity, this has great potential use in medium and large manufacturing operations.

The additional versatility of this steam boiler allows Walia Boilers to capture a wider market of boiler users in the global community.

Walia Boilers  has so many cards up the sleeves when it comes to innovations in boiler technology. It first introduced the triple-furnace steam boiler to the world. With this type of boiler, coupled with the ability to use multiple types of fuel (solid, liquid or gas), the limitations present in less versatile boilers are eliminated. That is, the user can use as many as three furnaces simultaneously while using whatever kind of fuel that is available, providing the freedom and versatility that is so important in the fast-paced and turbulent economic and geo-political realities of the modern world.

With capacities from 6000 kg/hr to 10,000 and even 20,000 kg/hr, manufacturers can have the efficiency and capacity they require for their expanding operations. The large manufacturers will no longer need to purchase and maintain several smaller units, given the option to purchase one or a couple and even more of these high-capacity steam boilers.

Walia has truly surpassed others in innovation and quality through its continued commitment to provide products and services that meet the demanding requirements of modern industries while meeting industry standards. The possibilities for novel ideas and creativity are limitless.

Walia has made a trusted name for itself because of the unique and efficient innovations it has employed in the design and manufacture of boilers. It has the distinction of introducing the original double and even the triple furnace steam boiler, proving the company’s pioneering spirit in the global manufacturing industry.

No refractory is used in Walia boilers, making them practically trouble-free and longer-lasting than most other boiler brands. The boilers also have high thermal inertia to maintain pressure and temperature. They also have large water holding capacity and can, therefore, deliver more heating energy compared to smaller and less efficient alternatives.

Another feature of Walia boilers is that they are fully factory assembled and require no special foundation or support in order to operate. This allows for easily installation and operation, without the necessity of special construction on order to accommodate the boiler.

With all this major features and other minor advantages, Walia Boilers are guaranteed to deliver excellent performance for boiler users worldwide. Truly, Walia pushes the boundaries of innovative technology in boiler design with its unending and uncompromising search for quality products.

The average life span of buildings in the Kingdom is between 25 and 50 years, as against 100 years in other countries, said Talal Samarkandi, head of Jeddah branch of the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) and board member of Al-Umran Saudi Association. Samarkandi attributed the short life span of buildings to such factors as poor design and implementation, absence of regular maintenance work, and low level of building materials and usage.

“There are many methods and techniques for buildings which are bound to raise their virtual life span, depending on the materials used in the green building methodology, recycling the building materials, and counting on an accredited engineering office to supervise construction and maintenance works,” he said, adding that all these factors help the landlord to safeguard his investment.  He urged Jeddah Municipality to form a committee entrusted with the task of inspecting the dilapidated, vacant buildings in old neighborhoods as these may fall down and injure passers-by.

Hamad Al-Shagawi, chairman of the board of directors of the SCE, said the buildings that were constructed in the early eighties are better than some of the buildings being constructed these days. “Now we find cheating and fraud in the raw materials such as iron and cement to the degree that some buildings collapse during construction itself,” he added.

COST

•  If you are buying firewood by the bundle or cord, the cost can depend on many factors. Don’t expect a standard.

•  A full cord of wood is a tight stack at 128 cubic feet and measures 4 feet deep, 4 feet high and 8 feet long. Make sure you get the full amount you’re paying for.

•  Softwoods cost half that of hardwoods.

•  “Cooking” woods go for a premium price.

•  Location plays a part. The farther the wood travels, the more it costs.

•  Fully dried firewood costs more than green. But you can buy green wood in the spring and dry it yourself to use the following year.

•  Size matters. Smaller, proper splits of random sizes cost more than larger, unsplit logs.

KINDS OF FIREWOOD

While all wood is the same when it comes to composition, it is how soft or hard the wood is and the way it is split and dried that affect its behavior in the fireplace.

COST

•  If you are buying firewood by the bundle or cord, the cost can depend on many factors. Don’t expect a standard.

•  A full cord of wood is a tight stack at 128 cubic feet and measures 4 feet deep, 4 feet high and 8 feet long. Make sure you get the full amount you’re paying for.

•  Softwoods cost half that of hardwoods.

•  “Cooking” woods go for a premium price.

•  Location plays a part. The farther the wood travels, the more it costs.

•  Fully dried firewood costs more than green. But you can buy green wood in the spring and dry it yourself to use the following year.

•  Size matters. Smaller, proper splits of random sizes cost more than larger, unsplit logs.

KINDS OF FIREWOOD

1. Solar Batteries

Solar power has significant potential to transform home energy use, but there’s one big problem: the sun isn’t on at night. In the absence of high-performance, cost-effective solar battery storage to electrify the graveyard shift, the momentum of residential solar power has been limited. Solar battery technology has actually been around for years, but it’s been too expensive to gain much traction.

2. Micro-Windmills

Who says windmills have to come in the form of gigantic infrastructure? Tiny windmills can not only produce real energy, they could eventually power entire homes. That’s according to the scientists who are now developing ‘micro-windmills.’ In 2013, researchers at UT Arlington created functioning, cost-effective prototypes of this unique nanotechnology. About ten of their bite-size mills can fit on a single grain of rice, but the origami-inspired devices are remarkably effective at harnessing the air for cheap electricity.

3. Smart Thermostats

Collection and analysis of energy data is one of the major challenges for optimizing home efficiency. Builders, realtors, interior designers and occupants could all use realtime data to green their activities and make better decisions about energy use. To that end, the ‘smart thermostat’ market is now taking off. Smart thermostats can transmit accurate, up-to-date utility data about live energy use via your smartphone.

4. Open-Source Home Energy Management

One of the most underreported stories of 2013 was the German invention of a powerful, open-source energy management tool called OGEMA (Open Gateway Energy Management Alliance). The Java-based OGEMA platform is “basically an interface between the ‘smart grid’ and the ‘smart building’.”

5. Net-Zero Energy (NZE) Homes

The Energy Saving Trust, part funded by the government, has told consumers that a new boiler will save between £105 and £310 a year. Its figures are the gold standard in the energy industry, and have been widely used in adverts by companies such as British Gas to persuade householders to spend thousands of pounds replacing an old boiler. But the DECC figures suggest that the typical annual saving on bills has, in reality, been closer to just £70 a year.

In 2009 the Labour government launched its £200m boiler scrappage scheme which gave £400 off a new boiler. Around 125,000 homes replaced their often working boiler with a new one, encouraged by what now look like discredited figures.

The Energy Saving Trust says it is reviewing its financial guidance and will, later this month, downgrade the savings it tells consumers they can expect to earn from installing energy efficiency measures. It could come as the final blow for the Green Deal programme, which relies on estimates of future financial savings to encourage consumers to take out loans to pay for energy-saving home improvements.

The figures are contained in the National Energy Efficiency Data-Framework (NEED) published by the DECC late last year. It examined "observed" savings from loft insulation in 21,000 homes, new boilers in nearly 14,000 homes, and cavity wall insulation installed in 16,000 homes, and compared them with properties that did not have the measures installed. It found that on average, loft insulation decreases home gas consumption by 1.7%, cavity wall insulation by 7.8% and a new boiler by 9.2% (median figures were slightly higher). Installing all three produced greater savings.

Technology professionals say hardware prices have decreased dramatically over the last few years, making home control goods far more affordable. And retailers are eager to be a sales channel for these products and related services, rather than technology companies.

The always-on lifestyle of social media has changed consumers' expectations, says Mike Harris, CEO of smart home software company Zonoff. "This idea of being able to see and control your house via a smartphone makes sense because people are already connected to everything else in their life," he says.

From an environmental perspective, some home automation has potential benefits. Programmable thermostats can make a significant impact. The US Environmental Protection Agency found consumers could reduce energy usage by 10-30% using schedules and temperature settings of programmable thermostats. The problem has been that consumers often struggle to effectively program thermostats and achieve those benefits.