Archive for the ‘Green Plumbing’ Category

Bone Up On Green Plumbing, Solar and Electrical Facts

May 28th, 2010

One big part of making plumbing, electrical, HVAC or solar upgrades to your home is knowing what to change and why. While you can always ask the team at Progressive for advice, it’s helpful to have the base knowledge so you know what home upgrades you’re interested in.

Many of our clients ask us what they can change at home to help them go green and save money at the same time. That’s why this Friday we’ve aggregated a few quizzes to share with you. These fun, simple quizzes will help you learn about green home options for energy use, plumbing upgrades and more. Ready to test your knowledge of water conservation and green plumbing and electrical options?

  • Learn more about home energy use and what you can do to reduce it with this quiz.
  • To understand the green tax breaks available for upgrading to energy-efficient and water-conserving systems in your home, try this quiz.
  • To learn more about the role green appliances can play in your home, this is the quiz for you.
  • Interested in solar photovoltaic panels or a solar water heater in your home? Test your knowledge of these upgrades here.
  • Now it’s time to test your toilet — try these three tests on your toilet to see if it’s wasting water.
  • Tired of tests? Give yourself a break with this game: Designed for kids (but helpful for adults too!), the TipTank game helps players learn about water conservation.

Interested in green upgrades for your home in the Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill area? Learn more about our green plumbing services, solar water heaters or photovoltaic system installations.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Green Plumbing, Progressive Electrical Services, Progressive Plumbing Services, Progressive Solar | 2 Comments »

Springtime Water Conservation for Outdoors

April 16th, 2010

In honor of all the time we’ll be spending outdoors this season, here are some helpful tips for conserving water outside your home. Whether you’re washing your car, watering your lawn, or watching the kids play in the sprinkler, warm weather often means that we use more water outdoors. Here are a few ways you can make sure you don’t waste any:

The bucket list

Think of daily household activities that might waste water. Examples: Running the shower before you get in to make sure it’s hot enough, rinsing off vegetables, waiting for water to heat up before you wash dishes. Instead of letting water run down the drain, put a bucket under the faucet or showerhead to collect it. Then use what you’ve collected to water your lawn, garden, and indoor and outdoor plants.

Washing your car

When washing your car in your driveway, don’t leave the hose running endlessly. Instead, fill up a bucket, promptly turn the hose off as soon as the bucket is full, and use only the water in the bucket. Better yet, use a waterless car washing spray like this one from Eco Touch.

Double duty

Do the kids want to play around in the sprinkler? I don’t blame them — in Raleigh’s hot spring and summer weather, we all need a way to cool down. Next time you get out the sprinkler for playtime, set it up in the area of your lawn that needs watering the most. Ta da! The kids have fun and the lawn gets the water it needs. Multi-tasking at its finest.

Rain barrel

Set this up as soon as possible to take advantage of April showers. By summer, you’ll have gallons of rainwater to use for watering your garden, washing the dog, etc. during the summer. These days, rain barrels come in a variety of styles, including planter and faux stone options.

Watering your lawn

Positioning your lawn sprinklers to water your lawn – and not the driveway or sidewalk – is common sense, but it seems to be something we forget. Take a few minutes to make sure your lawn sprinklers are in the most effective spots, not wasting water on areas that don’t need it. Bonus points: Install a rain shut-off device on automatic sprinklers so you don’t waste water on rain-soaked lawns.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Green Plumbing | 3 Comments »

Water Conservation Video

March 30th, 2010

This YouTube video demonstrates some helpful ways to save water, including fixing leaks, installing low-flow showerheads, installing faucet aerators and revamping your car washing routine. Take a look at these water conservation techniques:

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Green Plumbing | No Comments »

New Year’s Resolutions: Conserve Water & Energy

January 15th, 2010

So we’re a little late on this one. It’s been 2010 for over two weeks now (crazy, huh?) – but we think you can resolve to make eco-friendly changes any time of the year!

So this year, along with the usual list of resolutions, add this list of plumbing, HVAC, solar and electrical changes you can make at home to help the environment:

Resolution 1: Check your home for leaks in plumbing and piping. Or, call us to help! Leaky faucets, pipes and other plumbing fixtures can be an enormous waste of water.

Resolution 2: Use your dishwasher and clothes washing machine and dryer efficiently! Only run loads when these appliances are full – this will save gallons of water (in the case of the dishwasher and clothes washing machine) and lots of energy (in the case of the clothes dryer).

Resolution 3: Consider solar energy. There are more solar alternatives than just a rooftop solar array (though those are great). You can go solar with a solar water heater too! Contact Progressive’s solar division to learn how we can help your household switch to solar.

Resolution 4: Adapt to the climate, don’t make the climate adapt to you. Sure, turning up the heat in winter and cranking up the A/C in the summer makes sense. But it also uses a lot of energy. This year, don’t depend on your HVAC system to do all the work. Throw on a sweater if you’re cold; open the window and make a cold beverage if you’re hot.

Resolution 5: Turn off the lights and other electrical appliances when not in use. Ok, you’ve been hearing this your whole life. But have you ever made it a habit? Turn off the lights when you leave the room, unplug the blender when you’re finished with it, unplug your phone charger when it’s not in use, etc.

Resolution 6: Get creative! Reuse water from washing vegetables to water your houseplants. Open the blinds for light instead of turning on the lamp. Put a bucket under a leaky faucet to collect water to use for other purposes. Thinking of new ways to conserve water and energy can be fun, promise.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Green Plumbing | 2 Comments »

Green Home Tips

July 23rd, 2009

How can you lower your negative impact on the environment?  Installing a Photovoltaic (PV) solar array or a solar water heater would make huge improvements, but there are smaller ways to go green.  We’ve compiled a list, complete with links for more information:

As always, you can call Progressive to learn how we can help you go green, whatever size budget you’re working with.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Green Plumbing | No Comments »

Progressive Ideas for Water Conservation

July 8th, 2009

According to McGraw Hill’s SmartMarket Report released in early June, water efficiency and conservation is quickly coming to the forefront of green design and construction.  Because buildings consume 20% of the world’s water, this issue is fast becoming a higher priority than even energy efficiency and waste reduction. 

How can you help the environment, stay ahead of the curve and add to your home value?  Here are some things Progressive Plumbing and Piping can do to help your home or business conserve water:

  • Install low-flow showerheads and faucets, which can reduce your water usage by 60 percent
  • Install low-flush and high-efficiency toilets, saving a family of four an average of 15,000 gallons of water a year
  • Install a home leak-monitoring device
  • Install faucet flow reducers, which can reduce faucet flow by 40 percent

Tags: , ,
Posted in Green Plumbing | No Comments »

Solar water heaters, installed by Progressive Plumbing: Good for the earth and good for your wallet

June 10th, 2009

Have you ever considered installing a solar water system for your home or business? Benefits include:

  • Environmental friendliness – solar energy is clean and renewable
  • Drastically reduced utility bills – a 65 to 85% drop in hot water costs on average
  • Protection from future fuel shortages and price hikes

So what’s holding you back? A common factor many say impedes them from installing a solar water heater is the initial cost involved. But what if much of that cost was eliminated? The benefits of your new solar water heater would be felt in your wallet a lot sooner – in addition to the knowledge that you had made a huge step in an environmentally sustainable direction.

On June 3, Progress Energy announced a program called SunSense that will do just that. Starting this summer, the Carolinas-based energy company will pay incentives to both commercial and residential customers who choose to adopt solar water heating systems. The company says a household system will prevent more than 25,000 pounds of harmful CO2 emissions over 20 years.

Now’s the time to let your hot water give you the inner warmth of a green decision, while adding some green to your wallet. See how Progressive Plumbing Services can help you along the way.

Posted in Green Plumbing | No Comments »

Planet-Loving Plumbing

March 31st, 2009

I came across this great and informative blog entry covering a wide range of facts, tips and tricks with regard to green plumbing. Check it out here: 

Planet Loving Plumbing

If you’re interested in getting a hand with your next energy conservation project check out our Green Plumbing page or Ask One of Our Experts some questions today!

Tags: ,
Posted in Green Plumbing | No Comments »