Household Utilities

It’s loud and clear! The conventional sources of energy are fast exhausting and won’t be able to sustain the global energy requirements for long. Not only are they expensive but lead to pollution also, especially the coal and other fossil fuels which cause a lot of green house emissions. So we have to look for ‘alternative sources of energy’ to at least meet energy requirements other than those required by the industry. Such a need had been recognized like 20 years back or so but it is now that it’s become the need of the hour. And I am glad that a lot of effort has already been made towards developing these sources.
Plants use photosynthesis to grow and produce biomass which can be used directly as fuel or to produce liquid biofuel. Agriculturally produced biomass fuels, such as biodiesel, ethanol and bagasse can be burned in internal combustion engines or boilers. Solid biomass is mostly commonly usually used directly as a combustible fuel, producing 10-20 MJ/kg of heat.
Wind energy is one of the oldest and cleanest forms of energy and the most developed of the renewable energy sources. Airflows can be used to run wind turbines. The power output of a turbine is a function of the cube of the wind speed, so as wind speed increases, power output increases dramatically Areas where winds are stronger and more constant, such as offshore and high altitude sites, are preferred locations for wind farms.
Energy in water can be harnessed and used in various forms such as hydroelectric energy, ocean energy, marine current power, ocean thermal energy conversion, tidal power; wave power etc. “Solar energy” refers to energy that is collected from sunlight. Solar energy can be applied in many ways, including to generate electricity using solar power satellites, photovoltaic solar cells, concentrated solar power, etc. solar power is also made use of in solar chimneys, passive solar building design, solar ovens, solar-thermal panels and solar air conditioning.
Geothermal energy is obtained by tapping the heat of the earth itself i.e. it derives form within the core of the earth. Three types of power plants, Dry steam plants( take steam out of fractures in the ground ), flash plants(take hot water), and binary plants( the hot water flows through heat exchangers, boiling an organic fluid that spins the turbine), are used to tap the geothermal energy. The’ jewel in the crown’ of alternative resources is the nuclear energy, huge amount of energy generated during fusion\fission but it is still to be developed. Lots of issues are there regarding the disposal of nuclear wastes.
The energy from these renewable sources comes at a cost. Though the natural sources are free, the technology to harness them is pretty expensive. But good news is that the cost borne would be far less than what we would have paid in terms of danger to the environment. Now the onus is on government and various industries as to how they come up with proper, clean and affordable energy solutions.

Chimney has now become a household term and an imperative kitchen need, so as to keep the home free of smoke and other mild pollutants generated in cooking the food. Chimneys are basically structures for venting off hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Use of chimneys dates back to roman era. Chimneys are used in a lot of places like in buildings, ships, industries, locomotives, etc. here we are concerned with the use of chimney as a kitchen appliance. But obviously the working is going to be the same. Same rules of stack-effect, suction, etc are applied. The chimney is strategically placed on above the stove or the burner so as to suck the smoke instantly. Since the smoke is heavier than air, the suction power of it has to be strong enough. The internal heating system of the chimney throws the smoke out, but only after all its carbon and other polluting contents have been filtered. Why is this done? Come on! You don’t want to pollute the environment either. So there arises a need to clean the chimney from time to time and scrap off its valuable deposits. The deposits are a direct reflection of your eating habits. The more the carbon deposit, more is the frying activity and the use of oil. They are used to add freshness and fresh air inside by exhausting aroma, smoke and other vapors out of the kitchen.

And it’s a myth that the chimney also absorbs in the minerals, aroma from the cooking food, because of suction. Nothing like this happens. Chimneys do their designated task only. Chimneys form a very important part of the kitchen appliance range of many firms. Their price starts at around $399 and goes up to $1299 depending upon its function, capabilities and size. The big brands in the field of electric chimneys are Cater, Faber Heat Kraft, Glen, Hindware, Inalsa, Kaff, Gilma, Deesha Elica, Seimans and Sunflame. Chimneys come in regular and decorative look (the conical shaped chimneys) with additional features of grease filter and charcoal filter. All the major brands offer discounts and additional services in festive season to boost the sale. There are installation charges also with almost every brand and at times to boost sales the installation is done free of cost.
So among other appliances chimneys are very important and make a home complete lending freshness to it.

Global Warming is defined as the increase of the average temperature on Earth. As the Earth is getting hotter, disasters like hurricanes, droughts and floods are getting more frequent. The green house gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are playing hazards in the present times. These green house gases trap heat in earth’s atmosphere and thus result in increasing the temperature of earth. The excessive emission of these gases is one of the major causes of global warming. The major source of carbon dioxide is the power plants. These power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide produced from burning of fossil fuels for the purpose of electricity generation.About twenty percent of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere comes from burning of gasoline in the engines of the vehicles. This is true for most of the developed countries. Buildings, both commercial and residential represent a larger source of global warming pollution than cars and trucks.

 Scientists all over the world are making predictions about the ill effects of Global warming and connecting some of the events that have taken place in the past few decades as an alarm of global warming. The effect of global warming is increasing the average temperature of the earth. A rise in earth’s temperatures can in turn root to other alterations in the ecology, including an increasing sea level and modifying the quantity and pattern of rainfall. These modifications may boost the occurrence and concentration of severe climate events, such as floods, famines, heat waves, tornados, and twisters. Global warming is also leading to extinction of various species of animals. Species like golden toad, harlequin frog of Costa Rica has already become extinct due to global warming. The marine life is also very sensitive to the increase in temperatures. The effect of global warming will definitely be seen on some species in the water.

Even if all this is happening, you can be the one who can stop it, many efforts are being made by various nations to cut down the rate of global warming. Each of us can make simple decisions that will reduce global warming pollution. The choices we make and the products we buy test our commitment to maintain a healthy planet. When we burn fossil fuels—such as oil, coal, and natural gas—to run our cars and light our homes, we pump carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air. This thickens the heat-trapping blanket that surrounds the planet, causing global warming. Choosing modern technology can reduce our use of fossil fuels and help protect the planet. a few things you can do are

(i) Drive smart- keep your car well maintained as this will burn less gasoline.

(ii) Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.

(iii) Become a smart water consumer-Install low-flow showerheads and faucets and you’ll use half the water without decreasing performance.

(iv)Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!-Producing new paper, glass, and metal products from recycled materials saves 70 to 90 percent of the energy and pollution, including CO2, that would result if the product came from virgin materials.

(v) Mount a local campaign against global warming-Educate your community about how it can cut global warming pollution.

Hence, together we can and we will curb GLOBAL WARMING.

India has always been striving hard to build up and reinforce its industrial base. In this quest of “self-sufficiency”, however, the consumer has been made to endure sub-standard products and services: adulterated foods, spurious and hazardous drugs, exorbitant prices, endemic shortages leading to black marketing and profiteering, unfulfilled manufacture guarantees, and a host of other ills. In one infamous case, forty persons were struck with dropsy and glaucoma after consuming groundnut oil adulterated with toxic argemone oil. The culprits were never brought to justice. This outrage energized nine ladies to organize a movement to fight for consumer rights. They formed the Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) to resist consumer exploitation of all forms.

Long before buying that refrigerator, you never knew if you might have a voice to complain if it provided unsatisfactory service. Yes of course we have a consumer reprisal forum. But could there be any further damage to a company more than a court case? Obviously there can be, if we vote against it.

The Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) has launched a website of its own, where you can vote against the worst product and the worst service encountered or experienced by you. This drive has been implemented to benefit the consumer and thus empower him /her in taking the correct decision and making the right choice as a consumer citizen of India.  The CGSI will receive the complaints on the worst product and the worst services and will thus nominate a “worst product award” and a “worst service award” to worsen the company’s name.  these complaints will be scrutinized by a panel of three eminent citizens well-versed in handling public affairs.

Once the results are out, the companies bagging these not-so-prestigious awards will be called for a trial and will be given a chance to defend themselves. This concept which has been introduced for the first time in India has declared the consumer an almighty for the success or failure of a product or service.

This service thus will ensure that corporate take extreme measures to provide better quality and quantity to the consumer. This will also make them aware of the power a consumer might have on their brand. Although the consumer community has welcomed this new sea of change with open arms, the companies do not seem to be taking too well to this drive.

For registering complaints, log on to www.cgsiindia.org

All the best dear consumer!

Green green, beauty queen!  The old adage, we used in our school days would work wonders for our planet earth in today’s times.  Green, for long has been the colour associated with nature, beauty and life. In this age of organic vegetables , we would be advancing a lot more by going the green way in our household decisions as well, that is rather than finding markets for buying organic tofu and chicken , we will be better off finding alternate means for generation of electricity , use of gases etc.

Deciding to go green is a big decision. It is not easy to cultivate environmental awareness, forget retaining it. One big way of controlling this problem is by being sensitive to your own environment. Every time you turn on the lights, open the refrigerator, turn on the heat, or take a ride in the car, you are using energy–electricity, gasoline, and natural gas, for example.  The power plants that generate the electricity and the automobile engines that burn gasoline all create vast amounts of CO2.

What are exactly our problems? We are socially active, morally correct then why not be environmentally responsible as well. We, humans are trained to take things for granted. As a natural consequence we lose out in this race to save earth. We have never been taught the value of energy. We all remember Einstein and his famous e=mc square. Yet we have forgotten that the biggest boon of energy is that it can be used wisely.

The First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy under normal conditions cannot be created or destroyed, simply transformed from one type of energy to another. I hope we take this law in good spirit and would not get back to our old “lights-fans-on-without-any-reason” days.