Archive for July, 2014

The Common Tools Used in Professional Leak Detection

Monday, July 28th, 2014

Leaks are among the most common problems that can afflict a home’s plumbing. Despite their frequency, leaks are also notoriously difficult to locate, especially smaller ones hidden behind drywall and floorboards, or leaks that occur under concrete foundation slabs. Once you start to notice signs of leaks happening in your home—such as high water bills, mold and mildew growth, or water damage appearing on walls and floorboards—you must contact professional plumbers to perform leak detection in order to pinpoint the leaking and fix it with the least amount of disruption to your home.

Leak detection is a specialized skill that requires equipment available only to professional plumbers. Below are some of the devices that our plumbers at HB Energy Solutions use for leak detection in Southern Vermont homes. Call us any time of the day or night when you need work for household leaks.

The basic leak detection tools

  • Acoustic devices: Sound is one of the ways that plumbers locate leaks through building material. The escaping water makes a distinctive noise which plumbers can locate using listening discs or ground microphones. The discos work very similar to medical stethoscopes, and can locate leaking acoustically even through thick concrete slabs. The plumbers will first use visual clue to narrow down the search area, and the use the acoustic equipment to determine the more exact location of the problem.
  • Pressure and heat sensors: A more advanced set of tools are pressure- and heat-sensing devices. Water escaping from leaks causes increases in pressure around the pipe and also temperature changes. These electronic sensors can locate these areas.
  • Video inspection equipment: The most precise way to locate leaks—and also the best way to find out how to fix them—is with video inspection equipment. These devices consist of flexible fiber-optic cables with digital cameras and LED lights mounted at the ends. Plumbers send these cameras down through pipes and watch a video feed on monitors to spot where leaking is occurring. The plumbers will also know the size and nature of the leaks, which will help the repair work go faster.

Not only is leak detection equipment too expensive for consumer use, but it requires years of training to operate properly and interpret the results. Make sure that you put your trust in professional plumbers when you need leak detection in Southern Vermont for your home’s plumbing.

For professional leak detection services in Southern Vermont call on HB Energy Solutions, and we will put our more than 20 years of experience to work for you.

How Do Solar Water Heaters Work?

Monday, July 21st, 2014

Solar energy is a rapidly expanding field that offers the potential to use a renewable and clean source of power to run every appliance inside a home. But if you feel a bit intimidated at the prospect of an immense overhaul of your house and power system to accommodate solar power, you can always start smaller and build from there. A good place to start: installing a solar water heater.

As we’ll explain, solar water heaters are simple devices that do not require large-scale installation jobs or immense upfront costs. If you schedule an appointment with HB Energy Solutions, we can show you how easy it is to fit homes in New Hampshire with solar water heaters… and we think you’ll find the prospect of using the free energy of the sun so enticing that you’ll want to expand solar power to more of your daily life.

Solar water heaters: the basics

As with most solar-powered systems, solar water heaters use a solar collector mounted on the roof that picks up the radiant energy of the sun. With active solar water heat systems, a pump moves water or a heat transfer fluid through the collector where it gains the sun’s heat.

Active solar water heaters come in two types: direct circulation systems and indirect circulation systems. In general, we recommend the indirect systems for installation in New Hampshire because direct circulation systems can have difficulty in sub-zero temperatures.

With indirect circulation systems, the water does not circulate though the collector itself to receive heat energy. Instead, a pump sends a heat-transfer fluid through the collectors to gain energy. This fluid is designed not to freeze in low temperatures. The heated fluid then runs through a heat exchanger within a water tank, and this heats up the water stored there.

A ­passive solar water heater does not use a pump, but instead relies on the natural rise of water as it heats and the sinking of colder water. These systems are less expensive, but tend to be less efficient as well.

Rely on professional installers to determine which of the various systems listed above will provide you with the best supply of hot water at maximum efficiency.

Solar powered water heaters in New Hampshire make a fantastic gateway to the use of the power of the sun to run a home.

Our team at HB Energy Solutions is committed to helping you with sustainable options for energy that will not only help save money, but help protect the environment at the same time.

Advantages and Drawbacks of Ductless Air Conditioning

Monday, July 14th, 2014

No ducts? No problem! Ductless air conditioning systems offer a great alternative to central air conditioning, which uses the ductwork of a home in order to distribute cool air. If you need an air conditioning system, but your home or room addition makes ductwork installation difficult, the advantages of ductless air conditioning installation may outweigh the drawbacks.

The main advantage of ductless air conditioning systems is that they do not require any ducts to cool your home. Sometimes your home or room addition does not have ductwork installed, and ductwork installation may be a hassle because of the layout of your home. Also, central air conditioning systems often use more energy than is necessary because cool air can easily escape through the ducts before it reaches the rooms that need cooling. Ductless air conditioners eliminate this potential energy loss.

Ductless air conditioning systems are made up of an outdoor unit and several indoor air handlers which provide both heating and cooling. These indoor air handlers are installed in different rooms in your home, and these individual zones can be controlled via separate thermostats or with a master thermostat that controls them all. This is a great advantage for family members who have different temperature specifications. Furthermore, central air conditioners often use energy to cool unoccupied rooms. With a ductless system, you can turn off the AC in a room if nobody is using it, ultimately reducing energy costs.

One drawback of ductless air conditioning, however, is that the system itself may be more costly upfront. However, the long-term energy savings that come with owning a ductless system may offset this cost. Another drawback may be the appearance of large indoor air handlers in your home. However, these can be mounted high on the wall or suspended from the ceiling, so they may not interfere with the décor of a room at all. They also generally have a more pleasant appearance than window air conditioners.

When ducted system installation is not practical for your home, call HB Energy Solutions for ductless air conditioning installation in Southern Vermont today!

How to Factor Plumbing into Your New Construction

Monday, July 7th, 2014

When your business expands, either with additions to its current space or with a completely new building, you will have a swarm of issues to worry about, and some will receive more attention than others. One issue that deserves a great deal of your attention is the new plumbing, which is as important as hooking up the electrical power.

It can be tricky trying estimating how plumbing will integrate with the new construction work, and that’s why you should always have a company with extensive new construction plumbing in New Hampshire working with you. HB Energy Solutions is a full service energy installation company, and we handle new construction plumbing services, as well as electrical services. Contact us before you start your new business’ new construction project.

Consider these factors for plumbing in new construction

  • Are you connecting old plumbing to new plumbing? If your new construction is an addition to your current building, then the most important consideration is how to fit the new plumbing to the old, and how much of the older plumbing will also need replacement in order to accommodate the new. Part of this will involve the water heater; you will almost certainly need a new water heater installation to supply enough hot water for the expansion. Professional plumbers will help you with the planning to properly integrate older plumbing with the new installation.
  • Match the plumbing with your budget: Budget will always be on your mind when it comes to any major project for your company. When you are involved in new construction, make sure that the expenses necessary to install the plumbing will match with your allocated budget. It’s often easy to take the plumbing for granted in construction, but it is a major item to consider that can affect the layout, and mistakes in either building design or plumbing will be costly in both the short and the long term.
  • Make sure to hire the right contractors: This can be difficult, but even a company that handles light commercial plumbing work and installation will not necessarily have experience with new construction plumbing. Take the time to find a company with years of experience and a specialty in plumbing for new construction; this is the most important step you can take with the planning to factor in new plumbing, because if you make the right choice, most of your other choices will be taken care of.

We can also install the necessary electrical systems and water heaters: everything that you need to supply your new construction with the water, drainage, and power it needs. We will take into account all the factors necessary to make your light commercial construction and expansion a success.

At HB Energy Solutions, we can handle your light commercial new construction plumbing in New Hampshire, whether it’s a complete new plumbing system or gas piping. Call us today!

The Famous Painting of the Declaration of Independence Isn’t What You Think It Is

Friday, July 4th, 2014

If you grew up in the United States, you probably first saw John Trumbull’s painting of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence in an elementary schoolbook. This oil-on-canvas 12’ x 18’ painting hangs in the rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It is one of the most famous symbols of freedom in the country and almost every citizen can conjure it from memory.

Except… the painting isn’t of the singing of the Declaration of Independence. The actual title of the work is Declaration of Independence, and although it does portray an important moment in the history of the document that announced the Thirteen Colonies’ decision to break away from British rule, the event in the painting occurred on June 28, 1776, not July 4, 1776.

John Trumbull, a Connecticut native who fought in the Revolutionary War and whose father was the state governor, was commissioned to create the painting in 1817. He did painstaking research on the figures in the picture and also visited Independence Hall to see the actual chamber where the Second Continental Congress met. Trumbull only included 42 of the original 56 signers, because he could not find adequate likenesses for 14 or them, and added a few figures who were not present (most of whom declined to sign the actual document). In fact, the men depicted in the painting had never been present in the same room at one time.

So if the painting does not portray the singing of the Declaration of Independence, what is happening in the image? The Trumbull’s scene depicts the presentation of the draft of the declaration to the Continental Congress for editing and approval. The five-man drafting committee (John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin) is handing over their finished work, which congress would then edit carefully over the next few days before voting on it and signing it on the day that we now celebrate as the start of the United States of America.

One last, odd, fact: two of the five-man drafting committee, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both died on the July 4—although many years later.

Our family at HB Energy Solutions hopes that your Fourth of July (or Twenty-Eighth of June if you decided to start celebrating early) is a memorable and happy one.