Monday 21 April 2008

WISDOM OF THE WORLD WEEK 14 - BUILDING HOUSE


There was a skilled master carpenter who built strong, beautifully finished houses for his employer. His work was renowned throughout the land for its quality. He built with love and patience working painstakingly on all details. However he was nearing his retirement and looking forward to putting his working life behind him. His employer came to him one day and said, “I need you to build one more house for me before you retire”.

The master carpenter started the work but somehow he didn’t feel his usual pride in the work. The site for the home was beautiful; near woods and streams and rich land and resentment started to build up in him. All those years he had been building for others, never having the time or money for his own projects. This time he didn’t use such quality wood, he was careless with the building and didn’t bother about the details. When he had finished the house looked OK but the carpenter knew of the cut corners and shabby workmanship and didn’t care.

He handed over the keys to his employer and was surprised to see all his friends and colleagues there. The employer handed the keys back, “This house is for you for your retirement.” The carpenter realised that his resentment and bitterness had only hurt himself.

REDUCING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT


“One of the big incentives for moving over to Bio-ethanol fuel is a 50 per cent reduction in VRT, saving you up to €5700 euro on a Saab. The other is the price per litre.” Jeremy Carr –Mulroy Motors

“Everyone loves a wood fire; it really turns a house into a home. Modern wood pellet boilers offer the warmth and comfort of wood heating and are highly efficient, clean burning and totally automatic, saving you time and money”. Darren Collins- Evergreen


“Solar panels can save you up to 70% on your domestic hot water and 30% on overall heating costs”. Chris Maasson.



ECO SUPPLIERS IN THE NORTH WEST (AD FOR THE INISHOWEN INDEPENDENT)
Until recently, finding suppliers of sustainable energy products such as solar panels and wind turbines meant travelling miles or even venturing into Europe. Thankfully now we can find all the eco-products we need in Inishowen and the North West, saving us valuable time and money.


Insulation


Comfort is paramount in our homes, which makes good insulation vitally important. The more heat and energy you retain in the house, the less your fuel bill will be. This saves money and has the added bonus of keeping the CO2 emissions down to an acceptable level.

Patrick Doherty from Insulation Services has been keeping local homes warm for thirty years and knows a few things about insulation. His company caters for both old and new properties. “New houses benefit from cavity wall insulation,” says Patrick. “Older houses might need damp proofing” As well as individual projects, Insulation Services also work for the Education and Health Authorities and have ten million pound sterling public and product liability, which gives the customer total peace of mind. Patrick and his team also treat timber problems ranging from eradicating dry rot to timber preservation.

Wood pellet boilers


Have you ever thought of installing a wood pellet boiler? Maybe now would be the time to make a decision, as there is still time to avail of the grants that are available for homeowners to save money on eco products.

Wood burning is clean, energy efficient and does not contribute to global warming. The boilers are over 25% more efficient than domestic oil and can cost up to 50% less to operate. EirTherm Ltd based in Carrigans, are agents for HERZ wood pellet and wood chip boilers locally and they can provide the complete range of biomass boilers.

Why choose wood?

Wood is environmentally friendly
The carbon dioxide that is released when pellets are burned is the same as the amount the tree consumed when it was growing so it does not contribute to climate change.

Easy and clean to use
Pellet boilers are lit and run automatically, and the modern pellet boilers are self-cleaning.

Safety
Good quality boilers are equipped with a number of safety features including back-burn protection against the risk of fire.

Buying a boiler

Darren Collins from the company Evergreen, based in Killygordon takes the mystery out of buying bio fuel boilers. “To calculate what type of boiler you need there is a simple mathematical calculation” he says. “Times the square footage of your house by 0.8. This will tell you what size Kilowatt boiler to go for” he says “If you have a house with 2000 feet of space then a 15-20 watt system will be ideal.” Darren tells us about the different types of wood:

What are wood pellets?
“Pellets are clean, dry fuels made from a mixture of sawdust and wood shavings. The pellets are smoke free and high in energy.

What are wood chips?
“These are fragments made up from the whole tree. It is similar to the mulch on a garden but a lot more uniform and totally dry”.

What are heat logs?
“Heat logs are like an oversized wood pellet. They are made from managed oak and mahogany.


Logs

Maassen wood log boilers differ from other solid fuel boilers because it burns normal logs. “We work on the basis that every country has the ability to grow their own fuel. This cuts down on transportation costs,” they advise. “An important fact is that timber can be stored outside on the sheltered side of a building and can be exposed to the elements and even with a 20% moisture content still burns efficiently, so no dry storage is required.”


Solar panels and wind turbines


Maassen Sustainable Energy has 25 years experience in alternative power and also do a comprehensive range of solar panels and wind turbines. “The different wind turbine systems we have can be fitted either in new build domestic, commercial or existing buildings. The domestic turbines are noise free,” says Chris Maassen. Wind turbines will play an important role in sustainable energy in the coming years and Inishowen is ideally located to make the most of the technology. “Solar panels can save you up to 70% on your domestic hot water and 30% on overall heating costs. They do not need constant sunshine to be effective and they can be linked in with the existing heating too.”


E85 Fuel


Callaghan’s Motorway stores supply the North West with the new Bio- fuel E85 made from whey or rapeseed oil. “We are seeing a sharp increase of cars using the fuel,” says Dermott Callaghan from Motorway stores. “Saab, Volvo and Ford are all doing the dual–fuel cars and it is easy to see why. The price of E85 fuel is 95 cent per litre compared to €1.25 for unleaded, this means a saving of 27 cent per litre when you drive a car that runs on Bio- fuel - a big saving over the year for the motorist!”

Bio-ethanol fuel –Saab

One of the big incentives for moving over to Bio-ethanol fuel is a 50 per cent reduction in VRT, saving you up to €5700 euro on a Saab. The other is the price per litre. Bio-ethanol fuel contains only 15% unleaded petrol, which makes the price less prone to sudden increases in the oil market.

Jeremy Carr from Mulroy Motors in Letterkenny is also very aware about the reduction in CO2 emissions “When running the Saab 9-3 or 9-5 on E85 Bio-ethanol, fossil CO2 emissions are reduced by up to 80 per cent,” he states

“There is an impressive 20 % gain in brake horse power and 16% growth in torque when the car runs on E85 compared to when running on regular petrol,” Jeremy tells us. “The car also has the ability to run purely on unleaded fuel as well. So if you are far away from a station where you can refill with E85, you will never be left stranded. Changing from one fuel to another doesn’t require any flicking of switches either, you just put the fuel in the tank and go”.

5 MINUTES WITH - SUSAN LOGUE


Susan works as a producer and heavy metal show presenter with Inishowen Community Radio. She joined the ICR team as a volunteer back in 2003 and became a fully-fledged member of staff in 2005. Susan really enjoys the busy and dynamic atmosphere in ICRfm and is loves working in the media.

Susan is currently making some documentaries for the Broadcasting Commission for Ireland (BCI) through ICR. As well as all this she is still finding time to write music and put together band reviews for an American online magazine called SIN.


What have you been downloading on your iPod?
Getting back into 'Down' at the minute, an American heavy metal supergroup. I interviewed them last month and went to see them in the Ambassador last week. They were fantastic.

What would you never throw away?
I never throw anything away, I’m a complete hoarder.

What book are you reading?
I love cheesy horror books and right now I’m reading Stephen Kings 'Rose Madder', definitely not for the faint hearted.

Have you been to the cinema recently, what did you see and was it any good?

The most recent movie I’ve seen was the new 'Rambo' and I have to admit it was fantastic!! Stallone still has it….

What section of the newspaper do you turn to first?
Celebrity gossip pages every time. I research and present the celebrity gossip section on the ENTI programme here at the station on a Saturday afternoon so its a great excuse to read up on all the juicy stories during work.

What is your idea of a good night out?
A few beers in the house with friends, then out to catch some live music then back to a house party until the early hours.

Most embarrassing moment of your life?
I walked into a pole in the middle of a busy street...yes it does happen!!!

What is your idea of a great meal?
With family and friends and a nice bottle of wine..or two.

Have you a favourite TV programme?
It has to be Sopranos, one of the best television shows I’ve ever watched, my dad bought the whole series and now I’m a complete addict!

How do you relax?
With a glass of wine, or a spot of polercise, but not both at the same time…. trust me!


What job did you want to do when you were a child?
I always wanted to be a vet until I saw a cow give birth…. not pretty, and put me right off.

Where would you like to go for your holidays?
A road trip across American in a soft- top Cadillac with good friends and good tunes.

Your idea of heaven?
Getting paid to do something I love.

Your idea of hell?
Having no mobile phone and no Internet.

What famous people would you invite around for dinner and why?
They would all probably be my favourite musicians like Jimmy Bower, Iggy pop, Phil Anselmo, Nick Cave, Dez Farfara, Rob Zombie and Josh Todd….now that would be one hell of a dinner party!

Favourite animal?
I’ve always been a dog person.

Biggest fear?
Getting old!

Biggest thrill?
I recently abseiled 135ft for charity and I’d have to say it was a thrill and a half.

Personal philosophy?
Work hard, party harder.

What is your idea of a good night in?
A good night in would be with my boyfriend and good friends having a drink and a laugh or watching a scary movie.

Which period in history would you most like to have lived through?
Well I know what decade I’d like to have lived through and that’s the 60s for definite….I’m a hippy at heart.

World’s most useful invention?
GHD hair straightners. That’s such a girly thing to say.

Any last words?
Always

SWILLY SUB AQUA CLUB



LOUGH ESKE CASTLE PATIO










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