A taxpayer-funded project to provide a home security system for Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas included improvements to his converted garage that involved a week of work and upgrades to the building's electrical service, according to interviews and records.

County-paid crews installed the security system in Ridley-Thomas' detached garage, which earlier had been turned into an office, apparently without permits. Workers replaced the garage's interior walls and dug a 60-foot-long trench across the property to bury conduit and make more electrical power available to the structure, the manager of the project said.

In all, about $10,000 worth of work was done at the supervisor's Leimert Park residence as part of the security measures, L.A. County records show.

Supervisors, who make an annual salary of $181,292, are entitled to home security systems provided by the county, but not to unrelated improvements to their property at government expense. Experts on alarm systems said they doubted that all of the work performed last September at Ridley-Thomas' residence was required by the security installation.

John Thompson, who oversaw the work at Ridley-Thomas' property, said that in addition to an alarm system, workers installed a wall-mounted air conditioner and heating unit as well as a refrigerator and flat-screen TV. Thompson, a manager with the county's Internal Services Department, said he suggested the supervisor get the air conditioner because the converted garage was hot inside. He said Ridley-Thomas paid for the cooling-heating unit and the refrigerator, and that he believed the television came from the supervisor's office in the county Hall of Administration.

It is unclear whether Ridley-Thomas reimbursed the county for any other costs.

Thompson said he previously worked on the supervisor's county offices and that Ridley-Thomas asked him to oversee the garage project. "He is the nicest guy," Thompson said. "I will do anything for that guy."

Ridley-Thomas has not responded to questions from The Times for several days.

On Sunday, he declined to talk to two reporters who visited his home, telling them through an intercom, "Please step off my porch."

The Times has asked the county for all records documenting the expenses for the work at supervisors' residences over the last five years. The county has so far released only a handful of heavily redacted documents in connection with Ridley-Thomas' residence, showing the total cost was $10,038. No details of the work were disclosed.

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Work at Ridley-Thomas' residence went beyond security system

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Clayton Browne has been writing professionally since 1994. He has written and edited everything from science fiction to semiconductor patents to dissertations in linguistics, having worked for Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Steck-Vaughn and The Psychological Corp. Browne has a Master of Science in linguistic anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

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Geothermal heating and cooling systems are based on the temperature differential between an underground source and a building to be heated or cooled. Most people think of geothermal heating systems as tapping into an underground hot spring or something similar; but those type of geological formations are rare, and there are relatively few places where classic geothermal systems can be economically installed. However, geothermal heat pumps that involve laying a series of piping loops underground, removing the heat stored in the water of the pipes, and using it to heat a building have become technically feasible and can offer significant savings on utility bills.

Geothermal heat pumps do not create heat by burning fuel or from any kind of combustion. During winter, geothermal heat pumps collect the natural underground heat through a series of pipes installed in loops below the surface of the ground or at the bottom of a pond. Fluid circulates around through the loops underground and picks up heat and carries it to the building. There, a compressor (usually electric) and a heat exchanger remove and concentrate the heat and release it inside the home.

One of the great advantages of geothermal heat pump systems is the fact that they can heat during the winter and cool during the summer. In the summertime, 150 to 450 feet underground is much cooler than the surface temperature in most cases, so the fluid that circulates through these deep underground pipes will return to the building with a cold load that can be used to cool the building

Drilling costs for a geothermal pump system can run from $10,000 to $30,000, depending on the size of the system and the type of ground that has to be drilled. These drilling costs have to be added to the cost of the heat pump system when calculating the total cost of a geothermal heat pump installation.

Geothermal heat pump systems cost around $2500 to $3000 per ton of capacity. Given that an average to somewhat larger home will require three tons of heating/cooling capacity, the cost comes to about $7500 to $9000 for the actual geothermal heat pump equipment.

Assuming average costs, the total cost of a three-ton geothermal heat pump system would be $8250 for the heat pump and $15,000 for the drilling, for a total of $23,250. A traditional electrical heating and cooling system costs around $4000 a ton, so an equivalent three-ton traditional heating/cooling system would cost around $12,000. However, keep in mind that the utility bills of homeowners with geothermal heat pump systems tend to average 20 to 30 percent less than homeowners with traditional heat/cooling systems. Assuming a savings of $80 a month on your utilities, the extra $12,000 you paid up front for the geothermal pump system will be recouped in 13 years (and geothermal pump systems last 20 to 25 years, on average).

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How Much Does Geothermal Heating Cost to Install? | eHow

Q: What steps do you recommend taking to lower home-energy costs?

A: The Puget Sound areas mild, maritime climate makes it an ideal spot for drastically lowering your power consumption at home.

According to a recent study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the average energy bill for a typical single-family American home is approximately $2,200 per year.

But by following these tips and making smart choices, many local homeowners can come very close to eliminating their home-energy bills.

The first step is to lower your homes requirements for heating, cooling and lighting. This means carefully sealing and insulating the shell of your home.

A typical house leaks 475 cubic feet of air per minute (CFM) enough to fill a hot-air balloon in less than three hours. Todays most-efficient homes leak only 68 CFM.

Properly placed high-performance windows let in the warming rays of the sun in the winter, are shaded in the summer and can provide natural ventilation.

Another energy-saving choice is to install water-saving appliances and ultralow showerheads. Hot water equals energy down the drain, so this is important for reducing energy usage.

Once you have lowered your energy usage as much as is practical for your family and your lifestyle, the next step is install efficient equipment and systems.

While it may not be feasible to replace everything at once, you can make small changes that help.

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Cut energy use and stay warm and save money | HomeWork

EDWARDSVILLE The state's capital construction program will pay $1.7 million to renovate the chiller plant at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Gov. Pat Quinn announced Thursday.

The plant provides air conditioning to buildings on the Edwardsville campus. The project will increase capacity, install a new pump, upgrade equipment and make other improvements.

Kane Mechanical of East Alton will do the heating and air conditioning portion, and Wissehr Electric of Belleville will do the electrical work.

Quinn said the project will improve the learning environment and employ construction workers, while SIU President Glenn Poshard said it will make "a real difference" on the campus.

"While a new air conditioning system may not be the most thrilling construction project in the university's history, this is a commitment to maintain the existing standard of a quality environment to attract and keep the great student body and faculty at SIUE," said state Sen. Bill Haine (D-Alton).

The "Illinois Jobs Now" capital construction program includes $31 billion in infrastructure projects statewide over six years.

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State to fund new cooling system for SIUE

Milton Canadian Champion

If youre always too hot or too cold, its quite possible that your HVAC system isnt working up to the standard it should be, and needs to be serviced or replaced.

As we all know temperatures change dramatically in Ontario, and we have to be prepared. In order to be comfortable in your home, office or industrial building, you need to partner with heating and air conditioning service professionals with experience, dependability and superior products.

In Burlington and the surrounding areas, that company is Air-Quest Air Conditioning & Heating.

Our mission is one of continuous improvement in our methodologies, focus on our customer needs, and developing long term relationships well into the 21st century. We are dedicated to staying current with new innovative products and leading edge energy conservation products in order to help your business and home reduce their energy demands.

We service and install; Air Conditioners, Furnaces, Heat Pumps, NTI & Viessmann Boilers, Air Cleaners, Thermostats, Ductless AC, Trane, Rinnai Water Heaters, Humidifiers,. We also offer repair and maintenance services for all major makes and models of furnaces and air conditioners.

Air-Quests main focus is providing superior-quality HVAC products and services to our customers. We are an environmentally conscious company and as such, offer refrigerant reclaiming and recycling services as well as refrigerant conversion solutions.

We pride ourselves on our professional quality workmanship. We stand behind all of our work with a five year warranty, and supply only original manufacturer parts for your heating and cooling equipment.

With over 20 years of experience you know we can get the job done right the first time. If you require service, installation or some friendly advice, please fill out our online form and tell us about your needs. All of our online orders receive a 10% discount! You can also call us anytime at 905-510-5006.

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Air Quest Air Conditioning & Heating

Published: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014, 12:01a.m. Updated 13 hours ago

Last Tuesday's record-breaking cold weather became even more difficult when our furnace stopped working.

When I first noticed the house getting chilly at 1:30 a.m. I tried cranking the thermostat to 80 degrees to see if it would kick on.

Nothing.

Then, my boyfriend and I went to the basement, neither of us knowing anything about furnaces, and stared at it for a couple of minutes while it tried to start.

Tick, tick, tick, tick. Again, nothing.

We called one heating-and-cooling company that boasted 24/7 service on its website. No one answered.

Our second try, with a different company, was more successful, and about 45 minutes later, a technician arrived at our house.

Unfortunately, though, he didn't bring great news.

After examining our furnace, he told us it was as old as he was 26 and well over its expected lifespan.

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In Focus: No warm greeting to the new year, but hey, it could be worse

It pays to be eco-friendly--literally. These seven home improvement ideas will help you save energy as well as money on your next electric bill.

Energy savings is certainly on a lot of people's minds as Winter 2014 has kicked off in fearsome fashion across the United States. Yet savings know no season, and are sometimes affected by a timeline of when energy investments will have paid for themselves. Unfortunately most products don't come with this information clearly stamped on the box, but that's where we come in! Here we examine seven popular product categories to see how long it might take before you realize any returns on investments.

is devoted to finding the best deals on consumer goods, whether or not they're from an advertiser. For more great offers visit dealnews.com, which works with advertisers to craft offers for readers.

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Low-Flow Shower Heads

A low-flow showerhead can save lots of money on utility bills. But not all such heads are made equal, so theres something to be said for sacrificing thequalityof your shower for thequantityof your savings. One showerhead that earns solid reviews is theEvolve Roadrunner II(from $39.95 with about $13 s&h, a low by $12). This showerhead allows you to warm up the shower, then cuts the flow to a trickle once the water hits 95 degrees. Then, you pull a cord on the showerhead to resume the normal flow of water, thus saving on hot water costs.

Payback Time:Evolve claims its showerhead will pay for itself in two months time, and estimates an annual utility savings of about $250. Of course, how much you save depends on your water use, utility rates, and whether you sing "Happy Birthday" in the shower or "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Plastic Window Wrap

Taping up your windows isn't kind of home accoutrement that will win you any awards from Architectural Digest, but some people swear by plastic window wrap as a way to keep energy costs down by keeping the cold out. It's a simple fix, too: by putting plastic film over a window (and this works best for older windows), you cut down on the heat loss through the pane. This does nothing to control heat loss through a low-quality frame, though.

Originally posted here:
7 home improvements that pay for themselves

As the temperatures drop, the cost of keeping warm can heat up your wallet to a painful level. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average household spends approximately $2,200 on energy costs, with half going towards heating and cooling. However, there are ways to keep costs down, and many are simple do-it-yourself projects.

A Good Place to Start

One easy way to keep costs in check is to install a digital thermostat. This simple gizmo can automatically change a homes temperature while the occupants are away or asleep for optimum energy efficiency. Plus, because homeowners can set the times in advance, there is less chance they will forget to dial down the heat while everyones gone or in bed.

For every degree a thermostat is set back during an eight hour period (or up during air conditioning season), the energy savings equals up to one percent. Set the thermostat back ten to fifteen degrees for the eight hours and the savings can reach fifteen percent. The EPA recommends you start with a temperature of 68 to 70 degrees and then program the thermostat to set the temp back by at least 8 degrees both during the day and at night.

Programmable digital thermostats come in three types:

A 5+2 has one setting schedule for weekdays and another for weekends.

The 5-1-1 model has one setting schedule for Monday through Friday, one for Saturday, and one for Sunday.

The flexible 7-day model allows a different daily schedule with up to four different temperature time periods each day.

There are many how-to instructions on line for installing a digital thermostat. However, Greg Hunsicker of McElroys Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and Air cautioned, The technology with digital thermostats and your heating systems control wiring in many cases dictate a homeowners need to call a professional to complete this task.

More Cost-Cutting Ideas

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At Home: Ideas for cutting home heating costs

ASHEBORO, N.C. Leaders at the North Carolina Zoo are working to protect the animals from frigid temperatures.

Because the majority of the animals there are from much warmer climates, curators take additional steps to support them.

"Every animal at the zoo has a shelter and indoor area that has capacity for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer, said general curator Ken Reininger.

That includes barns that stand 22 feet high for giraffes and another holding area that keeps cougars and waterfowl safe.

"The biggest thing we had to deal with is that we have a couple of facilities with older heating units. Several of them had to be serviced by our maintenance staff to be up and running again, Reininger said.

It's so cold that even Patches, the zoo's newest polar bear, only comes out of her enclosed area a few times a day.

"She does prefer to go into her holding area in her straw bed and spend time indoors," Reininger said.

While species in the North American exhibit can tolerate these frigid temperatures, species in the African exhibit have to go inside if it's 45 degrees or below.

"We actually train our animals to come in on a daily basis, in part, because of situations like this, so we don't have to go round them up, Reininger said.

Alligators are one of the few animals that don't come in.

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NC Zoo curators take steps to keep animals warm during cold spell

CHARLOTTE -- While thousands in the Charlotte area are bundling up for the brutally cold temperatures, heating technicians are outside working overtime.

The possible near record lows mean homeowners are tuning up their heaters, or even worse, getting replacements before the mercury plummets into single digits.

For technician Eric Timmons, when the temperature plummets, business heats up.

"Next couple of days it will be more demand calls, less maintenances and tuneups," said Timmons.

Timmons and other technicians at Brothers Heating Cooling and Plumbing Works were twice as busy as normal Monday as temperatures dipped well below freezing.

"We're expecting it to get a lot busier the next few days especially with the wind chill getting as low as it is," said Timmons.

Timmons' workload included the south Charlotte home of Janet Young who relied on an indoor heater while Timmons replaced a leaky part in her heater.

"I feel fortunate, especially since the temperatures are going to be so low," said Young.

Heating experts said the colder temperatures get, the more strain it puts on heaters and a home's energy, even more so with older models.

"Below 40, the heat pump, you'll start bringing on electrical auxiliary heat to help it out, and the heat pump is just going to run constantly," said Timmons.

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Technicians work overtime as brutal cold puts heaters to the test