rigid foam insulation

In this day and age, the energy consumption of available resources creates an ever increasing demand. To accommodate the requirements of individuals seeking to power basic creature comforts including heating when cold and cooling when hot presents two distinct problems.

On the one hand, the wealthy are not considerate of their energy consumption, so on hot days they can keep their entire large home maintained at 40 degrees inside. This creates a drain on the energy supply, but the homeowner with a higher standard of living is not concerned with the cost of the average of 15 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity.

On the other hand, individuals with moderate or low income have other issues. Certainly everyone should be able to maintain a certain level of comfort when it is hot or cold outside, but the cost of electricity is a real concern for the less fortunate energy consumers; they may only be able to enjoy an inside temperature of 75 degrees when it is 90-100 degrees outside, and they may only be able to maintain cooling in one room or area within their home.

In fact, in the impoverished senior population, death from heat stroke – from not being able to afford adequate cooling for temperature control within their living environment – is a real concern in America. That is why it is important to have a variety of energy conservation techniques to fall back on in case of either an energy supply shortage, or in an effort to reduce energy consumption or deal with the rising cost of electricity.

How to Save Electricity

Energy conservation enthusiasts take turns at attempting to create new alternatives for addressing the heating and cooling drain on our energy systems as well as alternative approaches and other ways to save energy as we move throughout the various seasons of the year.

One energy engineer from the University of Oregon has taken a proactive approach to how to save electricity in remodeling his own home that sets a good example for responsible heating and cooling control. Architect Professor G. Z. (Charlie) Brown has reconfigured his home to command complete control of the temperature maintenance of each individual zone within his home.

A home owner can divide his home into independent zones, each with its own independent heating and/or cooling apparatuses (standard portable heating and cooling devices (portable air conditioners) are readily available via big box and hardware stores) for greater temperature control with insulated temporary walls (with man doors for egress).

When Brown sought to cordon off specific portions of his home to maintain separate zones, he chose to seek out the Sing Sandwich panel to create a series of insulated sliding walls to maintain separation and climate control within his own home. Unique properties of the patented Sing Sandwich includes an ergonomic natural wood vertical grain torsion box matrix where the voids are filled wall to wall with rigid foam insulation creating an insulated substrate that is strong and lightweight.

There is another approach – using the very same material that is readily available via your local Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse Pro Desk – that does not require a high level of architectural expertise and is a simple DIY approach for the average do-it-yourselfer.

Insulated Sing Sandwich temporary wall panels are available in 8 ft tall, 4 ft wide and inch-and-a-half thickness. By simply standing up these wall panels end to end, anyone could cordon off a separate living area within a larger vacant area for maintaining better climate control. The walls have an R value of R5.25 while being lightweight and stronger than steel (660 PSI) making the Sing Sandwich panel the perfect affordable solution for creating a manageable space separation.

For instance, one value and ecologically-minded individual with a master bedroom size of 26.6 x 17.6 in a home with central heating (controlled by a single thermostat) was able to reduce their winter heating costs by $220 per month by simply creating a separate insulated room within the larger master bedroom to manage the heating costs in the colder seasonal months.

The free-standing 9 x 10 room-within-a-room concept is empowering people to enjoy saving energy (and making their heating and cooling expenses more affordable).

House Within a House

In Brooklyn, New York a couple of artists have built a pair of tiny houses inside their open loft area. They rent them for $2310 per month each. They have the advantage of being in an excellent location within the heart of Brooklyn within walking distance of just about everything and a scenic view of the Manhattan skyline.

In fact, the New York area is the primary location of people seeking out ways to divide living spaces (this loft area is an excellent example) by using insulated Sing Sandwich panels to create separate rooms not just for energy savings but to make separate private living areas for roommates who share a common area.

Currently a trend throughout the greater New York area, it is expected that the Sing insulated, lightweight-high-strength room divider solution will continue to spread across the United States and into other countries, where space and energy are at a premium.

As energy gets more expensive and as income medians continue to plummet, insulated Sing Sandwich temporary wall panels used as room dividers continue to be one of the best ways to conserve energy and help mitigate the damages facing people trying to maintain a safe and secure quality of life on a budget.

Viva Zone Control!

For Government Consideration

It’s time for a change of lifestyle by public and school education

The U.S. Department of Energy should function as the leader in the world to change the culture-of-lifestyle approach toward energy consumption. Instead of recklessly chasing the American Dream – i.e., more highways, cars and trucks instead of more responsible railways and public transportation, and living in a 3000 sq. ft. average sized home – we all could do this together and it would be great if the DOE could help us all create and maintain a better world.