Central Florida Energy Consultant  

Hydrogen Peroxide - A Greener Alternative to Chlorine Bleach 

Chlorine bleach is a chemical that most of us have in our homes. It's very handy for multiple applications including cleaning and disinfecting; but may not be all that earth friendly. A good alternative to consider is hydrogen peroxide.

Most of the debate about chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) stems from its ability to form more toxic byproducts such as dioxin, furans and other organochlorines when reacting with other elements.

Hydrogen Peroxide on the other hand, is simply water with an extra oxygen molecule (H2O2) and breaks down into oxygen and water. It's certainly kinder on the environment. H2O2 is produced by both animal and plant cells and is formed naturally in the environment by sunlight acting on water.

Many industrial bleaching operations, such as those used in the production of paper, are increasingly moving towards the use of hydrogen peroxide for a greener bleaching process. It's also the active ingredient in many "oxygen" bleaches and is used extensively for lightening hair.

Do be careful when purchasing and handling this substance as some commercially available "food grade" hydrogen peroxide is 35% pure, highly corrosive and can be toxic or fatal if ingested at that strength.

Hydrogen peroxide should be diluted down to 3% as a base for most applications. It's also readily available in 3% solution from your local pharmacy or drugstore; which is probably the preferable and safer way to buy it, especially if you can take your empty bottles back for exchange/refilling - that can help cut down the cost.

If you choose to dilute a 35% solution yourself, add the hydrogen peroxide to distilled water rather than the other way around and wear gloves, body and eye protection when doing so.

Hydrogen Peroxide tips and uses

- Keep it out of direct sunlight and in a cool place, as exposure to the sun and heat will quickly break it down into oxygen and water; rendering it ineffective. Store it in a dark bottle and remember to keep it out of reach of children.

- Dip your toothbrush in a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide solution to help kill bacteria on the brush after brushing.

- A 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide with equal amounts of water can be used as a mouthwash - swish for up to 60 seconds once a day; but don't swallow and be sure to rinse your mouth out afterwards. This can also help whiten teeth.

- Hydrogen peroxide in a 3% solution applied to a rag can be used to clean benchtops and cutting boards to help kill salmonella and other bacteria

- Half fill a spray bottle with a 3% solution and then top it up with water for use as a bathroom and toilet disinfectant and cleaner. This is especially useful if you have a septic, greywater or blackwater treatment system as it won't harm the bacteria in the treatment areas - the hydrogen peroxide would have diluted to a point that renders it harmless by that stage through the interaction with flush water.

- Mix a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution with two parts water in a spray bottle and use on areas affected by mold. You can try a neat 3% solution for areas like bathroom tiling, but be careful on the strength in relation to painted items as it may bleach them.

- Make a whitening toothpaste by mixing baking soda and enough 3% Hydrogen Peroxide to form a paste

- Use 3% hydrogen peroxide to sterilize cuts and abrasions - the fizzing you'll see occur is normal.

- To help kill bacteria such as E. Coli on fruits and vegetables, add a quarter cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a sink full of cold water. immerse, rinse with cold water and drain. By killing bacteria this will also help keep fruit and vegetables fresher for longer. You can also use a spraybottle containing a 50/50 mix of 3% hydrogen peroxide and water - just spray and rinse.

- Add a cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to your whites wash in place of bleaches

- Remove bloodstains from clothing by blotting stain with 3% hydrogen peroxide, then rinse promptly with cold water to avoid bleaching of the fabric.

- To remove yellowing from lace curtains or tablecloths, fill a sink with cold water and a 2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Soak for at least an hour, rinse in cold water and air dry

So there you have it - hydrogen peroxide can not only be a more earth friendly replacement for chlorine bleach, but has many more uses around your home!

Unfortunately, most houses haven't been constructed, insulated or positioned correctly in order to minimize the amount of artificial air conditioning required to keep temperatures indoors bearable throughout the summer months.

This will become an increasing challenge in the years ahead as global warming really starts to kick in. Millions more people will start using air conditioners and for longer periods. Aside from the spike in electricity and water consumption connected to air conditioner usage which costs consumers and the environment a great deal, utility company transformers are well known to overheat and explode when air conditioning usage hits its peak during a heatwave, often cause massive blackouts and fires.

HVAC Tips - Basic tips for staying cools indoors

In hot climates it's not unusual for temperatures here to get above 100 degrees fahrenheit (38 degrees celcius) for days on end. When we moved into our current house, we were very suprised to find that the roof wasn't insulated - at all. Dark roof tiles and summer heat aren't a really good combination; so instead of running the air conditioner for many hours a day, we invested in earth friendly roof insulation made from recycled cellulose fiber. It was a great investment, not only keeping us cooler during summer, but warmer during winter and increasing the value of our house.

But even with that insulation in place, the house still gets quite hot - unfortunately it was built facing east-west instead of north-south as it should in the southern hemispere to take advantage of passive solar warming during the winter months and present a side of the house to the sun with fewer windows during the summer.

To further reduce the need for air conditioning, over the summer we leave some doors and windows of the house that have security screens on them open from the evening through to early in the morning to let out pent up heat. We then shut the house up and draw the curtains as the temperature rises. When temperatures indoors get to the stage that it's uncomfortable, then the air conditioner goes on - usually not until well after midday on the hottest days of the year.

Here's some other tips for staying cooler indoors without air conditioning:

- The use of ceiling and pedestal fans. While a fan on its own doesn't reduce temperature, the movement of air over your skin evaporates perspiration causing a cooling effect - making the temperature feel up to 8 degrees cooler. You don't need to be sitting directly in front of the fan to feel some benefit - it's just a matter of getting air inside the room moving.

- Gaps around doors and windows should be sealed to prevent hot air entering the house.

- All electrical appliances generate heat; particularly refrigerators and TV's. If you're not watching the TV, switch it off. Encourage your family not to have the refrigerator door open for extended periods and don't overload your fridge. Turn off any appliance at the wall you're not using.

- Switch from incandescent bulbs to Compact Floresent Lamps (CFL) as 80% - 90% of the energy consumed by incandescent lighting is wasted through heat. CFL's will also save you money in electricity.

- Try to confine physical activity such as housework to the early hours of the day or late in the evening. Not only will physical activity increase your internal body temperature, but your body will exude heat, upping the temperature inside your home.

- Try to prepare foods that require the least amount of cooking as possible and use a microwave where you can. Ensure your range hood exhaust fan is switched while cooking.

- Wear clothing that breathes, such as cotton. Avoid wearing shoes as our feet are also designed to be efficient heat exchangers.

- Curtains and shades should be a light color to help reflect the heat.

- Keep rooms you don't use often closed off.

- Plant trees around your house to provide a shade buffer between the sun and your walls. Use deciduous trees on the northern or southern side (depending on the hemisphere you live in) so you can still take advantage of passive solar warming in winter.

- Discourage your family from coming in and out of the house excessively. Each time the door is opened, a substantial blast of hot air will follow.

- Drink plenty of fluids, but steer clear of alcohol and sugar laden drinks.

It does get to a stage in some parts of the world where the above simply won't be enough. If you are considering buying an air conditioner, there are three types commonly used in homes:

Evaporative Air Conditioning

This is the type we use. These units are also known as air, swamp or desert coolers and range in size from portable units suitable for single rooms to massive installations that can cope with entire complexes.

Evaporative air conditioners use a fan that draws in air and moves it through a wet filter. As the hot air passes through the filter (usually made of paper or straw), the water evaporates which cools and humidifies the air. Depending on temperature and external humidity, evaporative air coolers can reduce indoor temperatures by as much as 30° F (17° C).

Evaporative air conditioning isn't a new invention - as mentioned above, nature has installed evaporative cooler in our own bodies in the form of perspiration. Artificial evaporative air conditioning was invented thousands of years ago in Iran. In its simplest form, a wind shaft in the roof of a dwelling would channel air over a small pond of water, cooling the air before being blown into the house. The Iranians had far more complex and efficient installations as well that still rival any modern electrical cooling appliance in terms of effectiveness.

Evaporative coolers are best suited to environments such as ours - they are incredibly effective in dry air climates. An evaporative cooler used in a humid environment will be totally ineffective and likely make discomfort even worse.

One of the great aspects of evaporative air conditioning is maintenance and running cost - up to 80% less than other forms of artificial air cooling. An evaporative air cooler is usually around 50% cheaper to purchase also. A negative aspect of evaporative air conditioning is water usage - around 3.5 gallons per hour for a ducted system on the average home; but refrigerated air conditioning also involves the use of water indirectly through increased electricity consumption.

If you find that only a single room in your home really needs air conditioning, small mobile evaporative cooling units can be purchased for under a hundred dollars.

Important tip: Evaporative air conditioning works best when you leave a couple of doors or large windows open - the cooling effect is dependent upon air turning over within a house. By running evaporative air conditioning with the house entirely shut up, you will increase humidity to uncomfortable levels and this can also cause issues with mold and electrical equipment malfunctions.

It may sound odd having a door open when it's 115 outside, but as long as the door or window left open is on the opposite side of external air movement and not in direct sunlight, heat from outside will not enter - the air pressure from inside will keep it out. If you have an outdoors barbecue area or pergola attached to the house, it's a great way to keep that a tad cooler too!

Refrigerated Air Conditioning

This type works very much the same way as your refrigerator, using the evaporation of a refrigerant liquid in a closed system to provide cooling. A compressor compresses the gas, which heats it. The gas then passes through coils allowing the heat to dissipate and for the gas to condense into a pressurized liquid. The pressurised liquid then passes through an expansion valve where it it hits a low pressure area due to the vaccuum action of the compressor at the other end of the line. It then becomes a gas again at a much lower temperature, cooling the pipe that contains it. This gas flows through an insulated line to to a console unit containing a series of coils with a fan behind it; which sucks air from the room over the coils, cooling the air and then pushing it back into your home.

A refrigerated air conditioning unit basically recycles the air in your home, whereas an evaporative system draws it from outside. Refrigerated air conditioning also removes humidity from the air through the condensation of moisture on the cold evaporator coils. This condensate is drawn away to either evaporate in a pan over the warm condensor coils or just run directly outside.

While refrigerated air conditioning doesn't directly use water, it does use a great deal more electricity than evaporative air cooling. That's where the water usage lies;  in the electricity generation process. When this is taken into account, the amount of water used by refrigerated cooling unit is approximately two thirds that of an evaporative unit.

Dehumidifier

Not as common for cooling applications as refrigerated or evaporative air conditioning, dehumidifiers are sometimes used in tropical locations to remove moisture from the air - a major contributor to a feeling of discomfort in higher temperatures. In a dehumidifier system, moisture laden air is drawn over a coil, much like a refrigerated airconditioner's evaporator coils. Moisture from the air condenses on the coils, then drips into a pan or is piped into a drain. The air then moves over another warmer coil and is then blown back into the room.

While the resulting air isn't really cooled, with the excess moisture removed it makes higher temperatures more tolerable. Dehumidifiers are used in situations where humidity is too high for an evaporative cooler, but refrigerated cooling cannot be used. The amount of electricity consumed is about half that of a comparable refrigerated air conditioning unit.

Artificial Air Conditioning is a luxury

The human race survived relatively well before air conditioning was powered by electricity and complex manufactured systems. The arrival of moden artificial cooling is somewhat a blessing and a curse due to the large amounts of energy required to run these systems - we need to use it wisely and see it as a luxury and privilege.

If you do run an air conditioner, before switching the cool on, try just running the fan for while until things really start heating up - it can save substantial energy and water. Also remember that the aim is to stay cool so you can function, not to create a refrigerator type environment - experiment with thermostat settings and find the highest possible temperature before you start feeling too uncomfortable.

I've noticed some houses in my neighborhood run their air conditioning units 24/7 at times over summer; but don't bother closing curtains or taking other low/no-cost steps to minimize heat entering into their homes. It's annoying to hear the hum of all the motors of a night time and the practice consumes an incredible amount of electricity.

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