Chill Out with a Quality Ceiling Fan

Author: John Buckle
Source: articleage.com

If your air conditioning is running flat out but your house still feels hot and stuffy perhaps you need to improve the air flow. A great way to move air around is by installing a ceiling fan so what should you consider before making your purchase.
Room size dictates the fan best suited but as a basic rule of thumb most rooms can accommodate a 50″ or 52″ size fan, consequently all manufacturers make their most popular styles in this size. Smaller and over sized fans can be found for special requirements.
The look of a fan is important but the most important factor when purchasing a ceiling fan is the size, power, and durability of the motor. A better quality motor costs more but will move more air without wobbling or noise and can safely be left running for days, weeks or even years without burning out.
5 factors that work together and determine how much air a ceiling fan will move
Blade Pitch
The pitch of the blade and the power of the motor must be well engineered so they can work together and create air movement without going beyond the motors capability, when a fan operates efficiently it will last a lifetime.
Blade Shape and Size
Even the most powerful ceiling fan motor cannot move the blades fast enough if the blades are too long or wide, larger is not always better but too small or narrow is also not good.
RPM
The best fans provide 6 speeds, low to high and many are reversible so that in the summer a ceiling fan can draw warm air up and away and in winter by reversing the fan blade direction can pull warm air from the ceiling down to the floor.
Height from Ceiling
Seven to eight feet from the floor gives the best ceiling fan airflow so you can appreciate the air movement and the ceiling fan can operate most efficiently. Ceiling hugger fans operate in rooms with less head height and would normally operate at slower speeds so as not to cause turbulence and fan wobble.
Motor
The most important factor is the motor, a strong precision made motor will move the most air without noise or wobble if the other 4 factors are present.
For top performance and durability it pays to buy the best you can afford, whilst cheaper ceiling fans may appear better value for money initially they often have to work harder to achieve the same affect and subsequently often don’t last as long.
Installing a ceiling fan can be normally be accomplished relatively easily following the provided instructions but if you don’t fancy the job a good handyman could install the fan for you in a couple of hours or less.
John Buckle has a keen interest in interior decoration and has developed a number of properties and offers ceiling fan design tips and advice at http://www.enmo.org/ceiling-fan/

Finding The Best Whole House Humidifier Out There

Author: Ken Morris -
Source: articleage.com

You spend time and energy figuring out everything with your home d้cor from the paint on the walls to the coverings on the windows. You may have even thought about which furnace or air conditioning system would best meet your needs. It you really want to make your home environment the most comfortable it can be then you should also put some thought into what is the best whole house humidifier for you. Controlling the humidity in your home is as important as where the thermostat sits in terms of keeping your environment the most comfortable.

Tops Table Vs. Whole House Humidifiers

In many climates there is plenty of humidity in the air at least three seasons of the year. During the cold, dry winter months, many people will put a table top humidifier into their children’s or baby’s room to help them breathe better and sleep undisturbed. However, there are climates where the weather doesn’t adjust the humidity to the perfect comfort level on its own. These are the places where you may find you need more than just one or two room or table top humidifiers, but a whole house humidifier.

If you are considering a home improvement project that will require little tool usage and knowledge and will provide an air purification system along with the humidifier, then adding the a whole house humidifier is right up your alley.

Inside humidifiers there are gauges to measure and regulate humidity levels much like a thermometer regulates temperature. These gauges measure the humidity in the air and then turn the system on and off as needed. The units sit in one room and measure as small as a large console television, yet their effect can reach 2 or 3 thousand square feet worth of living space.

Humidity Control Plus Filtering

The climate in your home is further improved with a whole house humidifier by the addition of a HEPA filter. HEPA filters trap air particles as the air comes into the unit. It filters the air of particles as small as 0.3 micron, which is comparable to some manufacturing clean room environments. That is clean air!

An air purifier which recycles air – that is draws in room air, cleans it and then releases it back into the room – must have some kind of filtration system. HEPA filters can handle whole buildings with tens or hundreds of thousands of square feet, so imagine how well it can work in a home setting.

If you are concerned about how a humidifier will look with your room d้cor, don’t be. There are dozens of styles and sizes of humidifiers that can manage a whole house and still look like a nice piece of furniture. You can strategically place the humidifier in a corner of the room and top it with some family pictures. You can also place it behind a sofa or chair, but you want to be sure there is plenty of room for the air to circulate both in and out of the unit.

A Guide to Server Colocation

Author: Paul Lee
Source: articleage.com

Basics of Colocation
Server colocation is usually for those who own their own server hardware and require complete control over the server configuration. Colocation specialists will house and connect a server you own, to a fast internet connection, usually in a secure datacentre, with 24/7 support.
It is important to choose a colocation provider that either has their own data center or has a presence in one of the leading “data hotels.” World Class data centres are located in major industrial cities (New York, London, Frankfurt for example). Here they are able to take advantage of the convergence of high capacity network connectivity that occurs in a major commercial centre. For instance fibre, and metrolinks and ease of connection to major Points of Presence (POPS) to the major telco’s. For this reason only a very few of the leading ISP’s or colocation specialist operate their own dedicated centre’s due to the costs of providing remote connectivity, redundant power sources, air conditioning and filtered clean air.
Also not all internet connections are equal. You really need to enquire if your colocation specialist is “multihomed” using the BGP protocol by having at least two connections to Tier One providers. Tier One providers are very large ISP’s or Telco’s who operate their own fibre links and networks without having to operate traffic (or transit) over another ISP’s network. An example of a Tier One provider would be Level3 communications.
In addition to Tier One connections, the colocation specialist should have peering arrangement’s at major exchange point’s such as LINX. A peering point is where a number of ISP’s arrange to “meet up” to exchange traffic between each other rather than pay for transit over someone else’s network. In a way they are “cutting out the middleman!” This not only improves redundancy but also reduces latency; people will be able to access the websites and content hosted on your colocated server much faster if you colo host is well peered.
Quite often a web host or Colocation ISP will negotiate many peering arrangements with other ISP’s with whom they are exchanging a lot of traffic. Not only does this give them more resilience, but it also reduces their own transit costs with the Tier One providers enabling them to offer more competitive data transfer pricing.
Latency is particularly important when it comes to game server hosting and colocation. Quite often an ISP specialising in games hosting will give you an IP address for you to test ping times and carry out traceroutes.
Hardware Choices
Server housing costs in London or New York can be expensive. Not suprisingly your hardware should be “rack optimized.” Colocation is usually priced “per U.” A “U” is 1.75 inches (or 4.44 cms). So rack servers, unlike desktop machines are long and flat. Data Centre’s also employ different types Rack Cabinets which are typically 42U in height, enough to house 42 1U servers though some of this space is used to accomodate switches, cabling. Often some space is left free to allow for efficient air distribution in the cabinet.
It’s often worth liasing with your colo specialists over the choice of the physical hardware and especially the case and rack mounting. The colocation specialist will know which brands work in their racks. Personally I have found Dell Rack Optimized Servers and rail kits the quickest and easiest to rail up.
So you have decided on the hardware, and you are about to ship your server to the remote colocation data centre. Bear in mind your server will shortly be hundreds of miles away, indeed if you are in the USA, it might even be few hours flight away so there are a few technical points to consider before the machine is boxed, shipped and colocated.
Make sure the Operating System reboots
All colocated dedicated servers run “headless.” This means without the use of a keyboard or monitor attached. Therefore you will need to ensure that the servers gets past the BIOS screen and boots the desired kernel without having to press any keys. It might be possible to set the BIOS on your dedicated server to stop on “no errors.”
If your are running Linux the kernel you will need to ensure the correct kernel is booted without intervention. This is usually determined by the configuration on /etc/grub.conf if the GRUB boot loader is used, or /etc/lilo.conf if the LILO boot loader is used. After any changes have been made to the LILO configuration remember to run “/sbin/lilo -v” and ensure there are no errors.
Also make sure the kernel “works” properly with the hardware. This is especially true if have compiled the kernel yourself or are using specialist hardware.
Make sure the server “Auto Powers” on
Most colocation facilities provide an auto power cycler from a web interface. However this can fail if the machine does not auto power back up (requiring the intervention of a techie). Most server BIOS’s are equipped with either “OFF”, “LAST STATE” or “ALWAYS ON”. In this case you will require “ALWAYS ON.” it is possible to hack cheaper ATX motherboards to be “ALWAYS ON” but it is better to consider a more expensive motherboard.
Properly Configured Network
Make sure you configure the network addresses, DNS server and gateways properly prior to delivery of the dedicated server. This information will have been provided in advance by the colocation provider. Also make sure you can get back into the server remotely by having the SSHD daemon running (telnet is not secure).
OpenSSH is shipped with all the main Linux distributions. You might wish to consider configuring SSH (usually done in /etc/sshd/sshd_config) to work with Protocol2 only, disable root logins (or only allow public key exchanges with the `without-password` option) and to turn off X11 forwarding as this is not required on a production server.
Many servers have multiple ethernet connectors, so it an be helpful, if you are not using the second interface to either mask it off with tape or label the correct ethernet device.
Set up a Serial Console
This is sometimes called “out of band” management. Quite often a colocation provider will have a serial terminal on site. This is basically a server itself but with loads of serial ports. This enables you to connect to your server if the network has failed to your server for any reason.
The most common serial port settings are 9600 8n1 (we do not recommend running it a faster speed). If you are running a Red Hat Linux server serial console access is usually configured in “/etc/inittab.” Try inserting the line below:
co:23456:respawn:/sbin/agetty ttyS0 9600 vt100
Cooling Considerations
Servers run pretty hot mainly due to modern processors. Even in a fully air conditioned environment. It will pay you look into cooling. A lot will depend on rack density however this is one more reason why you should consider a rack optimised server, as the air cooling in a colocated environment should have been taken into consideration. You can also familiarise with the chipset architecture of your motherboard and consider setting up “sensors.” You can then monitor the temperature of your CPU and motherboard and graph it using MRTG.
Cheap Colocation Providers
Well apart from us that is! However the following London based colocation providers come highly recommended. In other words, they are in demand, know what they are doing and possess “clue.”
Bogons – http://www.bogons.net/ – Based in Telehouse, but they may only usually Sun Netra servers.
Black Cat Networks – http://www.blackcatnetworks.co.uk/ – Based in Redbus Harbour Exchange.
Jump Networks – http://www.jump.net.uk” – Also based in Telehouse North, Docklands.
Additional Thoughts
You may wish to consider disc or hard drive redundancy. Although the “MTF” or Mean Time to Failure” quoted by hard drive manufacturers is impressive, hard drive failure, especially IDE failure happens depressingly often. With advent of S-ATA drives there is really no excuse, expecially if your are on a budget. You should consider cheap S-ATA drives (if you cannot afford SCSI) with Linux software RAID. Modern Linux distributions come with tools to administer and monitor the performance of software RAID arrays.
It can be helpful to duty technicians if all the main power lights are working. The power light, hard drive activity light and network light can be very useful. It goes without saying that the server should be correctly labelled at the front with it’s hostname and IP address so it can be identified quickly.
Paul Lee has over six years experience in the web hosting industry and was formerly Senior System Administrator with Simply.Com Limited. He currently lives and works in London and runs his own consultancy and hosting company Weycrest.

Vengeful Husband sues Ex-Wife for Secondhand Smoke Illness

Author: Dr. Craig Donnelly
Source: articleage.com

Charleston, SC 3/24/05- After 13 years of marriage, a Florida man divorces his wife and sues her, claiming his wife’s 2 to 3 pack-a-day smoking habit caused him to contract life-threatening lung cancer in Palm Beach (case id 501997CA01158XXONAN). When the effects of secondhand smoke becomes so bad that a husband is willing to sue his ex-wife, a woman he once loved, people must begin to open their eyes to the dangers and liabilities caused by secondhand tobacco smoke exposure.
Heather Crowe is from Ottawa and has worked in the restaurant business for over 40 years as a waitress. In 2002, the Ottawa Citizen reported that she was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer that she claims was caused by her constant exposure to secondhand smoke as a result of her working at the restaurant. Heather filed for workers compensation due to her illness hoping that this would urge lawmakers to enforce stricter codes to protect workers in the hospitality industry from exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke. Currently, most state and provincial laws limit smoking areas to a small percentage of the usable floor space of the hospitality establishment; however, this does not guarantee workers, or patrons, are protected from the harmful byproducts of the secondhand smoke.
Everyday, people in the hospitality industry go to work and are exposed to significant amounts of secondhand smoke. Restaurant servers, bartenders, and even hotel employees are forced to stifle their concerns about having to work while being exposed to a patron’s secondhand smoke for fear of losing their jobs. Secondhand cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 potential poisons and most are chemicals not even studied by the FDA. Of those 4,000 toxic chemicals, 69 are KNOWN cancer causing agents. A nonsmoker who works in a smoking environment has a 26% increased risk of developing lung cancer. Additionally, secondhand smoke exposure has been linked to esophageal, throat, and mouth cancer and in the United States alone, over 65,000 deaths a year are linked to secondhand smoke related illnesses. Due to this dramatic rise in secondhand smoke related deaths (3,000 deaths just ten years ago) more and more hospitality industry employers are being held liable for these sicknesses, losing millions of dollars as a result of these lawsuits.
Many states have implemented non-smoking laws in most or all public buildings. Other states have enforced stricter building codes requiring effective air purification or ventilation systems in order to reduce secondhand smoke exposure. Dr. Craig Donnelly, a smoke eater industry expert and founder of BPA Air Quality Solutions states, “According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the 3 best methods for reducing indoor air pollution are:
1. Source Control: Eliminate or control the sources of pollution;
2. Ventilation: Dilute and exhaust pollutants through outdoor air ventilation, and
3. Air Cleaning: Remove pollutants through proven air cleaning methods.
Source control and ventilation are usually not viable options because most hospitality establishments do not restrict smoking 100% and ventilation’ can be extremely expensive due the energy cost associated with ventilating warm or air conditioned air to the outdoors.”
“Air cleaning”, Dr. Donnelly continues, “is the method of choice for a large percentage of hospitality businesses using ‘smoke eaters’, a class of air purifications products designed to remove smoke particles, odors and toxic gasses from the indoor air.”
Using the correct smoke air purification equipment in the hospitality industry will significantly improve the indoor air quality potentially reducing cancer causing pollutants produced by secondhand smoke.
“We have noticed that employers who install an effective smoke eater air cleaning system in their place of business have employees and patrons who frequently acknowledge the marked improvement with the indoor air quality and they (employees and patrons) also acknowledge that symptoms associated with breathing in second hand tobacco smoke such as coughing and irritated eyes are dramatically reduced” – Dr. Craig Donnely.
For Information: http://www.breathepureair.com or info@breathepureair.com
phone: 1-877-688-2703
###

Portable Single Room Air Conditioner Models Offer Versatility

Author: Ray La Foy
Source: articleage.com

Most houses today are built with central air. Those that don’t
have it, tend to have at least a window unit. So why would
someone want to invest in a portable single room air conditioner?

There are a lot of reasons people gravitate toward portable
single room air conditioner models, but perhaps the most
compelling is common sense. These units provide a versatility
that stationary machines can never offer. Plus, they can save
energy. Saving energy equates to saving money. So, why cool or
heat an entire house if the family spends all of its time in one
room? Or, why argue over what temperatures to keep different
rooms at if you don’t have to? There’s no need to have two air
conditioning zones in a large house when you have a portable
unit.

Portable single room units are easy to use, they work well and
are affordable. There are lots of advantages to using single
room units over cranking up the entire cooling system in a
house. Plus, these work great for older homes that might not
have cooling systems throughout.

Why suffer through a brutally hot summer when a portable unit is
affordable and easy to use? There’s no need to be uncomfortable
thanks to these units.

Typical portable units offer a number of features that make them
more than worth looking at. These include:

? Obviously, portability. The units can move from room to room
with the user, cooling only what needs to be cooled without
having to alter windows. Try picking up a window unit to move it
from the kitchen to the bedroom at the end of the night!

? Self-evaporating designs. Many portable units even come with
features that lessen the number of times the condensation
retainer must be emptied. This makes that less of a hassle to
use and also helps remove some of the moisture from the air in a
home. This is good for the home’s environment and the
possessions within. Moisture leads to mold, which can create
health concerns and even damage furniture and books.

? Different fan speeds. This enables more user control, just
like a window unit or full central air unit.

? Thermostat control. Just like a full-size unit, portable
machines also offer the ability for users to determine the
temperature of a room.

? Directional control. These enable users to point the flow of
air in the direction they’d like. This combined with the
portability makes these units great for optimum user control.

Portable air conditioners also offer some other specialized
features depending on the unit in question. Some of these can
include washable air filters, carbon filters to clean the air
and remove odors, digital displays, timers and even remote
controls.

Cooling an entire house when only a single room really needs it
is a waste of energy and money. Smaller units can remove the
need to turn on a more expensive unit while still providing the
cooling necessary to make occupants in a home comfortable, which
makes them a great buy.

Mechanic reveals ways to make your car last longer

Author: Pierre Schexneider M. Ed.
Source: articleage.com

Every 2 weeks or 3,000 miles check engine oil, transmission
fluid and coolant.

Once a month or 1,000 miles check tire pressure – with tire
gauge. Check transmission fluid and brake fluid. Wax car to
protect finish and a smooth finish will reduce the wind drag
increasing your fuel economy. Check belts and hoses for
excessive wear.

Every 3 months or 3,000 miles Change oil and oil filter or every
6 months or 3,000 miles depending on your driving habits. You
will also want to lubricate the chassis check transmission fluid
and check all drive belts (fan belts) replace frayed or cracked
belts.

Every 6 months or 6,000 miles inspect suspension, rotate and
inspect tires.

Every 12 months or 12,000 miles flush radiator, replace
anti-freeze, check air conditioning system. Replace air filters
and lubricate chassis.

Every 2 years or 24,000 miles replace spark plugs (30,000 miles
average suggested for unleaded gas) and PCV valve. Change
automatic transmission fluid, filter and pan gasket. You should
also inspect brake linings at this time.

Every 3 years or 30,000 miles check and test ignition wires,
test cooling system, heating hoses and drive belts, check brake
shoes. (replace if needed)

Replace fluid in differential and manual transmission. (Every
50,000 miles)

If you have a major repair to do, it’s wise to get at least 3
estimates, if possible, before you decide. It’s hard to be
overcharged when you get three estimates before you have the
work done. Make sure you get promised repairs in writing
including how much it will cost.

Read and follow your car owner’s manual – it’s your car’s bible
for making your car last longer.

Whether you are a man, woman, boy or girl; you should learn to
do some routine maintenance on your car yourself. A multitude of
books, videos, magazines and classes are available at your local
library that will teach you for free if you don’t know. Learn
how to check your own oil, transmission fluid, tire pressure and
coolant, etc.

If you find a good mechanic who you can trust, stick with him
even if his prices are a bit higher – all things being equal.
You’ll always save time, money and aggravation in the long run.
Beware: Cheapest is not always the best. Normally, the best
mechanics with the best equipment and training cost more. Often
mechanics that charge extremely low prices have inferior or
out-dated equipment, little to no formal training or are
under-insured.

Complex electrical problems are so involved that serious
electrical work should be done in an “Auto Electric” shop. They
have the equipment, tool and training to do the job more
efficiently than the average mechanic.

Avoid car dealers except to have highly specialized repairs done
that can’t be done properly anywhere else.

The best as well as the easiest ways to find a good car repair
shop is by recommendation or referrals from satisfied customers.

To have work done on late model computer-controlled engines,
make sure the shop you choose has the equipment to handle
computer-electric service/repair. Sophisticated diagnostic
equipment is a must.

To choose the right repair shop for you, it’s wise to have a
small or minor maintenance or repair job done first to see how
the repair shop and mechanic treat you and your car.

You should give detailed description of your car’s problem when
you take it in for repairs. The more you can describe what your
car is doing or not doing (thumping, squealing, clacking sound,
etc.) the faster and less it will cost for your mechanic to fix
it.

When in doubt about the cost of a repair or a mechanic’s honesty
get a second opinion. This is one of the best ways to protect
yourself from being ripped-off until you can find a permanent
repair shop.

Don’t race or gun your engine when you start it up. Accelerate
slowly and smoothly when your engine is cold,

Stop and accelerate gradually avoiding jackrabbit starts and
stops. Avoid burning rubber it places excessive wear on the
transmission and rear end, not to mention your tires.

An international tire company estimated that 33% of all tires on
the road are under-inflated (low air). Under-inflated tires wear
out quicker and have a tendency to blow out easier. Keep
front-end aligned, for longer tire life and better gas mileage.
Tires driven at 70 mph. wear out almost twice as fast as those
driven 50 mph.

Avoid tailgating, tire squealing turns, flying over speed bumps,
pot holes and revving your engine.

When possible, avoid driving your car during rush hour stop and
go traffic periods.

If your car has “Cruise Control” use it. Using cruise control
will save you 5% to 10% of a gallon of gas on long trips.

Avoid constantly pressing and releasing the accelerator when
driving. This practice not only wastes fuel, but it puts
excessive wear on the drive train of your car.

Don’t ride your brake pedal, this wears out your brake linings
pre-maturely, and wastes fuel.

Driving with your windows all the way down at higher speeds,
will waste 10% more gallons of gasoline than driving with them
closed. Research by a major car manufacturer has revealed that
neglect of proper routine maintenance is the number one reason
for the enormous increase in car repairs being required.

Tires purchased at department stores such as Sears, Montgomery
Wards, K-Mart etc., can be an excellent value because many are
made by leading tire manufacturers. When purchasing or changing
tires, make sure you have them spin balanced. For a list of what
manufacturer makes which tires for what department store, write
to: Tire Information Centre, P.O. Box 677, Syosset, NY 11791

Avoid cleaning your windshield with a dry rag or towel. Always
dampen with water or some other cleaning liquid. Dry towels
grind and scratch your windshield hindering your visibility.

Avoid turning on the car air-conditioning while running at
highway speeds as this tends to put an immediate heavy load on
your compressor and clutch. This could cause excessive wear and
tear on these components. Instead turn your air conditioner on
at car speeds below 25 to 30 mph. This helps to preserve your
expensive compressor.

Try to avoid running your car with the tank low on gas. Keeping
a low tank of gas increases the chance of dirt, water/moisture
and rust forming in your fuel system. Keeping a full tank
decreases the chance of dirt and other foreign matter forming in
your fuel system.

Regular oil changes are the most important thing you can do to
protect your engine and make it last longer. Each time you have
your engine oil checked; have your transmission fluid checked
also.

If you have a manual transmission it is better to down shift to
slow your car down instead of using your brakes. This will save
wear and tear on your braking system.

A garaged car lasts longer. A car port is next best, and a car
cover is a distant third. Protect your car’s interior and make
it last longer – park your car in the shade or place a
windshield guard or cover in the windshield. If you spill
something inside your car, clean it up immediately before it
dries. Delaying even 30 minutes can sometimes leave a permanent
stain or spot. To better protect your car seats have them
treated with scotch guard.

NOTE: According to current auto insurance statistics, the
average U.S. car’s useful life is 10 years or 100,000 miles. By
following proper preventative maintenance you can often double
your car’s useful life, and spend less

Cooling Towers – the Industrial Workhorses

Author: Thomas Yoon
Source: articleage.com

Industrial Processes usually produces a lot of heat.
Air-conditioning also removes heat from the indoor areas through
heat exchangers.

Where does all the heat go?

All these heat has to be removed. If you are not near the sea,
you have to use cooling towers to cool down your warm water.

Cooling towers make use of air currents to cool warm water.
However, a basic rule has to be made when you want to extract
heat from any object, including water. Heat has to be taken from
a higher temperature source to a lower temperature medium.

If the air is already warm, it will not be able to cool down the
warm water. The temperature difference is very important.

Another important point in cooling tower efficiency is how much
the water is exposed to the air. If the water is allowed to
trickle down, and their contact surface with the air is made
large, more heat exchange takes place.

Plastic diffusers designed with wavy patterns are inserted at
cooling towers to increase the contact surfaces of the water
when it meets with the cooling air stream.

There are several shapes of cooling towers, but they operate on
the same principle.

There are basically 2 types airflow patterns in cooling towers:

The cross-flow type of cooling tower makes use of air flowing at
right angles to the water dropping down. The fans are positioned
so that the air stream flows through the cooling tower from the
sides. Water is distributed at the top, and is allowed to drip
down to meet with the air.

The characteristic shape of these cooling towers is usually
rectangular shape. Depending on the design, there may be several
small fans installed at the top of the cooling tower. However,
the fan(s) may also be located at the sides of the cooling tower
and the air may be ducted.

The counter-flow type of cooling tower makes use of air flowing
in the opposite direction and against the flow of the water. In
one design, water flows out through rotating spreader arms to
distribute the water and let it drop through the plastic
diffusers evenly.

In this design, the shape of the cooling tower is a bottle
shape. It is fitted with one single large fan to suck the air to
create the airflow. The diameter of the area where the heat
exchange takes place is made larger so that more contact
surfaces is exposed. The fan is heavy and huge. Its speed is
usually made lower than that of the motor by the use of
reduction gears.

There may be a few designs. Some use fans located at the bottom,
some have fans at the top, some have large fans, some make use
of several small fans.

The materials used in cooling towers have to be selected to be
able to withstand ultraviolet ray exposure from the sun,
moisture and other outdoor weather effects.

Cooling towers are truly rugged workhorses of industry.

Folks, be cool!

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Tips To Eliminate Tear Staining – Shih Tzu

Author: Connie Limon
Source: articleage.com

Tear staining can be from many different causes. Also consult
with your vet first. There are antibiotics the vet can prescribe
that will help some cases of tear staining.

Here are a few other tips you can use to help with tear stain
removal.

Use filtered or distilled water.

Using air purifiers (such as those you can obtain from EcoQuest)
in the rooms with the dogs for air purity.

Ensure good ventilation by using exhaust fans, ceiling fans,
open windows etc.

Ensure your Shih Tzu have adequate exposure to sun. Being
outside with sunshine and clean fresh air is healthy for you and
your pets.

Keeping your dogs clean with their hair out of their eyes is
also important.

Keep your dogs environment clean.

Keep the filters in your air conditioning and heating systems
clean.

Water and food bowls should be either ceramic, glass or
stainless steel. I prefer water bottles.

At least once per month, the bowls can be soaked in a weak
bleach solution and then washed with regular dishwashing liquid
and air-dried.

Genetically, there are some bloodlines that are more prone to
tearing then others. Hair growth on the eyerims.

Ask your vet for the antibiotic, Tylan. Tylan is primarily made
to battle microplasma in poultry and swine. This is not a
commonly used canine antibiotic so if desensitizing occurs
towards Tylan, it is not as damaging as it could be with other
more commonly used canine antibiotics.

Ask your vet to run a Culture and Sensitivity test on the
tearing residue. Having the tearing cultured almost always is
successful because the sensitivity report will tell your
veterinarian what exact antibiotics the bacteria will respond
to. You will need to consult with your vet about the Tylan and
if he/she decides this is an appropriate treatment for your Shih
Tzu, he is also able to figure out the correct dosage. Do not
try figuring out the dosage yourself. Consult with your vet
about the antibiotic, Tylan (or something else he/she may have
found useful for tear stains) and follow vet’s instructions
about dosage and how to administer the drug to your Shih Tzu.

Try first to eliminate the cause by consulting with your vet
regarding any issues your Shih Tzu may be experiencing that
might be causing the stains. If the cause can be determined and
the conditions remedied, the tear staining should slowly fade
away.

There are ways to remove the stain once the staining has
stopped. Some ways to remove the stain are harsh. Some products
work for one Shih Tzu, and then not for another. You can
experiment with all the different products on the market to see
if any will work for your Shih Tzu. You can also try putting a
little corn starch on a toothbrush, moisten the brush, and brush
the stained areas daily. You can also cover up the stain with
make-up especially for this purpose for dogs (which is what a
lot of the Show Dogs end up doing).

Tearing can be related to a medical issue, with environment,
care and genetics playing a part in the mix. Try to eliminate as
many of the possible causes first. Then proceed to other methods
of removing the stain.

Air conditioners have become an integral part of many homes

Author: Roger King
Source: articleage.com

When the temperature outside begins to climb, many people seek the cool comfort of indoor air conditioning. One type that we see all the time is the window air conditioner. Window air conditioners are an easy and economical way to cool a small area. Air conditioners come in various sizes, cooling capacities and prices. Most businesses and office buildings have condensing units on their roofs.

Air conditioners are one of those things that we see every day but seldom pay much attention to. An air conditioner is basically a refrigerator without the insulated box. It uses the evaporation of a refrigerant, like Freon, to provide cooling.

Air conditioners remove both heat and humidity from the air. If the unit is too large, it will cool the room quickly, but only remove some of the humidity. This leaves the room with a damp, clammy feeling. A properly sized unit will remove humidity effectively as it cools.

Room air conditioners are rated by their energy efficiency ratio EER, which is the cooling output divided by the power consumption. The higher the EER, the more efficient the air conditioner.

Portable air conditioners are not as effective as window ac units yet, and only recommend these when a window unit does not fit into a window such as casement or slide-out styles. Many people buy an air conditioner that is too large, thinking it will provider better cooling. However, an oversized air conditioner is actually less effective – and wastes energy at the same time.

Let’s “Clear the Air” Shall We?

Author: Beverly Marshall
Source: articleage.com

What can you do to “clear the air” indoors, at work and at home? You want to know you are breathing clean air in the places you spend the most time, promoting a clear head and a sense of well being. It’s no longer okay to allow clean air into your life just at the cabin or lake. If getting outside in the fresh air and sunshine is just a dream, you need to take steps now to clear the air. More people are becoming sick from their homes. We button them up so tight that they don’t breathe anymore. All kinds of allergies are on the rise from being overexposed to chemicals, molds, and spores that are in our environment. It’s time to strike back and take control of what we breathe. Most of us take for granted that our workspace has clean air. Don’t tell that to the people that are exposed to formaldehyde, asbestos, Legionnaires disease, radon and more every day. HVAC systems have been changing greatly over the last few years because of the rise of complaints. Newer more powerful electrostatic air cleaners reduce over 90% of dust instead of the recent 40 – 50%. Activated oxygen systems are very new on the market. Ionized, ozonated oxygen is probably one of the most important aspects of fresh air. When we take advantage of the air given to us and work with the nitrogen and oxygen levels, our air is enlivened and we feel more energetic and alive. Air conditioning units have added to the problem by just cooling the air and increasing the levels of bacteria and mold in the ductwork. Chemicals are then used to treat it causing even more problems. Activated oxygen systems are a much healthier means of cleaning the air.
Homeowners are choosing “green” methods of construction because they are realizing the choice of building materials is crucial to their long term health. The choice of carpet is also important in that low pile is best to cut down on dust mites and should be vacuumed with a HEPA filter. Glues, synthetic fibers, irritating odors, they are all around us. Many allergic reactions to these contaminates can range from skin disease, sleep difficulties, infection and chronic fatigue are just a few. Natural fibers don’t attract much dust and their ability to breathe is much healthier for our skin. Speaking of skin, it is the largest organ on the body, so how much fresh air we give it is critical. Other issues that may present problems are electric allergies from being indoors so much. Computers, appliances, television and transformers all give off magnetic frequencies that can affect our systems and our mood. You might want to think about how close you sit to the computer, television or if you have an electric blanket or clock radio near your bed.
Every living thing has evolved under sunlight. Light deprivation is a relatively new problem that strikes many. It is only recently that we have moved ourselves indoors for our activities. We now have a higher degree of skin cancer than ever before with less and less exposure to the sun. The ozone shield is becoming a problem so what are we to do? Natural sunlight can be enhanced by light tubes. Cut a hole in the roof and sent the tub down through the ceiling. Full spectrum fluorescent light is also a possibility. It helps our moods and strongly resembles sunlight. The best thing to do is trying to get at least fifteen minutes of natural sunlight per day.
The decisions you make on an everyday basis determines how you feel for a lifetime. There are many places to receive information about products for a natural home and office. Check the library, bookstore or internet for more information.