Attic space can get extremely hot in summer.

Attic fans can remove hot air through attic vents and replace it with outside cooler air drawn through soffit vents. By doing so, attic fans reduce the heat buildup in the attic as well as the heat gain through the ceiling underneath.

However, if you consider installing an attic fan, make sure to seal all air leaks between living space and the attic so that cool air won’t be drawn out of the living area.

A solar attic fan is much easier to install and saves you energy at the same time.

Whole-house fans are powerful fans that draw outside cool air through open windows into the house. The air is allowed to circulate through the house and then vented from attic.

Whole-house fans can be used in different climates, such as moderate summer climate, or dessert areas with hot days and cool nights. Even in hot humid areas, it can be used in the spring and early fall.

Whole-house fans are usually run in the morning and evening when outside air is cool.

Make sure to cover and seal your whole-house fan in cold winter to prevent heat loss and trapping moisture in the attic.

To learn more about fans, go here.

Fans are the easiest way to cool your home in summer. They moves air around, and can purge heat from the house and draw cool air in. They also use less energy and are cheaper than air conditioners.

There are different kinds of fans, such as ceiling fans, attic fans and whole-house fans.

Ceiling fans make you feel cool by moving air without actually cool your home. Moving air removes heat from the surface of your skin and that makes you feel about 4 degrees Fahrenheit cooler.

If your home is tightly insulated and energy-efficient, a few well positioned fans may be enough to keep you cool in summer. Even if you still need to use AC, ceiling fans will allow you to set the thermostat at higher temperature and save energy.

When installing a ceiling fan, make sure it is not too high to be effective. However, the blades should be at least 7 feet off the floor to avoid injuries. Also, there should be at least 10 inches between the ceiling and the fan blades for good air circulation.

To learn more about fans, go here.

A composting toilet is designed to recycle human excrement. It allows microorganisms to convert human wastes into humus, which has great ecological benefit if used in your garden.

A composting toilet also uses little or no water, while 30% of household water are used to flush traditional toilet in America.

Since a composting toilet keeps human wastes out of wastewater, the rest graywater from kitchen, shower and laundry machine now can be collected and used to water lawns and trees.

A composting toilet also keeps problems away from the septic system. This prolongs the life of the septic system and saves money on its maintenance.

Commercially available composting toilets come in different costs and capacities. Some only handles a single full-time user while others are designed for a large household.

You can alos make your own composting toilet using a 5-gallon receptacle. Add sawdust after each use.

Composting toilets do require more upkeep from owners. You’ll have to empty the composted material every half-year or so.

A well designed and properly used composting toilet is clean, odor-free and kills pathogens. It produces excellent fertilizer for your garden and saves you a lot of water.

Source: MotherEarthNews.com

Hybrid plants are created by crossing two varieties . Heirloom veggies are old time varieties without genetic manipulations.

Heirloom seeds are often cheaper than hybrid seeds. But there are more reasons why gardeners should choose heirlooms.

1. Taste

Heirloom varieties have exceptional taste.

Hybrids often sacrifice taste and nutrition for fast and vigorous growing, high yields, disease resistance, and shipping ability, etc.

2. Nutrition

Researches have shown that heirloom varieties are often more nutritious than hybrids. 

3. Seed saving

Heirlooms are open-pollinated. Gardeners can save their own seeds for replanting. Hybrid plants are either sterile or produce seeds that will grow inferior plants the next season.

To learn more about the advantages of heirloom veggies and how to plant them, click here.

Energy-Recovery Ventilator (ERV) can keep your indoor air healthy and at the meantime, save energy. There are a few ways to assess if you need to install one.

1. Blower door test. It can be performed as part of an energy audit. If the air exchanges per hour is 0.5 or less, an ERV is probably a good idea.

2. Assess how long odor lingers. The longer an odor persists in your home, the tighter the home is. ERV is essential for a more air-tight home

3. If you do not have appropriate venting for your heating or cooking equipment, such as a hood, it is recommended to have an ERV installed.

4. If you have an attached garage with no proper ventilation, it is a good idea to install an ERV to get rid of the car exhaust fumes entering the home.

5. If you store toxic chemicals and paints indoors, or formaldehyde level is high in your home, ERV will certainly help.

6. If radon levels are high, installing an ERV is a good idea, although it is not sufficient enough if radon levels are too high (above 15pCi/L)

To learn more about ERV, click here.

If you have a super-insulated house, it may not allow enough fresh air to come in for a healthy indoor environment. To solve the problem, consider installing an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV), also known as air heat exchangers.

ERV is a ventilation system that removes stale, polluted air from inside the house and replaces it with fresh air from outside.

ERV has a component called heat exchanger. Outgoing warm air passes through the heat exchanger and the heat from the air is transferred to the incoming cold air. This saves much energy since the house heater doesn’t need to warm up the cold fresh air.

ERV can be controlled by either timers or humidistats. It can either remove excess humidity from the house or be set to add humidity when desired.

To read more about ERV, click here.

Indoor air pollution causes many illnesses, such as allergies, asthma, emphysema and even cancers. It is crucial to create a healthy indoor environment for our health.

Here are a few steps you can take to ensure that your indoor air is clean.

1. Ban or reduce smoking and the use of toxic chemicals inside the house, such as perfumes, hair sprays, nail polish, certain building materials, like paint, etc.

2. Ventilate spaces where harmful chemicals are used, such as running bathroom fan, opening the window, or using a central ventilating system.

3. Use healthy replacements.

You can choose natural fiber shower curtains instead of vinyl. Use wood floor, ceramic tile, wool carpet, etc to replace vinyl flooring or conventional carpeting. Use low VOC paints and natural cleaning products.

4. Reduce burning candles indoors. Monitor CO level if you have gas-fired furnaces, fireplaces and kitchen appliances.

Source: MotherEarthNews.com

If you have a wood stove, or burn your tree trimmings in spring, you may have a lot of wood ash.

Wood ash is a good source of potassium and other minerals that can benefit your garden plants. However, you should use precaution when applying wood ash to the garden. Excessive use may do harm to the fertility of your garden soil

Wood ash is very alkaline. It can raise the soil pH significantly. So before applying any wood ash to the soil, get a soil test. A pH of 6.5 is optimal for most veggies.

Only add wood ash to acid soils with a pH lower than 6.5 as well as low potassium level. Do not add more than 25 pounds of wood ash per 1,000 square feet each year.

Do a soil test again before you plan to add more wood ash next time.

Source: MotherEarthNews.com

Organic matter added to the soil includes fallen leaves, dead plants and animals, droppings of animals, etc.

All kinds of soil organisms are breaking down organic matter and passing energy among levels of the soil food web. The energy of the sun is constantly added to the system by photosynthesis. Therefore, with all the nutrients captured by soil organisms, the fertility of the soil is getting better and better.

Soil organisms not only feed on dead organic materials, they also have a relationship with living plant roots. Some plants form association with bacteria, others, fungi. Sugar produced by the plants gets released into soil to feed the organisms. In turn, the organisms provide the plants with nitrogen, minerals and other nutrients.

The relationship between plants and soil organisms are very complex. But the end result is humus, the final residue of the organic materials.

Although humus is no longer the food source for soil organisms, it helps with water and nutrient retention and makes them more available to plants.

Some soil organisms also help to increase the pore sizes between soil particles, which increases air and water flow, and reduces soil erosion.

To keep soil organism diversity is the key to keep your plants healthy.

Read more, click here.

If you are a gardener, you have more ways to eat fresh veggies from your garden for a longer period of time by extending the growing season.

1. Start seeds indoors

To start your seeds indoors gives you a head start with this years planting. Keep the seedlings in a sunny spot in the house or using artificial lights to give them enough hours of light.

2. Covering the garden crops

Row covers can keep your lettuce and other veggies growing later in the year. A cold frame works even better. It protects crops from frosts and cold wind.

The very devices can also be used early in spring to protect your seedlings from late spring frosts. They allow you to put your seedling out a few weeks earlier.

3. Winter garden

A simple green-house will provide you fresh lettuce, chard, and peas in cold days.

To read more, click here.