Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with efficiency

Close the door, you're letting the heat out!

hollisimo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:06:07 -0800

My new house came with a scary, creepy "Cozy" brand gas wall furnace. It's 15º right now. How much money am I burning by using it? This is my first house and I am new to gas heating. I moved in two weeks ago, so I'm pretty nervous about how much money I'm spending trying to keep the place habitable during this cold snap. I've tried researching operating costs for this type of furnace, but I'm not coming up with much. So I turn to you, the hivemind, for anecdotes of your own experiences with this type of furnace.

Potentially relevant house information:
- built in 1946
- 720 sq. feet, single floor, 100% crawlspace
- in Portland, OR
- insulation in the attic, not sure about exterior walls
- ancient, single pane windows

Main questions:
1. The furnace is probably 20+ years old and therefore, was not designed with efficiency in mind. Are my fears of a huge gas bill likely to pan out if I use the thing 8 to 12 hours a day?
2. Is it better to use it sparingly in favor of electric space heaters?
3. The controls are pretty basic and it's hard to keep it on a "low" setting. How can I use the thing as efficiently as possible?

When it's in use, I keep the house's two ceiling fans on the reverse setting on low and that helps move the heat down from the ceilings. I'm just terrified that I'm going to bankrupt myself by trying to keep my house warm.

Heating a home with light bulbs. Inefficient??

ShawnTech — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:04:34 -0800

Heating a home with light bulbs. I'm nearing the end of remodeling my house and do not have gas and therefore heat to my house yet. Although I live in Houston, it's starting to get cold here.

I have a lot of lighting throughout the house, and want to confirm my theory of warming the house by turning on lots of lights. Although this might seem very costly and inefficient, I thought back to the law of Conservation of Energy (i.e. energy can be neither created nor destroyed).

If the light is on in a room without any windows (so none of the energy escapes outside in the form of light), 100% of the energy used by the bulb will be converted into the room as 1) heat, and 2) as light (which will subsequently be converted to heat as it has nowhere to escape to). Therefore, heating the room by this method will be exactly as economical as heating by any other electric heater. AM I CORRECT IN MY REASONING?

Bonus Question 1) If the room does have windows, what % of the energy am I wasting by light escaping to exterior?

Bonus Question 2) If this is correct, wouldn't the same also be true for most electric appliances? i.e. a television, computer, or even refrigerator would have the same effect?

Stimulus and rebate $$ for home weatherization?

ericbop — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:45:49 -0800

We just had a home energy audit performed on our house, and are preparing to pull the trigger on several thousand dollars' worth of insulating, weather stripping, leak sealing, etc. We're trying to maximize the amount of rebate money we can receive, either through local or federal tax credits, or through stimulus money, NYSERDA or some other source. We're having trouble finding out what exactly is available for the type of work we're having done as NY State homeowners. Any suggestions? Note: we're not interested in low-interest loans or other financing-based incentives.

What are the most efficient foods for the body to process?

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:04:31 -0800

What are the most efficient foods for the body to process? By efficient, I mean foods that, when eaten, produce the least waste.

Are these foods the same as the most nutritive foods?

Anonymous because this is essentially a question about excrement.

back and forth and back again

parallax7d — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 08:28:27 -0800

I'm going through a spreadsheet or a hand written list which requires me to check off each item as it's completed (common boring, repetitive work). I find that the process of switching back to that original list and checking/crossing out/deleting each item as it's done is the most time consuming part due to the context switch (having to move your eyes to a different interface/screen/paper). Are there any tricks (ruling out additional data entry to consolodate the data into a single interface) to minimize or eliminate this inefficiency?

Efficiently retrieving a file from an archive

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:25:43 -0800

Is there a smarter tar or cpio out there, or a smarter way to archive, to efficiently retrieve a file stored in the archive? I am using tar to archive a group of very large (multi-GB) bz2 files.

If I use tar -tf file.tar to list the files within the archive, this takes a very long time to complete (~10-15 minutes).

Likewise, cpio -t < file.cpio takes just as long to complete, plus or minus a few seconds.

Accordingly, retrieving a file from an archive (via tar -xf file.tar myFileOfInterest for example) is as slow.

Is there an archival method out there that keeps a readily available "catalog" with the archive, so that an individual file within the archive can be retrieved quickly?

For example, some kind of catalog that stores a pointer to a particular byte in the archive, as well as the size of the file to be retrieved (as well as any other filesystem-specific particulars).

Is there a tool (or argument to tar or cpio) that allows efficient retrieval of a file within the archive?

How do tanks turn efficiently?

Mike1024 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 05:36:52 -0800

Tanks have long, high-friction tracks - good for going forwards, not so good for turning as the tracks would have to skid. What do tanks do to overcome this problem? It's reasonable to speculate that they have high-power engines, that they have a selection of low gears, and that they try to avoid making too many sharp turns, but are there any other design features that overcome this problem?

Disherwasher vs. hand washing

markcmyers — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 10:18:25 -0800

Dishwasher vs. hand washing. Assuming we run the dishwasher only when it's full, which method uses less water and fuel?

Help us pick an ultra-low-flow showerhead

ssg — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 10:38:48 -0800

Ultra-low-flow showerheads: Can you recommend one? We'd like to replace our low-flow showerheads (2.5 gpm / 9.5 lpm) with more efficient models. There seem to be a few options out there in the 0.5 - 2 gpm range, but we'd rather not spend a bunch of cash blindly and risk ending up with an unsatisfactory shower.

We have good water pressure and a tankless water heater (which sets a lower limit of 0.5gpm). Availability in Canada would be a bonus.

UbuntuFilter: Help me find a well-organized note-taking or notebook program.

nayten — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:07:26 -0800

UbuntuFilter: Help me find a well-organized note-taking or notebook program. I like taking notes. A lot. For a number of topics. And the good ol' text editor and file folders combo doesn't cut it anymore.

Here's what I envision: I make a notebook for a new topic I'm interested. Say, Movies. When I make this Movies notebook, I'll have a tab on the left side of my program window that has a tab for it, along with my other notebooks (maybe classes I take at college, Music, Beers, and the variety of other things that I like).

When I click this tab, maybe a little dropdown list will come out with the different entry titles on it. Say, Back to the Future filming locations, Movies Staring Keanu Reeves, and Grammy Award Winners. I click the title I'm interested in, and on the right side of the window the text is quickly loaded, I can edit it on the fly, and make a new entry or jump around to others if I like.

Does anything like this currently exist? I'm flexible on the asthetics of the thing-- I just want an efficient way to store information on the numerous topics I'm interested in, and hope to save some bookmarking/Documents folder space with it.

Other options that would be a plus: tagging, image functionality, maybe a to-do list, and printing of notebooks.

sorting algorithms for people

d. z. wang — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:58:44 -0800

Given, for example, a table and a deck of cards or numbered sheets or whatever, what's a good way to put them in order? I feel like this is the sort of knowledge that would be passed around as tricks of the trade among secretaries, but, more generally, is there any field that makes systematic study of algorithms for humans instead of computers?

Creative cost saving ideas inside small governments?

jmnugent — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:48:03 -0800

Especially now, during this time of economic downtown, it would seem to me that many small cities across the nation are probably struggling with budget shortfalls. Are their online resources, forums or blogs that deal with collecting and discussing creative cost-saving measures for small cities ? I'd be especially interested in internal measures as opposed to citizen-related (external) programs, but any good links for either type would be appreciated. The city I work for has an internal program for soliciting ideas about cost savings. I'd like to submit some well-prepared and solidly researched ideas (to increase the chances of my ideas being accepted). I've done a small amount of preliminary internet searches but I'm not a financier by trade so I am pretty sure I'm not using the correct terminology (thus my searches are only returning spotty isolated case results/studies).

Although I've found a few singular city websites that list a minimal description of cost saving projects - what I'm really interested in are "collective" type forums (or similar) where the Pros and Cons of various cost saving ideas are discussed. (if a forum-beast of this type even exists).

If something like that doesnt exist, I'm willing to put in the work bookmarking and reading various blogs/websites to collate the information. What I'm worried about is finding isolated cases and then having to figure out "would that work for us?". (as opposed to finding a collective type forum where I could see better solutions that worked for multiple cities across the nation)

4 day work weeks?, Using hybrid cars?... Creating an "Innovation Team" that interviews various internal city departments to find wasteful processes and generates ideas to bring more efficiency? Intra-net website ideas that promote city-employee involvement/discussion?

If you are the type of person who works in this capacity for your city,.. perhaps you'll share stories about your daily job, or suggest more precise search words I can use to find better results.

Should we get a chest or stand-up freezer?

sirsteven — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:56:37 -0800

Looking at getting a freezer for a loft. What are the benefits of getting a chest freezer or stand-up freezer in a situation like this? How much of an issue are things like cost, floor space, counter space, efficiency?

I see a lot of posts about work. A lot of them are not positive.

brandnew — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:42:56 -0800

Why is work not fun? So, I've been a professional software developer for a little over 10 years. Over that time I've worked for 5 corporations, of varying sizes, regions, and industries. None of them have been fun. In fact, they've all been slightly awful to very awful. For years, I just thought it was me. But I hear the same story from a lot of others.

Corporate culture, to generalize my experiences, has been painful, inefficient, political, stifling, surreal, and somewhat often absurd. But, how can corporations like this survive and be competitive? Isn't there a competitive advantage for workplaces that are very fun? That are well-run? Doesn't the de facto state of corporate America violate some economic law?

I'm a (relatively) smart guy, with a good degree from a good school. I come up with interesting ideas. I put in the 50+ hours a week. I take initiative; I'm a team player. I don't have problems with meeting deadlines, and my quality is high. I stay up-to-date with industry trends.

Why can I not find enjoyable employment? I would take a 25% (or more) pay cut to work somewhere that 1. didn't make me wear a uniform, 2. let me work flexible hours, 3. let me work under 50 hours a week (if I met deadlines), 4. encouraged my ideas and innovations, 5. accepted my individuality, 6. let me joke around at work, 7. employed co-workers who were fun and weren't gaming the system, 8. let me work from home sometimes.

I could go on.

But the point of the question is the same: why do corporations never seem (or very slowly) evolve (at least regarding employee satisfaction)?

What are innovative ideas for healthcare to save money, increase efficiency and improve outcomes?

mintchip — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 08:06:55 -0800

What are innovative ideas for healthcare to save money, increase efficiency and improve outcomes? What would be some ideas for changes to the existing US health system to save money and improve outcomes? For example, ways to better manage chronic disease, reduce medical errors, reduce duplicate tests, etc.

I'm interested in new ideas as well as ones that have been proven to work in other countries but could be "hacked" to fit the convoluted system we have here in the US.

Strange article about a programmer scheduling his life according to software recommendations.

®@ — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 09:34:19 -0800

Article about "efficiency" software that ended up taking over somebody's life? Very interesting read but I can't recall the keywords. A while ago I read an article about a man who created "reminder" software to help him with memory retention, but that eventually he started living his whole life according to what the software recommended. It may have been in Wired... I looked on their site but couldn't find it, haven't been able to turn up much other places online either.

Does this ring any bells?

Does carbon trading make a difference?

henry.oswald — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 06:16:02 -0800

Why should energy supply companies bother making people houses greener when they are essentially reducing demand for their good? (quite a UK based question) I've been looking at carbon credits, the EU Emissions trading scheme and CERTs and have a good handle on it now but the main question is why should the energy suppliers (British gas, powergen etc) bother?

Electricity suppliers such as British gas are obliged to help improve the energy efficiency of peoples homes, from a cert certified process they receive carbon credits. However from a bit of basic maths it seem silly for a business to reduce the demand for their good.

If a house was insulated and then needed 10% less gas to heat the home, on a £800 yearly bill the energy supplier would lose £80 a year. A house around that size probably produces 4 tonnes of carbon a year - 10% of that is worth about £8 in carbon credits.

£80 - £8 = £72 worse of?

So why should British gas, eon, powergen etc bother to really improve peoples energy efficiency?

help me avoid burnout!

chicainthecity — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:55:27 -0800

How to I keep my sanity while balancing school and a full-time job? I'm about to begin a graduate program in counseling while simultaneously working full time in a different field. Leaving my job (or even reducing my hours) is simply not an option at the moment for financial reasons. So although I'm excited about the grad program and trust my decision to enroll in it, I'm also worried about how I'm going to balance it with the demands of my job. It doesn't help that a) my time management and general organizational skills could use some work; b) I'm over 40, so my energy levels aren't what they used to be; and c) there is no public transportation near the campus, so I'll be doing a lot of driving, most of it at night (when my classes are scheduled). Can any MeFites with experience leading this kind of double life suggest ways that I might do the following:

--manage my time/assignments efficiently
--enhance my energy levels and stamina
--keep up with other important tasks such as bill-paying, grocery shopping, meal preparation, etc.?

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions.

You're as cold as ice

zerobyproxy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:17:19 -0800

Is it cheaper to buy or make 10 pounds of ice cubes? Here are the factors: I am in Chicago, fresh water is cheap, electricity not as cheap, I have a standard refrigerator. I started thinking about the value of my time in making the (ever depleted) ice bin.

Thoughts?

Getting up in the morning

stenoboy — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 06:13:45 -0800

Does anyone have tips for a speedier getting-up routine in the morning? It seems each day at least half an hour is spent flossing, brushing, shaving, showering, etc. I absolutely hate doing these same tasks day in, day out, and I was wondering if anyone had ways of speeding up the process?

I've started to shave in the evenings just before bed as I'm more 'accurate' than first thing in the morning with bleary eyes, and the rule seems to be that what takes five minutes in the evening takes at least ten minutes in the morning.

Are there any devices and/or tricks you use to be up and ready in the minimum amount of time? (I'm just glad I don't have to apply make-up!)

How can we use our ACs most efficiently?

LolaGeek — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:28:19 -0800

We have two (okay, four) window air conditioners. How can we best use them to cool our house? We live in a two-story, 1400 square foot house. It was built in 1895, and obviously they didn't have central air back then, so we use window air conditioner units. We have four of them, but two are kind of old/junky/possibly broken, so we're really only using two.

We've already taken other steps to keep the house cool such as adding extra insulation and vents in the attic, keeping the windows covered during the day, using ceiling fans, and running appliances like the washer/dryer and dishwasher early in the morning or at night.

The first couple years we lived here, we set up one AC upstairs and one downstairs (at opposite ends of the house), and only turned them on when we were in the room. Those were terrible summers.

Last year and this year, we've been setting up both ACs upstairs (at opposite ends of the house), and leaving them on at a low setting all the time. The cool air sinks to the downstairs, and its generally tolerable in the house, as long as you're not doing anything too active (like, say, vacuuming).

Are we using our ACs as efficiently as possible? Is there a different arrangement that could keep our house cooler and/or use less energy?

(For reference, here is a general floorplan - the ACs are currently in the front and back bedrooms upstairs.)

PS: We have three cats, so they need to be comfy all day, too.

Exit Sandman

freya_lamb — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:57:33 -0800

Why does a lack of sleep make me markedly more efficient the next day? The night before last I didn't sleep much, just couldn't drop off til about 4am. I got up at 7.30am, hauled myself into work feeling like death and then proceeded to have the most productive day ever! Seriously, I was in the ZONE, got more work done in that day than in the previous week and a half. Today, following a fabulous night's kip - I'm back to easily distracted mode.

I've noticed this before - if, for whatever reason, I don't get much kip I'm much more able to concentrate the day after. This runs so counter to intuition/common sense I don't quite know what to make of it.

What's going on? And, more importantly how can I get into a similar state of mind without depriving myself of lovely Zs?

Help me be more anal

afu — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:23:09 -0800

I want to be better at making to do lists. Everybody I know who is successful and productive seems to make a lot of to do lists. I hardly ever make to to do lists and when I do I tend not to look at them after words. I would appreciate tips on how to make lists that are useful, and any applications that make list making useful. Please keep in mind that I am the opposite of anal retentive, so motivation in keeping the lists organized and up to date is a major problem for me.

Organization at home and at work

mintchip — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:52:50 -0800

Please help me with oganization of daily tasks at home and at work. I am an adult who has been diagnosed with a learning disability that affects organization. Because of my age at diagnosis, and the fact that I'm out of school, I seem to be on my own as far as figuring out how to best manage with this.

I usually get everything that I need to do done, but it seems that I put in a lot more effort than might be necessary. Just the ordinary tasks of daily life often feel overwhelming. My life is full of daily frustrations and annoyances about not working at peak efficiency because of stupid things like forgetting my wallet at home, not being able to find papers I need, taking messy notes and having to rewrite them, having bought multiples of things because I didn't realize I already had them, etc. I also straighten up my apartment on a daily basis, but there are always clothes everywhere and a sink full of dishes (how does this happen???)

I often find myself doing double or triple duty in order to keep on top of work projects, for example.

I'm wondering if there are any general (or specific) principles I can apply to simplifying my life and work routine? I'd be happy to provide more info if necessary. What about you super-organized folks? How do you manage things? Thanks!

How can I get a letter there fast?

tomwheeler — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 13:00:17 -0800

I sometimes want something I send to reach the recipient as quickly as possible, but I don't care to pay for priority service. How can I find out what the quickest local US mail dropoff would be? I'd like some things I mail to arrive ASAP, such as NetFlix DVDs or expense reports where I'm due reimbursement. Common sense suggests sending these directly from the USPS early in the morning, but the drive up mailboxes outside the branches near me just list an afternoon pickup time. I suspect each branch then has some additional delay before that mail gets to the processing station.

Certain businesses (payroll outsourcing, banks, etc.) make a point of knowing how to get things to arrive in the most expedient way. How can I do the same? Is there a master list of pickup times or mail planning app on the Web somewhere?