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How did people live 50 or 100 years ago? People don't need air conditioners.
Well people didn't live as long either 50 or 100 years ago. Air conditioners are necessary for older people as well as the very young. A 46 year old woman died in NYC overnight due to the heat.
hmm. all i know is that in my personal experience, i use far less than 5.8 x2 gallons to wash and rinse a mess of dishes by hand, so i'm sticking with that
actually, the only reason dishwashers even have any relevance to the topic at hand is their electrical consumption during the drying cycle, yet we're focused on how much water they're using..
To do as many dishes as a full dishwasher, you probably use more than 5.8 gal. Measure how much water you fill your sink with when doing a hand-washed load. Then add in the rinse water. (If you're concerned about water useage.) Water does figure in if you're heating the water w/electricity. I did address the drying issue, also the cycle that heats the water to 140 or whatever, like some of the newer, high-end dishwashers have.
well in this heat wave NOBODY should use a dryer, hanging clothes should be a must....
it doesnt take rocket science to figure out not to use a dryer in 100 degree weather,
The dew point was at 74 here,it doesn't take a "Rocket Scientist" to figure out cloths won't dry with that much humidity!
hmm. all i know is that in my personal experience, i use far less than 5.8 x2 gallons to wash and rinse a mess of dishes by hand, so i'm sticking with that
actually, the only reason dishwashers even have any relevance to the topic at hand is their electrical consumption during the drying cycle, yet we're focused on how much water they're using..
We have an average size stainless steel sink. To fill both sides 3/4 full (one for washing, one for rinsing) would take 9.4 gallons (4.7 per side). We have a family of six, and we only use the dishwasher every 2-4 meals. When we did not have a dishwasher, we would wash by hand after every meal. With a dishwasher, we wait until it is full ( almost overflowing).
So, if on average we get 3 handwashes per single automatic wash, that means we use about 5.8 gallons in the dishwasher vs 28.2 gallons for handwashing.
It does take energy to heat the water either way. In handwashing you have to heat far more water. You do not have to use the drying cycle on most dishwashers, and we never do.
I don't live in the Northeast, so I don't have a dog in this hunt. Nor am I a "greenie," but I do like to save energy, because I like to save money. And when I saw this debate over dishwasher vs. handwashing, I just had to do some calculations to see which was more efficient. I'm going with dishwasher (provided you wait 'til it is full, and you don't use the drying cycle.) Even without those 2 caveats, it would be pretty close.
In, the the town next to me they have a program , the energy company will turn off your refrigerator in the middle of the day when your not home . You have to sign up for this.
How did people live 50 or 100 years ago? People don't need air conditioners.
Remember houses were built quite differently. The house I have now was built in 1930. The outside walls are over a foot thick. I need to fix up the windows and seal the floors a bit more, but it is far more sturdy than something built ten years ago. In 80 years, that house will be a wreak.
Before AC, houses were built to conserve heat and let in cool. They were aimed where the sun didn't beat down on them all the day and with proper cross ventilation. They had walls that were thick and made out of what worked in the area. Go into an old Spanish style building in the desert and you'll find its comfortable minus ac. Go into a new one and you better have it on a 100 degree plus day.
Maybe we need to start building houses which allow us to use less ac and heat and manage it better, even if we have to build them with less "flow" and space. And take that space and plant some trees for shade. But a modern house is intended to use a central air/heat unit or it becomes unliveable. The good news is so many of them are built so cheaply that in a few years the lots will start to be cleared and maybe someone can build with extended lifespan and passive energy considered like they used to be.
Location: Jonquil City (aka Smyrna) Georgia- by Atlanta
16,259 posts, read 24,752,651 times
Reputation: 3587
Quote:
Originally Posted by nightcrawler
and if you are not able to get a clothesline up in a high rise, make one in the house...it isnt hard.
The clothes tend to drip water which can be messy. I remember when I was a kid and we would visit relatives in a courtyard building where they had clotheslines strung across the courtyard and sometimes you would get dripped on walking under the things or you would see someone's clothes laying on the hedges where they fell off.
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