SSD - A Cheap Upgrade For Your Computer

Need To Upgrade your Computer? Just Add An SSD Drive.

If you are not an gamer or do lots of video/ graphical editing. It is just a waste to buy an new computer. Instead of ditching your old computer, buy an SSD hard drive and use it as your primary disk drive and install the operating system and programs in it and use your existing hard drive to store the media files etc. and enjoy the great boost in speed.

Buying an SSD is not an loss in anyway as the physical hard drives now are the biggest bottleneck in the system. the processor's are very fast that they just have to wait till the hard drive gives it information to process.

My tip is try an SSD in your computer if  you are still not satisfied you can still use that SSD in the new computers. Also please buy reliable brands, after all they store your important data.

Some of the reliable brands according to me are: 

1) Intel

2) Samsung

3) Crucial M4

Don't be fooled by buying the fastest SSD, reliability maters the most.

Advantages of using a SSD:

1. Speed Up Your Boot-Up

SSD knows that «go» means «go». Just turn it on and begin working in less than 30 seconds.

2. Zip through File Searches

Remember the last time you attempted a simple e-mail search using a Hard Disk Drive (HDD)? Now imagine crunching that time so it's 5x faster. That's the power of an SSD.

3. Trim File Transfer Time by Almost a Third

Transfer and copy files thirteen minutes and five seconds faster than usual—just enough time to give you a head start on rush-hour traffic.

4. Start Applications in Seconds

Need to make a quick ten-second edit before meeting with a client? SSDs load programs such as Adobe Photoshop and PowerPoint more than twice as fast as their HDD counterparts.

5. Double File-Compilation Power

Just because programmers sit behind a computer screen all day doesn't mean they're immune to slowness. An SSD boasts 2x faster file-compilation times than HDD.

6. Cut Downtime by Half

Routine maintenance tasks shouldn't disrupt your work flow. SSD cuts simple tasks such as virus scans by almost 50 percent.

7. Reduce Power Consumption

SSD requires less energy than a conventional HDD and can add an average of 30 minutes to battery life.

8. Master Multitasking

SSD smoothly handles multiple programs so you can crop photos and load game maps nearly 3x faster than with HDD.

9. Cut Video-Editing Time

Render video file clips at over 30 percent faster with SSD. You'll be able to edit quickly and move on to your next project in no time.

10. Take it Anywhere

For work that needs to extend beyond home or office walls, SSD exceeds expectations in handling shock, vibration, and temperature extremes. Go anywhere with it.

The Bedfan - Very Energy Efficient cooling system

Unlike old-fashioned fans (ceiling fans, box fans, etc.), The Bedfan cooling system generates a breeze that starts at the foot of your bed and moves up the sides of your body then out around your shoulders. This breeze allows you to sleep cooler than ever before, while at the same time allowing you to use less energy cooling your house. Lower your electric bill while sleeping cooler.


The Bedfan is powered by a specially designed, fully controllable transformer that will convert AC power to 12 volts and less than one amp. The fans are capable of delivering over 100 CFM of air. With the Speed controller, you can adjust the air flow from 0 to 100 CFM without having to move from your bed.

The Bedfan® Cooling System is designed for…


The Bedfan Cooling System is for people who are hot sleepers and really want to sleep cooler.
The Bedfan is for women who suffer from the effects of menopause including night sweats derived from hot flashes.
The Bedfan is for people who have a medical condition that causes their body to get hot at night.
The Bedfan is for people who want to save money on their air conditioning bill. 

Second Hand Goods Shopping

There are some rich people who purchases items and use them only for a few times and then give them away. Often they are not satisfied with the product.

So when you are going for second hand shops to purchase items target the shops in the wealthy regions first. They are the ones which have the good material. After that you can go to the second hand shops in the middle class area etc.

Also be very picky when selecting the items especially electronics. I do not recommend buying second hand laptops which are more than 3 three years old.

There are some items which are really worthwhile to buy in second hand shops. Below are a list of some of them.

Art supplies: You can buy lot of art supplies like brushes, oil paints, crayons, clay, easels etc. for you children to use for their art projects. You can even find magazines which can help your child for these projects.

 Gardening supplies: Some times you might require a shovel, spade for an occasional job in the garden instead of buying a new one for a one time job. Buying a second hand one works really well. You will also find Hedge trimmers, Weed trimmers, Rakes. Be careful when buying hose’s because there might be a slight crack or cut in the middle which may go unnoticed.

Hand tools:  you may find screwdrivers, spanners, drills, hammers etc. in second hand stores. Usually these items are used very rarely in the household. So you can buy such items just to do the specific job, instead of buying tools and keeping them locked away for lot of years.

Toys: You can buy toys for your children from second hand shops. Ys your children tend to break them anyway and when they get a bit older these toys remain as useless junk. Also note the type of toys they like depends on the age group. And usually after a few months they use a toy they don’t even look at them again.

Books: Usually the books found on the second hand shops are read only once. They are as good as new. You do the same thing if you are using a library, unless you are in really impatient to read a particular book I find really no reason to buy a new book.

Bicycles: yes, there are second hand bicycle shops that repair broken, leftover bicycles and sell them. This is also good for your children because as they keep growing up you will require bicycles from small sizes gradually to larger ones. Then the small cycle will be a piece of junk in your house.

Home Décor: Of course there are lots of decorative items with small damages in second hand shops. But these small damages can be kept in such a way that will not be seen to guest. For example, the damaged side of the item is kept facing the wall.

Video games & Movies: you will mostly play such items only once so why pay more money for such items when you can easily get them in second hand shops

Musical instruments: Majority of the musical instrument dealers sell second hand goods. You may have to run around a bit for finding the particular instrument. But if you are not a professional and just using for some leisure time, I find it is ok. Sometimes we just buy to have a try to learn and if thing does not go well it will be lying in the dust.

 Furniture: You can get furniture in second hand shops which are really good. If you need furniture for the guest room why spend lot of money for furniture which will hardly be used.


Mobiles: Usually some people have the craze to have the latest mobile phones and they sell their almost new model to buy the latest model. You can really find an good mobile if you search a little.

Reduce Energy Consumption Of Your Computer And Its Accessories

1) Monitor Brightness:

We generally keep the brightness of the monitor high and usually never ever bother about the setting. But in a recent study it has been found out that if you reduce the brightness of your monitor it actually saves energy. The difference between 100% brightness and 0% brightness is approximately 12 watts of energy reduction per hour. So adjusting your monitor’s brightness by playing with the levels until you find the minimal acceptable brightness for your work can save you energy.

2) Get A LED/LCD Monitor:

If you are using a CRT MONITOR please buy a LED/LCD monitor. LED/LCD monitors has many advantages than the CRT monitors are an average 17 inch LCD monitor will take about 1/3 of the power an CRT monitor uses.ie an 150 watt 17 inch CRT monitor can be replaced by an 50w LCD monitor. Also using a CRT monitor is more damaging to your eyes and also they take up more room. Also CRT monitors generate more heat that means your air conditioner has to do more work to cool the room.

3) Laptop Charger

Most of the people leave their laptop charger plug in even after the laptop has been fully charged. Leaving the charger plugged into the wall eats energy about 30 watts per hour. So after the laptop has charged disconnect the power. Or for your convenience fix an outlet timer with the time setting just enough to power on your laptop till it get charged. After the time set the power to the laptop automatically disconnects.

4) Computer Power Settings

Play with the power settings in your computer and try to find the lowest numbers that are still convenient for your use. I.e. the time of inactivity after which the monitor, hard disks turns off etc.

5) Shutdown Your Computer When Not Used

Shutdown your computers when you are not using them.some people just keep the computers on the whole time so that the next day they can instantly turn on the computer and use it instead of waiting for the os to boot. But because of these 2 minutes you are saving you are wasting a lot of energy. Put schedules so that the computer shutdowns after it completes a particular task, these options now come standard in antivirus software, disk defragment software media players etc.. If you are using your computer to play music till you fall asleep in the night use media players like media-monkey that you can configure to shut down the computer after a time period. If you are using torrents to download you can set the computer to shut down after the download completes (utorrent).

6) Use A Smartstrip

Majority of the users after they shut down the computer just walks away and all other accessories like speakers monitors, printers, scanners, external drives etc. are still in the on condition eating up energy. So the solution for this is to buy a smartstrip. This is just like a regular extension strip but the strip monitors the current load of one outlet and turns on or off the power of the other outlets according to it. So you can set that when your computer turns off all other devices like printers etc. automatically turns off. And when the computer turns on again they turn back on. A smart strip has one or two outlets with an always on condition also so you can fix the network devices in it.

7) Remove Or Disconnect Unwanted Peripherals In Your Home Server/Media Server

If you are using your old computer to function as a NAS or home server or media server you can disconnect all the extra unwanted devices in the computer which you won’t use example DVD drives, sound cards etc. This also can save energy.

Increasing The Fuel Efficiency Of Your Vehicle

Here I am just going to share some information which I have experienced to improve the fuel efficiency of your vehicle


1) Always top up you fuel tank at night or very early in the morning.The reason behind this is when the atmosphere is hot there is more amount of vapors in the fuel. So when you are refilling the tank you are simply paying for the vaporous or gaseous content of the fuel. As the temperature decreases this gaseous content reduces and you get the proper fuel in your tank. This is a great tip for the people in the gulf and other hot areas.


2) Reduce the unnecessary electric burden from your vehicle
Now these days’ people are driving with all the fog lights, front bumper lights On. But what most people don’t realize is that the more electric you use the fuel consumption also reduces.


3) Reduce the weight of your car
I am not saying to do extreme measures like removing seats, Radio’s etc. have noticed that many people carry lot of unwanted things in their cars which they hardly use. Try to reduce as much as luggage as possible to improve the vehicle efficiency. Cargo or cargo racks on top of your vehicle (e.g., cargo boxes, canoes, etc.) increase aerodynamic drag and lower fuel economy. 


4) Cruise control
The cruise control maintains the vehicle in an constant speed in the highway and this can save your gas. But on the other had do not use your cruise control in hilly areas and where there are many ups and downs as the cruise control will be rapidly accelerating and decelerating the engine to maintain that speed and you will lose fuel efficiency.


5) Avoid excessive speeding
If you are speeding above 60mpg, this increases aerodynamic drag (wind resistance), reducing fuel economy. The new EPA tests account for aerodynamic drag up to highway speeds of 80 mph, but some drivers exceed this speed.


6) Use 2 Wheel Drive Mode
Run your vehicle in 2 wheel drive mode to save more power. Use 4 wheel modes only when you have some off road conditions or when the road is wet and slippery. Engaging all four wheels makes the engine work harder and increases transfer case and differential losses.


7) Avoid Excessive Idling
Idling can use a quarter to a half gallon of fuel per hour, depending on engine size and air conditioner (AC) use. Turn off your engine when your vehicle is parked. It only takes a few seconds worth of fuel to restart your vehicle. Turning your engine on and off excessively, however, may    increase starter wear.


8) Use premium fuel
Premium fuel does improve your millage. It is advisable to use premium fuel because you can travel more distances in one tank and also you will have to spend less times going to an gas station to fill you tank. This is if your premium fuel costs a maximum of 20% more than your regular fuel. It also depends on your car.


9) Quick acceleration and heavy braking
Quick acceleration and heavy braking can reduce fuel economy by up to 33 percent on the highway and 5 percent around town. New EPA tests account for faster acceleration rates, but vigorous driving can still lower MPG.


10) Air up your tires.
Fill up your tires to the maximum recommended pressure in the owner’s manual in your automobile, which takes into account the mass of your car. Every pound of pressure that you’re low in any of your tires results in a 1/8% reduction in fuel efficiency – and almost everyone’s tire pressure is at least five pounds low per tire. If that’s true for you, just airing up your tires would result in at least a 2.5% increase in fuel efficiency.


11) Coasting
Instead of rapid acceleration and breaking try to coast your vehicle this improves your fuel efficiency by a lot. Stopping and starting eats a lot of gas. 


12) Use the Recommended Grade of Motor Oil
You can improve your gas mileage by 1–2 percent by using the manufacturer's recommended grade of motor oil. For example, using 10W-30 motor oil in an engine designed to use 5W-30 can lower your gas mileage by 1–2 percent. Using 5W-30 in an engine designed for 5W-20 can lower your gas mileage by 1–1.5 percent. Also, look for motor oil that says "Energy Conserving" on the API performance symbol to be sure it contains friction-reducing additives.


13) Regular Maintenance
Regular vehicle maintenance can improve your fuel efficiency. A poorly tuned engine burns more fuel. Improperly aligned or inflated tires can lower fuel economy by increasing rolling resistance. Brake drag can make your engine work harder. A dirty air filter can decrease the fuel economy of older cars with carbureted engines and reduce acceleration in newer vehicle.

Choice For A Better Water Heater

Water Heaters are one of the most power consuming appliances you have in your household. Here i have explained of some very energy efficient water heaters.


The Old Tank Water Heater

In a tank type water heater, heat is generated from the bottom of the tank and rises through the centrally mounted exhaust. Cold water enters from the top and deposits sediments at the bottom.
Over time, the efficiency of heat transfer is reduced as the burner has to work through the build-up before heating the water.
As heat passes through a large body of water just once, the tank is limited in its ability to produce continuous hot water.
Just imagine the amount of electricity used for just having a shower. You have to keep your standard water heater on for at least an hour to get the water hot to a reasonable temperature and it uses around 2kwh of electricity to use. And after one or two family member’s uses up the water the remaining members of the family have to wait for the water heater to heat up again.


Now here comes the solution for the above problem
1)Tank Less Water Heater

This has an efficiency of around 98%. These water heaters are instant on water heaters as soon as you turn the water heater on you get hot water within minutes. No waiting for hours and no wastage of hot water. No loss of heat to the environment because there is no water tanks. This system is very efficient and you will find significant electricity savings. This is best suitable for an shower etc.
In a tank less, heat is generated in a bottom up fashion. Cold water passes through a series of coils that reduce water pressure in order to heat water quickly. However, the coils clog up over time with scale build-up that reduces efficiency, and eventually causes the heat exchanger to fail.
Because tank less is activated by flow alone, every time a faucet is opened and closed, the heating cycle must start over again. This on/off behavior causes "cold water sandwich" that impacts temperature consistency as well as delay hot water delivery to your applications


2) Hybrid Water Heaters

Now what happens when you require to provide, the whole house a reliable constant supply of hot water, for this comes the hybrid water heaters. This contains the benefit of tank less water heaters and that of tank water heaters.
In hybrid water heaters, cold water enters from the bottom up as a way of self-cleaning the sedimentation, while heat is pushed through radiating transfer pipes.


The hybrid water heaters cycle process pushes heat in various directions through the water and maximizes energy transfer. In simplest terms, this slows the exhaust of heat by reusing the energy multiple times, rather than reducing water pressure.
The end result is a small heat exchanger that is capable of replacing multiple tanks, while supplying endless hot water with consistent water pressure and doing it efficiently time after time.


3) Solar Water Heaters

The most cost effective water heaters are the solar water heaters. Theses water heaters uses natural energy of the sun to heat the water. These water heaters are placed typically on the roof or walls or nearby, and the potable hot water storage tank is typically a pre-existing or new conventional water heater, or a water heater specifically designed for solar thermal. The initial costs are high but these water heaters will save a lot on the long run. The solar heaters might not be a great idea if you are living in areas with less daylight hours.

Christmas Lighting

So how can we save money from the Christmas lighting?


Now there are two types of lighting available the mini bulbs and the LED lights.


Mini Bulb:

Led Bulbs:

Let’s consider you use mini bulbs ( 0.4w) for 8hrs a day. Then it will consume 1.6kwh per day. Now for a month it will consume 48kwh.  Ie it will cost you around $5.76 for the month ( ie assuming $0.12 per kwh electricity bill)


Let’s consider you use led bulbs ( 0.1w) for 8hrs a day. Then it will consume 0.4 kwh per day. Now for a month it will consume 12kwh.  Ie it will cost you around $1.44 for the month ( ie assuming $0.12 per kwh electricity bill)
On checking the prices of the bulbs the mini bulbs are around $15 less than LED lights per 500 bulbs.


 Ok so as you see we don’t save, if you use the 500 LED bulbs for one holiday season. But if you consider using for 5 holiday seasons i.e., In 5 year period, your LED bulbs will cost the initial $15 dollars extra than the mini bulbs and $1.44 * 5 for the energy bill. That totals to a $22.2 instead of $28.8 used for energy cost when using the mini bulbs.


 So what is the best time to buy these lights? Of course it is after Christmas there is a huge sale on the light bulbs. As the merchants hike up the prices before Christmas and now they have to get rid of the excess stock of lights. So now you can buy these lights at a much reduced rate.

Choose The Best Lighting For Your Home

Did you ever think that changing the type of light bulbs you use in your home can give you a good saving of electricity? Here I am just going to focus on three types of bulbs.

The incandescent light bulb: 

These are the cheapest bulbs available costing around,$0.50 a bulb. They have a life time of 1000 hrs.

The CFL light bulbs: 

These bulbs are a bit more expensive at around , $1.20 a bulb (13 watts CFL bulb = 60 Watt incandescent light bulb)., these bulbs have a stated average lifetime of 8,000 hours.

The Led Type Light bulbs:

 These are bulbs using LED’S . since this is quite new it is a bit more expensive and it costs around $15.00 for a single bulb (7 watts LED bulb = 60 Watt incandescent light bulb). these bulbs have a stated average lifetime of 25,000 hours!

we know that we cannot estimate that the CFL and LED lights work for their stated hours so lets half the stated lifetime.

Therefore if we calculate the amount of money used to buy the bulbs alone for a 120,000 hr. period. We will need:

120 incandescent lights (considering 1000 hr. life span)= $0.5 *120= $60

30 CFL lights (considering an 4000 hr. life span) = $1.2 * 30= $36

10 LED lights (considering a lifespan of 12500 hr.) = &15.0 *10 =$150

Also consider the time you will spend in changing the bulbs. Time is Money.

Now let’s consider the energy utilized, assume the electric bill at a price of $0.12 per KW.

Therefore an incandescent bulb of 60w will use 7,200 kWh, i.e. $864 for 120000 hrs.

A CFL Light bulb of 13w will use 1569kwh, i.e.  $187.20 for 120000 hrs.

 A led Light bulb of 13w will use 840kwh, i.e.  $100.80 for 120000 hrs.

Let us conclude the total money required for a period of 120000 hrs:

Incandescent bulb will require $60 for the bulbs + $864 for electricity = $924

CFL bulb will require $36 for the bulbs + $187.2 for electricity = $223.2

LED bulb will require $150 for the bulbs + $100.8 for electricity = $250.8

There you go, until LED bulbs are available for a much lower price, use CFLS and enjoy a greater savings. If you like the yellow light of incandescent bulbs buy the warm white type of CFLS, I am really surprised to know that many guys did not know that the CFLS are available which gives yellow light.