Green Homes for Regular People

The iconoclastic owner of the San Jose tract home featured in this article takes exception to the notion that green is expensive. Green, to him, is rooted in conservation of all resources, not the least of them being money.

Street view of Frank's house

Frank Schiavo’s compact, tract-built, three-bedroom ranch-style home in a modest San Jose neighborhood demonstrates that remodeling to create a cutting-edge green home is neither difficult nor expensive. Heated with sunlight and cooled by night air, his home is comfortable, quiet and tasteful, filled with light and local art. With only modest investments in a sun room, extra insulation, new windows, a very small array of rooftop photovoltaic and solar hot water panels, his electricity bill for the coldest, cloudiest months of the year averages a few dollars a month. His gas bill is even more modest.

What’s most impressive about Schiavo’s house isn’t that it’s so comfortable and practical for him to own, it’s that it demonstrates that lofty resource conservation goals can be achieved on a modest remodeling budget.

Passive Solar Energy is Inexpensive

Schiavo’s remodel performs so well, and for so little, because it focuses on conservation, not features. San Jose has plenty of sun, so Schiavo’s house exploits passive solar design. First, Schiavo thoroughly insulated. Next, he added heat-collecting thermal mass (in the form of a small sunroom addition) to store heat energy in the winter and stabilize temperatures. In the summer, he stores the cool of the night air. Interior walls sport an unusual finish detail that, at first brush, appears to have been motivated by modernist aesthetics. Stacks of black, rectangular solids suggestive of consumer electronics protrude from interior walls extending from the floor to chair-rail height. As Schiavo explains, these are actually five gallon metal cans that have been painted black and fitted into steel support racks in key wall sections. The cans are filled with water, which has terrific thermal mass for its weight and volume. Many of these cans are situated in an interior wall that separates the interior from a south-facing sunroom. The water-filled cans store heat in the winter (and the cool of night air in the summer) and release it into the interior of his house.

Passive Solar Heating/Cooling: Operating the House

In the winter and early spring, Schiavo lowers special insulated doors in his sunroom, exposing the water-filled cans. Sun enters the windows of the sunroom and heats the brick-in-sand floor. The warm air in the sunroom then heats the water-filled cans. At night, Schiavo closes the insulated doors, and the water-filled cans radiate heat back into his house. This is an implementation of a passive solar Trombe Wall.

An added benefit of the sunroom space is that it makes an ideal place to hang laundry to dry. Schiavo admits he does use his gas dryer: about a minute or two per load, with no heat, to fluff-up his clothes and remove lint.

Schiavo Himself

A sustainability activist, passive solar design consultant, and retired environmental studies instructor from San Jose State University, Schiavo doesn’t shrink from publicity. A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News (4/5/2008, Is that a lion in the yard? S.J. fence-mural draws second looks) covers the extensive mural in Schiavo’s front and side yards, painted by a friend.

Schiavo first found the public eye in a well-publicized struggle with his local garbage company. Through a combination of disciplined purchasing habits, composting in his yard, and extensive recycling, he has virtually ceased to produce any trash. For years, he continued to pay the local garbage company for a service he wasn’t using. The mayor of San Jose found out and ordered the garbage company to stop billing him. His example led to the City’s composting program, run, incidentally, by a former student.

If you live near San Jose, you can see Schiavo’s house and mural at 1186 Bayard Drive. Look for footprints painted on the sidewalk, position your feet in them, and watch mural, building and landscaping meld into one large piece of art.

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New Zealand Herald (Auckland, New Zealand) January 6, 2011 T HE new-vehicle industry in New Zealand goes into 2011 a lot happier than it went into 2010. No word on overall 2010 sales yet but the market towards the end of last month was running at an average 14 per cent up on 2009 _ 12 percent for passenger cars and 16 per cent for commercials.

It was welcome relief after a bleak 2009, when around 70,000 new cars and commercials were sold, a slump of 28 per cent from about 97,000 units in 2008.

Industry analysts were forecasting sales in 2010 of between 78,000 and 80,000. Another 12 per cent gain in 2011 would push sales towards 90,000.

The Motor Industry Association is happy with growth in 2010. “We don’t have the final figures yet but looking at the segments, the biggest change occurred in the SUV segment, with compact and medium SUVs accounting for nearly a quarter of all sales,” said CEO Perry Kerr. “This came at the expense of the small segment, which was down 2.8 per cent at the end of November. Most other segments fell by around 1 per cent.” Kerr said the industry is optimistic going into 2011. “Sales should remain buoyant due to an election year coupled with the economic benefits arising from the Rugby World Cup.” So what’s new in 2011? A whole bunch of new vehicles. Here’s an indication, some of which have been confirmed, some not.

Aston Martin: Officially, no new models for New Zealand. Unofficially, expect two new variants to be unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March. One, say the rumours, is a potential replacement for the ageing DB9. The New Zealander who bought the $2.6 million limited-edition One-77 Aston gets the keys to it mid-year. His will be one of only 77 in the world. in our site new zealand map

Alfa Romeo: Highlight of the year is the Giulietta, the hatchback that topped the Euro NCAP crash test. The three-door MiTo gets a dual-clutch automatic gearbox and stop-start fuel-saving technology.

Audi: Luxury segment leader will unveil the A7 Sportback this month and the go-fast RS3 hatchback later in the year. Expect upgrades across the range.

Bentley: First up is the Mulsanne saloon, due in a few weeks and priced at $595.000. Facelifted GT arrives in May. It doesn’t look much different from the existing model, but Bentley says there’s not a single common panel between the two. Under the bonnet is the same 6-litre W12 engine but this time with a pair of turbos, which lifts power to 423k and torque to 700Nm. Price? Around $400,000.

BMW: New 5-Series models, including Touring station wagon. SUV X3 lands next month. Facelifted 1-Series and 6-Series due. Also a rumour that the bahn-storming M5 will appear later in the year.

Chrysler: New Jeep Grand Cherokee on sale in a few weeks.

Citroen: New C3 hatchback, C5 facelift, DS3 Racing, among others.

Ferrari: Big surprise in 2011, says Ferrari boss Luca Di Montezemolo. The smart money is on a new generation V12 grand tourer to replace the 612 Scaglietti, which is expected to use more light weight materials in the quest for improved fuel economy and performance. The yet-to-be-unveiled 458 Italia Spider may arrive Downunder later in the year.

Fiat: Expect upgrades across range. Sportier Abarth version of 500 mid-year.

Ford: Updated turbo-diesel Territory gets 2.7-litre engine from Discovery3 Land Rover. Upgrades to Falcon range. Ranger ute arrives late in year. Talk that the Focus might sneak in around then too.

Honda: Heading into hybrid heaven with new offerings. Jazz, Civic, CR-Z coupe. The hybrid Insight kick-started sales charts late last year.

Holden: Upgrades across Commodore and Cruze range, including new Cruze hatch around Christmas.

Hyundai: Record sales in 2010. Host of new models due, including sedans, wagons and Velostar coupe.

Jaguar: Expect upgrades but nothing new.

Kia: New Carnival people-mover at Detroit show. Impressive Optima sedan on sale here next month. Expect upgrades across range.

Lamborghini: New Gallardo LP 550-2 is the price leader, weighing in at 1380kg and sitting at around $370,000. It is essentially a rear-wheel drive version of Lamborghini’s all-wheel drive LP 560-4. Lamborghini changed springs, dampers, stabilisers, tyres, revised the e-gear six-speed transmission, upgraded rear axle with a 45 per cent limited slip differential, and modified the stability control system to allow good drivers to tuck the tail out. Power comes from a 5.2-litre V10.

Land Rover: Rugby World Cup vehicle sponsor has big year ahead, mostly ferrying around rugby VIPs during the tournament. New Freelander range arrives soon; one model gets stop-start technology. Range Rover Evoque due later in year.

Lexus: Goes into all-new territory with the petrol-electric CT200h, a five-door hatchback a bit bigger than the Toyota Corolla. Lexus believes the hybrid could boost sales figures in Europe by a whopping 50 per cent. The car should give sales in New Zealand a lift, too. It is Lexus’ new entry-level model and due March/April. Nothing else this year, apart from the odd upgrade. this web site new zealand map

Lotus: Nothing on the New Zealand map but across the ditch Lotus plans to launch its new supercharged Evora S. The booster bumps up performance from the 3.5-litre Toyota V6, to 258kW/400Nm from the regular Evora’s 206kW/350Nm. Also expected is the Evora IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift), a paddle-shift automatic version of the regular Evora.

Maserati: The fastest, lightest and most powerful version of Maserati’s GranTurismo arrives mid-year. The MC Stradale ditches the coupe’s two rear seats to help reduce weight by 110kg, while the 4.7-litre V8 gets slight increases in power and torque to 330kW and 510Nm.

T HE new-vehicle industry in New Zealand goes into 2011 a lot happier than it went into 2010. No word on overall 2010 sales yet but the market towards the end of last month was running at an average 14 per cent up on 2009 _ 12 percent for passenger cars and 16 per cent for commercials.