How lessons-learned from a state-of-the-art net-zero project can help us all reduce our impact
Now that everyone is finally talking about green buildings, the question becomes “Where do we need to go from here?”
The answer? Net-zero.
That’s what a panel of experts told an audience assembled last month at Rocky Mountain Institute’s symposium in San Francisco, RMI2009. Read the rest of this entry »
Attending the recently concluded CAR Expo in San Jose CA we could see that things weren’t exactly hopping, especially in the Green seminars and Green expo booths. Who could blame everyone, with the still lingering effect of the economy, unemployment and overall uncertainty? The Expo offered a bevy of economic forecasts, short sale sessions and new DRE laws going into effect but of course we went to check the green goings on. How’s the Green movement within the ranks of the real estate world? If my Green colleague and I would guess from the sparse attendance at the few green sessions and Green display booths then the state of Green Real Estate isn’t exactly on everyone’s radar. Read the rest of this entry »
New York City plans to train one thousand superintendents on green buildings this year. City managers of commercial and high-rise residential buildings now have the chance reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city on a sky high level.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg took part in the program, “One Year, One Thousand Green Supers” which was also approved by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Building Performance Institute. It’s also made possible by the Thomas Shortman Training Fund. This is part of NYC’s huge goal to reduce their building-generated carbon footprint. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s good to have West Coast Green back in SF. Not that San Jose didn’t play a fine host to last years bigger conference but the show lacked something last year, call it a vibe, or energy but something didn’t gel. So, this year’s scaled down but energetic and education West Coast Green found itself a new home at the Fort Mason. Maybe the ocean air and bay views added a green spark to the conference.
The economy definitely had an impact on this year’s West Coast Green with less venders but with less money that mean that people just had to get more creative with less moola such as the floating island, show gardens and even the sustainability built Jewish Sukkoth. The usual green rock stars like Eric Corey Freed and Michelle Kaufman made their presences felt with their energetic personalities. Read the rest of this entry »
This simple and sustainable design for the tropics is by Foster + Partners. Like their new design for Heathrow Airport it uses an undulating design for the roof.
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“Our homes embrace the principles of eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness, without sacrificing beauty. We can ensure that each dwelling achieves a gold or platinum LEED rating, depending on the particular finishes, building systems, and site design an owner chooses.” ~ Michelle Kaufmann Designs
Each Glidehouse home is solar ready with other renewable energy system options possible such as geothermal, wind generator or hybrid systems. Designed for clean, simple living. The Glidehouse is built in a factory, using the most modern and environmentally friendly building methods and materials.
Some eco features of the Glidehouse include:
It’s a pleasure to finally begin writing here at Green Options! This time around, I’d like to focus on green building ambitions in the corporate world. I’ve been hearing a lot about Wal-Mart, Intel, etc. But have you heard about what Leviton just did with their headquarters? Read the rest of this entry »
AJC Architects have thought ahead to a hotter Utah in the sensible ideas incorporated into their Wetland Discovery Point educational building that helps educate Utah schoolchildren about nature.
These are the green ideas in order of importance to sustainable design:
In addition there are the usual elements that garner so many LEED points:
…and indeed, this building has gained LEED Platinum certification, the third to do so in Utah.
It’s a good example of the self-sufficient new design vernacular in sustainable design - including net zero solar power and the new butterfly roofs for rainwater harvesting for a water constrained future.
Because Utah, in the American Southwest, is an arid land and will be increasingly drought-prone as our hotter future heats up the region.
Via Jetson Green
In the United States today, 21% of all carbon emissions come from our homes. Even more startling is that, on average, 40% of all energy consumed in our homes is wasted, but is still paid for every month. Simply bled off into the atmosphere, we lose our heat in the winter and cooling in the summer. Inefficient buildings not only harm our atmosphere because of all the energy required to run them, but also take a hefty chunk of change from us. Happily, there is something to be done about it. Enter One Block Off the Grid and their new model of collective bargaining for discounted home performance retrofits and big-ticket green home improvements.
One Block Off the Grid is the nation’s largest and fastest growing community purchasing group for residential solar, and was founded to cause the tipping point in its adoption. Grouping people together to make bulk purchases has lowered the upfront cost, as well as streamlined the oftentimes-complicated process of solar installation. This bulk-purchasing model is widely applicable, and in the process of engaging people on the topic of solar, it became clear that the power of community-based bulk purchasing could and should be applied to other services as well. Home performance retrofitting, sometimes referred to as weatherization, was an obvious choice.
1BOG has partnered with its first non-PV integrator to offer Bay Area residents a steep discount on home performance retrofits. Home performance retrofitting can help eliminate wasted energy, and make your home a more comfortable place to live. Leaky windows and ducts mean that temperature control is more difficult than it needs to be. Home performance retrofits solve this. Mold and dampness make air quality indoors three to five times worse than air quality outdoors. Home performance retrofits solve this.
By partnering with Sustainable Spaces, the Bay Area’s leading provider of these services, 1BOG is able to offer a 15% discount on all retrofitting work done. Sure, home performance retrofitting isn’t free, but when you take into consideration that you can begin saving up to 40% on your energy bills (gas and electric), the value of this service becomes clear. Regardless of age, location, shading, etc., chances are your home, your family, and your wallet can all benefit from a home performance retrofit through 1BOG and Sustainable Spaces.
For more information, visit 1BOG at: http://1bog.org/home-energy-efficiency-from-1bog/
Did you know that if you install a Biomass Stove – wood, pellets, etc. that you can nab a 30% tax credit ($1,500 max) up until 2010? Who knows that homeowners can get a 30% tax break for installing Solar Hot Water Heating until 2016? Maybe the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) which was signed into law by President Obama in February 2009 isn’t as complicated as the IRS tax code but does anyone really want to delve into the 400 pages of legislation to figure all the ins and outs about how to qualify for the green tax credits available to homeowners?
In a Cliff’s Notes version of the myriad incentives, rebates, and tax incentives GREENandSAVE has created a Federal Tax Incentive Decoder and condensed the material to 11 bite sized pages. Best of all, this resource does not cost a dime and can be downloaded at: http://www.greenandsave.com/homecheckup/free_federal_tax_incentive_decoder
Green Building Elements
At Green Building Elements, home owners and LEED accredited professional alike can learn about advances in green and renewable building materials, current projects in sustainable architecture and progressive urban planning, and local guidelines for creating green structures in different regions of the U.S.
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