Written by Jessop Petroski
Published on April 27th, 2009
How would you design your ultimate green home? My green home is one that incorporates Earth, Wind, and Fire!
Think of what technology might make possible in the next few decades and how we can use it to build homes that have a positive impact on the environment.
The growing awareness of the fact that buildings are responsible for 39% of our energy consumption, helps explain why green building and energy efficiency at home is one of the most pervasive trends in the construction industry — even as the economy struggles and home-building is at its lowest level in a generation.
Lets take a journey through our imagination and envision the green homes of tomorrow.
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Written by Keith Rockmael
Published on April 17th, 2009
If it works for one San Fran hotel then it must work for another. No, we’re not talking about more upscale mini bar items but Greening a hotel. In this case, the Orchard Garden Hotel’s (which garnered LEED-NC certification) sister property the Orchard Hotel just nabbed LEED-EB certification.
The Orchard represents San Francisco’s only hotel to earn this honor, the Orchard Hotel is the second hotel in California and fourth hotel in the world with this certification. The inspiration from these green hotels comes from its 85-year-old owner, Mrs. S.C. Huang, who has pushed her environmental agenda and created more environmentally safe and sustainable hotels after the untimely cancer-related deaths of three family members. Read the rest of this entry »
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Written by Susan Kraemer
Published on March 26th, 2009
Remember when we had the idea that investing in real estate was a safe bet? It was such a commonplace idea that this would generate a return on the investment, that it became a cliche: “As safe as houses”.
Now, despite our real estate values dropping like a stone, there is still part of your building that you can use to generate a certain return yearly.
That is that abundant farmland that you have on your roof.
You didn’t know you have farmland on the roof? Northern California’s PG&E thinks so. If you have solar potential (a flat roof or 20 degree slope to the South, Southwest or Southeast with no shade) you could actually generate a decent return on investment, regardless of your declining property value, from your sunshine harvest.
You could earn 8% a year on an investment in a solar roof. How?
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Written by Jessop Petroski
Published on March 22nd, 2009
Saving energy at home is on every one’s minds these days. The kitchen is a major energy hog until induction cooking came along.
So, how can we “go greener” in our kitchen?
Induction cooking uses 90% of the energy produced, compared to only 55% for a gas burner and 65% for traditional electric ranges.
Traditionally, when we cook, we produce heat on a stove top which then heats a pot or pan, which in turn heats (cooks) our food. So, what’s the problem? The problem is, more of heat energy is going to the cooking vessel than to the actual food itself.
Induction cooking is a method, completely different from all other cooking technologies–it does not involve generating heat which is then transferred to the cooking vessel, it makes the cooking vessel itself the original generator of the cooking heat.
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Written by Brian Liloia
Published on March 13th, 2009
There are many concerns about how we can prevent global warming. In every industry, whether it be transportation, agriculture, or the construction industry, there are questions about how to prevent global warming.
By building better designed, more energy-efficient, and natural homes, global warming will become less of a threat. One of the most basic necessities lacking in conventional homes is sufficient insulation.
Proper insulation will greatly reduce the need for constant home heating and cooling (and in turn, fossil fuels), as insulation will help maintain the temperature of a space. Straw bales stand out for their excellent insulative value, and for the fact that they are a totally natural and biodegradable material with minimal embodied energy.
Within the realm of natural building, many individuals choose straw bale house construction for these reasons.
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Written by Brian Liloia
Published on March 10th, 2009
Through natural building, there are many ways to prevent global warming. Conventional suburban houses are large, poorly designed, and inefficient, and the manufacturing and construction processes are big contributors to global warming.
Natural building is a sustainable design approach that promotes low impact homes built with natural and recycled materials. I will highlight two different techniques in natural building that promote global warming prevention through increased energy efficiency.
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Written by Joel Bittle
Published on March 9th, 2009
One of my favorite web comics is xkcd’s “Duty Calls,” where the stick figure can’t tear himself away from the computer because “Someone is WRONG on the internet.” Unfortunately, too often discussions on environmental topics devolve into “You’re wrong” – “No, you’re wrong” and we lose sight of what we are trying to accomplish, namely, moving towards a healthier, sustainable, more energy efficient lifestyle. If you’re the kind of person who has to be right all the time, you’re not going to convince anyone else of anything – you’ll just be arguing minute points like there’s a debate coach keeping score, and at the end someone’s going to hand you a little trophy. In this type of debate, the goal is to get the other side to see the advantages of going green, even if it’s in a small way. Keeping the conversation going is more important than proving the other side wrong. Here are a few strategies to achieve that goal.
Avoid “Green” – The term is overused and since it means different things to different people, many are confused by it. To me, “Green” means healthy, sustainable, and energy efficient. To someone else, it might conjure images of hippies in communes. Companies use “Green” to sell products that have no business being near that word. So if you’re trying to convince someone to conserve energy and water, use “energy conservation” or tie it into “energy independence.” If you are arguing health aspects, use “chemical free,” “carcinogen free,” “hypoallergenic,” or just plain “healthy.” Read the rest of this entry »
Written by Susan Kraemer
Published on March 6th, 2009
We are by now accustomed to measuring carbon emissions in terms of “taking X many cars off the road”.
We know cars are responsible for carbon emissions. So we are used to sneering at hoggy cars that wastefully emit so many tons of carbon per year:
(In fact, measuring carbon footprints in these terms is by now such a cliche that the measure: carsofftheroad will probably wind up as a regular metric that kids learn in school, just like feet and pounds are now: Phrases like I took 15 carsofftheroad last week installing 3 kw of new solar will be as readily understood as I lost 15 pounds last week running the marathon.)
But this week; doing a pre solar (thermal) efficiency analysis for an apartment complex – I noticed a surprisingly huge source of wasted energy that has thus far escaped notice and ridicule (well, mine, anyway) and that is: swimming pools.
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Written by Jessop Petroski
Published on March 3rd, 2009
Stimulus Bill Increases Rewards for Energy-efficient Remodeling
Energy-efficient remodeling replaces painting your bedroom walls as the most significant home improvement project of 2009.
We all know that green is the talk of the town these days, but we’re not talking about paint color any more when it comes to home remodeling. The word ‘green’ now holds it’s weight in eco-friendly, money saving home improvements.
To add to the wave, the government has now stepped in and made stimulating your home a great way to stimulate the ecomomy by giving back a 30 percent tax credit for homeowners who install energy-efficient windows, insulation or heating systems in 2009 and 2010.
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Written by Susan Kraemer
Published on February 28th, 2009
Now that we are all in danger of losing our homes, and the young are so burdened by their unthinkably immense college loans, perhaps we need to find out how to build with absolutely nothing down.
Who better to show us how to DIY on a budget of zilch, than the homeless builders of Berkeley who created the innovative squatters park made famous by the documentary movie Bums Paradise.
Here’s another way to build with no money down, no mortgage, no credit, and —no cash.
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