eco house

Will $100,000 Build A Good Green Home?

jchait — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:33:42 -0400

Postgreen and ZeroEnergy Design are going to be constructing an urban infill home for just 100K. The main goal of the house building project is that the home ends up using only 53% of the energy that's normally used by a standard new home, while still keeping costs at a smaller level. Another goal of the project is to achieve a LEED Platinum rating. The home is being built in Philadelphia where costs to build any home are considerably more than 100K.

The 100k house is going to be a great case study in proving that a well-made green home can be built for about the same as a traditionally built home - or possibly even cheaper than a typical home.

According to the press release, Chad Ludeman, President of Postgreen, notes, "In order to accomplish the lofty energy goals for the home on our budget, more time and care must be taken during the planning and design phase of every aspect of the home from insulation to HVAC equipment... ZeroEnergy Design is the perfect company to ensure that we will get the most bang for our buck in terms of energy efficiency on the 100K House and we are excited to have them be part of the project."

Aspects being concentrated on first include the best passive ways to save energy, because passive allows more bang for less money. Then the team looked at actual active energy systems, to analyze their efficiency, and lastly renewable energy systems were discussed. So far solar thermal is the top contender.

You can follow along with the entire process at 100k house, and so far it's an awesome read. Budgets, design ideas, and materials are all being posted about. I love this whole case study. When we built our home it was under 100K but in an area easy to build fairly inexpensively. This project will show that green can be built anywhere for less than some think. It should be fun to follow along.

[image via flickr: New renderings of the 100K House with new stucco & Hardie siding]

The Top 4 Ways to Save Energy in Your Home

jchait — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

If you're building or renovating a home and want the biggest earth saving bang for your buck than concentrate on energy saving first and materials second.

A lot of green building advice focuses on greener, more sustainable materials, both recycled and new. However, what matters a little more on the earth end of things is energy. Here's why. Green materials are great, in fact use them all you can, but the deal is, that green materials tend to be a one time deal. They do good because you choose them over another. I.e you may save some trees by going with reclaimed wood or straw bale vs. new timber. By building with green materials you perform a good deed.

By saving energy each day, each week, each year, for years and years, you're looking at a much longer payback of good deeds for the planet. Greener materials can be costly, depending on which greener building materials you use. Some energy saving built-ins can be costly as well. If your budget only allows room for one; go with the energy saving costs.

Here are some energy costs to consider - costs that pay off better in the long run for the earth:

The best insulation set-up you can afford.
Really great energy efficient windows and doors.
A great designer and building team - a team that will build right for maximum solar exposure, and who won't leave pesky cracks and holes in your home. Cracks and holes can cost you big time in energy losses.
Super energy efficient appliances and light fixtures.

These are just some ideas, there are many more ways to design for energy saving that have nothing to do with actual structural materials. All of the above can be costly, but in the long run you will save money and energy and the earth can breathe a little easier.

Remodeling Your Home Green

jchait — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Building your own green home is awesome. However, some of us like our house just fine already; we don’t want to build a new home, we just wish our current home could be a little more green. Here are some ideas for remodeling green:

Make a flexible wish list: If you’ve been considering green building or remodeling, than it’s likely you have some wish list ideas. It’s a good idea to keep your list flexible though. Until you speak with your remodeling team, it’s tough to know which eco-techniques will work in your existing home.

Questions you may want to explore include:

Which green home options have we seen in action that we think might work well in our home?
How do we want our home to make us feel when we walk through the door – energized, relaxed, both?
Which green home options will give our home the most bang for our bucks – are there options with a better return value? A quicker return value?
How will making these changes affect our current lifestyle?
How involved am I willing to be in the running of my home – for example can I learn to check and change batteries for solar power? Do I want to?
How do we currently use our home? Which spaces are the most occupied on a daily basis – which are the least occupied?
What do we have that is worth keeping (like large windows that allow natural light), and what do we think needs changed (like better insulation, less toxic carpet).
And of course - how much am I willing to spend? OR how much can I spend? Having a general idea of your budget can be useful when you start talking with your remodel team.

These are just a few questions to consider. The design process when remodeling takes a while. To jump start, you may want to talk to a company that specializes in green design and or green re-design. This can help give you an idea of options, costs, and time commitments.

What Is Sustainable Building?

jchait — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:53:49 -0500

Among architects and building enthusiasts there’s been some controversy over what sustainable building means. Do we need LEED? Why? Shouldn’t everyone just build green as a rule? And so on.

Personally I agree with the theory that earth friendly building, or sustainable building should be the rule, but I also know that it’s not.
People make a big scene when something pops up as sustainable – which, in a way is cool, but in many other ways a bummer. If green happened all the time it wouldn’t be such a phenomenon to folks when it happens.

If you’re considering building a sustainable home or trying to find one to live in, there are some basics behind the term, “Sustainable.” In order for a home to be sustainable a house minimizes energy consumption, provides a clean, or non-toxic environment, and ideas for conserve water are used.

An ideal sustainable house takes up just the amount of space it needs. For example, for a family with two adults and two children, living in a six bedroom house is excess – not sustainable living. Some people have managed to take small living to the extreme. You don’t have to live in super tiny spaces, but consider if you really need a three car garage, and two guest rooms.

Recycled and reclaimed materials are often used in the building process, although there are also some sustainable materials that are eco friendly even built new, like up and comer bamboo, which is abundant.
No house can be perfectly green. There are always energy expansions and waste, both with materials and human labor. Still, working under sustainable principals will increase the odds that your home will harm the earth less than a traditionally built home.