green 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]

Home Energy Saving Resource

jchait — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

There's a new green home resource in town via the Department of Energy. The new interactive site, offers a clickable home, which shows you how to make smarter greener changes to your home, or how to build smart green design choices into a new home project.

Example: Simply click on the little solar panel on the house roof. A box pops up that explains some of what solar can offer including extra resources. There's a pdf document about how to get your power from the sun and links to tax credits related to solar power. There are also two learn more sections. One goes into solar power in depth, covering any questions someone might have about solar. The other goes straight into how to purchase and use solar power.

It's a nice little resource because each tip gathers all relevant information a green home owner might need. Topics covered, besides solar, include:

Solar thermal power
Lighting options
Fuel & hybrid cars
Smart meter
Air conditioning
home appliances and tech (like TVs)

If you click to the next screen it takes you out of the house and into a clickable field where topics related to cleaner energy are covered.

Smart electric grid
Hydrogen
Clean coal
Zero energy home
Biofuels
And more

While personally, I don’t think you should make a government sanctioned site your only source of information about green home issues and energy use, this is an easy website to use if you’re new to all this. Just keep in mind that while a government site is a good jumping off point, you’ll want to research other view points; especially related to controversial topics like biofuel and grid.

Visit Energy.gov

[picture via energy.gov - clickable example]

Beware of Greenwashing While Building Your Eco-Friendly House

jchait — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:32:52 -0400

Greenwashing is a term used to describe companies, people, or products that claim environmental-friendly features that they don't actually possess.

A good example of greenwashing is the Clorax company. They recently released a line of "green" home cleaning products and are touting themselves as a, "We care about the planet" sort of company. However, is Clorax a good place to spend your dollars when many of their other products harm the planet, harm human and animal health, and contributes to actual unsafe eco-conditions? You should take your dollars elsewhere.

Companies and items that are actually eco-friendly expand their greeness to all aspects of their company, not just a single product. Selling yourself as green, when you're truly not equals greenwashing. Greenwashing happens in areas of green building too. Some "green" architects or green building material companies may sell their services or supplies as eco-friendly, but just because someone claims to be eco-friendly doesn't make it so.

If you want to hire green services, like an architect or construction company, and you want green building materials, be sure to check for greenwashing before you sign any contracts or write any checks.

Be sure that the builders or designers you speak with have a practice that embraces green design in all aspects. You want to work with someone who has wide reaching experience in green building, not just someone who suggests earth floors and non-toxic finishes, but that's as far as they go.

Check people's references.
Ask people you might hire if it's ok to call their old clients or see some of their eco-projects.
Ask them what their eco-home specialty is. They may rock at building straw bale homes, but if you're thinking reclaimed wood, you might want to find someone with expertise in that area.
Find out their "green" philosophy. It might be green, just not your idea of green.
Ask what other team members will be necessary if you want your home to have alternative energy sources. Most architects and contractors need extra help in this area so you'll want to hear their ideas about who they like, who they won't work with, and so fourth.

For a longer look at finding an architect who is right for you read: How To Choose a Green Architect/Contractor.

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.

Diary of a Green House

ellen — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0500

For the next few months we’re going to design a small guest house in Indianapolis and blog the entire process. Even though I’ve spent my entire career designing spaces in the 5 boroughs, I’d like to use this opportunity to highlight the decision-making and trade-offs inherent in the design of a green home. The Owners, transplanted Brooklynites with a toddler and a new baby due to arrive any minute, bought a single family home in Indianapolis and want to add a separate office / guest house out back. They want it to live lightly on the land and be as “off the grid” as possible. We will be collaborating with a local Architect/Engineer to ensure that we comply with all local codes and statutes. A survey of the property is shown below. It shows the footprint of the existing house and an existing “shed” in the backyard which will most likely be the location of the new little house. Stay tuned.

Ellen Honigstock is an architect in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn who specializes in sustainable architecture and interior design. She is also the LEED for Homes Advocate for the NYC chapter of the USGBC (US Green Building Council)

Note to our readers: Ellen is reporting on the progress of this project and a variety of eco-architectrual issues at RiverWired and on her own blog. Check it out.