The Greenest Home : A Window on 18 Super – Eco Dream Houses The Great Energy Challenge What is a passive house ? “Simply said,” Moskovitz writes, “a Passive House is a building that is very well insulated, virtually airtight, and primarily heated by the sun.” The interior temperature is designed to stay at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, and to …
Dezeen AIA names top ten green projects Dezeen News: the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has named its top ten sustainable projects of the year, including a university building made from timber, concrete and Corten steel in Minnesota (above) and a series of prefabricated houses in Tennessee …
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2013, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the only nationally recognized indoor air quality standard developed solely for residences. It defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings.
One of the biggest changes in the standard over the 2010 version was an increase…….
For the past two decades, there has been little improvement in energy efficiency for North
American clothes dryers. Recent innovations in clothes drying technology offer new
opportunities for energy savings. One innovation in particular has substantial savings potential:
clothes dryers utilizing heat pump technology. This technology …..
Selling Passive House Buildings in the South East has been a very hard sell. But my hat’s off to Maison Passive in Belgium. www.maisonpassive.be
Isaac Newton wrote about his work, acknowledging those before him: “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” The idea of the Passivhaus, or Passive House building system, is often seen as an original mix of super-insulation, tight envelope and controlled ventilation, when in fact lot of people were looking at many of the key principles back in the seventies.
Although building energy efficiency is improving, the sector still falls disappointingly short of meeting its full potential.
Even when a building owner or manager goes through the process of an audit and retrofit, results can be inaccurate and inconsistent, especially when compared across an entire portfolio. There are many reasons for this shortfall, but it essentially comes down to two factors: people and tools.
The people factor is real; the diligence of the audit team and the skills of the retrofit installers can change the results of an energy retrofit drastically. But for now, let’s talk about…..
Find how to decipher what’s stamped on your pallet to see if it’s safe or not for your project.
The Paris Marathon collected around 7 kilowatt hours of electricity during the entire race, which is enough energy to power a light bulb continuously for five days. Schneider Energy installed the tiles at the race as a way to bring awareness to the public of the possibilities of utilizing kinetic energy. Pavegen kinetic-harvesting tiles have appeared in shopping malls, subway stations and stadiums, successfully using the power of foot traffic to help offset
Read more: Kinetic Energy-Harvesting Tiles Generate Power from Paris Marathon Runners | Inhabitat – Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building …..
Real estate appraisers have an updated tool to analyze the values of energy efficient home features, which will help those features be reflected in the appraised value. In March 2013 the Appraisal … Read more…
Courtyard houses made a lot of sense. The residents got outdoor space that was secure and usable at all times of day; nobody had to lock a window or door that opened into the central area. It provided lots of natural ventilation. The roofs were often used for rainwater collection. Jennifer has noted that they have kept people appropriately warm and cool without high technology- for 4,500 years.
Now, according to the Wall Street Journal,……………..
If you are thinking of building a new home or making an addition to your home, including most pools. You need to read further. The following is an excerpt from the Department of Watershed Management:
Land development permanently alters the way in which stormwater flows across a site due to grading, compaction, and the installation of impervious cover. In order to mitigate these impacts, the City of Atlanta requires, in accordance with Chapter 74, Article X. Post Development Stormwater Management, that stormwater management measures be utilized when constructing a new home or an addition that is greater than 1,000 square feet of impervious surface.
Cork? You’ve got to be kidding!
I first learned about expanded cork insulation years ago when exploring the attic of a 1920s-era home in Brattleboro. I found a rigid boardstock insulation comprised of cork with plaster on one side. It was made by Armstrong, which was then a company making cork products but is today one of the world’s leading manufacturers of flooring and ceiling products.
It turns out that the product was invented by accident…….. read more here.
So welcome to the Active House, sponsored by VELUX, the big skylight manufacturer. It’s a new building standard that promotes energy saving, healthy indoor conditions with lots of fresh air and you guessed it, lots of natural light and ventilation from lots of windows and skylights…..
Sam Rodell | Architect AIA Publishes Groundbreaking Paper PR Web (press release) In his paper, “The Beauty of Passive Design: Post Industrial Simplicity in Architectural Systems,” Rodell challenges the public to seriously consider emerging building practices, such as Passive House Design and SIREWALL, to reduce oil dependency and … and more
If you’d like to live in a green energy-efficient home but think it’s too expensive, think again. Today homebuilders can use surprisingly affordable building technology that offers significant benefits in energy efficiency, safety and home comfort for little to no cost difference compared to traditional building methods. This white paper introduces insulated concrete forms (ICFs), its various applications, and the advantages it provides when building a home.
You may think that universities and corporations don’t have much in common from a sustainability perspective. But a decent-size university manages the equivalent of office buildings, restaurants, hotels, laundry services, hospitals, auto repair, retailers, waste haulers, and even small energy utilities. As such, universities and companies have a lot to learn from ……….
The world must decrease its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions considerably, in the range of eighty to ninety percent over the next few decades. Every use of energy is now under review, and we are finding that the greatest producers of CO2 are not automobiles and airplanes but buildings. As a consequence, developers, architects, and planners are looking for solutions to build structures that employ considerably less energy than even the top rated green structures of today.
If you are interested in getting more information on passive house contact Eco Custom Homes at 404 303 7280 or email to info@ecocustomhomes.com, and we will be happy to provide you with a free educational seminar.
“The CodeGreen Energy App is just the kind of tool we have been waiting for. It makes finding and comparing Energy Star Scores of thousands of buildings so quick and easy. Making this data transparent is a dream come true for the Energy Efficiency Marketplace,” said Robert Sauchelli, national program manager, Energy Star Service and Product Provider Partnership.
