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    • December

      27

      2012
    • 1677
    • 0

    New consumer guide illuminates home energy savings

    “Save Money, Save the Earth.” That motto has appeared on the cover of every edition of the Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings since the first book was published in 1991. It’s a big promise, and one that appears on the 10th and newest edition of the book from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and New Society Publishers (NSP).
    But is it true? According to Jennifer Thorne Amann, ACEEE buildings program director and lead author of the Consumer Guide: “Every kilowatt-hour you avoid using saves over a pound of …..

    • December

      19

      2012
    • 1405
    • 0

    When Should Your Replace Your Windows.

    Given the considerable enhancements in window technology over the past years, determining whether to replace, repair or renew windows can be as hard as making a decision on whether to replace or repair an aging car engine or go for a brand new car.

    As with the car comparison, there are a number of aspects to think about when deciding the future of aging windows. This contains comfort, energy consumption, acoustics, aesthetics and function.

    Discomfort related with old or insufficiently performing windows is a general criticism among building owners, managers and tenants. Windows that let a lot of heat inside during summer times or are cold in winter not only bring about

    • December

      18

      2012
    • 1266
    • 0

    When to Build or When to Renovate.

    The practice of new construction, with all of the advanced green building techniques, is a lot quicker than renovating an existing structure.

    But when you take into consideration having an existing building and infrastructure, we also need to know which has the greatest environmentally impact. While the simplicity of new construction might be desirable, the greater potential for decreasing the carbon impact during a renovation compared to a new construction is very evident over a 75-year life span of a home or building. The National Trust for Historic Preservation newly mentioned that the greenest building could be …….

    • December

      16

      2012
    • 14441
    • 0

    6 celebrities with deep green homes

    Celebrity power couple Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady’s chateau-inspired hovel in L.A.’s chichi Brentwood section managed to raise a few eyebrows earlier this year not just because of its elephantine size — a staggering 22,000 square feet — but also that Bundchen, a noted environmentalist, reportedly planned to outfit it with as many eco-friendly bells and whistles as possible including solar panels, rainwater recycling systems and energy-efficient lighting and appliances. This, of course, led to the inevitable question: Can a $20 million palace with eight bedrooms and a six-car garage still be considered “green?”

    The jury is still out on that one, but we do know that chez Bundchen and Brady would be a heck of a lot greener if they shaved, oh, about 15,000 square feet off the home’s total size. But hey, at least they tried. And look at Larry Hagman. The recently passed actor best known for playing a despicable Texas oil tycoon went and built himself

    • December

      16

      2012
    • 1764
    • 0

    Energy efficiency within reach

    A Building Revolution: The Super Insulated Passive House is a guide to the methods that builders, architects and homeowners around the U.S. and Europe have used to drastically reduce home energy consumption. The movement isn’t new, and neither are most of the construction practices, which, as the film states, were first employed in the U.S. and Canada in the 1970s when the first energy crisis reared its head, threatening greatly increased home heating and cooling bills. The change was short-lived, waning in …….

    • December

      15

      2012
    • 1376
    • 0

    Soma Reinvents the Water Filter, Makes It Gorgeous And Greener

    We have been recommending water filters for years, but they are not without their issues. (Remember Beth Terry’s Take Back the Filter campaign?). They are often ugly, plastic things. I love my ZeroWater, but it is ridiculous to fill, and is seriously out of place in an architect’s kitchen.

    The Soma, on the other hand, is lovely to look at. CEO Mike Del Ponte tells us that it is designed according to Dieter Ram’s principles (which inspired Jony Ives and Apple). Rams has written:

    My aim is to omit everything superfluous so that the essential is shown to the best possible advantage.

    • December

      15

      2012
    • 1052
    • 0

    Winter Lawn Protection

    When the topic of lawn care is brought up, people are likely to think in terms of spring and summer. When the weather gets warm and the grass starts growing, people break out the digging fork, the mower, hoe and related equipments and get to business. What they fall short to understand is that not only can they fix summer harm to the lawn in the fall and during the winter, but also they can in fact recover the lawn so it will be healthier and have smaller amount of weeds in the spring.

    The most critical thing a person can perform in the fall to see the lawn through the winter and train it for next spring
    Feeding is the most essential thing one can do for your lawn in the fall. Many people ……..

    • November

      18

      2012
    • 2170
    • 0

    Atlanta advances array of storm water management options as state focuses its …

    On Nov. 27, if all goes as planned, the city’s long-awaited proposal to improve the management of storm water is to get its first hearing by the Utilities Committee of the Atlanta City Council. Advocates hope the council will enact it early next year and Mayor Kasim Reed will sign the legislation.

    In addition, lots of blue sky ideas emerged after a presentation by Denise Quarles, Atlanta’s sustainability director, at last week’s meeting of SERHAS – including this one from Norman Koplon, the city’s long-time director of buildings: Why not catch storm water that runs off Ga. 400, south of the tollgates, and use it to irrigate the……..

    • November

      18

      2012
    • 1876
    • 0

    Holiday Helper: Olive Oil as Evergreen Sap Remover

    So you brought home a real live Christmas tree and it smells as wonderful as you hoped and looks even better with all those little lights. But the sap…oh, the sap. It gets on carpets, your hands and even on pets. What to do? Try one of these household remedies.

    • November

      18

      2012
    • 1722
    • 0

    Tips for Buying an Energy Efficient House

    Buying an energy efficient home can be a great investment that will save you money on energy costs in the long term in addition to increasing the resale value of your home, when you’re ready to move on. With increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues, it’s growing much easier to find energy efficient homes, but it helps to be armored with some tips before you set out on your home buying journey. Savvy buyers can find the perfect house for their needs and negotiate……

    • November

      18

      2012
    • 1546
    • 0

    The Benefits of Wool Insulation

    Wool insulation is made exclusively from sheep wool fibers that are either mechanically held together or tied using between 5% and 15% recycled polyester adhesive to form insulating batts, rolls and ropes. Batts are usually used in timber-frame buildings; rolls for lofts and ropes are mainly used between the logs in log homes. Wool insulation is used for both thermal and acoustic insulating applications.

    Warm and dry environments are vital in creating healthy living conditions. Wool has a natural tendency to accomplish this by absorbing and desorbing moisture.

    Wool is a natural protein essence. The protein from wool fiber is being utilized in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical businesses. This would clearly not happen if there was an element of risk or damaging effect.

    We live in a nation proud of its environmental approach towards

    • October

      27

      2012
    • 1683
    • 0

    Formaldehyde Should Not Be In Our Houses, No Matter How Natural; Big Chem Says It Is

    The industry rallies around an attack on Nick Kristof of the New York Times, but he’s right.

    • October

      27

      2012
    • 1895
    • 0

    Water Heaters Should Be The Next Green Initiative

    Our cars are starting to become more eco-friendly. Solar and wind energy are becoming major talking points in the broader moments of the Presidential election. There are even mobile apps that help us get a little bit greener.

    But there are still parts of the home that need serious attention. We waste a lot of water with our traditional plumbing fixtures (toilets, showers, faucets, etc.). Inefficient AC systems can rob you of hard-earned money and drive up your energy use. So-called “phantom” electronicscan keep your energy running all day, every day.

    But, while all of those are problems that should certainly be looked at and fixed, if possible, the biggest problem in our homes that we probably never think about is the hot water heater.

    • October

      27

      2012
    • 3226
    • 0

    4 Energy Sucking Electronic Devices You’ll Want to Keep Off or Unplugged

    Living in a 1930’s building, it’s obvious the era of “plug in everything” is a very recent change in lifestyle. And although our modest one-bedroom apartment isn’t a big energy hog (modest refrigerator, window AC, gas heater, and LED/CFL bulbs throughout), there are always a few more ways to nip and tuck at the monthly energy bill… More Read More..

    • October

      27

      2012
    • 1766
    • 0

    Four Insights from a Passive House Retreat

    The same can be said for energy choices. An ultra-efficient home can be an expression of a non-financial value such as the desire to avoid using fossil fuels, consume less overall energy, or emit less CO2, according to Horowitz and Goldman. Similarly, the decision to use renewable energy could be driven not by payback but by a desire to advance the use of renewable energy.

    Passive House Retreat obtained LEED Gold certification and the systems include a Mitsubishi ducted air-source heat pump (HSPF 10, SEER 15.5), Zehnder Comfoair HRV, and a GE GeoSpring heat pump water heater. The build includes a double-stud wall assembly with spray foam …

    • October

      7

      2012
    • 1897
    • 0

    Cool Product Introduced at The Passive House Conference, Blackbox IAQ

    What does it do?

    The BLACK BOX measures many properties of indoor air. Coupled with specialized computer algorithms developed at Equinox Built Environment Engineering, the air exchange rate and quality of the air can be assessed. Good indoor air quality is a balance of the rate that pollutants are released into one’s living space with the rate of air flow through the living space. Our assessment determines both the release rate of pollutants and the air exchange rate in the indoor living space.

    • October

      7

      2012
    • 1405
    • 0

    PlanetStove Delivers More Than Heat; Do You Part to Help Bring 1000 stoves

    Hi, we’re Novotera. We’re embarking on this Indiegogo crowdsource fundraiser to distribute 1,000 of our new PlanetStove hybrid-biochar cooking stoves to remote villages in China, Thailand, and Indonesia during fall 2012.

    Over 2 billion people cook indoors with inefficient wood fires causing deforestation, climate change and, according to the World Health Organization, more than 5000 premature-deaths a day due to smoke inhalation. After two years of working with Chinese villages to develop our stoves, we have finalized ……. Click Here to read the rest

    • October

      7

      2012
    • 1714
    • 0

    EWG’s 2012 Guide to Healthy Cleaning

    Did you know that ingredient labels are not required on cleaning products? Good news for us, the Environmental Working Group recently released their 2012 Guide to Healthy Cleaning, in which they rated more than 2000 household cleaning products for non-toxicity and disclosure. More Read More..

    • October

      7

      2012
    • 1156
    • 0

    A Building Code With Room for Innovation

    Jeff Whitney, the head building inspector in Grand County, Utah came by the straw bale construction site in Moab where my wife and I are volunteering. He needed to inspect the flashing and some other details before we applied our first coat of plaster to the exposed bales.

    Straw bale construction is not recognized in the Utah state building code, but because of Mr. Whitney, Grand County is the only place in Utah where it is explicitly allowed. In fact, the county’s straw bale construction provisions are right on his office’s home page.

    “Other jurisdictions around the state used to say, “hell no, “ said Mr. Whitney, who wears a cowboy hat and white mustache, “But now they are starting to call us.” Click here to read further. We need to have more building officials willing to look “Outside the Box”.

    • September

      18

      2012
    • 1591
    • 0

    Green Your Home For Winter: 7 Cheap and (Sort Of) Easy Tips That Give You A Big Bang For Your Buck

    A decade ago, the Rocky Mountain Institute released Cool Citizens: Everyday Solutions to Climate Change: Household Solutions. It was full of great tips for what you can do to reduce your energy use. However I found the most important feature was this page, which ranked measures you can take by the bang for the buck. It was pretty shocking, demonstrating that we have been pretty much sold a bill of goods, of expensive green gizmos, that cost a fortune in proportion to the money and carbon they save; a programmable thermostat saves more than changing all your windows. Insulating your ducts saves more than an entire solar hot water system.

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Costs of Custom Homes

The first thing most people want to know is: What does it costs to build a 3000 sqft custom home in the Atlanta, GA. market?  The first thing you have to calculate is the square footage you want.  Once you have that, the numbers below give you a good starting point.

Adjusted Square Foot Calculation:

New Construction:

Renovations:

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