Energy

Eco-living Tips – Keep Your Tires Inflated

by nan on 2010/09/21 · 1 comment

I was out on a bike ride last week, and it was accidentally a true workout. I hadn’t ridden in a few days, and I struggled to get up a small hill that I can usually buzz right up. Was I out of shape after a few days of much sitting? That didn’t make sense.

I rode for about an hour, and it was hard work all the way. I thought about how I could rearrange my schedule to get two rides in a day, how I could stretch and do some walking to get in shape. But I still wondered how I was so out of shape in such a short period of time!

When pulled up to my house, I held onto a post on the walkway and looked at my tires. The back tire was low with me sitting on the bike. Ah ha! No wonder that ride was so hard! This happened a couple of years ago, and as soon as the tires were inflated, riding was easy again. I pumped up the tires, and the next day was a normal ride.

I correlated this phenomenon to a car. If it took extra energy for me to pedal with a low tire, then it must take extra energy for your car to move itself with under-inflated tires. You always hear that you should keep your tires inflated for the best gas mileage, and I believe that, but now I’ve personally, physically experienced it!

So… eco-living tip of the week: Keep your car tires inflated for the best gas mileage!

(photo: flickr Willie Lunchmeat)

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Eco Recap 9.17.10

by nan on 2010/09/17 · 2 comments

Lots of great eco news this week! Here is a sampling. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for the rest!

> This is the best story I have read in a long time. Helping others and recycling warms my heart. When both are done on a large scale, it’s humbling.

> Fall is the best time for hiking. Temperatures have dropped, so it’s more comfortable, and signs of changing seasons are everywhere. Use this checklist before you venture out.

> Last fall I wrote about the ecology of Manhattan in the 1600s. I have personal ties to the area at that time and had found a website about the island and the indigenous people who lived there. Now an interesting project has been launched that will carry that information further. The Welikia Project is ‘an effort to document the historical ecology of all of New York City and compare it to the current biodiversity of the city.’

> Most of my furniture is second-hand. I love yard sales, flea markets and thrift stores. Recycling furniture is eco friendly and lots of fun! Here are some excellent tips on furnishing your home with second hand furniture.

> I grew up in New England and appreciate what it stands for. This is a story and a slideshow of a unique custom home in Maine designed by a Harvard educated architect. New England is embedded in it.

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A Small Home is a Green Home

by nan on 2010/09/16 · 0 comments

Once again, the discussion about house size has come up – what constitutes a green home?

A friend sent me an opinion piece about a 5,000 square foot home that was declared eco-friendly, because it was built with green methods and had a monthly electric bill of only $50. The point of the article was to say an ‘eco-mansion’ is not green, because it unnecessarily uses extra materials.

My friend didn’t agree. She said there is nothing wrong with a large space. She thought the green movement was going overboard to declare large homes not green.

This is a really good friend of mine, so an interesting conversation ensued and inspired me to bring up this topic again.

A green home is a smaller home. Compact is more eco-friendly.

> There are fewer materials are used to build it, which conserves energy and water.
> There is less waste at the construction site, saving landfill space.
> The footprint is smaller, taking up less precious and finite land space.
> Energy use is lower resulting in lower utility bills, stretching the lifespan of our natural resources.

These are actually things taken into consideration and rewarded in the various rating systems, such as LEED. A smaller, compact home will gain more points than a larger home, garnering a higher certification level.

My friend said she and her partner need a bigger space than their 1000 sq ft home. They are both work-at-home artists, and we determined they need more studio space, not so much living space. She thought 3,000 sq ft might suit their needs, instead of separate out-buildings for studios.

There is nothing wrong with a large space as long as it’s getting used! A lot of these 5000 sq ft homes have extra living and dining areas, bedrooms that never get used, large rooms all the way around, probably useless hallways, and so on. Do you need a breakfast nook, a dining area and a formal dining room? No. Do you need a den, a media room and two living rooms? No. The waste of space and therefore materials is maddening. And not eco friendly, no matter how cheap the utility bills are.

So I add that point to the idea that small homes are green homes. Extravagance is unnecessary, but if you need that much space and will actually use it, then it’s not extravagant at all. Building big for the sake of building big, though, does not a green home make.

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Is Radiant Floor Heat the Most Efficient?

by nan on 2010/09/14 · 4 comments

As most of you know, I’ve gone back to school for Residential Planning, because I want to design and consult. I love to talk to people about the building projects I’ve done or dreamed about. People frequently call me to ask how to remodel their homes and incorporate solar and energy efficiency. I may as well put my experience and love of talking to use!

In class last week, we were drafting HVAC plans (Heating, Ventilation, Cooling). In the discussions, the question came up:

What sort of heating is used in your area in new construction?

Here was my answer:

All new construction here now has radiant floor heat. The ground is graded, insulation is laid, then tubing is laid about 6″ apart. Separate rooms or zones are on separate loops that begin at a boiler. Sometimes solar is used to heat the water, but I don’t see this very often, sadly.

photo: Wikimedia Commons

The loops are then embedded in concrete, which is the floor. Hot water circulates through the loops, which in turn heats the concrete, an excellent heat sink. Once it gets warm, it stays warm. You don’t adjust the heat several times a day.

The main problem I have seen with radiant floor heat is that you can’t control it. When you turn it on, it takes a couple of days to warm up the concrete slab. So if you have a chilly morning in fall, you can’t just turn it on for the day or night. I also see people with their windows open in winter, because the system may be sized too large for the house, or maybe they have the thermostat on too high. You can’t turn it down with immediate results.

Similarly in spring, when the days warm up a little, you can’t turn it down.

Friends say it is incredibly expensive to operate, too. Installers will tell you it’s the most efficient, but personal stories tell me otherwise. I know people who have bought wood stoves and space heaters, and turned off the radiant floor heat. I think solar would be really efficient and cost effective in this situation.

I have seen small stand-alone condos with electric radiant floor heat. Electric cable is embedded in the concrete, instead of water, and it is timed to go on during off-peak hours. The builder told me that one unit stood empty for a winter, and he could actually see the cost of operating it. For a small place (900 sq ft maybe), the electric bill was about $120/month. Not bad for electric heat!

If homeowners could get educated about radiant floor heat:

> maybe they would use it more effectively
> they would not have to open the windows in winter, which uses more energy
> they would install it with solar hot water
> they would demand something else
> they would start building more airtight, passive solar homes, with less need for a huge, expensive heating system (think Passivhaus!)

Me? I am happy with my cast iron wood and gas heaters, which radiate heat in their own way. Wool slippers keep my feet cozy.

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Green Home Recap 9.9.10

by nan on 2010/09/09 · 0 comments

What a short week! Even being self-employed, I can feel the effects of a Monday holiday. This week, I have all home things to share. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for a variety of eco news.

> I’m a huge fan of solar. I have solar hot water and passive solar heating as well as a solar greenhouse. I love them all! I don’t have PV, because it wouldn’t pay for itself in my lifetime. My electric usage is minimal, and my bill is about $30/month. But if you are in the market fo PV, here are some simple solar options.

> I have gone back to school for Residential Planning, because I want to design and consult. More on that later, though. The last class I took was Color Theory. I have always loved color, so I enjoyed this piece about using color for various effects in your home. Be sure to use low VOC paints!

> We had a discussion in our drafting class about how furniture needs are changing. My input was that people are more mobile, choosing smaller homes, and want compact, affordable and portable furniture. Then I ran across this!

> Remodeling junkie am I! I have a slew of stories to tell, and some of them sound like this one.

> A picture is how many words? Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs, are a great way to build efficiently. It’s a modular system that produces a very cozy home with excellent insulation. Here are a series of green modulars built with SIPs. Scroll down about half-way to see how they are installed. People ask me about them all the time, and it’s hard to explain. This is a great shot.

> Frank Lloyd Wright built with the land. I also believe a home should take inspiration from and fit into its surroundings. This New Zealand home uses local stone, recycled timbers and native plants. It is also built into the hillside.

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5 Ways to Get Your House Ready for Winter

by nan on 2010/09/08 · 5 comments

Fall is the best time to get your house ready for winter. The first crisp days are a reminder that cold and snow are not far behind. Save energy and money and reduce your carbon footprint with these few things.

> Caulk around window and door frames inside and out.You want to reduce air leakage to keep your precious heat from going outside which in turn makes your heat source work harder and use more fuel.

> Beef up your ceiling insulation. Heat rises and will go right out the roof unless you have insulation in its path to stop it. Read more here.

> Put an insulation blanket around your hot water heater. This will keep the water hotter longer, reducing the need to reheat it as often. Think of an insulated coffee mug. Same principal.

> Get your furnace inspected. Replace the filters and have the duct work checked, sealed and insulated.

> Install a programmable thermostat. You can set a programmable thermostat to turn on before you get up in the morning, so the house is warm, turn down when you go to work, turn on just before you get home, and turn down when you go to bed. You are not unnecessarily heating space when you’re not using it, saving energy and money.

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Passivhaus – Reduce Home Energy Consumption by 90%

by nan on 2010/08/24 · 5 comments

I’ve been seeing a lot of articles about Passive Houses (or Passivhaus) in the news lately. I’m glad, because this is the construction technique of the future, reducing utility bills by 90%! As energy prices rise, buildings will have to be more efficient. There is no excuse to not build a green home, and the Passivhaus is the best choice.

The Passivhaus, a performance based building standard, was developed in the late 1980s in Germany by Dr. Wolfgang Feist and Bo Adamson. The first passivhaus was built in Darmstadt, and Dr. Feist subsequently founded the Passivhaus Institut in 1996. Today there are approximately 15,000 residential and commercial buildings built to this standard in Europe.

Construction features of a Passivhaus are:

> Compact size – 50 square meters (approx 538 sq ft) per person
> Super insulation of floors, walls and ceilings
> Air-tight envelope with no thermal bridging
> High-performance doors and triple glazed, insulated frame windows
> Heat recovery ventilation (HRV)
> Passive solar
> HERS score 20-30
> PHPP Certification (Passivhaus Planning Package)
> Space heating must be no more than 15 kWh/sq m (4.75 kBtu/sq ft)
> Overall energy use must be no more than 120 kWh/sq m (38 kBtu/sq ft)
> HRV air exchanges must be 0.6 or less per hour at a pressure rating of 50 Pascals.

Benefits:

> Improved indoor air quality
> Increased physical comfort
> 90% energy reduction
> Minimal conventional heating system
> Suitable for retrofits
> Affordable

The point of passivhaus construction is to minimize energy loss by restricting air flow into and out of the building. The building stays warm in winter and cool in summer. There is not one passivhaus design. Feist says that style does not matter, as long as the efficiency and air circulation goals are achieved.

> The envelope is super-insulated, up to 16″ beneath the slab and in exterior walls (R 60-70). Strawbale, SIPs and ICFs (insulated concrete forms) or Rastra are suitable for passivhaus construction.

> Ceiling insulation of dense-pack fiberglass, cellulose or spray foam has an R value anywhere between R 60-100.

> The triple-glazed windows have a very low U-factor of 0.14. Some in Germany are as low as 0.17. The U-factor rating of the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC): the lower the number, the more efficient the window, based on the glass, frame and spacer material.

> Points where indoor materials meet the outdoors (thermal bridging) are sealed, as are all points where air can move. A blower door test is run several times during construction to test for air leakage before the building is completely closed up and finished.

> Once a building is air-tight, it needs ventilation. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) exchanges indoor air with outdoor air with minimal heat loss. Most people will crack a window to get some fresh air in winter, and what happens? The heat goes out the window! An HRV reduces that type of heat loss while keeping the indoor air fresh and healthy to breathe.

Because passivhaus is performance-based, the buildings are monitored after final construction. The CEPHEUS project monitored 250 passivhaus’s in the EU, and their results showed an energy reduction of 90% on average.

I have heard varying estimates of the extra cost to build a passivhaus with a range of 5-10%. This is offset quickly with the huge energy savings. The payback period depends on each individual home’s energy use. The best thing to do is begin to conserve energy before building or retrofitting with passivhaus standards.

Passivhaus construction is not catching on quickly in the US, but the Passive House Institute US, based in Urbana, Illinois, is trying to change that. The Director, Katrina Klingenberg, a German architect, built her own passivhaus in 2002. PHIUS is authorized by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt as the official Certifier of Passive Houses in the US, designing and certifying homes and training designers and consultants.

In an email, Dr. Feist told me that the only thing keeping the passivhaus becoming more popular is education.

‘There is no limit to growth for Passive Houses – only the availability of specific components (which can be produced regionally in the EU as well as in America) and the distribution of the know how. This is indeed the bottleneck at the moment. But education programmes are already available – so it will be overcome.’

The European Commission has already mandated that all new buildings in the EU be ‘nearly zero energy’ after 2020. Feist says, ‘The Passive House is the prototype of a “nearly zero energy building.” Seen this way, in 2020 the fraction of Passive Houses of all new built will be 100% in that part of the world.’

The addition of renewables (solar, wind) can make a passivhaus a net-zero home, but the energy creation and consumption of a passivhaus is meant to be just that – passive. To me, that is a gentler way to live, and there are no moving parts to maintain. A 90% reduction in the energy consumption of a passivhaus is good enough for me!

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Are Recycled Plastics Really Good for the Planet?

by nan on 2010/08/18 · 2 comments

I am all for recycling. We need to reuse and re-purpose as many items as possible. Of the three Rs of recycling – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Reducing would lessen the need for Reusing and Recycling. Recycling, although a positive thing, still uses energy and has some questionable, to me, long term consequences.

Having been a landscaper for many years, I’ve seen a lot of people opt for plastic lumber for walkways, walls and planting beds. Great stuff! It is made of recycled plastic and does not rot, like wood. Exactly. Does not rot.

Will. Never. Decompose.

Although my neighbor’s walkways look good all the time, never weathered, never showing signs of age, never rotting, at some point, when someone else comes in and remodels, those walkways, that plastic that was once saved from the landfill, will eventually get thrown away. One question I have is – 20, 30, 100, 200+ years down the road, will there be enough landfill space to accommodate today’s recycled plastics?

I just read an article about a New Zealand man who recycles plastic trash into bricks to use in landscapes and other outdoor settings. He would like to see his product used for sustainable emergency housing where natural disasters wreak havoc.

This is an honorable task, since it minimizes landfill waste and could shelter people in need, but think about it. What will happen to those landscapes and homes long after you and I are gone?

Think again.

See what you can do to Reduce your use of plastics. Today.

(Just as I was getting ready to post this, I found this on Triple Pundit – Landfills: A Viable Alternative to Recycling?. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.)

landfill

(photo flickr D’Arcy Norman)

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Green Building and Energy Recap 8.6.10

by nan on 2010/08/06 · 1 comment

Here are a few tidbits from the past week that caught my eye.

> Just over the mountain from Taos to the east is Las Vegas, New Mexico. It is the home of NM Highlands University and lots of gorgeous Victorian architecture. It looks like Highlands is going green with a green roof on their new, contemporary student center. Bravo!

> There is a lot of confusion around solar power for the average person. By putting my solar home up for sale, I have found that, in general, people don’t understand it or know what questions to ask. If that sounds like you, here are a few myth-busters to help start you on your solar journey.

> Good old Yankee ingenuity in green building! Originally being a New Englander, I know how hard those folks work, how inventive, resourceful and creative they are, always finding a better, more efficient way. So I’m not surprised to read that Tedd Benson, a timber framing pioneer from Walpole, NH, has moved to super-insulated modular homes. He even has a passivhaus design!

> Green building is more than materials. Here is a home that is built with sensitivity to the landscape and utilizes plenty of natural light to keep electric bills low. I just wouldn’t want to drop a ball!

> I couldn’t have compiled a more engaging group of beautiful solar homes from around the world. Well done, 1BOG!

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How to Choose a Solar PV Installer

by nan on 2010/07/15 · 9 comments

Purchasing and installing solar power on your home or business can be overwhelming. You want to do your part for the environment, but don’t know where to begin, right? Here are a few ideas and resources to get you started.

> Research and interview all the potential installers in your area, no matter how small an outfit.

> Ask about their business:

* Are you licensed, bonded and insured? Find out if they have NABCEP certification (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners). If they have been in business for a long time, they may think this step is unnecessary, so check references, and find out if they are licensed in your state.

* Do you have any judgments against you? Call the Better Business Bureau or the Consumer Affairs Office to check.

* How long have you been installing solar? A company has more experience the longer they have been in operation.

* How many installations are off-grid? Grid tied? An experienced company will have done both. Off-grid was more common until net-metering became popular, so good installers need to know both. (Net metering is when you connect your solar PV system to your local utility, and they pay you for electricity you produce but do not use.)

> Ask about their services and obligations:

* Do you give free estimates? You want to hear Yes.

* Do you conduct a site survey? Do I need to be present? They should say yes on the site survey, and I recommend being there, no matter what they say. It’s a great time to ask questions.

* Does your company design the system and purchase materials? Again, you want a Yes.

* Do you know the building code and inspection requirements, and do you get the permits? They should say Yes, and you should ask what permits there are.

* Are there any financial incentives, and do you do the necessary paperwork? Do you offer financing? Each outfit should know the current state and federal incentives offered. You can check on them here. If they offer financing, ask about terms – how much down payment, how long to pay it back and interest rates. Ask for the total cost after it’s paid off.

* Do you outsource your work? They should say NO! You want the same outfit who does your site assessment to do your installation.

* Will you write up a contract that includes materials, start and finish dates of the job, and price and payment schedule? A contract should include all of these things.

> Do a cost analysis. Your PV system needs to be sized according to your needs, and an installer will have software to determine this. S/he will also be able to figure out the return on your investment (ROI) and how long it will take to be paid off with energy savings.

> Ask about and research the materials each installer uses. Components vary in quality and power output. You want the best and most powerful!

> Ask about warranties. Expect a 10 year warranty on an inverter and 20-25 years on the solar panels. The company should also give you at least a 5 year warranty on their service, as well as for roof and electrical damage.

> Compare the bids you get from the various installers, and ask lots of questions. The bids must be on the same size and style of installation. The size of the system will be shown in watts (W), and the cost will be shown in dollars per watt ($/W). Be sure that all bids are expressed in either AC PTS (Alternating Current, Performance Test) or DC STC (Direct Current, Standard Test Conditions. Again, each bid must be for identical situations to be calculated accurately and so you can compare accurately.

> Check references! Ask for the names and numbers of past customers. When you contact these folks, find out if you can drive by their home to see their system. Maybe they will let you come in so they can talk about it! Ask about the customer service, if the company has lived up to their service pledge and their expectations, if there have been maintenance problems, and if the cost analysis was accurate.

> Do not take the cheapest bid just to cut corners. It is better to get a smaller system than buy a larger, cheaper and probably lower quality system. Quality over quantity. You can add to it later. If you are confident, though, that the cheapest installer is the best with the best materials, good customer service and great references, then get that system. If you are net-metering, then you will want the biggest system to cover all your needs and then some.

> Most important – hire a professional! Prompt customer service, transparency, documentation and patience are good signs of a good company. Move on to the next one if you don’t feel they are making you the most important part of this transaction.

(This post was written with the help of Tor Valenza, aka @SolarFred. Visit him at Solar Power Rocks.)

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