January 2009 - The Green Home

Green Video

"Going Green" by Going White

Geothermal Technology

Holly Morris: Green Remodeling

View More Green Video

Tips and Tricks

Do two good deeds at once by recycling used magazines where they will be read and enjoyed. Hospitals, clinics, and public and and private social service agencies don't have money in their budgets these days for subscriptions and will welcome general interest and children's publications for their waiting rooms. You might also find a neighbor or a friend who would enjoy regularly receiving magazines of special interest.

Posts | Comments

Sort by: Most Recent | Most Viewed | Most Commented

Receive Free Email Alerts
Stay up to date on breaking news and blog posts with our free News Alert Service.

Sun Tunnels Offer Advantages over Flat Skylights

The second type of skylight is a tubular device marketed under generic and brand of names including Solatube®, Sun Tunnel, sun or solar tubes. Tubular skylights are just what the name implies - a narrow reflective metal tube which conveys natural

Read More

Published Thu, Jan 29 2009 12:47 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: sun tubes, sun tunnels, tubular skylight

Let the Sunshine in

Saving energy can be such a flinty, Vermont Yankee sort of a thing. Don't get us wrong, if more of us were flinty Vermont Yankees the world would be in a lot better shape; still it is nice to talk about an energy saving home feature that is actually

Read More

Published Wed, Jan 28 2009 2:47 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: skylights

Manufacturers Find that Green Pays

Speakers at the National Association of Home Builders annual International Builders' Show currently going on in Las Vegas reported yesterday that more and more consumers are seeking green products, especially those that focus on energy and water efficiency

Read More

Published Thu, Jan 22 2009 2:42 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: green home builders

Geothermal Heat Pumps, Costly but Energy Efficient

We have spoken of heat pumps and of an ancient form of geothermal energy that can heat and light homes. Now a fairly recent innovation has wedding the two and made possible a source of home heat and cooling that can be used virtually everywhere in the

Read More

Published Tue, Jan 20 2009 6:27 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: geothermal heat pumps

Geothermal Heating - The Old is New Again

A traditional heat pump extracts heat from the air - even very cold air - and uses it to warm an interior space and then conversely pulls heat from the inside air and exports it to cool the space, a geothermal heating/cooling system. Operating on the

Read More

Published Fri, Jan 16 2009 9:51 AM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: geothermal heating system, geothermal heat pumps

A Heat Pump Primer

One of the most exciting energy sources available to the homeowner is hardly new, but it is terrifically underused probably because so few people know it exists. Geothermal energy can heat or cool a home and even heat the domestic water supply, but to

Read More

Published Wed, Jan 14 2009 11:20 AM by Jann Swanson

While we are on the Subject of Wood

Since a recent topic on this blog has been wood, a word or two about Bamboo . We will, at some point, get into the remarkable utility and beauty of products made from this wood, but this is about the tree. Bamboo is sustainable and replaceable; its shoots

Read More

Published Mon, Jan 12 2009 11:25 AM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: bamboo

Engineered Wood Doesn't Always Grow on Trees

Engineered wood has many things going for it in the green home category. We have already mentioned that, while wood is a sustainable and renewable building material it does not grow big enough quickly enough to that there is enough of the resource still

Read More

Published Fri, Jan 09 2009 1:06 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: engineered wood

Digital Switch-Over May Trigger Trash Problems

As you might have heard, only about 75 times a day, on February 17, 2009 all television broadcasts will switch from analog to digital transmission . TV viewers receiving a signal from cable or satellite companies will not be affected and in fact will

Read More

Published Wed, Jan 07 2009 1:02 PM by Jann Swanson

Gray Water is Best Recycled in the Great Outdoors

As an aside to the two recent articles on roof rainwater collection, a word about "gray water." The concept of building or retrofitting a home with gray water recycle systems and storage tanks is getting a lot of press lately. The idea is to

Read More

Published Tue, Jan 06 2009 3:05 PM by Jann Swanson

Engineered Wood Slowly Replacing the Real Thing

Wood is the most environmentally friendly of all structural building materials available today because it is renewable and sustainable . However, timber does have many limitations when it comes to constructing a home. First of all, while it is renewable

Read More

Published Mon, Jan 05 2009 1:01 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: osb, Glulam, plywood, engineered wood

For the Serious (Rainwater) Collector

From a barrel sitting under a down spout rainwater collection can increase dramatically in capacity, complexity, and cost. The above-ground rain barrels we talked about earlier in the week are limited by size. The larger barrels aren't very attractive

Read More

Published Thu, Jan 01 2009 8:58 PM by Jann Swanson

Filed under: rain water collection, rain barrels

Site Tools

Green Video

Tips and Tricks