The Green Home

Great Gifts for the Green Geek

Jann Swanson — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:55:00 GMT

Here are a few gifts in the spirit of green for the gadget lover on your list. The Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Meter will tell its owner which appliances have been good or bad when it comes to wasting energy. Plug in individual appliances, lamps, or any of those electronic gadgets under the tree to find out how much they affect household electrical consumption and therefore the electric bill. The checkbook sized unit has a large LCD display and gives information in voltage, frequency, current, volt amps, watts, power factor, kilowatt hour, and elapsed time. There are a series of these gizmos available at http://www.chooserenewables.com at prices ranging from $24.99 to several hundred dollars. The environmental wisdom of building a roaring fire in the fireplace is open to debate, but recycling...(read more)

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Green Gifts for the Outdoor Nut

Jann Swanson — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:04:00 GMT

I'm more cranky than usual and already regarding red and green as the world's worst pairing since Jon and Kate. It must be Christmas. That gets the bah humbug out of the way - if only for the moment - so here are the first of our 2009 green (the red will be your bank balance) ideas for the upcoming holiday. Today's selections are for the sports and outdoor lover in your life. New Balance Trail 20 running shoes are the first green shoes in NB's line. The shoe is designed to reduce waste in manufacturing and the materials themselves are largely recycled. The outsole is rice husk rubber, the insert and upper are both natural and recycled. All synthetics on the shoe are made from recycled materials and the adhesives are water-based. The shoe is light weight (8.6 oz.) and available...(read more)

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Carbon Neutral Home Shaping Up

Jann Swanson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:47:00 GMT

In September we introduced a project in Southhampton (Long Island), New York under which is being built a completely carbon-neutral home from the ruins of devastating residential fire. As background, the home of David Dubin and his family was hit by a major fire on December 22 of last year. The fire ruined the center of the house but left the shell. The original house was a relatively new shingled, center entrance colonial that looked like hundreds of thousands of houses in the region. The new house, while it will be built from the remains, will have an 800 foot addition (an 4000 sq. ft total) and will resemble the Canadian "lodge houses" Mrs. Dubin recalls from her childhood in that country. The house, at least from viewing the architectural drawings, is quite spectacular. The designers...(read more)

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Chinese Drywall Causing Literal Homeowner Headaches

Jann Swanson — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:38:00 GMT

A few months ago we posted a very popular piece on this forum about Dragon Board (April 9, 2009), a drywall substitute that has many environmental, structural, and economic advantages. We christened it almost too good to be true. Let me quickly say that I stand by that statement. But, in the course of researching that article we ran across a reference to Chinese gypsum, another drywall substitute, that was giving the Dragon Board people fits as customers confused their quality product with an import that was anything but green. We rather off-handedly mentioned the confusion in our article. Let me state again - Chinese gypsum has nothing to do with Dragon Board! Since then the negative news about Chinese gypsum, now commonly called Chinese dry wall, has exploded. While use of the product has...(read more)

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Carbon Neutral House Rising in New York

Jann Swanson — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:15:36 GMT

Nine months after a fire partially destroyed their home in Southampton, a Long Island family is turning the tragedy into a green opportunity . After losing their home last December 22, the David Dubin family joined with members of The Hamptons Green Alliance to rebuild the house in what is believed to be the first net zero energy consumption, certified carbon neutral, and LEED Platinum home in Long Island if not the nation. And it is a project that the world is being invited to watch. After the fire the Dubins began to talk with their friend and local architect Richard Stott, a LEED certified specialist, about planning their new home. Stott, knowing that the Dubins were also environmentalists, began to discuss with them the idea of incorporating state-of-the-art materials, procedures, and techniques...(read more)

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Lots of Alternatives for White Roofs

Jann Swanson — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:36:41 GMT

The surface of a dark roof can reach 180° on a sunny day. A roof that hot does a lot to the temperature inside the structure, a situation that would be welcome in Minnesota in January but is more likely to occur in Texas in August. The heat is absorbed into the structure where, even with its tendency to rise, will still elevate the inside temperature increasing the need for and cost of air conditioning. That superheated roof will also send some of the heat back out into the surrounding air, creating what are called “heat islands” in densely populated areas. While absorbing the suns heat, a dark surface also absorbs its rays, lowering the earth’s overall solar reflectance (called albedo) and possibly promoting climate change. For those reasons there is a growing movement...(read more)

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White Roofs and Albedo

Jann Swanson — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:51:19 GMT

On Monday while discussing dark roofing materials we mentioned albedo, a word we are sure the majority of non-scientists have never heard of. That may not be the case for long. Here's the deal. Albedo is defined as high solar reflectance, i.e. the earth's capability of bouncing the sun's rays back into the stratosphere. If a surface absorbs all light it looks black and has an albedo of 0; if it is perfectly reflective it looks white and has an albedo of 1. All surfaces, in fact all objects, have an albedo within those two numbers. A new sheet of copy paper has an albedo of 1 while a brick wall or a freshly plowed field has an albedo closer to 0 than to 1. When the rays are absorbed or bounced, so is the accompanying heat from those rays. Thus the many chocolate colored roofs and...(read more)

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An Old Fallacy About the Energy Efficiency of a Dark Roof

Jann Swanson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:08:00 GMT

If you live in a four-season climate you have probably heard that a dark roof will cut winter energy costs. It ain’t necessarily so. The oft-stated theory is that the dark roofs will absorb heat from the suns rays, heating the house and cutting down on the amount of gas, oil, or electricity needed to heat it in the winter months. With the new push for white roofs – Department of Energy Secretary and Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Chou is a big proponent – it is time to look at this widely held belief and the harm it may actually be causing. There are a number of reasons that dark roofing materials are not as energy efficient as advertised. First, hot air always rises. Thus, whatever heat is transmitted into the attic or into living areas from a dark roof will stay very...(read more)

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Propane Garden Tools

Jann Swanson — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:06:00 GMT

Gas powered lawn and garden equipment are environmental disasters. Here are some ugly statistics from the EPA. Gas lawn mowers create 5 percent of U.S. air pollution; and even higher percentage in metropolitan areas. Garden equipment engines emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxide. Gas mowers consume 800 million gallons of gas per year. Gardeners spill 17 million gallons of fuel each year while refueling lawn equipment - more than the oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez. Now believe that last one if you want, but I have heard 100,000 gallons spilled in the U.S. just from mowers - sounds more realistic - but whatever the volume, spilled fuel contaminates groundwater and evaporates into the air leaving volatile organic compounds that create ozone when exposed...(read more)

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Wal-Mart Raises Ante on Sustainability

Jann Swanson — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:06:00 GMT

Today it becomes official. Sustainability is in . Wal-Mart says so. The marketing giant is expected to release details Thursday of a new initiative which it claims will help its buyers, customers, and other retailers determine the social and environmental impact of every product on Wal-Mart's shelves . According to Stephanie Rosenbloom writing in The New York Times, the company will announce the implementation of an electronic system, a sustainability index, that would give stakeholders a way to determine which products to put on their shelves or in their carts. As Rosenbloom puts it, determining which products are "greener" will no longer be just the consumer's job. The program is expected to take five years to reach full implementation. In the first phase Wal-Mart will gather...(read more)

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Gold Rush Green

Jann Swanson — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:58:00 GMT

Loeb Strauss (1829 - 1902); pioneer in energy conservation and green building construction. Sounds like a bit of very strange ancient history unless you know that Loeb Strauss later became known as Levi. And that blue jeans, the product he made popular with gold miners and other working stiffs 150 years ago, was the forerunner of insulation that seems nearly perfect when compared to the alternatives. Perfect, but with one caveat. I first encountered denim insulation in a green home exhibit in 2006. There it appeared in the form of shreds packed into pre-formed wall panels. Today under the brand name UltraTouch manufactured by Bonded Logic, it is available in batts as well as loose fibers which can be blown into place. UltraTouch is manufactured from post-industrial recycled denim. This doesn't...(read more)

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An Old Refrigerator Make-Over

Jann Swanson — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:03:00 GMT

A new refrigerator may ultimately pay for itself but in the meantime it must go on your credit card. Inviting as that new side-by-side may be, making do with the old Hotpoint might be the only option right now. As we mentioned earlier, a refrigerator’s energy efficiency degrades with use, but there are a few simple steps you can take to optimize the appliance’s operation and even to mitigate some of that aging. First of all, it is important to place a refrigerator, if possible, away from any heat source. This means some distance not only from a radiator or hot air register but from the stove, dishwasher or a sunny window. There should also be an inch or two of clearance at the back and sides to allow air to circulate around the coils. And about those coils. Every list of energy...(read more)

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Oink, its an Energy Hog

Jann Swanson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:44:00 GMT

Ever seen those mean and nasty rerigerator magnets shaped like a fat and happy pink pig? Every time the door is opened the pig oinks. Porky might not be commenting on the person opening the door; refrigerators are the biggest energy hogs in the house. However, they have improved and continue to do so. In the 1980s the Department of Energy set Energy Guide standards that all appliances must meet and they must display the Energy Guide label, that bright yellow tag that most of us refer to as the Energy Star label because that is the department that publicizes it. The Energy Star certification, however, is voluntary while the Energy Guide standards are mandatory. As an aside, according to Consumer Reports, when these standards were enacted there was fear that the cost of appliances would increase...(read more)

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Old Fashioned TVs are Still Greenest

Jann Swanson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:54:00 GMT

The choices confronting anyone in the market for a new television are pretty staggering; especially for us old fogies raised in the era of massive 19 inch black and white mahogany clad consoles in the living room. Now add to the decisions about display type, screen size, and price a concern about picking the most energy efficient boob tube. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the various types of televisions available today are Plasma, Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), and Flat Screens in addition to the familiar Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs.) Plasma televisions have “emissive” displays. The panel is self lighted with the plasma or gas causing pixels to glow. A pixel or “picture element” is the smallest item or dot of information displayed on a television screen...(read more)

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New, a Straw Door. For the Strawbale House?

Jann Swanson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:00:00 GMT

At the present rate of innovation in the building materials industry , we may not be far away from a day when a tree will just be a pretty green thing that holds a swing. A new contribution to the wood-free house is a line of interior doors introduced earlier this year by Masonite. The doors are made of a form of engineered lumber trade named DorCor™ which is made from compressed wheat straw. The doors look like any molded door and are available in both passage and bi-fold styles and come in heights up to 8’. The doors are Forest Stewardship Council certified and were recently named to the Top-10 Green Building Product list by BuildingGreen.com, a leading publisher in the building industry. Wheat straw is rapidly renewable and while formaldehyde is used in most pressed wood products...(read more)

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