“Green” Mansions: Building Green – Part Four

Green Mansions 4

When it comes to “building green,” There are other energy-saving measures that can occur behind the scenes. Proper insulation, including draft blocking to prevent convective loops of cold or warm air within walls and ceilings will reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. I’ve found that in southern climates insulation and building tightness…

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Summertime Energy Tips

Summertime Sun

Are your windows locked? We don’t tend to think of air leakage in the summer like we do in the wintertime. When it’s cold, we can feel the cold drafts wafting through the house. But in the summer, warm drafts are not as easily felt. But the more hot air that seeps into your house,…

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Brick Mortar Is Important

Brick Mortar

Here’s a discussion that came up today on one of my projects. We were making a brick selection for the exterior of the house. The brick companies readily provide sample boards that have thin pieces of actual bricks, not just photos, for you to see. That’s very helpful, but the problem is that the cardboard…

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Are CFL Light Bulbs Green or Hazardous?

Green Bulbs

Last week, at BookExpo America, I was discussing my book with a young woman and I mentioned that it concerned me how there is such hysteria and fanaticism surrounding anything touted as being green or environmentally friendly and often these things are not very “green” and maybe have negative environmental implications that are not readily appreciated. I pointed to compact…

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“Green” Mansions: Building Green – Part Three

Green Mansions 3

An even simpler way to think about how to situate parts of a house with regard to climate and weather is to imagine yourself standing outside on your property on a sunny, windy winter day. To stay warm, you would naturally turn away from the north wind and face the southern sun. You might even…

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Energy Efficient Air Conditioners

Green Air Conditioning

These days, it seems like everything anyone sells is energy efficient, green, or sustainable in some way. Those are the words plastered on the products we buy because without those claims, a product is virtually unsaleable in this climate (pardon the pun) of environmental zeal. This is a good thing, as Martha Stewart would say, but…

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Air Conditioner Location

Air Conditioner

I was on an airplane from Los Angeles today and chatting with the fellow seated next to me about things to consider when designing and building a house. I told him that even if you were not designing a house from scratch, but simply buying a builder’s model home plan, there were avoidable mistakes you…

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“Green” Mansions: Building Green – Part Two

Green Mansions 2

Houses built in northern climates should be designed to capture natural light, to brighten and warm the rooms used during daylight hours. Winters can be gloomy and light deprivation can cause a wintertime depression. By simply allowing as much daylight into the house as possible, a properly oriented house can relieve these symptoms and lower…

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One Size House Does NOT Fit All

House Size

Would you buy a suit that was a couple of sizes too small? Would you pick your new shoes from a rack of “standard” sizes and colors, even if none of them actually fit or the colors weren’t right? Of course not. So why is it that we are willing to pick out a house…

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