Posts Tagged ‘sustainable design’
One Way to Build Green: Use Reclaimed Beams
The Straight Goods on Green Building and Energy-Efficient Home Design. Green building is the catch phrase for the creation of houses that are energy efficient and environmentally in their design and construction. …… The article expands the information about what Green building means and what is needed to build and energy efficient home. These are the four things that I feel are important considerations when trying to build Green. ( the video illustrates item #2)
Design a house that uses less energy to heat, cool, light and maintain.
Use materials that consume less energy to produce and transport are non-toxic, and can be re-cycled or safely disposed of when no longer useful.
Use building products made from materials that are not limited in supply and are quickly and easily regrown, reproduced and replaced.
Use energy sources that are readily replenished and have an unlimited supply
Don’t Buy LED Lights If You Don’t Know the CRI and CCT
This alphabet soup for LED lights will let you know what kind of light your new light bulbs will give off when you bring them home. If they produce the wrong colors, you will hate them. If they give off the right colors, you will love them. LED lights are a great breakthrough in energy…
Read MoreIs Your Perfect House Modernist or Traditional?
In the world of residential architecture, there has been a long-running debate about architectural style. Is it incorrect for architects to be designing traditional houses even though the majority of the public wants them? Should new houses be modern and unadorned with decoration or else be deemed inferior and not good architecture? As you might…
Read MorePassive Solar Design – Free Energy
Today, we awoke to a freak snowstorm here in Raleigh, North Carolina. I say “freak” because any snow is a rare occurrence in this part of the country. Snow in January is a novel concept in the southeast. Everything, and I mean everything was closed. We were crippled by Mother Nature. When the flakes stopped…
Read MoreBirth of Building Green
The birth of “Building Green” arguably happened in Austin, Texas in the 1970’s. There’s a good article in Ecohome about Austin’s sustainable building program and their continuing progress. But the trigger for Austin may not have been what you might have guessed. Here is the first paragraph of the article by Jeffery Lee: Austin, Texas…
Read MoreGreen Roofs
Green roofs are roofs that have grass of other plant materials growing right on top of them. The theory is that the roof will stay cooler and reflect less heat back into the atmosphere. There was an interesting article in the Raleigh News and Observer today. It was about how the local Universities are going…
Read MoreSome Solar Energy Is Unwelcomed in Summer
Yikes! It’s nearly 100 degrees here in North Carolina and the humidity nearly matches it. It was still over 90 degrees at dinnertime! I, for one, don’t find solar energy all that welcome this time of year. Maybe if I was generating electricity from it I would feel differently. But the solar energy I’m talking about makes…
Read MoreBrick Mortar Is Important
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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