THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for August, 2008

Written by Philip Proefrock, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com

What does it look like to build a house with lots of green features? We see pictures of the finished buildings, and we read about the features that make them green. We know about the importance of good insulation and reducing electrical loads and choosing efficient equipment.

But what does it look like while it all goes together? Building Green on Montrose offers a wonderfully in-depth view into the process of constructing a green home. The project is the product of a couple of architects, Christopher & Emily Stromberg, working on the renovation of a rowhouse in south Philadelphia to turn it into a modern, efficient, green home. They are building this project as a speculative property, rather than a home for themselves, so it avoids some of the quirky indulgences that other green homes sometimes include. All of this has to make sense and be justifiable for an eventual buyer for the house.

It is also a wonderfully modest 1600 square feet, well below the average new construction house, yet it will have 3 bedrooms, a den, and 2-1/2 baths. They plan to have the house for sale on the market later this year.

The process is being extensively documented, and provides lots of pictures as they carry out each step of the project. They also have included some of the architectural drawings, to show what the plans and elevations for the building look like, as well as to illustrate how some of the sustainable design strategies for the house work.

In addition to documenting the ongoing progress on the project, Building Green on Montrose also discusses materials choices and selections, including bamboo and tile for the floors, countertops, and insulation. They discuss why they like particular choices and what they don’t like about others, and they weigh the various factors in choosing which is the most appropriate selection. For example, they like Caesarstone and Icestone for their countertops. Caesarstone is imported, but the basic slab comes ina size that is well suited for their project and will mean that there is little waste. But on the other hand, Icestone has received a Cradle to Cradle™ certification.

In the most recent entry, they have met with the LEED for Homes raters and were pleasantly surprised to find that what they thought was going to be a LEED-H Gold project is actually on track for LEED-H Platinum.

The range of information covered in Building Green on Montrose gives people who aren’t regularly involved with building construction a great insight into guts of a green building and shows the work as it progresses.  It’s a great resource for both green builders and would-be green homeowners alike.

Related features:

The $100K Green Home Project
Green Condos Coming to a City Near You
Green House Plans from FreeGreen
Find green builders across the United States here.
Find green architects across the U.S. here

Big money is backing wind power, and the number of investors ready to step up to the plate continues to grow. But according to an article in Renewable Energy World, that growth is hampered by a lack of a nationwide “electronic transmission superhighway”.

In the sixties America created the interstate superhighways that now crisscross our nation. Now, our country’s energy security depends on a new interstate initiative. Will the U.S. government step up to the plate?

“Across the country, hundreds of wind projects comprising tens of thousands of wind turbines are on hold because no one wants to step forward and pay for upgrades that will primarily benefit others. The obvious solution to this problem is a policy framework that will allow firms interested in building new transmission to collect the costs of the infrastructure investment from those who will benefit from it.”

Richard Sergel, president and CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and Kevin Kolevar, DOE’s assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, have pointed out in recent testimony before Congress that all low-carbon technologies, from large-scale wind projects to concentrated solar power, and even nuclear and “clean coal” technologies, require an updated electric grid because they are most often located in remote areas. The map above shows the Transmission Superhighway Vision put forth by the American Wind Energy Association and American Electric Power, an investor-owned utility that spans 11 states.

Photo Credit: AWEA

Beyond speeding the transition to wind power, a new transmission grid is needed to avoid power disruptions like the electricity blackout of 2003. The American Institute of Physics reports that government deregulation has ignored the inherent physics of the nation’s power grid, which should be viewed as one big machine. This has created serious problems:

• Instead of treating electricity as an essential service, it is treated as a commodity
• Power companies compete regionally and avoid sharing usage and transmission data, such as blackout statistics
• The national grid is not viewed as the single “machine” that it is, resulting in congestion at the regional level when demand increases unexpectedly
• Independent power producers create generating units at “essentially random” locations due to low labor costs or lax state regulations, or tax incentive
• The cost of electricity has increased to the end-users

It is hoped that a new administration will finally address the state of our national electricity grid. If it doesn’t it won’t be because of cost. “Given that electricity transmission infrastructure typically remains in service for 50 years or more, the cost of the investment for the average household would be equivalent to about US $0.35 per month, less than the cost of a postage stamp.” –Michael Goggin, AWEA, in Renewable Energy World

Related Posts:

T. Boone Pickens Says Peak Oil Reached, Plans World’s Biggest Wind Farm

Wind Energy is Reliable

Texas billionaire, T. Boone Pickens, is causing quite a stir across the nation with his bold Picken’s Plan to build the largest wind farm in the nation.  In fact, he has caused such a commotion, that everyone seems to be forgetting about Mesa Water.

Pickens’ company, Mesa Water, bought more than 200,000 acres of ground water rights in Roberts County, Texas. Estimating that he could make more than $1 billion off of the $75 million investment over the next few decades, Pickens wants to drain the Ogallala Aquifer to meet the demand for water in west Texas.

This video from Zaproot, The Truth About the Pickens Plan, is very entertaining and does a great job of explaining the slight of hand trick that Pickens seems to be playing with wind, water and the dreaded emminent domain.

Happy viewing!

For Related Post on T. Boone Pickens:

• T. Boone Pickens Knows Energy and So Does George Chapman
• Picken’s Plan Spins the Wind Turbine
• Pickens Says Peak Oil Reached
• Who Does Rainwater Belong to?

Residential Lighting reports that a new energy-efficient lighting technology, dubbed ESL (electron-stimulated luminescence) was patented in June by a startup company called Vu1.

The technology works by using accelerated electrons to stimulate a phosphor coating on the inside of the glass bulb. In contrast, incandescent bulbs run a current through a filament inside the bulbs, and LEDs stimulate semiconductors to create light.

The first ESL prototype is expected to output 40 lumens per watt with a 6,000 hour lifetime.

So why is the ESL bulb any better than CFLs or LEDs?

Vu1 claims that their bulbs do not have the trace amounts of mercury that CFLs contain, and they do not require the manufacturing energy of LEDs. The ESL bulbs, which will cost $12, are about the same as dimmable CFLs. We can expect to see these on the market fairly soon—Vu1 says the first screw-in models could be available as early as September 2008.

With all the news about the growing popularity of LED bulbs, this development could be just the thing to keep the public eye on energy-efficient alternative lighting.

Posts Related to Lighting:

• Chicago Suburb Preserves Night Sky With Innovative Light Ordinance
• Look Into The Light: The CFL
• Recessed Lights and Greenwash

Over 80 million children and adults are enrolled in schools across the nation, representing about one-fourth of the population age three and older. With all of these students headed back to school, it’s no wonder that this period has become so important to retailers. August clothing sales, alone, are second only to the holidays in terms of dollars spent.

But before you head off to the mall willy-nilly, stop to think about how you can make choices to reduce your environmental impact.

You are what you wear (in junior high, at least)

First, the most important category to many kids: clothes. Of course, the greenest thing to do is to wear last-year’s clothes. Exaggerated eye roll. Hand-me-downs? Irritated stare. Thrift stores? “Gah-ross!” (Hint: try calling it “vintage”–much cooler.) And so the challenge begins.

Fortunately, more and more companies are jumping into eco-friendly clothing for kids. Though not as environmentally-friendly as forgoing new purchases, clothes made from organic cotton, hemp, and other natural fibers are definitely a better choice. Companies like Kice Kice Organic and Sprout Kids Clothing specialize in such items, but even old stand-bys like Levi Straussare on board, using organic cotton, recycled zippers and buttons, and natural indigo dye. Many of the outdoor clothing companies that are working towards sustainability, like REI and Patagonia, make kids’ clothes that look as good inside a school as they do outside of one.

Green school supplies

Again, the most environmentally-friendly thing to do for supplies is to have kids use what they already have, from erasers to backpacks. But if they do need some new stuff, buy them “retro” chalkboard slates instead of paper, which can be used over and over again.

OK, just kidding. Go for chlorine-free, recycled paper, binders and notebooks. Pens, pencils, scissors and sticky notes now also come in recycled versions. Though most office supply stores will carry some of these items, try The Green Office for a wider selection, or Ecojot for some really unique notebooks, workbooks, and agendas.

In addition to these everyday school supplies, new alternatives are available for almost anything else you might need for back-to-school, from backpacks with solar panels to charge your phone and iPod to soy crayons.

And if a new computer is on your list, don’t forget to choose an Energy Star-rated model.  And know that laptops are more energy-efficient than desktop models.

Vegetables don’t have to be the only thing green

One of the most wasteful areas in any school is the cafeteria. Whether kids throw away food or bring individually wrapped snacks, there is a lot of room for improvement.

First, the most obvious thing to do is to ditch any disposable bags or containers in favor of lunchboxes with reusable containers, like bento boxes. Or, have kids personalize their own reusable canvas bag. Buy food and drink in larger containers, then parse them out each day instead of buying juice boxes and single-serving bags of chips. Try giving them cloth napkins, which shouldn’t be too hard to bring home, since they have to bring the lunchbox home anyway. They can personalize these, too, or check out cool kid-themed Fabkins. 

Getting them there is half the battle

Transporting kids to and from school can also present environmental problems. If you’re lucky to live close enough to school, and your child can safely do so, the best choice is kid power: walking, biking, skateboarding, or the like. Some communities have programs to watch kids as they walk to school to help ensure their safe arrival – if yours doesn’t, consider starting one.

Some older kids in big cities take mass transit to school, which is also a good choice, environmentally. And, though many kids hate to take the school bus, it is a relatively green option. Some districts are even purchasing hybrid buses! And, even though every bus accident makes national news, school buses are the safest mode of transportation to and from school. During the 10-year period from 1995 to 2005, the National Highway Safety Administration found that only 0.33% of all fatal traffic accidents were school-transport related, and only a small percentage of those involved the bus’s passengers.

On the flip side, one of the worst ways to get your kids to school is to drive them yourself. Accident rates are higher for automobiles, as are emissions. If driving your kids is the only option, at least set up some carpools with other parents to reduce your impact. As a last resort, combine trips, running errands and the like at the same time.

However, the absolute worst way for teens to get to school is to drive themselves. Studies show that teens’ lack of experience behind the wheel leads to jack-rabbit starts and harder braking, as they haven’t yet learned to moderate speed efficiently. This increases fuel use, leading to higher emissions. It’s also less safe, especially if they have other teens in the car.

Go Green U!

If back-to-school now means back to college, dorm rooms and new apartments are ripe with opportunity for getting kids off on a green foot. In addition to the school supplies discussed above, think about things like organic cotton bedding and biodegradable cleaning supplies. Consider sending them off with a bike instead of a car, especially in urban areas. Most college campuses are more easily navigated by bike anyway, and you’ll save on parking fees, not to mention insurance.

Back-to-school is an exciting time. Make the most of your choices and purchasing power by opting for green alternatives. Your kids will get a lesson in responsibility before they even set foot in school.