Green Options

If you could design the green home of your dreams, what would it look like? What would it be made of? How would it produce and consume energy?

Editor’s note: This post was written by Jason Pelletier, and originally published at Low Impact Living on March 28, 2009.

If you’re one of those folks out there who is suffering from a bit of carbon fatigue, then a post in the NY Times’ Green Inc. blog this week could either provide additional motivation for green projects or increased fear of another jargon-laden debate. Green Inc highlighted the growing trend of striving for “water neutrality”, as highlighted at the Fifth World Water Forum in Istanbul last week.

The idea is gaining ground within a group of companies looking to understand and reduce their consumption of water, including Coca Cola, whose chairman has pledged to eventually balance out all of the water used in its products and manufacturing processes through conservation elsewhere (over 80 billion gallons worth!).

This got me to thinking: what would it take to be water-neutral in our own homes, meaning that we don’t import any net water? If we include all of the water that goes into our food and the products we consume, then it gets ugly real fast (see this post on the water content of food, for example). But what about our direct water use - showers, irrigation, toilets, etc?

Now, this would require some significant changes to a home and to local building/health/safety codes, since the only way to go water-neutral is to reuse graywater and harvest/store rainwater. Both of these options now face numerous permitting and legal obstacles around the country (including some pretty counterintuitive ones, like Utah and Colorado bans on capturing ANY rainwater at your home). Assuming we could, though, how much rain would it take to provide a family’s annual water needs?

I’ve been poor, dirt poor, caretaking a small cabin in the woods working on a basil farm.  During these slim economic times, I discovered that water, just water, was an effective cleaner.  Now that I am a little more affluent and have stainless steel appliances, water is once again my favorite cleaning product!  But what about the smears….enter E-cloth!

Jessica has already shared with our readers her love affair with microfiber, and I have to agree I’m in love with E-cloths.

E-cloth® uses microfiber technology to pull and capture dirt, dust, grease, oil and more from hard surfaces without the need for chemicals.   Perfect to have on hand in the kitchen to clean in between courses.  E-cloth® is made to clean hard surfaces from kitchen countertops to wood shelves to stainless steel appliances and glass (leaving no discoloration, streaks or smudges) all without a single chemical cleaner.  Specially cut fibers utilize pure tap water to clean at the microbial level, saving your family from having to choose between a dirty home and harmful chemicals.

If you’ve long longed to green your home but never felt you had the money to do so, get ready to take action. Obama’s new stimulus plan, signed into law last Tuesday, might give you just the extra financial nudge you need to undertake that eco-project you’ve had in mind.

First of all, the new stimulus plan will give you a tax credit for 30% of the costs, up to $1,500 total, for these eco-improvements on a property (via Associated Press):

• Getting new energy-efficient furnaces, air conditioners, or windows
• Replacing leaky windows
• Putting more insulation into attics.

Here at Low Impact Living are big advocates for residential renewable energy. We’d like to see every home in the US being fed by solar, wind and/or geothermal power.  (And we hope that President Obama will be driving to make that vision a reality!)

But we also understand that very few of us Americans can afford $20,000+ for an installation of a solar PV system– especially these days!  [...]

One of the great things about many green products is that they’ll actually save you money, sometimes over the long term (solar panels), but sometimes almost immediately (CFLs). In this economy, finding green products that are healthy, environmentally friendly AND economical is more important than ever. So, here are some new products we’ve come across over the past few months that offer just that - high green benefits AND more money in your bank account!

Energy Cinch Window Blankets. Windows are often an energy efficiency problem spot. Many homes lack the latest energy efficient windows, leading to energy loss and uncomfortable rooms throughout the year. Because window replacements are so expensive, though, it almost never pays to replace a window just for the energy savings benefits. Payback periods can often be ten years or more. There are other solutions - films and solar screens reflect sunlight during hot weather, and insulating drapes are helpful year-round. But Energy Cinch Window Blankets offer another solution. They combine the high insulating qualities of the thickest drapes with the installation ease of an extendable shower rod. You can easily remove them during times of the year when they’re not needed. An Energy Cinch can cut a problem window’s heat loss by up to 80%.

Enersaver Programmable Thermostat. We’ve praised the virtues of programmable thermostats many times before, but it can be a bit difficult to get them set right. We’ve come across this new thermostat from Globe Electric, called the enersaver Spin-N-Click. It uses a scroll wheel and single button to make programming much easier and more intuitive. And, at $49.95, it’s a relative bargain for a full-featured programmable thermostat. At this price, the thermostat will pay for itself in less than a year’s time in most homes.

These days, there are more and more options for those of you who want a small wind turbine out in the yard or on your roof. They range from the standard to the somewhat bizarre, and come in sizes that can power several major appliances all the way up to your whole house and beyond. In the right conditions, wind power can be much more economical than other renewable energy options such as solar or geothermal.

Traditional propeller-type wind turbines remain the best options for residential settings outside of urban areas. They are efficient and time-tested, and the leading manufacturers of these turbines have been at it for a long time. Two of the leaders are Bergey Windpower and Southwest Windpower. Bergey makes several versions of its Excel turbine suitable for home use. The Excel can be connected to the electrical grid and is big enough to power an entire home.

Southwest Windpower makes the Skystream 3.7 turbine (shown at left), an innovative machine that has a number of advances specifically targeted to residential users. It is meant to be tied to the electricity grid, and in reasonably windy conditions could power an average home.

In the past few years, a number of new manufacturers have come out with radical turbine designs intended to make wind turbines easier to install and better for tightly packed suburban and urban environments. Most of these turbines are vertical axis wind turbines, or VAWTs. Instead of spinning on a horizontal axis like their propeller-based cousins, VAWTs rotate around a vertical axis. The key advantages are that they can be quieter, are more amenable to the swirling wind conditions found in urban environments, and can have a smaller overall footprint (both tower width and height). The downsides? The companies that make them don’t have long track records, and the turbines are less efficient because a portion of each turbine is always spinning into the wind.

One example is Mariah Power, who makes the Windspire wind turbine (shown in the upper right image above). Each Windspire turbine is 30 feet tall and two feet wide, and it resembles a sculpture as much as it does a renewable energy device. The cylindrical structure makes it very quiet and compact, meaning you could install multiple turbines alongside one another for more power. Each unit should provide from 10-50% of the electricity for a typical home depending on where you live in the country.

Another example is Helix Wind. The company make several vertical axis turbines that, in my opinion, most closely resemble a ram’s horn. The complex (and weird or beautiful, depending on your sensibilities) design efficiently transforms variable winds into clean electricity. Their largest model, the S594, can provide 50-100% of a typical home’s electricity use under the right conditions.

So, now that you’re intrigued, should you run out and buy a new wind turbine for your rooftop or back yard?

One of the biggest challenges most people face is staying organized.  It’s also one of the biggest new year’s resolutions for those who resolve to start their new year off clutter-free.  But, for many, it’s an elusive process that either starts off strong and fizzles out, or seems so daunting a task that they don’t know where to begin.

Enter Krista Colvin, lifestyle expert, Founder of Organize in Style LLC and creator of The Shebang, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Doing It All, who sees your clutter as a canvas for crafting a well organized masterpiece that’s as eco-friendly as it is stylish.  Best of all, she offers practical solutions that are easy to implement — and maintain — and will save you precious hours to boot.  With Krista’s help, the only thing you’ll need to think about is what to do with all that extra time!

Chanukah starts Sunday December 21 this year– just a week from today. Just as we encourage everyone to incorporate eco-smart ideas and green gifts into their Christmas plans, we also want to share some thoughts on how to have a Green Chanukah this year.

First, starting with the menorah, it’s always a great idea to use natural beeswax or soy candles. Traditional paraffin candles are made from petroleum. Or you can go the traditional route and use an olive-oil-burning menorah. Very natural indeed!

And using the menorah allows you to turn off the lights, save power, and cut your carbon footprint while you enjoy the light of the candles. Indeed the origin of the festival of lights in rooted in resource conservation— we can all learn a great deal by reflecting on the message of making one night’s oil last for eight days!

Should you need a new menorah, may we suggest this gorgeous one made of recycled glass? It is stunning and will surely become a family heirloom. This piece is hand crafted by artist Jacques Rivard. Or if this one is a bit much for your tastes, you can opt to make your own from logs, stones and more found objects… let creativity and reuse be your guides! Here’s a link to a blog with many excellent ideas for how to create special, eco-friendly Chanukah menorahs and other decorations.

Many women discover the green lifestyle when they are expecting, or become moms. Wanting to do the best you can for your child includes considerations that you make before your baby is even born – after all, that’s why you’ve given up wine, right? Everyone knows that eating right and getting enough rest will help both mother and baby be healthy, but the green movement has opened our eyes to the effects that the world around us can have as well.

Back in 2005, a frightening study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found chemicals in the blood of the umbilical cords from 10 newborn babies. These chemicals were linked to cancer, birth defects, and hormone disruptions, and included lead, mercury and PCBs. Since then, moms-to-be have demanded more information about reducing the impact of the chemical soup that we all live in.

We Are What We Eat

According to most studies, it’s not clear whether organic food has higher nutritional value than its non-organic counterparts. Regardless, one thing is for sure: organic food contains fewer chemicals. Organic food is grown without artificial fertilizers, conventional pesticides, or sewage sludge, and processed without ionizing radiation and food additives. That stuff is gross, whether you’re pregnant or not. To label a food product organic, it must be certified by the National Organic Program, which is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A USDA Organic seal indicates that the product contains at least 95% organic ingredients, so look for this label.

Hot eco designer/architect Oliver Heath is offering a chance to receive his design and style advice for free!

Got a question about converting an eco home?

Decorating on a budget?

Sustainable interior design?

Submit your home style design question by November 12th on the EcoCentric website to win a personal email response from Oliver, and get some professional advice to sort out your eco design problems.

This is an incredible chance to put a little eco style into your life for free!