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If you can’t tell, we’re pretty hooked on the latest and greatest in green prefab design. One big problem, though, is that there’s a huge amount of noise and not all that much action - plenty of fabulous prefab designs and museum / conference exhibits, but very few actual installations (and even fewer mid-market installs, which is where prefab has to go in order to make a true difference in our housing stock).
Finally, the log jam seems to be breaking. Several firms have begun to produce green prefab homes for real people in small but growing numbers. This past month, Marmol Radziner, a prefab company here in Southern California, made a splash with some pretty showy installation videos on local media outlets. These homes are either a) high end or b) for the firm’s founders, so they’re still a ways away from mass-market. But, the videos do a good job of showing what elements make prefab homes unique (factory construction, rapid installation, modular components) and at least to me suggest that they’re not all that far away from being able to replicate these installations on a larger and thus less expensive scale.
This post was originally published on June 29, 2008.
With many cities experiencing a real estate “slump”, homeowners around the country are looking for ways to stand out from the slew of homes on the market, while improving their home’s resale value. Other homeowners are planning for the future: a future of ever-rising energy prices.
Regardless of your situation, you may be asking yourself if green home improvements increase the home’s value. The answer isn’t as straight-forward as some might hope.
The old rules still apply…
Before we dive in, there are a few things to consider when thinking about making home improvements – green or not. First, remember the three rules of real estate: location, location, location. The return on your investment will depend on the value of your house and others in the neighborhood, as well as your local housing market. Other factors like the quality of the workmanship, and how soon you move after making the improvements weigh in as well.
Do you long to live in an attractive green home with the latest and greatest in green building technologies, but know you can’t afford to build one? Then you and I have something in common.
But do you know about all the amazing green condo developments cropping up across the country? There are gorgeous, cutting-edge eco-friendly condos available or being built now in cities all around the U.S. We can’t possibly cover them all in this post, but we’ve selected a good sample. I will cover green condos in the West next week. Read on to find what might become your dream green home!
In Chicago, eco18 is an interesting development currently underway. Located in Chicago’s South Loop area, it provides access to plenty of public transportation options and also green spaces. eco18 is striving to attain a Gold Certification under the LEED program of the US Green Building Council. This is a lofty goal and we hope they make it! Their plans include a massive green roof, solar water heating, geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater reuse, energy-efficient lighting and much more. You can get a 1 bedroom/1 bath unit for around $285,000 or a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit for about $430,000. Learn more about eco18 here.
Residential applications for solar panels have been making news for several years. But as rising fuel prices spur consumers to look for alternate energy sources, another clean power source is beginning to get attention: wind energy.
Even though the residential wind power sector has seen tremendous growth over the last decade, an article in The Arizona Republic estimates that there are still only 4,000 residential wind turbines nationwide. The primary reason that wind energy has been slow to take hold is that wind turbines are fairly visible, and therefore highly controversial, installations. According to the American Wind Energy Association, small wind systems (100 kilowatts or less) need to be at least 30 feet above barriers which might break the force of the air currents reaching the turbine. Right now, the industry recommends wind turbines only for sites that are at least one 1 acre in size. Consequently, wind turbines in urban areas are still quite rare. (In a September 2007 post, earth2tech featured a San Francisco home which sports a turbine, and pointed out that this may be the first urban wind turbine in the country.)
Unfortunately, individual efforts to experiment with wind power, even in outlying areas, have encountered a lot of roadblocks. Proposed turbine installations are usually evaluated by local governments on a case by case basis, since most city zoning laws have height restrictions which would implicitly prohibit turbines. Oftentimes, even if permission is granted and a turbine is erected, neighbors unite to fight the decision. (For individual turbine projects that have made news for seeking exceptions to local codes, see these articles on Wayne, New Jersey and Atlanta, Georgia).
Editor’s note: Modular (or prefabricated) housing is hot, and our friends at Low Impact Living have the lowdown on some of the companies driving this trend. This post was originally published on Thursday, June 12, 2008.
It seems everyone is “going modular” these days with the rapid growth in the movement of green prefab design and construction. The buzz in modular construction is causing a rush of new designs, innovative products, and advanced modular systems being introduced. The goal of prefab is still the same as minimizing waste while maximizing efficiency. To learn more about prefab design and what makes it a compelling form of green building, please click here.
No longer are the days when just calling yourself a prefab company is considered environmentally progressive. Homes are now being made from materials like reused shipping containers, recycled steel, and certified sustainably-harvested wood. The new challenge for prefab companies is balancing the economics of innovative sustainable design with the realities of construction and raw material costs.
We want to highlight some companies doing some very interesting work in the prefab space.
Envision Prefab shows their commitment to the environment by attempting to maintain a zero carbon footprint in both manufacturing and production of their models. Their e-House reuses shipping containers transformed into seamless interior spaces, while including a laundry list of green systems such as tankless water heaters, solar panels, and LED lighting.
By Susan Vallee •
June 8, 2008
I don’t know how you spent your weekend, but we spent ours with hands outstretched, feeling for hot, attic air shooting out of electrical outlets, ventilation fans and air vents. After months of crazy-high electric bills, we decided to get to the bottom of why it was costing so darn much to cool our rather small home.
Enter the HERS Rater (Home Energy Rating System).
It turns out there are wonderful people who will come to your home, put up a strange looking contraption called a “blower door” on either your front door or entry to the attached garage. A fan is turned on, the pressure is measured (our house was brought to -50 Pascals) and the cubic feet per minute of air that is rushing out of the house is measured.
Editor’s note: Green building and resource conservation doesn’t have to involve the latest technology or high prices. Our friends at GreenBuildingTalk take a look at one of the humblest of water-saving devices — the faucet aerator — and show how this low-tech option is a good bet for homeowners looking to conserve water… and lower their bills. This post was originally published on Sunday, June 1, 2008.
About a decade ago, water conserving faucets and low-flow showerheads were the bane of contractors and homeowners alike. But over time, trial and error has led to better product design, education and installation. If your kitchen or bathroom faucet is fairly new, it will probably have an aerator in it. New faucets today typically have 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) aerators, whereas conventional faucets typically use 4 gpm. If your faucets are more than ten years old, odds are they’re water hogs. Aerators provide a low-tech solution that not only make the flow more forceful, but provide more effective wetting and rinsing. Consider installing an aerator with a lower flow, such as 1.5, 1.0, or the lowest option available to date: .5 gpm.
Editor’s note: Just like our friends at Low Impact Living, we’ve got passion for saving water… so we were very happy to see this post about a new technology for homeowners interested in doing just that! LIL writer Jason Pelletier originally published this post on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
I’m often pleasantly surprised at how much interest and passion you (our visitors) display for water-saving technologies. 
Renewable energy is sexy, and eco-friendly cars are top-of-mind for most people these days, but graywater systems? Rain barrels? Rain gardens? Even water-conserving toilets and showerheads? They’re pretty hot too … I for one am thrilled, for not only have I spent a good part of my career designing stormwater treatment systems but I believe that water shortages are a pretty pressing and difficult environmental challenge that doesn’t get enough attention in these days of $4 gasoline and global warming.
The beauty of any of these water-saving technologies is that a) they achieve multiple benefits, saving water while reducing wastewater or stormwater runoff and b) you can see the results right at home. It’s pretty satisfying to open the valve on a rain barrel, see the water flow out and know that you reduced pollution downstream and also prevented water from being siphoned from lakes or rivers tens or hundreds of miles away.
There are some challenges, though. In order to really make a dent in your runoff, you might have to use ten or more rain barrels - not so great if you don’t have space or your downspouts are on the visible side of your house (or if you’re not Ed Begley Jr and just don’t care!). Cisterns give you more capacity, but you’re talking about a real construction project with some possible permitting hurdles.
By Susan Vallee •
June 1, 2008
Let me first preface this post with the following: I’m not a construction professional. I’m just a curious homeowner seeking out the best building materials for my home. With that said, I was familiar with three options in residential construction - concrete block, wood frame or the super green alternative, rammed earth.
Turns out there are new options that combine the wonderful qualities of Portland cement with recycled post-consumer plastics (Rastra) or recycled wood fibers (Durisol).
Editor’s note: This short post from our friends at Low Impact Living points you to a (literal) gold mine of information on incentives for greening your home. Check it out: that energy-efficient upgrade to your home may be even less expensive than you imagined. This post was originally published on Monday, May 19th, 2008.
We want to let you know about an excellent new resource available to you– GreenMadeSimple.com. This site has created a very comprehensive database of green rebates, tax incentives and free offers across the US.
Their zip-code guided search allows you to find incentives and deals related to energy-efficient appliances and lighting, solar power, hybrid and alt-fuel vehicles, and more. The database includes federal, state and local incentives. Just put in your zip code and prepare to go green and save money.
Here are some examples of the jewels you’ll find:
Editor’s note: Chicago has become quite the hot spot for green building, so our friends at GreenBuildingTalk (who are based there) have frequent opportunities to hear from some of the brightest minds in the field. Today’s post share excerpts from a presentation by architect Peter Pfieffer, and was originally published on Monday, April 21, 2008.
ALNO hosted a K/BIS press breakfast on 4/12/08, at their new showroom in the heart of Chicago’s design district. Aside from enjoying a great mimosa and walking through ANLO’s impressive kitchen cabinetry displays, I sat in on renowned green architect Peter Pfeiffer’s presentation he gave that morning focused on “Greening the Kitchen”.
Named “one of the most influential residential architects of the past decade,” by Residential Architect and honored as the “National Green Advocate of the Year,” by the National Association of Home Builders,” Pfeiffer has demonstrated a life-long commitment to mainstreaming green building in North America. He is a founding principal of Barley + Pfeiffer Architects, a firm recognized nationally for its pioneering use of environmentally responsive building design and construction techniques, which has completed 400 green projects nationally since it’s founding in 1987. Pfeiffer’s work has been published both in the United States and abroad, in such diverse venues as the Washington Post, The New York Times, Fine Homebuilding, and Better Homes & Gardens magazine. On multiple occasions he has been a guest on National Public Radio as well as the HGTV network.
