Avid A Vision In Design

The Many Shades of Green: What the green movement means for you.

By Michael Holster

As we move into a new era of rising energy prices, accelerated global warming, and economic concerns, there is no doubt that we are in a historic period of transition. These changes will affect virtually everyone in a variety of ways. The emergence of the “green” movement to center stage is one indication of our changing times. Green is a very broad term that has come to mean a lot of things to a lot of people.

What is green? Also known as sustainable design, “going green” is a process that transforms what we do and how we do it so that the end result is better for our environment. By “our environment” we don’t just mean the world, the rainforest, or the spotted owl, we also mean the places we work and play in, our homes, and where we travel. So when you think about the environment, think of your house, yard, workplace, the shops you visit, the town you live in, etc.
(more…)

Tags: green building

This entry was posted on Monday, October 13th, 2008 at 10:34 am and is filed under Green.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. No Comments. Leave trackback from your own site.

By Michael Holster

But passive solar heating has other benefits besides saving energy, saving money and saving our planet. A passive solar home has a spatially inviting environment that reconnects with nature. A solar home is the most comfortable because it is bathed in warmth and light. Studies show that, under these conditions, physical, emotional, and mental health are improved, and productivity is increased. People prefer this environment to conventional design and consider it a higher quality living space.

In order to reduce the mystery surrounding modern day passive solar heating design and construction, here are some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers:

What type of passive solar heating design is best?

There are many different design approaches that can be taken to build a successful passive solar heated home. But the following four requirements are pretty basic:

1. The house has an exterior wall that faces south or nearly south to maximize solar gain.
2. During the heating season, heat rays from sunshine are absorbed during the daytime into the structure of the house.
3. At night, the stored heat continues to be released inside the house to keep the occupants warm.
4. During the summer cooling season, sunlight is blocked to prevent excess heat from entering the house.
(more…)

Tags: green building, solar

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 4:32 pm and is filed under Green.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. No Comments. Leave trackback from your own site.

By Scott Nichols

As we all know the term “Green Building” is the talk of the industry. Unfortunately, the term is constantly being redefined by every company who is attempting to capitalize on the latest craze. An effective implementation of all Green building strategies requires a complete understanding of the various components that together make up a viable “Systems” approach to building. Once we understand that every component within the building is dependent on some other component we are on our way to really making a difference.

The early creators of the Green movement clearly identified the most important aspects of a truly “Green Built” home was that it must substantially reduce it’s carbon foot print, it should be constructed in a way that increases the durability or life expectancy of the structure and that the indoor environment should be a healthy place for humans to occupy. None of these aspects can be addressed unless we first improve the thermal building envelop. A superior thermal envelop provides many benefits and resolves many issues that cause building failures in today’s homes. Improvements in this area provide the highest ROI (return on investment) for the homeowner and the largest reduction in the carbon footprint of the home. The reduction in the carbon footprint of a home is the single most important aspect when building green and should have the highest level of importance when it comes to setting priorities for improvements to any green building structure.
(more…)

Tags: green building

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Green.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. No Comments. Leave trackback from your own site.