Where there’s a need, there’s a way. Turns out that the biggest proportion of ENERGY STAR homes are being built in steamy Sunbelt locations where keeping the AC under control is an urgent need.
The top market, with the most ENERGY STAR-qualified homes built since the program begin in 1995, is Houston, with 144,000 homes.
The next top cities with the most homes built to these guidelines include Dallas, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles
By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now
Las Vegas, that city of celebrated excess, is going green?
In a word, yes – at least, in one concentrated area.
The soon-to-debut CityCenter, a seven-building luxury development created by MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development Corps, a subsidiary of Dubai World is slated to open in stages from early December 2009 into [...]
Nissan has opened a chat room to discuss it’s newly unveiled all-electric vehicle (EV), the Leaf, with potential customers.
The car company’s also publishing more pictures of the family sedan, due out in 2010 and revealed this past weekend in Japan.
Many of the questions, predictably, center on the infrastructure to support electric vehicles. For instance, how does an apartment-dweller recharge the thing? There’s not a great answer for that, just yet; apartment building owners will have to get on board and provide parking lot charging stations. Nissan replies that urbanites might find some help at public facilities.
Wherever you turn, someone, somewhere is talking about climate change. And that’s a good thing. But it’s not a happy conversation. Often, the discussion pivots on how much time we have left to reel in our carbon emissions — and among those who consider climate change a real threat (let’s say the majority of us), the realistic answer to that is, less than a decade.
Give or take a month. (I’m kidding.)
So we’ve got to make some real progress, fast.
Here’s some good news, being highlighted by the WorldWatch Institute today. McKinsey & Company says the U.S. could reduce it’s “non-transportation” energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020.
New green homes can awe-inspiring, both for their groundbreaking designs and their show of techno-muscle. Those tubular daylights, state-of-the-art solar panels, sleek recycled flooring, dehumidifying HVAC systems, complex gray water reclamation systems, louvered light “shelves” and heat-reflecting metal roofs can leave the common homeowner gaping — and wishing.
The truth is most of us won’t be building a brand new green castle, at least not anytime soon — and perhaps there’s something to be said for the alternative; let’s call it “greening in place”.
Almost any home can become more energy friendly, and this “in fill” project can occupy a very important spot in the urban landscape: your own lot!
Some of our nation’s most prominent locations are greening up their dining practices. Restaurant Associates, the operators of eateries inside some of America’s museums and landmarks, has committed to a five year partnership with the Green Restaurant Association.
All current and future cafes within the US House of Representatives, American Museum of Natural History, and the Lincoln Center will become more environmentally friendly.
While people scurry to devise new green components for homes, Don Blalock is in the enviable position of launching one that he’s been nursing along for the last six years.
His Aeonian brick will build houses that aresignificantly more energy efficient than conventional homes; help them qualify for LEED platinum certification and withstand hurricane force winds up to 240 mph. They’ll also resist heat, mold, mildew and termites, says Blalock whose goal is to build “the most structurally sound house that’s livable that will last for a very long time.”
Kim Williams didn’t really think she would be studying pie charts and graphs on a regular basis. But several times a month, that’s exactly what she does when she logs into her Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL) Energy Analyzer account website.
She checks her energy usage to see exactly what her bill is, what specific appliances are consuming, whether her usage is occurring during peak times, and also gauge her costs compared with other similar-sized homes.
You’d like to make energy upgrades on the casa, but you’re a little short on the green.
Not enough green to green is a common problem right now. Yet, there are some changes you can barely afford not to make. One of these easy fixes involves addressing the build-up of heat in your attic this summer. If you live any place south of Washington, Maine and Michigan, you’re going to experience some days when it’s difficult to cool the house, and the typical attic compounds the problem by trapping heat overhead. If your AC unit is installed up there, the situation is even worse; the extreme heat will make the air conditioning system work harder and run longer as it pushes cooled air through hot duct work.
Lighting and energy experts have been scratching their heads for sometime over how to make LED lighting as effective and pleasant as CFLs, because LEDs are even more energy efficient than CFLs.
Renaissance Lighting, based in Herndon, Va., appears to be inching forward in this effort. The company will be showcasing its new, all white solid-state LED downlight fixtures at the LIGHTFAIR International 2009 at the Javits Center in New York City. The new fixtures are brighter than ever and have two and half times greater efficacy.
Bright Automotive, launched just last year, rolled out a plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle on Tuesday that doesn’t just get an estimated 100 miles per gallon — it gets 100 mpg hauling a bunch of stuff.
The “IDEA” isn’t some cramped commuter car. It’s a 21st Century panel van designed for commercial fleet use with 180 cubic foot cargo capacity and a 2,000 pound payload.
The vehicle was designed specifically for commercial fleet use, said John E. Waters, CEO and President of Bright Automotive, at the unveiling in Washington D.C.
