Green Homes

EcoDrain – Make your cold water warm to heat your hot water less.

Quite some time ago I posted about the ReTherm drain water heat recovery system. It is a very cool system that uses the hot water going down your drain to heat the cold water going into your water heater. Doing so reduces the amount of heat needed to heat your hot water. Giving you a theoretical 30% reduction in heating costs.

Now a new product has come online called the EcoDrain. I have to say that I like the looks of the EcoDrain better. Also, from what I see, it appears that the EcoDrain heats the cold water going directly to your shower and it does not first send it to your water heater. By doing this they see a potential energy savings of 40%. A little more savings and a tidier mechanical makeup makes this a very cool product in my book.

So how does it work?

The EcoDrain™ is a small, easy-to-install device with no moving parts. The key to saving you money is the heat-exchange channels.

These flattened, sealed channels were developed to maximize the surface area of the heat transfer space and to create optimum flow turbulence in the outgoing waste water and incoming fresh water. The EcoDrain™ is installed directly in the shower drain line and features a double wall of separation between fresh and waste water to eliminate the possibility of mixing, plus an interior non-stick coating to prevent soap, hair or debris collecting inside.

Source: EcoDrain

Insurance is getting greener everyday.

It has been some time since I last posted on the availability of insurance for green homes and insurance that would allow you to rebuild green. Since that time there have been some great developments in this area. Read more

Win the plans to your Green Dream Home at FreeGreen.com

We all have dreams of what our dream home would be like, many want it to be a green dream home. The problem is getting it designed and then built and finding the mony to do it all. Well, the folks over at FreeGreen could be bringing that dream one step closer to being a reality with their latest contest.

By visiting the FreeGreen website and entering the FreeGreen Challenge you could win the custom plans to the green home of your dreams. The FGC is a contest (starting today and ending on September 30th) that any FreeGreen user planning to build a home in the United States can enter. The winner will receive a Free Custom House Design from FreeGreen, valued at $25,000!! Just head to the homepage, click on the Custom Design Contest button, login, and fill out the contest form.

Over at Active Rain where I am a member ECO-All-Stars~ GREEN Resources, Trends & Friends I had fun taking part in a challenge back in December where we offered up what our green dream home would be if money were no object? Well, you can do the same thing and make it a reality! So head over to FreeGreen and enter the contest. Then, while you are there check out the site.

Most concise shipping container (ISBU) resource yet.

Shipping container ISBU homes are gaining in popularity every day. It is probably because it is a sturdy, viable, cheap mode of construction along with using an existing resource that is piled high in ports and rail cities around the world. It is also the keyword used most that brings folks to my site and the reason for many phone calls from people looking for more information.

Today I found what is probably the best resource for more information that I have seen yet.

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More information on Geos Neighborhood

When I first posted about Geos Neighborhood I promised to update you all when I was able to find more information and today Preston over at Jetson Green managed to gather several renderings for his post on the neighborhood.  Jump over and take a look.  It looks great!

Source:  Jetson Green

The debate rolls on with Ceramic Paint On Insulation.

This was a very interesting post over at Treehugger about the legitimacy of Ceramic Paint On Insulation. Basically the result was a resounding it might work, but who knows. You see, it is being used by major architects to insulate shipping container homes and I personally feel it would be a godsend in a 100 year old masonry home like mine, but does it work??? Read more

A new shipping container resource that I came upon today – isotecture.com

While searching the internet today I came upon a comment on a blog post over at weburbanist.com. In the comment a gentleman had mentioned that he had started a new website that gives the nuts and bolts of building with Shipping containers.  The site is called Isotecture.  While it appears to have just been launched in June, it is shaping up to be a pretty good resource.  If you are thinking at all of building with shipping containers, like I am, Then I suggest that you bookmark it. 

The video below has nothing to do with the site.  Just a cool container project and some color for this post. 

Shipping container homes get national press.

I have been posting on shipping container homes for some time now and in my comments and feedback I get many who think this is just another flash in the pan.  That they will never make mainstream homes.  Well, in my searches today I came upon this recent article in USA Today through a post over at Materialicious. 

It does my heart a lot of good to see these homes getting this kind of press. I personally feel it a strong and viable form of architecture that we will see a lot more of.  That, and it also is using a very abundant and CHEAP resource that is available to us all throughout the country.  You can’t beat that!  I can guarantee you that my next home will be made from shipping containers.

Blu Homes have officially launched and they are on their way to Utah and Massachusetts.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with one of the founders of Blu Homes as they scouted locations and scoured the country finding the city with right fit for their innovative, new, prefab homes. Happily, they chose Salt Lake City, Utah (my home state) as one of the first locations in which to build, the rest of the country is not far behind. Not only that, the first home should be delivered and completed by late fall here in Utah and a personal walk-through for interested parties will be a reality.

What Blu Homes is building is a very innovative, prefab home that will be manufactured in 4 weeks and the keys will be in your hands within 10 days of the home being delivered to your lot. How is that for fast and convenient?

Blu Homes will be green. Very green. Not only will they cause 50-75% fewer carbon emmisions in the construction process, they will also have 40-75% lower annual utility costs.

Affordability often comes into question with projects like this and in the case of Blu Homes these homes will be very affordable. priced from $50,000 – $350,000, based on amenities and size, these homes are very affordable and can realistically be built at about $150 a square foot.

I think Bill Haney, Co-Founder and President of Blu Homes speaks best about the company and there mission in the video below.

Read more

Work on nations largest Zero Energy Development to begin this fall.

According to this article in the Denver Business Journal work on what is considered the nations largest Zero Energy Development will begin this fall, 6 months later than planned. 

The development called Geos Neighborhood bills itself as  “Colorado’s first sustainable, integrated community where energy from the Earth and the Sun replaces all fossil fuels.”  The neighborhood will feature 250 single homes ranging in size from 850 sq. ft. to 3500+ sq. ft. and prices will start in the mid $200′s.

What excites me most about this community are the sustainable measures they will be taking (download a PDF fact sheet here).

First, they will maximize the use of solar energy through active and passive designs.  Rooftop photovoltaic panels will be used along with innovative design measures to enhance passive solar output.  Next, they will use geothermal for heating on overcast days  or during nightime hours, hot water and for summer cooling.  Finally they are building these homes super tight to ensure minimum air leakage. 

I look forward to learning more about The Geos Neighborhood and will share it here when I do.

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