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the “warm” fireplace

By
Woody
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0

The Dept. of Energy said recently that fireplaces “should not be considered heating devices.” I thought that was interesting. An article on green.msn.com said that they’re only about 10% efficient, and that they let all kinds of warm air escape your home.

My parents installed a wood burning stove last year and they say it saves them loads on their heating. I guess their situation isn’t what the article described. They have their stove in the basement, and because it’s not a traditional fireplace, it has a glass door you can close. It’s new, so it even has a fan in the bottom that blows the hot air through the house, and the hot air that rises goes to the main floor.

Even if their stove is saving them money, we need to consider the trees that fuel their fire. My dad’s pretty savvy and gets trees that are fallen down. So that helps, however, even the fallen trees have value as they will soon be nutrients for future trees. I wonder if I could get a tree expert to evaluate the situation…

A rebuilt world?

By
Woody
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0

Recent projections have shown that half of our buildings will be rebuilt by 2030. That’s residential and commercial buildings combined. Can you imagine? In just over 20 years, our evironment will change dramatically! The green movement is getting excited about the studies, showing that in only 20 years we can vastly improve our building techniques and waste practices. What’s more astonishing is that by this time, the nation will need approximately 427 billion sq. feet of space. The large majority of this space will be single family housing units.

This places a lot of responsibility on homeowners. The US Green Building Council shows that “Building operation consumes 40% of U.S. energy and 71% of the electricity, 12% of the water, and rapidly increasing quantities of land. Building demolition, construction and renovation generate over 35% of non-industrial waste. Buildings can also create health problems; indoor air pollutants are at concentrations typically between two and five—and occasionally more than 100—times greater than those of outdoor air. Building operation accounts for 38% of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions.” (edited for length). As large shareholders in all this “building operation” homeowners need to take the step to integrate ecologically (and economically) friendly materials. The cost has dropped dramatically for greening up your homes and the return on investment has risen exponentially. It’s time we demand that our residences promote a healthy indoor and outdoor environment.

sources: (http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2464) and (http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007475.html)

The Housing Crisis – a need for better planning

By
Woody
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0

Hank Paulson, the US Treasury Secretary, has just made some alarming comments on the housing crisis. He remarks “Let me be clear, despite strong economic fundamentals, the housing decline is still unfolding, and I view it as the most significant current risk to our economy,” and that “The longer housing prices remain stagnant or fall, the greater the penalty to our future economic growth.” He has made several calls to action, but for now, no concrete plans have been issued by congress or the president. Most blame deceptive mortgage loans and over-zealous builders. Supply is starting to exceed demand.

Consumers have a lot to do with the current situation. After all, we ultimately control the economy. Hasty decisions about mortgages and the urge to build bigger and better have combined to create a foreclosure rate that is currently 50% higher than two years ago. Reported “ghost towns” have begun to develop and values are dropping.

My suggestion… First, don’t depend on the banks to be honest about your mortgage. Read the fine print. Consult a neutral third party if you must. Make sure you are aware of any variable rates and possible rate spikes. Second, don’t build so big. Build smarter. Find a good plan and customize it, or hire a designer. Spend more on planning and less on mistakes. Third, go green. If you want to save money in the long run, and be able to afford those mortgage rates, then start with energy saving products and building techniques. Here is a great resource: www.greenandsave.com (look for the ROI, or Return On Investment, numbers). Another: www.buildinggreen.com (these guys don’t accept advertising, so they’re great).

You may have a dream of owning your own home. Not buying an existing one, but owning one built just for you. The ‘crisis’ doesn’t change that. You still can. Just play it safe and build smarter. You’ll obtain your dream and support the market. After all, you ultimately decide your own economy.

source: The Associated Press used by Fox News – http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302194,00.html

Design Power and Humanity

By
Woody
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0

So many of us think that Interior Designers are simply decorators, Architects only build glass skyscrapers, and Engineers only care about complex bridges. This fallacy is known as oversimplification or generalization. As a student of Interior Design, I can tell you that this is not true. Our schooling deals with plenty of architecture, drafting, and creative solutions to various problems much more important than if the photographs are hanging straight. I know a few architects and engineers as well, and their interests are often deep and meaningful, beyond their 9-5 jobs. In my last post, I described how good design tackles efficiency issues in your own residence, and can give more bang for your buck. I mentioned green design as an alternative. The design world is suddenly aware of the impact our structures have on our environments.

Yes, environmentS. Plural. There is the natural environment (i.e. trees, and waste management, and water sources, etc), the the human, or social, environment. The social environment covers the big stuff like political and humanitarian issues as well as the taken-for-granted stuff like how we live our everyday lives. I read an interesting article (http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/29-cameron_sinclair_architect.html) from PBS’ Wired Science. Architect Cameron Sinclair and his partner Kate Stohr have founded Architecture for Humanity, dedicated to discovering better structure solutions for areas of the world in need of help. For example, they’ve been working on refugee tents in Afghanistan, earthquake resistance in Turkey, and medical hubs in South Africa. The solutions are discovered through their recently founded Open Architecture Network. This network hosts an online competition for the specific solution they’re looking for. The locals help decide which solution is best for them. The project is then built by the locals, keeping the funding inside their own community. The idea, though cliche, is to develop better ways to fish, instead of giving them canned tuna.

Trees Hate Foreclosures

By
Woody
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0

I was disappointed to read an article titled “Developers helped build a bust.” According to Mara Der Hovanesian of BusinessWeek, many developers began selling mortgages as well. They ended up misrepresenting clients’ income to sell their homes at higher prices. This has ended up in virtual ghost towns as foreclosures soon became the only option for hundreds of “homeowners.” What a wasteful mistake.

Alex Wilson, author of “Your Green Home,” states “The average US home has more than doubled in size since 1950, growing from about 1,000 square feet to 2,340 square feet in 2004.” This is despite shrinking families. One of the problems I have seen as a sales representative in home design is that people are too concerned with a big house. They squawk at every price, even when I’m saving them money, suggesting a very tight budget. Not only is this financially unwise, but a bigger than needed house is a blatant waste of time, money, and resources, especially if it ends up in foreclosure.

Wilson also states in his book that “Downsizing the house allows you to incorporate higher-quality products, additional amenities, and a higher level of craftsmanship.” A smaller home requires more spending in better, more efficient design. However, this pays for itself by simply building smaller. You’ll spend less to build it, and you’ll spend less to maintain it. This will open up money for even more money saving expenditures like solar or wind power, energy-star rated appliances, and higher R-value insulation.

Wasteful spending may seem luxurious and even smart (if you’re playing the real estate market correctly), but it is nonetheless wasteful. Smaller, more efficient design is the answer to our budgets and the natural environment. Let’s not kill our economy and our resources with one punch of mass foreclosures.

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