Interior Design

The question is: how rapidly will this market grow in the United States?

I have seen promising signs here in America. Green jobs, for instance, are growing 2.5 times as fast as traditional jobs. But there is another indicator as well: the enormous sense of possibility that is spreading across the country. Everywhere I go I meet people who want to design, invest in, or build the next wave of clean energy technology.

I have talked with researchers at MIT who are fired up to create the next generation of hybrid car batteries. I have met with green entrepreneurs in Ohio who are converting windshield factories to make solar panels. And I have heard from steel workers in Indiana who want to revive America’s industrial heartland by manufacturing wind turbines.

These people are doing what America has always done well: leveraged our ingenuity to become technological leaders.

But there is no guarantee that we will retain our leadership when it comes to clean energy. Germany and Spain have long been leaders in clean energy, but now China has created stringent fuel-efficiency rules for vehicles and strong renewable energy standards. It is also reportedly preparing plans to invest between $440 billion and $660 billion in the next 10 years on alternative energy development. India’s cabinet meanwhile, just approved a bold plan for generating 20,000 megawatts from solar energy by 2022.

America has yet to take similar action. We remain dependent on dirty fossil fuels that endanger our national security and escalate the costs of curbing global warming.

The best way to secure a place in the global clean energy market is through smart policies. We need government incentives to get technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace, and we need pollution-reduction targets to increase demand for cleaner options.

The most powerful tool we have for accomplishing this is a law that puts a price on global warming pollution and directs investment into clean energy alternatives. Such a law will give businesses an incentive to invest in things like hybrid technology and highly efficient heating and cooling equipment, and it will reward consumers for buying more efficient appliances and better insulated homes.

The businesses supplying these low-carbon solutions will experience dramatic growth. NRDC’s experts say that contractors who can successfully manage commercial-scale green-building projects have more work than they can handle. The same will soon be true for energy auditors, smart grid engineers, green architects, and hybrid battery designers.

Read the whole article here.

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With utility-scale wind project developers cash-strapped and unable to obtain financing for large wind farms, small wind power project developers see a window of opportunity. by Sarah Lozanova, Contributor Wisconsin, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Very few large-scale wind projects are able to obtain financing under the current economic climate. But falling turbine, steel and labor prices have created the perfect environment for mid-scale wind energy projects to thrive. Although total new installed capacity in 2009 may not rival the impressive 8,900 MW installed in North America in 2008, a golden opportunity exists for smaller wind development.

Small wind projects range in size from 100 kW to 30 MW and typically serve schools, farms, rural villages, businesses and municipal utility companies. Because these type of installations can access funding from various sources, they are less vulnerable to the credit crisis than their large-scale wind farm counterparts.

With the economic crisis taking its toll on wind energy development in 2009, large turbine manufacturers are paying more attention to the mid-scale market, giving smaller projects greater accessibility to utility-grade turbines.

Incentives for Small Wind Project Development

U.S. government support for wind energy through net-metering laws and an extension of the renewable energy production and investment tax credits offers stability to the industry, while stimulus funding provides a boost. In addition to the $1.6 billion in CREBs that is available to state and local governments, municipal utility companies and rural electric cooperatives, some state or local governments also offer grant or rebate programs.

Such incentives make wind projects more attractive, as do lower commodity and labor costs. “We’re already seeing manufacturers come back and say, ‘The steel prices have come down so much that the tower is now $100,000 cheaper,’” says -- Wes Slaymaker, of WES Engineering. “Since the economic collapse in late 2008, steel prices have come down at least 50 percent. The cost of labor has also come down because there are a lot of contractors looking for work.”

While these factors also benefit large wind projects, the financing difficulties that are plaguing the industry now have made it harder for large wind developers to take advantage of them so smaller developers, with greater access to capital, can step right in.

This special window of opportunity for smaller projects will not last forever. Although some encouraging factors will remain, the large-scale wind industry is likely to pick up as soon as liquidity returns to the market.

Although 2009 may be a year to survive for some players in the wind industry, it presents a golden opportunity for the mid-scale market. Time will tell if this opening will result in a boom in this segment of the industry. “If this opportunity for smaller projects is successful, we will start seeing the turbines ordered this year for projects to be installed later in the year or in 2010,” says Slaymaker. “It sounds like there are a number of small to mid-size projects working towards turbine purchase right now.”

Interior Decoration

Interior Decoration

Geothermal Heat Pumps, the most common use of geothermal energy systems in green homes, use stable ground or water temperatures near the earth’s surface to provide heating, air conditioning, and in most cases, hot water. Because they use the earth's constant temperatures, they are among the most efficient and comfortable (not to mention sustainable) heating and cooling technologies currently available – and are becoming a popular alternative to oil, coal, and gas. With the ability to deliver comfortable heat even on the coldest days, cost effective equipment, and requiring only a small amount of electricity to operate, geothermal systems are a good consideration for a green home.

Three kinds of systems – Open Loop, Closed Loop, and Standing Column Well Systems – circulate water in pipes below the earth, where water is heated, then delivered into the home for use.

Open Loop Systems are the easiest to install, but because of local codes and the amount of ground water available, are not the most popular kind of geothermal system. In this system, ground water from an aquifer is piped directly to a heat pump inside the home. After it leaves the building, the water is pumped back to the same aquifer by a second well, called a discharge well, located a good distance from the first.

There are three types of Closed Loop Systems available depending on your site characteristics: horizontal ground, vertical ground, and pond systems.

Horizontal ground closed loop systems: If your site permits and trenches are easy to dig, this may be the best system for you. Backhoes or trenchers are used to dig trenches three to six feet below the ground surface and a series of connected plastic pipes are laid in long loops or in a slinky pattern, depending on the amount of area available. A typical system will be 400 to 600 feet long per ton of heating and/or cooling capacity. This system is easy to install while the home is under construction, but can also be installed as a retrofit to an existing home with minimal site disturbance.

Vertical ground closed loop systems are favorable for sites where yard space is limited or rocky, or for retrofitting projects with the least amount of site disturbance. Vertical holes are bored into the ground between 150 and 450 feet deep. Each hole contains a single loop of pipe with a U at the bottom and a horizontal pipe under the ground near the home which carry fluid to and from the geoexchange system. While these types of systems can be more expensive to install, they require less piping than the horizontal loops.

Pond closed loop systems are very economical if your site is near a lake or pond. Polyethylene piping is run underground to the water source, and then long sections of pipe are submerged under the water. While pond closed loop systems do not have any adverse affects on the water source, experts do recommend using this system only if water levels never drop below six to eight feet at its lowest level for sufficient heat-transfer capability.

Standing Column Well Systems are common in the northeast United States. Standing wells are typically six inches in diameter and as deep as 1500 feet. Temperate water is drawn from the bottom of the well, circulated through the heat exchanger, and returned to the top of the water column. Most of the year, they re-circulate water between the well and the water pump, but during peak temperature months, they can bleed some of the water from the system. This causes the groundwater to make up the flow, cooling the column and the surrounding ground in summer and conversely heats the column and surrounding ground in winter, restoring the well water temperature.

Be sure to discuss your plans to implement a geothermal energy system with your local environmental board, check with local authorities regarding permits, and always use experienced contractors.

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Interior Decoration

Interior Decoration

1) Solar energy is clean and sustainable, which helps to protect the environment and does not contribute to global warming, acid rain, or smog

2) Solar energy reduces our dependency on power companies

3) Systems can be configured to meet virtually any power demand load

4) Advancements in solar energy systems have made them extremely cost effective. While costs for natural gas and petroleum continue to rise, solar energy technology continues to fall in price.

5) Most solar energy systems do not require any maintenance during their lifespan, and many carry warranties which cover their life spans of twenty to thirty years.

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Building Materials: Durable, low maintenance, recycled materials for the roof, siding, decks, porches, trim, and fencing reduce replacement costs, save money on installation, protect against water and insects, and provide longer warranties. Purchasing pre-built factory components uses raw materials efficiently, reduces on-site waste, and energy costs to deliver materials to the site.

Heating, Cooling, and Water Systems: Green homes use less energy than conventional homes. Having heating and cooling equipment and water systems correctly sized for the home saves money. Water conservation techniques such as reducing overall consumption by specifying low-flow water fixtures, low-flush or composting toilets, installing aerators on all taps and nozzles and installing grey water systems reduces energy costs and water usage. Solar and geothermal systems heat and cool the space in green homes and provide hot water, reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

Interior: Green homes include natural interior products such as Marmoleum (made with flax, rosins, and wood fiber), wood, concrete, wool carpet, tile, local slate, and cork. Also, low odor / low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and environmentally-friendly finishes for wood and stone help create a healthy indoor environment. ENERGY STAR appliances contribute, using an average of 30% less energy over standard appliances.

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“Jeremy's presentation was brilliant and made more sense than all the reading and on-line investigating I've been doing. I had not been considering working with an architect before, but am convinced now that I should."

For a list of our upcoming seminars on building a green home, visit our green events page. Together we can make a difference – one green home at a time.

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