McMansions vs. Small, Functional House Plans
February 15, 2009 by boygreen · 1 Comment
Tightly spaced rows of enormous look-alike homes have been criticized for years, dubbed “McMansions.” With more and more people looking to green their lifestyles, we may see less of these oversized, expensive, energy guzzling homes popping up as they struggle to compete with smaller, more affordable green housing.
It’s no surprise that given the current economic situation, heating, cooling and electrical costs are a factor in the decision making process when it comes to designing a new home. A green “less is more” approach encourages home designers to include creative storage solutions and find unique ways to reduce square footage and energy consumption without reducing functionality. Just a few ideas on how to improve the functionality of a small house plan include:
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Building Green Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
January 19, 2009 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
Building a green home can seem like an overwhelming and daunting task. With so many options and choices to consider, how do you decide which green materials to include in your project and where do you start? Here are some simple green ideas to get your construction project off to a green start:
Start with a Timeless Floorplan
It doesn’t matter how many green materials you use in your project if you tear them all out to remodel after a few years because your home’s layout doesn’t suit your needs. Avoiding future remodeling waste by thinking through your floorplan now is a green building choice everyone can make. Choosing a flexible floorplan that will work well as your family changes is a key starting point for any green home. Take your time when designing or selecting your house plan to ensure the floorplan will work with your lifestyle both today and in the future.
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What Ingredients Are in Your “Organic” Products?
January 3, 2009 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
Organic labels on personal care products can be deceiving. Due to a lack of proper regulation of personal care product labeling, products can have the word organic in their brand or product name, but unless the product is USDA Certified organic, you may not be getting what you paid for.
A recent study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association showed a number of personal care products labeled “organic” contained a carcinogenic chemical, and many so-called organic products contain conventional petrochemical cleaning agents.
Read more on ingredients to watch out for, culprit brands, and the ongoing legal battle on the Organic Consumers Association website.
Green Countertops in Any Color
October 2, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
When choosing countertops for your green building project, there are several aspects to consider:
- Sustainability means durability - you don’t want to install cheap products that will wear out or appear dated after just a few years. Request a sample of the product you’re considering and try scratching and chipping it to see how it holds up. Ask yourself if you’ll still love it in 10 years.
- Consider the source - how far did the countertop material have to travel? What are the working conditions there?
- Check VOC levels - some countertops may contain recycled materials, but what holds them together? What sort of sealer is applied? These glues and sealants may contain VOCs that ends up in the air inside your home.
There are so many choices when it comes to countertops. So which countertop materials are the greenest?
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Don’t Forget About Fido
September 30, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
Green living includes our four-legged friends, too. Many brands of dog food, cat food and treats include unhealthy chemicals, by-products, cheap grains, and high levels of salt and sugar. If you’ve decided to go green, you’re probably avoiding eating these things yourself, but what about your pets?
Proper nutrition is just as important for your pet as it is for you. There are several brands of organic, all natural, holistic, or raw pets foods and treats that can help transition your pet over to a “green” diet:
The Honest Kitchen
Dehydrated raw pet food that’s guaranteed to be human-grade. This company takes fresh, raw ingredients and dehydrates them so almost all of the valuable nutrients, enzymes and vitimins remain. The foods are produced in a human food facility in California. They offer dehydrated raw foods for dogs and cats as well as some fun treats.
Nature’s Variety
Nature’s Variety offers several healthier options for your pet, including frozen raw diets, organic frozen meals, freeze dried raw foods, raw bones, grain-free foods and all-natural kibble. My dogs love the Organic Frozen Raw Chicken formula. Their raw diets include the nutritional benefits of ground raw bones.
Eagle Pack Holistic Select
Holistic Select formulas include several “extras” that you won’t find in grocery brands. Corn and soy-free, these holistic dog and cat foods also include prebiotics, probiotics, and antioxidants. The company uses USDA chicken that is hormone and antibiotic free and includes various fruits and vegetables in the foods. They also include Omega-3 and Omega-6 as well as glucosamine for healthy joints.
Natura
Natura offers several different lines of premium dog and cat foods. Grain-free EVO provides key nutrition obtained from raw foods in a convenient kibble. Karma is an organic line of dog food and treats with 95% organic ingredients.
Before you purchase your next bag of dog food, check the ingredient list to see what’s in it. “You are what you eat” applies to pets, too. You just might be surprised when you discover the difference a change to a high quality food can make.
Tesla Roadster: World’s Fastest Golf Cart?
September 29, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
The Tesla Roadster, now in production, is a serious sports car. It is also seriously green. As a sports car, the statistics are stunning. Since it is based on the Lotus Elise, it’s pedigree is not in question. It will do 0-60 in under 4 seconds and handles with a nimbleness unmatched by anything but a go-cart.
You can’t get much greener than 100% electric. No generators, no gasoline of any kind, and the recyclable batteries will last for 100,000 miles. This makes it the only 100% fossil fuel-free production automobile currently available throughout the US.
All of this sportiness and “greenness” is not without compromise. Since it is based on the diminutive Lotus, it lacks many creature comforts, passenger space and luggage space. Most people drive places alone so this probably isn’t a huge problem, especially for commuters. Since it is a plug-in electric, the source of the power that it plugs in to may or may not be green. The car’s “greenness” is also slightly compromised by the fact that many of the materials and components used in the production of the vehicle still leave a significant carbon footprint. But you can’t win ‘em all.
Green Building Incentives
September 29, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
Have you been wanting to go green but are afraid of the costs? Many states offer rebates or tax breaks for installing solar panels or wind turbines, along with other renewable energy incentives. In addition, some municipalities have reduced building permit fees and even priority plan review for green buildings, which can save you hundreds or thousands in interest costs on your lot while waiting for a building permit.
Just one of many examples, homeowners building a LEED Certified home in New Mexico may quality for a tax credit of up to $9.00 per square foot. The state of Arizona offers taxpayers a credit of 25% of the cost of installing solar technology, including solar pool and water heaters, up to $1000.
The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (www.dsireusa.org) provides information on local incentives, rebates and tax breaks for solar and other renewable energy installations by state.
Green Your Yard: Solar Landscape Lighting
September 29, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
Solar landscape lighting has come a long way in the last few years. I recently installed a string of solar LED plant up-lights in my front yard and I’ve been really happy with them. I had installed regular low-volt landscape lights years ago, and when I went to replace the bulbs recently, I noticed that the bulbs had somehow melted into the fixtures. Just guessing that this could be a potential fire hazard, I decided to remove them.
I pulled out the old fixtures and replaced them with high efficiency solar LEDs that don’t require hard wiring. They simply plug into a small solar panel that easily hides behind a plant. The lights stay lit well into the evening - they were still glowing at 2am the other day. My only complaint is that the color of the light is more of a blue-tone vs. the old halogens that were more of a warm yellow tone. If you don’t see them side-by-side, it’s hard to tell the difference though. This is a great project for do-it-yourselfers since you don’t have to worry about messing with the electricity, and my yard looks great without draining energy.
A Bright Idea: Compact Florescent Light Bulbs
September 23, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
EnergyStar® qualified compact florescent light bulbs use up to 75% less energy than traditional incandescent, or normal, light bulbs. According to energystar.gov, if every home in America changed out just one regular light bulb for a compact florescent bulb, it would save enough energy in one year to to equal the amount of energy used to light over 3 million homes.
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Free House Plans Help You Build Green
September 23, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
If you’ve decided to build a custom home, you’ve probably realized that design fees can take over a huge chunk of your budget, and often need to be paid for out of pocket prior to obtaining financing. Many people opt for stock house plans rather than custom designs in an effort to reduce costs, which can be a great option. Stock house plans are often thousands less than custom house plans, and can also save time since you won’t have to wait for the plans to be drafted.
Two websites have recently popped up offering free house plans. Yes, FREE! I’ve downloaded copies of the free house plans from both sites, and they are the real deal. Here are the details:
FreeGreen.com offers several free house plans. The plans include a LEED® checklist and green building notes. The site offers several different styles, including a spanish villa, a modern, and a more traditionally styled house. The plans range from about 1600-2000 square feet.
TheHousePlanSite.com offers a free contemporary house plan as well as several other reasonably priced modern stock house plans. The free plan is just over 2000 square feet and includes some green building notes. A customer service rep said they have plans to introduce new free plans on a quarterly or semi-annual basis.
When planning your budget, keep in mind that even with stock plans, you may incur some additional costs for changes required by your building department as well as engineering. LEED certification can also add to the total cost, but may increase the value of your home once complete.