The DIY Channel’s new show, “This New House” premieres tonight, July 29th, at 8PM/7C. If the trailer for the series is any indication, it should be chock full of innovative, high tech products, many of them geared towards energy savings and other aspects of green living.
One of the projects highlighted in the first three episodes is the Cleantech Teaching Center, a state of the art showcase home located in Beverly, MA. This house features an entirely LED lighting system, rainwater recovery system, geothermal energy, and solar photovoltaic panels. Sustainable materials were used throughout the interior, including Trend USA’s lovely Trend Q recycled glass tile. Cleantech Homes, LLC has applied for LEED PLatinum status for the home. Read the rest of this entry »
A lovely new kitchen, made of reclaimed materials, that looks absolutely classic. (re-nest)
GE has unveiled their latest technology in super efficient OLED lighting. (Inhabitat)
It takes 5,000 cocoons to provide enough silk for one kimono! And this guy is raising the caterpillars, spinning the silk, and weaving it all by himself. (BoingBoing)
And finally, the most adorable ad, made on a whim by an 11 year old girl, for Harmony Art organic cotton fabrics. Seriously, somebody hire this girl! (The Journey is the Prize)
Water use in the textile industry is massive – as in trillions of gallons massive. Hundreds of gallons of water are required to dye even small amounts of fabric, and that water then needs extensive filtration to become drinkable again. With potable water becoming a scarcer and scarcer commodity, how do we save more water for us, and still sustain the textile industry? Well, why not take water out of the equation altogether…
The U.S. based company Air Dye has managed to do exactly that, by creating a new technology that can dye fabric without using a single drop of water! This is an amazing advancement, and one we desperately need in the textile industry. There is one problem though – other than getting the word out and encouraging fabric companies to give it a try… Read the rest of this entry »
Well, it’s been a busy week, and I haven’t had a chance to post as often as I wanted to, but there’s always next week, right?
Thank you so much to our guest blogger this week, Susan of Susan Serra & Associates. Due to her MANY other commitments, she was only able to offer us two posts, but they are great ones! You can see them here, and here. We hope to have her back at some time in the future, so she can tell us more about greening the kitchen!
On a more somber note…
Image via Treehugger - SFI certified clear cut; Steve Ringman, Seattle Times
Treehugger writes about the ongoing debate about whether the USGBC should accept SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) lumber as well as the more stringently regulated FSC certified wood. I’m going to write my two cents worth on this next week, but for now please feel free to read my post about why FSC certification matters on HomePortfolio.com.
Next up, the death of the incandescent bulb at Toshiba, a challenge from Green Your Decor and Sylvania, and a toilet that, um, separates your, um… oh just read it! Read the rest of this entry »
Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz
Some homes just blow and other just suck.
After reading your Home Performance Energy Audit Report you found your home was built too tight. Meaning, there are not enough holes in the home and there is not enough fresh air entering.
The goal of any general contractor should be to build the tightest house possible to stop air infiltration and provide the most durable and sustainable product for his or her client. On existing or traditional homes, built before energy code, it is difficult and costly to tighten a home to the point that it is too tight. (I didn’t say it can’t be done.) Read the rest of this entry »
Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz
A home has to have good indoor air quality and be energy efficient to be green. As previously discussed, air movement plays a large role in any home. There are many signs of air movement. Some are obvious, for example we can feel a draft and we can smell unusual odors. Some are not so easy to detect unless you know what to look for, such as dust at electrical outlets, dust where the wall meets the baseboard, dust on the carpet under a closed door, dirty insulation in the attic or crawlspace, and dirty heating and cooling registers. Air carries dust, allergens, and contaminants from outside (hopefully you don’t live on a busy street), your crawlspace and your attic. All of these holes in your home can effect how comfortable you may feel, how much you spend on heating and cooling, and your health.
Don’t worry, if you’re not sure where the holes are in your home, there are trained professionals that can help. Read the rest of this entry »
Our guest blogger this week is Wes Harding, President of Harding Construction & Sustainable Solutions. He is a college instructor, general contractor, certified green home rater, and energy auditor. He can be reached at www.hardingconstruction.biz
Baby steps are a good start!
So you’ve taken all the steps during your remodeling project to make sure what you bring in to your home doesn’t have toxic chemicals which could off gas and make you sick. You installed cabinets made out of grass, used zero VOC paints, non toxic based glues, FSC certified wood flooring and tile containing recycled content. Do you have a green home? The answer is no. Why? There is no silver bullet to green home and lifestyle, but instead a thousand silver BBs. Doing just a few green things, although very important, are only small steps. Read the rest of this entry »
The interioRevolution is a design blog devoted exclusively to sustainable interior design. Through product reviews, guest blogs by experts in their fields, special features and spirited discussion, the interioRevolution provides new knowledge and expands the dialogue on sustainable interior design.
