Why pay for heat when it's available for free? New homes can be designed to take advantage of the sun's energy through a passive solar heating system. The design phase plays the biggest role in getting the most efficient system.

Here's a list of the requirements:

• The home should be properly oriented to the sun
• It should have the proper sized, south facing windows
• It should have the correct size of window overhangs
• There should be reduced heating requirements through insulation and weatherization
• There should be adjustable blinds to control heat gain and loss
• There needs to be a proper design and location of a thermal mass for heat storage

The windows allow the sun to radiate it's energy onto a 5 inch thick concrete slab along the inside wall of the home. With the passive solar heating system, a 3,200 square foot house could save as much as 40% over conventional heating systems. And the monthly heating bill can be 50% cheaper.

You can reduce the amount of heat you need by using 6 inch thick wall framing which can accomodate an extra 2 inches of insulation. Cellular window shades can also help in insulation and they come in both top-down and bottom-up styles to make adjustments easy. A solar hot water panel installed on the roof can provide 100% of the hot water in the summer months and about 60% for the year.

Source: Article by Mark Erickson titled "Sun provides the largest energy draw for house"

With the New Year approaching rapidly, people may be thinking about resolution ideas, some of which may be to do something positive for the planet. The majority of us know the basics of carpooling, recycling and using CFL bulbs. Here are a few more from our good friend Chris Whitney of Royal LePage.

Single Serving Kettle

Try the new single serve kettle models that boil water for a single cup. If you need to heat water for yourself for a cup of coffee, tea, or soup, these models save energy. It uses the same technology that makes hot water in a drip cofeemaker.

Solar Powered Roof Ventilator

Install solar-powered fans in the attic which remove the hot air that builds up in the attic. This will keep the home cooler in the summer months and reduce your air-conditioning bill and save energy at the same time.

Biodegradable Party Plates and Cutlery

If you are throwing a party, consider biodegradable cutlery that is compostable. Since they are made from organic materials such as corn and not plastic, they can also be used in the microwave. When you are done with them, simply throw them in the compost bin. If you can't have a compost, it may be a good time to start using compost pick up services; Cherry Hill Coffee has a partnership with a local company that does weekly compost pickup.

 

Preferred Client update from Chris Whitney of Royal LePage.

Managing Rain Runoff

Using rain barrels to collect water for your lawn and garden has the added benefit of keeping water away from your home's foundation and from adding unnecessary strain on municipal systems. Pools of water at groundlevel near the house can be a cause of erosion and long-term damage to the foundation of your home. Public storm sewers may not be equiped to take on heavy rain after a flash storm or long periods of downpour. It may cause backups and flooding in low lying areas.

Roofing Materials

If you are considering replacing your roof in the near future, you want want to research the new technologies and concepts that are now available in roofing.

• energy-saving roofing membranes that help reduce electricity costs during summer and winter months by keeping the heat or cool in.
• sun-reflective roof coatings that can applied on existing roofs to reduce heat absorpotion.
• ashpalt shingles are made of energy-efficient and durable materials.
• solar panels are more thin and use the roof surface area to heat water and provide electricity
• green roofs help insulate homes and use rainwater for the vegetation which absorbs greenhouse gases.

Google has invested more than $10 million in breakthrough geothermal energy technology called Enhanced Geothermal Systems. This funding also includes next-generation geothermal resource mapping, EGS information tools and a policy agenda for geothermal energy.

Conventional geothermal systems look for naturally occurring pockets of steam and hot water while the EGS process creates it's own "by fracturing hot rock, circulating water through the system, and using the resulting steam to produce electricity in a conventional turbine".

According to one MIT report, just 2% of the heat below the continental US (between 3 and 10 kilometers deep) is more than 2500 times the total annual energy used by the US.

Google's initiatives also focus on solar thermal power, advanced wind along with EGS and other potential breakthrough technologies. The difference between this technology and using solar and wind is that it is available 24/7.

Google's goal is to produce enough renewable energy to power a city the size of San Fransisco, in years, not decades.

State-of-the-art green homes can be sold at market price 

Weatherford Place in Roswell Georgia is a green residential community. It's described as a "solar community of net-zero energy homes" built to the greenest building standards.

In fact, each "EcoCraft" home is at a platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) level. The highest level which includes points for such things as reuse of materials, pollution reduction, green power, rapitable renewable resources, etc. It's the first project of it's kind built using "Nature's Code".

The solar power generation in the community is what differentiates this development from the rest. One of the unique features is that each house serves as a power source for the community. The solar energy collected from the houses are put in to the power grid and used by everyone. The specifications show that each home should generate more than it uses thus making each home a net-zero energy home.

The homes also use 2/3 less energy than regular homes and use solar power to heat water, etc. Each home will have monitors and sensors to measure energy consumption and the overall eco-friendliness. The data will be used in energy-efficiency studies.

The prices of these homes are listed at $750,000 USD (for homes between 2500 to 3900 square feet), but have already appraised at $1 million. This project indicates that green homes can be built to LEED standards and can be profitable.

Source: Article in Event Magazine by Maria Saporta titled "Green Homes"

Mode offers green inspired systems and materials

The Mission Group, the company that brought us developments such as the Verve and Sheerwater, are working on their eco-friendly project Mode - A smart address. The Mission Group has strived to be unique in their projects and Mode is by all means just that.

The Mode project is inspired green with the following features:

• the building is located in the Landmark neighbourhood so there isn't a need for cars, you can just leave it at home.
• plumbing fixtures, appliances and drought resistant landscaping are all desgined to conserve water
• carpets and paints have been chosen for their low emmisions of VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• water heaters are powered by solar energy systems
• the homes are fitted with low "e" windows that are superefficient
• the home is heated and cooled using geothermal packaged terminal heat pumps

The project recently won an Mayor's Environmental Achievement Award for Most Sustainable Development.

Since the development is in the heart of the Landmark Centre, it only makes sense that it's equiped with hi-tech features such as iPod docking stations and the Telus Smart Box.

The Development is located at 1620 Dickson Ave and features "loft-style citi-homes with seperate street entry, and a variety of contempory living spaces from studios to two bedroom homes". Prices range from $185,900 to $415,900. 

At the time of this posting, there's only 10 homes left.

The concentrator photovoltaic cell can create five-folds the power of a typical system

IBM Corp's new technology uses lenses to concentrate the power of the sun to increase the amount of energy produced by solar cells. The idea is the same as when kids try to burn leaves using a magnifying glass.

One of the challenges facing IBM was to avoid the photovoltaic cells from becoming a burnt leaf; the heat produced is so high that it can burn stainless steel. Special liquid metal is used as the surface which can reduce temperatures from 3,000 degrees to 185 degrees.

With more power generated, it would take less equipment and less money to build solar electric systems.

Also, while determining ways of cooling down chips, IBM recently unveiled high-end computers that are cooled using water.

Source: Article by Bob Keefe