Archive for September, 2007
September 8th, 2007
Solar Hot Water– A Great, Cheaper Option
Stumble it!
While full-home solar PV systems are sexy right now, their price point is unattainable for most of us. While most people (including us) can’t afford the $20-30K cost of a full-home solar electric system, a solar hot water system can cost between $3-6K depending on where you live and how large your home is.
Surprisingly, the best way to capture energy from the sun is actually by using solar hot water. Solar hot water systems are over three times more efficient than solar PV systems in converting the sun’s rays into energy you can use in your house. And in many parts of the country hot water heating is the second or third biggest energy sink in your house (after heating and cooling), so this can lead to major savings.
You can check out this article from Home Power Magazine for more information.
There are excellent rebates and tax incentives available for solar installations — learn how to get money back for your solar system here.
You might also want to consider installing a solar hot water system yourself! It’s isn’t a simply Do-It-Yourself project, but if you’re mildly technically-inclined and handy with tools, you can install your own solar hot water sytem.
And as always you can find solar power installers in your area by searching our nationwide solar service provider directory by clicking here.
Enjoy your sun-warmed shower!
Popularity: 2% [?]
September 8th, 2007
Eco-Travel Part 2: Green Hotels
Sometimes trends are mindless, or even downright annoying. (Beanie Babies, anyone?) And then there are the times when trends make so much sense, we wonder what took so long. One example: the hotel industry’s move toward environmental sustainability in the form of green hotels.
Hotels use massive amounts of resources. Think about it: they are generally big buildings that use a large amount of construction materials just to build, they require a lot of energy to heat and cool, and they need water for everything from laundry to bathrooms to dishwashing. According to the State of California’s Green Lodging Program, typical hotels use 218 gallons of water per day per occupied room and waste generation can be as high as 30 pounds per room per day. Then consider the energy use– the hospitality industry spends $3.7 billion a year on energy. All of these areas provide opportunities for hotels to reduce their impact on the environment.
So what can a hotel do? What makes a hotel green? Any hotel can, and should, take steps towards reducing their environmental impact. Those now-ubiquitous cards that allow you to indicate whether you need fresh sheets or towels each day are a prime example. By reusing linens, hotels not only reduce their water and energy consumption, but they also increase the efficiency of their housekeeping services– an added bonus!
LEED Rated Hotels: The Platinum Standard
The actions taken by individual hotels vary, to be sure. But fortunately now the LEED set of green building standards are being applied to certify hotels as “green”. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is designed and managed by the non-profit US Green Building Council. This system is in use for all types of buildings, including hotels.
As the nationally recognized standard for the design, construction and operation of green buildings, LEED takes a “whole-building approach” to sustainability by setting benchmarks in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
In practice, a building can be certified at one of four levels: certificate, silver, gold, or platinum. There are minimum requirements in each of the five categories, with the opportunity to accrue additional points to achieve higher ratings.
Currently, the highest rated hotel in the US is the LEED Gold-certified Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa (pictured above) in the wine country of Northern California (pictured above). Built of wood harvested from sustainable forests, the hotel also features carpets and tiles made from recycled materials, as well as solar panels for electricity generation. Compared to traditional hotels, the Gaia Napa Valley uses 26% less energy and 45% less water. The rooms even contain a copy of Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth, (in addition to the traditional Bible, of course).
There are three other LEED certified hotels in the US: The Inn & Conference Center in College Park, Maryland, the Hilton Vancouver in Washington, and The Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco (pictured at left). For those adventurous souls among us, there is also a LEED certified hotel in Dambulla, Sri Lanka: the Kandalama Hotel.
The Green Hotel Association
Hotels need not be LEED certified to have adopted green practices that can make a real difference. Many hotels have joined the Green Hotels Association. These hotels have adopted practices or technologies that reduce their impact on the environment, often well before it was common in the industry. To find green hotels across the U.S., visit our Travel & Tourism Section.
For example, Sadie Cove Lodge in Alaska, built in 1972, uses its own hydroelectric system to generate all of its own power, making it completely “off the grid”. Other hotels might use strategies that aren’t so obvious, like the use of local, native plants that require little watering, or a reflective roof that dissipates and reflects heat, reducing the “heat island” effect common in urban areas. Other green practices include using ecologically-sound cleaning products, instituting recycling and composting programs, and buying local food. The possibilities for hotels to improve on business as usual are endless!
When researching individual hotels, if you’re in doubt about a hotel’s practices, please ASK! The more guests express a desire for a green hotel, the more the industry will listen. And once you’re there, make sure to relax and enjoy your stay. That was the whole point of your trip, right?
So go ahead and book that green hotel! And tune in for our next issue, the third of this green travel series, in which we cover EcoTourism and the many eco-smart travel destinations and tours you can enjoy.
Cassie Walker, Low Impact Living, LLC
Popularity: 3% [?]
September 7th, 2007
Green Your Kitchen
You may not know it, but your kitchen is one of the biggest resource hogs in your house. You use electricity and natural gas for your appliances. You use water in your sink and dish washer. Your fridge is stocked with foods grown and transported from all over the world that require chemicals, water and fuel to be produced and transported. And then there’s the non-recyclable packaging that goes straight to a landfill.
Here is a list of things you can do in your kitchen to lower your environmental impact, and also to live in a healthier home. We have recommendations for appliances, products and new behaviors.
Any chance you are planning a kitchen remodel? We also have great recommendations for you– wonderful new materials for countertops,cabinets and floors, leads on top-rated green architects and interior designers, and more. Just scroll down if you’re focused on a remodel.
Get Green in the Kitchen
1. Use energy-saving appliances. You can greatly reduce your power and water usage and your greenhouse gas production by using Energy Star appliances. Energy Star appliances can save as much as 50% of your energy and water use, and can cut your carbon footprint by 1000+ pounds, compared to standard appliances. Click here to see Energy Star models.
2. Use compact fluorescent lighting. Compact fluorescent lights use 1/4 the energy and last up to 10 times as long as standard bulbs. And they come in versions that are dimmable, recessed-ready, and daylight spectrum–any version of light type you can think of. Each high-use bulb you replace will save up to $10 and 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, and they last for many years. Click here to see our wide range of CF lighting options.
3. Recycle and Re-use. Can you rinse that ziplock and use it again? Can you reuse the containers you got from take-out? And don’t get plastic bags every time you go to the store for groceries– take durable reusable sacks with you. Click here for reusable grocery bags..
4. Eat Organic, Eat Local. Not only is eating organic healthy for you and your family, but it keeps chemicals from running off into our oceans and rivers from non-organic farms. Eating food sourced locally–like from farmers’ markets– means tons of carbon dioxide are not released into the atmosphere in the process of transporting food to you. To learn more about eating organic,see our selection of great books on organic food and cooking. Also, you can find a farmer’s market near you to get delicious, organic, locally-grown foods.
5. Get green cleaners. Each time you spray a standard cleaner on your counter you breathe in a fine mist of harmful chemicals. Use non-toxic, organic dish soap, detergent and cleaners to protect yourself and your family. See our selection of green cleaners.
6. Compost. Don’t throw out those coffee grounds and banana peels– save landfill space and make your own rich potting soil using a composter. It’s easy! And there’s even a model that works right in your kitchen. Find the composter that’s right for you.
7. Only run your dishwasher when you have a full load. It takes the same amount of energy to run a full or a half load– so wait another day and fill up that machine. Also, remember that washing dishes or pots by hand takes more water than doing them in the washer– so go ahead and put them in the machine.
Remodel Your Kitchen the Great Green Way– it’s healthy, sustainable and gorgeous!
If you remodel a kitchen the “normal way” you’d likely use some combination of new woods for cabinets, marble or tile for countertops, and perhaps some new tile or wood flooring. These standard materials consume resources and contain many toxic chemicals. Fortunately there is a very different way to design and build your new dream kitchen– a way that is sustainable, healthy and jaw-dropping gorgeous. We’ll show you how.
First you should find an architect or an interior designer who is skilled in working with sustainable materials and knows how to build in an eco-friendly manner. Use our nationwide listing of green architects and interior designers to find a great one near you.
Now let’s focus on materials you should consider. Let’s talk about countertops.
Terrazzo is so beautiful you will not believe it is sustainable. Terrazzo consists of recycled glass and crushed stone held together by cement or epoxy. It is buffed to give it a smooth finish. Terrazzo is low maintenance, long-lasting, and has high recycled content. Recycled materials can make up as much as 95 percent of the materials in terrazzo. Terrazzo from EnviroGlas(pictured at right) and Icestone are particularly good for their high recycled content.
“Paper Stone” is another great countertop option. Comprised of paper and other fiber suspended in resin, these materials look surprisingly like stone and come in a variety of exciting colors. The material is heat resistant and very durable. It is also easy to maintain with a nonabrasive cleaner and a cloth. PaperStone and Richlite are two of the more well-known brands. Richlite (pictured at below) uses pulp from sustainably managed forests, and PaperStone incorporates up to 100 percent recycled paper pulp.
On to kitchen cabinets.
Everyone automatically thinks “new cabinets” when they start to plan a kitchen remodel. But cabinets are often made from wood harvested unsustainably and saturated with chemicals used in sealing, gluing, and painting. Many of the chemicals used can be cancer-causing and can offgas into your home for years. Fortunately there are some great, safe alternatives.
First, save whatever parts of your existing cabinets that are still servicable. Are the shelves okay but the fronts have to go? Already, you’ve saved a lot of wood and money. For the new cabinet elements, you can use reclaimed wood, or formaldehyde-free pressed fiberboard. Or you can even get cabinets made from compressed plant material (such as wheatboard).
For the best in wood cabinets, you want to find ones that use either reclaimed wood or FSC-certified wood (FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council–www.fscus.org– and they assure that wood is grown and harvested in a sustainable manner). For reclaimed wood, you can turn to several companies that make cabinets using salvaged wood. CitiLogs uses reclaimed wood and custom milling to produce beautiful products. A company that will sell you reclaimed cabinet-grade wood is Elmwood Reclaimed Lumber.
You can also go the “new but sustainable route” with cabinets. AlterECO manufactures cabinets out of bamboo (a fast-growing grass) and wheat board. (Pictured at right.) Check out AlterECO’s cabinet selection here. Another great supplier is Breathe Easy. Breathe Easy cabinets are made using bamboo, FSC Certified plywood and/or wheatboard (all formaldehyde free). Both companies offer low- or no-VOC finishes. Also check out Kirei board, which makes panels out of the pressed stalks of harvested Chinese sorghum. Visit www.kireiusa.com.
You also have some great flooring options.
Marmoleum is not your grandma’s linoleum. (Pictured at left.) It is made of linseed oil, rosins, and wood flour, affixed to a natural jute backing. It is durable, comfortable to walk on and comes in a mind-blowing array of colors and patterns. To learn more about Marmoleum and find a dealer near you, please click here.
Another great sustainable flooring option is bamboo. Bamboo is a fast-growing grass and is very renewable, durable and attractive. We recommend Teragren bamboo flooring, a company whose mission is to help reduce our dependence on dwindling timber resources by manufacturing flooring, stairs, and panels from bamboo sustainably harvested in the Zhejiang Province of China. Click here to find a Teragren supplier near you.
Also have a look at these amazing tiles made out of recycled rubber– they come in blue, gray, shades of orange, and many other colors. They are both durable and springy, which means they’re easy on your knees. Visit www.ecosurfaces.com to see samples.
Lighting is also critical
Why not use some skylights or solar tubes? Natural light is best for your health and for the environment. If you do need electric lights, there are many great recessed, track and decorative light fixtures that work great with compact fluorescent bulbs. You’ll save a lot of power and money going this route.
Last but not least, don’t forget about appliances. We’ve already mentioned them in the section above, but don’t forget that appliances will consumer energy for as long as they are in your kitchen, so make the right choices from the start and buy Energy Star appliances.
Thanks for learning how to green your kitchen. Please make sure to check out our new Green Products Ratings & Reviews on main site at www.lowimpactliving.com where we’re adding new and exciting features every day!
Popularity: 3% [?]
September 6th, 2007
Is That Product Really Green?
Perhaps you’ve wondered what makes a product or a material “green”? At Low Impact Living we have to be experts on chemicals, manufacturing techniques, product inputs and much more to be able to evaluate the sustainability of products and services. Fortunately there are several certifications and industry classifications that we rely on to help us understand the “green quotient” in a product. They can be helpful to you as a consumer as well. With this newsletter we hope you will gain a better understanding of sustainable product certifications to help you make intelligent decisions for your green home.
Wood, Paper, Scissors
The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization that sets standards for responsible forest management, wood and wood derivatives. Sustainable forest management ensures that the harvest of timber products maintains the forest’s biodiversity, productivity and ecological processes. The FSC certification also allows the end-user to follow the chain of custody on all wood products back to their origin in forests all over the world. When you purchase FSC certified wood, you are paying for the assurance that the forest from which that wood came from is responsibly managed.
In addition to certifying new wood used for building, flooring, and furniture, FSC also certifies reclaimed wood and paper products. It is especially important to ask about this certification for the exotic woods that are coming from overseas. Fortunately now there are many retail outlets where you can find a variety of FSC certified wood products, like Environmental Home Center in Seattle, Livingreen in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, and Green Fusion Design Center in Marin County. You can find a green retail outlet near you. Some Home Depots also carry FSC wood, but make sure to give your local store a call before you go.
Many furniture manufacturers are also choosing to use FSC certified wood for their designer lines. Manufacturers like InModern and Material Furniture are manufacturers that use FSC-certified material. You can see more sustainable furniture options here. We also feature a variety of certified wood flooring, reclaimed wood flooring, and other wood products from such eco-friendly companies as EcoTimber and Carlisle Wide Plank Flooring.
Reach For the (Energy) Stars
Energy Star is a joint program between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) aimed at helping consumers become more energy efficient. Energy Star-approved products use less energy and water, save money, and help protect the environment. Energy Star labels appear on lighting, appliances, home electronics, and many other categories of materials and equipment. You can learn more about Energy Star standards and approved products at www.energystar.gov. All certified products meet strict standards and you can make significant improvements in energy use and overall comfort in your home by buying products with the Energy Star label. You can find great Energy Star approved products at Low Impact Living like appliances, lights and lighting fixtures, and fans.
Energy Star has also developed a new home building standard. These homes use many energy efficiency strategies and Energy Star certified equipment. To earn the Energy Star rating, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20-30% more efficient than standard homes. And remember that greater energy efficiency reduces your carbon footprint as well. You can find builders that use the Energy Star system through Low Impact Living, such as Oak Leaf Homes in Ohio and Chatham Hill Design in Massachusetts.
Green Seal the Deal
Green Seal is a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the air quality in your home from the toxins found in paints, adhesives, cleaning solutions, and paper products like facial tissue, bath tissue, and coffee filters. They look at the entire life cycle of the products from chemical composition to delivery methods, and support only environmentally preferable products. You can learn more online at www.greenseal.org.
Please be aware that manufacturers may not have the Green Seal certification for all of their products, often only their green offerings. Some companies like Yolo Colorhouse have their entire line of paint products certified, while others like Benjamin Moore have a specific line of Green Seal paints (their EcoSpec Interior line). Look for the Green Seal label and breathe easy.
Don’t Get the Wool Pulled Over Your Eyes
Carpet is probably one of the most confusing products on the green market. Many carpet manufacturers are making claims that their products include recycled content, can be recycled, and/or are made from renewable resources. There are two organizations that are certifying carpet products, and the most prominent is the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI). Although the Carpet and Rug Institute is setting some standards for green carpeting and carpet cleaning products, they are an industry supported organization and therefore are not an unbiased voice. Their certifications are not about green claims overall, but rather about indoor air quality issues. The Green Label Plus certification by CRI is recognized in the LEED rating system for safe Indoor Air Quality. Any other claims made by a carpet manufacturer should be certified by an independent 3rd party organization like Scientific Certification Systems, and not just the carpet manufacturer themselves.
Natural fibers like wool, silk, and jute are going to be your greenest options for carpeting. However, keep in mind that the more wool carpet we make, the more sheep we need to have, and the more methane gas that is produced. There will always be trade-offs with carpet. You can find carpet dealers near you that will provide an assortment of both natural and synthetic products for you home at Low Impact Living in our Carpet category.
Even Your Home Can Get a Green Rating
There are now three rating systems for homes that are gaining momentum and are providing certifications for living a greener lifestyle. The first is the Energy Star certification mentioned above, the second is the LEED for Homes rating system which is overseen by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), and the third is the GreenPoint Rated system which is run by the California non-profit Build it Green.
LEED for Homes is a rating system that promotes the building of high-performance green homes. If you follow the rating system, your home will use less energy, less natural resources, create less waste, and be more comfortable for occupants. The majority of the points in this rating system are generated by strategies to lower your energy use. However, Green Seal certifications, FSC certification, and CRI certification are all recognized in the LEED rating system. There is a cost to the homeowner for this certification.
Build It Green has created the GreenPoint Rated program that also promotes healthy, energy efficient, and resource efficient homes. The rating system allows consumers to learn about and compare green attributes of homes. This standard is not as strict as the LEED rating system, but it still supports the use of environmentally responsible materials, technologies, and practices. Build It Green also provides a certification for green home building professionals. Many builders, contractors and designers are gaining this certification as a value to their clients.
We hope you feel a bit more up-to-speed on the green certifications used in the market today. This is an area where new standards are evolving all the time, so we’ll keep you posted as new developments arise. Thanks for your time!
Shayna Prunier, LEED AP, Director of Business Development, Low Impact Living, LLC
Do you have a topic you would like us to cover? Send us an email at info@lowimpactliving.com and we will try to incorporate it in our newsletters over the next few months
Popularity: 1% [?]
September 1st, 2007
Rain Garden Native Plant Resources
Native plant recommendations for rain gardens in:
- Northeast & Mid-Atlantic wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs
- Southeast wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs
- Southern Florida wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs
- Midwest & Great Plains wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs (specific resources for Kansas / Missouri, and Great Lakes short and tall plants)
- Desert Southwest wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs
- California wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs
- Pacific Northwest wildflowers, ferns, grasses, and sedges, and trees / shrubs
Popularity: 2% [?]
