Archive for the ‘Solar’ Category
May 16th, 2008
New Solar Trends at Solar 2008 Conference
Written by Carol Gulyas, courtesy of GreenOptions.com
New trends spotted at the American Solar Energy Society conference last week in San Diego:
- From Bosch, a new generation of solar flat plate collectors (used in solar thermal water heating applications) that can be mounted on the roof at a lower angle, addressing some peoples’ aesthetic concerns. The panels are also lighter-weight and easier to mount even on high roofs. Low-profile collectors were also unveiled by Schuco, Viessman, and Velux. Perhaps next year, one of the innovative solar companies will be from the U.S.?
- Solar thin film technology is exceeding expectations, with market share estimated at 3%, vs. 1-2%. Thin film is the new solar kid on the block, celebrated because of its lower cost, higher efficiency and more flexible applications.
- SolarBuzz reported a 62% increase in world PV production. “Germany’s PV market reached 1,328 MW in 2007 and now accounts for 47% of the world market. Spain soared by over 480% to 640 MW, while the U.S. increased by 57% to 220 MW, [making it] the world’s largest market behind Japan, once the world leader.”
- ASES (American Solar Energy Society), the conference’s sponsor, announced a push to establish more student chapters, in order to enlist solar energy’s future leaders. (Photo from VELUX image gallery.)
May 15th, 2008
Green Events Across the US, late May and June 2008
Here are some of the major green events going on across the US in the next six weeks.
Green Festival 2008–Chicago, May 17 & 18, Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois
Celebrating what’s working in our communities, Green Festival showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable products. More than 150 speakers appear for standing-room-only panel discussions, presentations and main stage speaking events.
Greener Homes and Gardens Expo, May 17 & 18, Portland, Oregon
This year’s show features Green Home Building & Remodeling; Sustainable Landscaping & Gardening; Renewable Energy & Conservation; Alternative Transportation; speakers, hands-on workshops, food, live music and more!
Sustainable Arkansas 2008, May 19 & 20, Hot Springs Convention Center, Arkansas
SA08 offers three sustainable tracks for conference attendees: Commercial Green Building, Residential Green Building, and Public Awareness.
Green West Expo, May 20-22, LA Convention Center, Los Angeles, California
Green West will feature the full spectrum of green, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly products and services. Exhibitors and attendees include architects, builders, designers, renewable energy professionals, city and state government representatives and more.
Homing in on Green: Jumpstarting the Demand for Eco-Friendly Housing in Chicago, Friday May 23, Chicago
The USGBC - Chicago Chapter and the NIHBA are hosting a special event that features an open forum to explore the methods, programs, organizations, and resources available to encourage sustainable housing. This event is being held in Chicago on Thursday evening and in Lisle on Friday morning. The program will be the same with the intent on giving attendees in the Chicagoland area an opportunity to attend at the venue that is most conveniently located.
Drive Nowhere Day 2008– May 30, Nationwide
May 30 is Drive Nowhere Day. Join the fun! Sign the pledge here.
JUNE
Clean Technology 2008, June 1-5, Boston, Massachusetts
Clean Technology 2008 is the largest and most comprehensive technical and business event in clean technology world-wide.
Sustainable Brands Conference, June 2-5, Hyatt Regency Monterrey, California
The global move toward innovation for sustainability is alive and well, and companies big and small are capitalizing on this new opportunity to build sales and brand equity. How can you join their ranks? Come find out at Sustainable Brands ’08.
Greener by Design: Strategies, Tools, and Markets for Product Innovation, June 12 & 13, Alexandria, Virginia
The only how-to event that focuses on the greening of mainstream products. Participants will hear from leading companies, both large and small, as well as the top green product designers, and participate in innovative techniques that combine the best elements of a traditional conference and an experiential workshop.
The 8th Annual Ann Arbor Green Fair, June 13, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Downtown Main Street will be open to pedestrians for free entertainment and more than 100 exhibits with environmental information, hands-on youth activities, green energy construction and transportation options, Bike Fest 2008, WasteKnot Business Partners, walking tours and more.
The Green Living Expo, June 20, Las Vegas, Nevada
Free for the entire family. Find the latest in eco-friendly products and services. On June 20th & 21st from 10a to 5p both days. Don’t miss our live entertainment, educational seminars, eco-fashion show or our exciting Green Kid’s Zone!
Bronx Green Roof Tour, June 20, New York
Visit 6 Green Roofs in the Bronx.
Greening the Heartland, June 22-24, St. Louis, Missouri
This regional U.S. Green Building Council conference will promote sustainable design and construction strategies for the built environment by encouraging joint leadership by the private and public sectors. The conference will highlight the latest in green building techniques that achieve energy and operational efficiencies, apply responsible construction and demolition practices, and aim for carbon neutrality. It will also demonstrate how green buildings promote the “triple bottom line” of profitability, people, and the environment – without compromising resources for future generations.
May 13th, 2008
Green Homes for Regular People
Written by Chris Schille, courtesy of GreenBuildingElements.com
The iconoclastic owner of the San Jose tract home featured in this article takes exception to the notion that green is expensive. Green, to him, is rooted in conservation of all resources, not the least of them being money.
Frank Schiavo’s compact, tract-built, three-bedroom ranch-style home in a modest San Jose neighborhood demonstrates that remodeling to create a cutting-edge green home is neither difficult nor expensive. Heated with sunlight and cooled by night air, his home is comfortable, quiet and tasteful, filled with light and local art. With only modest investments in a sun room, extra insulation, new windows, a very small array of rooftop photovoltaic and solar hot water panels, his electricity bill for the coldest, cloudiest months of the year averages a few dollars a month. His gas bill is even more modest.
What’s most impressive about Schiavo’s house isn’t that it’s so comfortable and practical for him to own, it’s that it demonstrates that lofty resource conservation goals can be achieved on a modest remodeling budget.
Passive Solar Energy is Inexpensive
Schiavo’s remodel performs so well, and for so little, because it focuses on conservation, not features. San Jose has plenty of sun, so Schiavo’s house exploits passive solar design. First, Schiavo thoroughly insulated. Next, he added heat-collecting thermal mass (in the form of a small sunroom addition) to store heat energy in the winter and stabilize temperatures. In the summer, he stores the cool of the night air. Interior walls sport an unusual finish detail that, at first brush, appears to have been motivated by modernist aesthetics.
Stacks of black, rectangular solids suggestive of consumer electronics protrude from interior walls extending from the floor to chair-rail height. As Schiavo explains, these are actually five gallon metal cans that have been painted black and fitted into steel support racks in key wall sections. The cans are filled with water, which has terrific thermal mass for its weight and volume. Many of these cans are situated in an interior wall that separates the interior from a south-facing sunroom. The water-filled cans store heat in the winter (and the cool of night air in the summer) and release it into the interior of his house.
Passive Solar Heating/Cooling: Operating the House
In the winter and early spring, Schiavo lowers special insulated doors in his sunroom, exposing the water-filled cans. Sun enters the windows of the sunroom and heats the brick-in-sand floor. The warm air in the sunroom then heats the water-filled cans. At night, Schiavo closes the insulated doors, and the water-filled cans radiate heat back into his house. This is an implementation of a passive solar Trombe Wall.
An added benefit of the sunroom space is that it makes an ideal place to hang laundry to dry. Schiavo admits he does use his gas dryer: about a minute or two per load, with no heat, to fluff-up his clothes and remove lint.
Schiavo Himself
A sustainability activist, passive solar design consultant, and retired environmental studies instructor from San Jose State University, Schiavo doesn’t shrink from publicity. A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News (4/5/2008, Is that a lion in the yard? S.J. fence-mural draws second looks) covers the extensive mural in Schiavo’s front and side yards, painted by a friend.
Schiavo first found the public eye in a well-publicized struggle with his local garbage company. Through a combination of disciplined purchasing habits, composting in his yard, and extensive recycling, he has virtually ceased to produce any trash. For years, he continued to pay the local garbage company for a service he wasn’t using. The mayor of San Jose found out and ordered the garbage company to stop billing him. His example led to the City’s composting program, run, incidentally, by a former student.
If you live near San Jose, you can see Schiavo’s house and mural at 1186 Bayard Drive. Look for footprints painted on the sidewalk, position your feet in them, and watch mural, building and landscaping meld into one large piece of art.
May 5th, 2008
Top 10 Renewable Tech Gadgets
Today’s post on Tech Gadgets comes to us by Michelle Bennett and comes to us courtesy of GreenOptions.com.
There are a lot of cool gadgets out there, but there’s a fine line between what’s cool and what’s useful. This is a green list of gadgets that are useful, but boast the extra-cool factor of using renewable energy. No batteries required!
10. The Ship has Landed
The lightship is a solar-powered LED mounted on suction cups. Result: a portable, hands-free, solar light. It’s even weather proof and weighs a slim 8oz. For under $15, this is the best 8 hours of clean light I can think of, and I might just get one for my car/camping trips/travels.
9. High-tech pool toy?
If you simply must have hot water anywhere, at any time, try a portable solar water heater. Could it double as a heated water bed? A pool toy? Bring some towels if you decide to try. This gadget is designed to bring cheap, easy hot water to people and places without access to indoor plumbing or electricity. It rolls up small enough to fit in a backpack, and it’s supposed to be affordable enough for people or communities in developing nations.
8. The Fridge without Power
A little ingenuity paired with the laws of thermodynamics have made Mohammed Bah Abba a famous man. His invention is simple: place a pot into a slightly larger one. Pad the space between them with wet sand, and cover with a damp cloth. As the water evaporates, it will draw heat out of the containers and cool whatever’s inside. The system has already proved itself in northern Nigeria, a hot and arid region. Food lasts for days or weeks longer compared to the only alternative: room temperature. Here in the land of plastic coolers, I can think of a few common uses: Camping trips could be easier without the weight of heavy packs of ice and the danger of freezing more fragile foods. Egg-cicle anyone? Even if you don’t intend to leave the comforts of modern civilization, consider these for cooling food or drinks at your next BBQ, or even for a DIY kid’s science project.
7. Speaking of BBQ…
We’re putting heat in the kitchen with solar cookers. The benefit here is that some designs are lightweight with easy-to get materials, like foil and pizza boxes. They also offer a neat alternative for your next BBQ (and yes, they can get hot enough to cook meat) if, for example, you live in an area with frequent fire-bans. Since there are no flames involved, it’s much safer and there’s definitely something fascinating about watching the sun roast your food.
6. Crank your Gadgets
How about a MP3 player that you can crank? You’ll never run out of juice if you can charge your gadget by hand. Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the hand-crank radio, brings you an MP3 with plenty of whistles and bells. If a wind-up MP3 isn’t your cup of tea, how about a kinetic cell phone or phone charger? You might hesitate to buy anything that requires physical exertion on your part, but what happens when there’s no socket in which to stick your regular charger? Be the cool kid who can charge himself. Also, consider emergency applications. The MP3 comes with a flashlight, and the cell phone charger could keep you connected when you most need to call for help.
5. Personal Wind Turbine
We’re not talking about the huge wind-farm fodder; we’re talking about something you can strap to your house. Now I admit, gadgets tend to be smaller and more… gadgety. After much deliberation, I figured omitting wind power would be like forgetting Unix in a “Top-5″ for PC operating systems. Plus, they look really cool. For a mere $500 you could own this turbine, which is designed for charging batteries (the batteries would power a cabin or house). The Japanese turbine (shown here) hasn’t quite hit the American market yet, but it’d be my wind-power-of-choice. Airplane propellers are so last-year.
4. Sunlit Gadgets
Solar powered lighting aside, what about self-sufficient gadgets? Nowadays there’s a wide variety to choose from. There’s Msi’s solar’powered MP3 player, which you can also plug in when the sun won’t shine. How about a Bluetooth headset? You too could strut with all the style of a pocket-protector, smug in the knowledge that yours works indoors and out. Other self-sufficient gadgets include a mosquito repeller, tire gage, and all-in-one survival kit. However, some of the extreme deals associated with these makes me wonder if they’re worth the low price…
3. The Nerdiest Lights Around
Let’s play with fiber optics. You could have natural sunlight (sans UV and infrared) for your home or office, and it could come from fiber optic cables (pictured above). Among the gadget you don’t get to see (assuming it’s wired through your walls), it’s got to be the coolest. You even get a futuristic collector dish on your roof.
2. Lightcap 200
This is a solar-powered cap for your water bottle. So why power your Nalgene? It turns your translucent water bottle into a solar-powered lantern. Every backpacker knows that every ounce counts, so now you can combine two heavy but necessary items into one. There is also the cool factor: pick you color with your favorite shade of kool-aid.
1. Solar Battery Recharger… even your laptop
It was bound to be on the list. There are a range of solar-powered rechargers. Some come with battery packs (for when the sun don’t shine) or bells and whistles. Voltaic Systems and Burton’s Solar Roll claim the prize of recharging a standard laptop. As you might expect, prices range from $20 to “owch”. But if you carry a purse, tote your gadget horde, backpack, geocache, or travel through regions with less-than-reliable electricity, any one of these could be invaluable. Plus, they all come with a magnificent cool factor.
(images courtesy of Sunlight Direct Products, EcoGeek.com, and Solarjo)
April 4th, 2008
New Good Green Books
There are a couple of new green books on the market that are excellent and we wanted to let you know about them.
The first is by the CEO of Healthy Child Healthy World, Christopher Gavigan. Healthy Child Healthy World is a wonderful non-profit dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of children and families through cleaner, greener, and safer lifestyle changes. The new book, called Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home, is a great guide to all of us on how to live better. As more and more children are diagnosed with asthma, cancer, and other horrible conditions, more parents are asking why. A growing body of research points to unseen threats to all of us from exposure to chemicals in products like cleaning supplies, beauty care and cosmetics, home furnishings, plastics, toys and more. This book is a great guide to creating a healthy, nontoxic, and environmentally sound home. It shares easy clear steps on how to choose and use cleaning products, foods, home furnishings and much more. There are also lots of celebrity contributions, which are fun to read.
The second book is by our good friend and tireless environmental champion, Ed Begley Jr. His new book is called Living Like Ed, and we really can’t think of a better way to live. Ed is serious about green living– we know him, and we’re not foolin’! In the book, Ed shares his experiences on what works, what doesn’t–and what will save you money. There are tips for homeowners, renters, everyone. From quick fixes to bigger commitments and long-term strategies, Ed will help you make changes in every part of your life.
To see other great books we’ve selected on green building, green home improvement, organic gardening, water saving and MUCH more, click here to visit our books & DVDs section.
March 9th, 2008
Try the New LIL Environmental Impact Calculator
We are very excited to announce the launch of the NEW Low Impact Living Environmental Impact Calculator!
This brand-new household environmental calculator is the first of its kind — it shows not only the carbon but also energy, water, wastewater, trash, and stormwater runoff footprints of your home and lifestyle. In addition, it recommends projects based on your specific inputs that can save you money, reduce your environmental impact, or in many cases both at the same time!
The Impact Calculator also calculates a score called the Low Impact Living Index™, or LILI™, that encapsulates in one number your overall environmental footprint. It allows comparisons to other homes near you or across the country. The Impact Calculator and LILI combined provide you with a clear roadmap to a greener home and lifestyle.
** Make sure to register when you use the calculator – that way you can save your customized results and re-visit them in the future to get more low impact living ideas and track your progress. Here are some examples of what you can do with the calculator:
- – Estimate how many offsets you need for your entire carbon footprint, your home only, one or all of your cars, and air travel (all separately);
- – Finally see what how much simple projects such as turning down the temperature of your hot water heater or installing a low-flow showerhead will truly save based on your home;
- – Determine how much a solar PV (electric) system would cost for 100% of your electricity, AND also how much less it would cost after first doing projects like installing CFL or LED lighting or a new refrigerator;
- – Examine how much a graywater system would cost for your existing needs, OR how much less it would cost after first installing low-flow water fixtures and appliances;
- – Figure out what projects give you the most “bang for your green buck”!
We will add new projects to the calculator each month. Very soon we will add a project that shows whether wind power makes sense near you, and also the benefits of using power strips that automatically shut all of the power off when you aren’t using your TV or computer.
Read on to learn more, or click here to get started!
Step 1: Calculate your household’s environmental impacts
By just entering your ZIP code and home size, the LIL Environmental Impact Calculator tells you what your impact is based on regional default values. You can then customize the inputs based on your home, and in no more than a few minutes you can have a customized profile that reflects the specifics of your home. Your LILI tells you how you rank relative to a typical home in your region (LILI = 100). Get a 50 and you’re doing great, but a 200 means you have quite a bit of work to do!
Step 2: Review Green Home and Lifestyle Projects
Based on your inputs, the Environmental Impact Calculator recommends a set of projects that make sense for you. The project savings estimates (both environmental and financial) are customized to your home inputs and regional climate, prices and rebates. You can select projects to see how they would affect your overall environmental impact. Once you’ve decided to do one, each project has a list of products and services, specific to your area, that help you get started. When you finish a project, check it off and watch your LILI go down!
3. Save Your Projects and Your Profile
You can also save your profile and revisit it later. This means that you can use it as your green home checklist, and you can see what improvements you have achieved through time.
And, we plan on adding 2-3 new projects a month, so each month you can come back to see whether new projects make sense for you.
