Cheap, Sustainable Building With Earthbags

April 21, 2010 – 10:24 am

Imagine building the entire structure of a home in one day. Imagine building a solid home with thickly insulated walls that keep a home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. That’s the beauty of earthbag homes. Some people are building beautiful homes that look normal while others are taking full advantage of the earthbag building process to construct spacey houses that defy the look of conventional homes. EarthbagBuilding.com has a great project list showing the construction process behind various earthbag buildings.

earthbag 3 large Cheap, Sustainable Building With Earthbags

Perhaps the most important use of earthbag building is found in quickly deployable, easily constructed houses for refugees and those suffering through natural disasters. Organizations like Cal-Earth and the Lhasa Foundation are popularizing earthbag dome structures as quickly build-able structures using locally-sourced materials that are earth-quake safe.

UNRefugeeCampMed Cheap, Sustainable Building With Earthbags

Earthbag construction is a simple process used to build homes that cost as little as $650 U.S., according to World Habitat Awards. Such earthbag homes, made of “Superadobe” were developed by Cal-Earth founder, Iranian architect Nader Khalili. These structures were a finalist in the habitat awards in 2007. Khalili’s process for building these simple but beautiful, earthquake-proof dome-shaped homes, is entirely low-impact since they require no lumber and few building materials that aren’t already onsite. The main building material, dirt. The main energy source for building, sweat.

The patented process, free for humanity, requires that a twelve-inch deep foundation trench is dug, then long, tubular bags are filled with slightly dampened earth, placed into position, tamped down by hand and then a strand or two of barbed-wire is placed atop the bags, two strands for larger homes and foundation layers. The next long tubular bag is placed atop and slightly inward of the first tube, creating the gentle sloping that will lead to the rain-shedding dome shape.

cal earth workshops e1271873899394 Cheap, Sustainable Building With Earthbags

The barbed wire, the damp earth used and the dome shape of the structures are key developments that make these structures earthquake-proof, even by California’s stringent standards.

As the buildings are erected, spaces are left for doors and finally an earthbag archway is constructed for the doorway. Small windows are cut out of the structure later and plastics tubes are placed in for ventilation. A barrel or bucket section may be used during construction to hold the space for a larger window.

Cal-Earth’s refugee housing is just one example of earthbag building. One downfall to its use as refugee housing is that the structures may be too permanent. Countries with refugees and their home countries worry that Cal-Earth’s Superadobe buildings create a  structure that encourages refugees to stay in these structures, which were supposed to temporary.

A04 e1271873520396 Cheap, Sustainable Building With EarthbagsOther earthbag homes are built using a number of lumber-reducing tricks that help maximize sound and heat absorbing properties of earthbags and use their versatility to create truly original homes. Many of these homes use earthbags in the same way that brick homes are made, by piling earth-filled bags on top of each other and then offsetting subsequent rows slightly.

A02 Cheap, Sustainable Building With Earthbags

In such structures wood, metal and/or concrete are used to reinforce the structure and create spaces for windows and doors. The reinforcement also allows multiple floors to be built. Finally, the home is finished with an adobe or cement mixture to make sure the structure is water and wind proof. Such earthbag homes are still inexpensive to build and minimize use of wood and other materials.

SC13 Cheap, Sustainable Building With EarthbagsIn the end, the look and feel of an earthbag home can be traditional, spacey or a home that blends into the natural surroundings. The vision for an earthbag home is limited only by the architect’s and owner’s imaginations. Natural Homes has a map of earthbag homes around the world, showcasing their looks and features.

By Chris10Meehan | Posted in Green Building | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)

10 Green Building Myths Debunked

April 21, 2010 – 7:11 am

Just a few decades ago, the idea of “green”  building conjured up ideas of hippies living in adobe homes surrounded by compost heaps and solar collectors. Today, green building isn’t just becoming mainstream…it’s becoming a preferred building method that can save both you and your contractor money during a home renovation or construction project.

But despite the fact that more and more people are building green, many people still are confused about some stereotypes that persist about green building practices. Here are 10 green building myths that some people still believe…

1. Going Green Costs Serious Green

green11 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Many people still believe that building with green materials or renovating to green specifications is cost prohibitive. While some environmentally-friendly materials do cost more than their traditional equivalents, that money is usually recouped by lower energy costs. In addition, a number of green home materials like solar panels, low-e windows, or energy-saving appliances can help you to qualify for federal tax credits.

So why do so many people associate green building with deep pockets? “A lot of the high-profile green projects that get builders’ attention are very high-end, and that’s one reason this myth is still around,” says Alex Wilson, president of BuildingGreen Inc. in Brattleboro, Vermont and executive editor of Environmental Building News. “But the simple fact is that there are plenty of strategies for inexpensive green building, from right-sizing the structure to optimal value engineering to reducing waste, among many others.”

2. Green Building Doesn’t Use Cutting Edge Technology

green2 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

A lot of people taking on home renovations want to use products that are going to last, and for many that means using top-rated materials made to the latest specifications. But does going green mean that you have to use all-natural materials, or use techniques developed half a century ago? Absolutely not.

In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website states that “Green building research is being done by national laboratories, private companies, universities, and industry. According to a USGBC report published in 2006, over 70 percent of the green building research is focused on energy and atmosphere research.

The next largest category of research is materials and resources.”

3. Green Appliances and Fixtures Don’t Work Well As Traditional Ones

green31 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Many Americans want top-end appliances in their homes, and tend to be doubtful that green items like low-flow toilets or Energy Star-approved dishwashers will be powerful enough to get the job done.

However, this is just another myth. While it is true that appliances and fixtures can vary greatly from model to model, most low-flow toilets and similar products on the market have been around for at least a decade, and have been tested by numerous consumers over the years.

If you are concerned about the performance of a given green-friendly appliance or fixture, you can easily find product reviews online or in magazines like Consumer Reports.

4. You Can Only Go Green By Buying Special Materials

grren4 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

So you want to start a green building project…I guess that means you’ll need to buy materials made from all-natural and recycled waste, right? Wrong. Green building involves making smart decisions about sustainable building materials, but that’s only a fraction of the picture.

Green building is also about reducing energy costs (and thereby reducing your home’s carbon footprint), as well as making use of the environment around your home, such as designing a home that can be heated using passive solar energy.

5. Green Renovations Have to Use Solar Technology

green5 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Mention “green building” to some people, and the first thing that comes to mind is a home covered with solar panels or solar collectors. But solar panels can be very expensive, and solar energy is not always the best option for working towards a greener home.

While the solar panels are arguably the most visually striking feature of many eco-friendly homes, the energy benefits that they can provide often are not maximized until the rest of the home’s energy concerns have been addressed. For homeowners looking to create a “net-zero-energy” living space, solar technology is just one small part of the equation.

6. Going Green Means Living in a Wacky House

green6 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Lots of people still labor under the delusion that ordinary homes can’t become green-friendly; that the greenest of homes are made of adobe, are placed up in a tree, or are shaped like a geodesic dome.

While it’s true that some materials and shapes are better suited for green building, a “normal” home can easily be made more eco-friendly with any number of simple improvements.

7. Finding Green Materials is Too Difficult in My Area

green7 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Finding green materials seems to get easier with every passing year. Granted, even a decade ago it was hard to find eco-friendly or energy-saving materials at a reasonable price, but today green building is more popular than ever…and also more accessible.

Between internet shopping and the willingness of your local home improvement superstore to special order the items you need, sourcing green building materials is easier than you think.

8. Green Techniques Are Just for One Type of Building

green8 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Green building techniques and materials can be used during projects at homes, office buildings, schools, factories, hospitals, and nearly any kind of building where people work, live, or play.

Existing buildings can be retrofitted with energy-saving materials, and buildings under construction can take advantage of natural solar energy, topography, and other natural features of the area.

9. Green Building Only Benefits the Homeowner

green9 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

Not only can green building help you save energy costs and protect the environment, but it can also help boost your local economy. Obama has promised to spend $150 billion over the next decade on promotion green energy practices, and numerous states around the company are helping out-of-work construction workers train in green building techniques to help them find more lucrative jobs in the industry.

10. Green Building Isn’t For “Average Joes”

green10 10 Green Building Myths Debunked

After reading this article, it should come as no surprise that this last myth is also busted. Green building and renovations aren’t just for hippies, the affluent, or celebrities looking to make a cool political statement.

Everyone from federal agencies to public schools to local non-profits in your area are investigating the benefits of going green, and over 40 percent of Real Estate Investment Trusts in the United States are actively pursuing energy efficiency and green building upgrades. The bottom line is this: green building benefits everyone by invigorating the economy, protecting the environment, and saving you money.

By TuckerSCummings | Posted in Green Building | Comments (0)

Green Jobs: How the Struggling Economy is Boosting Green Building

April 19, 2010 – 6:25 am

While some indicators seem to suggest that America is slowly beginning to rise out of the recession, many people around the country are still struggling to find employment. While the recession was a major blow to nearly every working American, there is a silver lining to all this suffering. An unexpected side effect of rising unemployment seems to be an increased interest in green construction jobs.

green1 Green Jobs: How the Struggling Economy is Boosting Green Building

While it seems almost counter-intuitive that during a recession people would be interested in green building techniques (which can be expensive in some cases), there is a logic behind the trend. When many construction workers lost their jobs, they opted to enroll in courses that gave them a new skill set.

They hoped that with a freshly padded resume and certificates in asbestos abatement, lead remediation, weatherization, air quality monitoring, or green building techniques, they would become more appealing to potential employers. With experience in construction techniques that could reduce energy costs and remove environmental hazards from buildings, these out-of-work men and women hoped to once again become gainfully employed.

Many of these training programs were financed by Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided millions of dollars in funding for these kinds of programs in nearly every state across America. For example, at one such green job training program near Westport, Connecticut, announced last month that it had placed 45 of its 60 new graduates in paying positions, a placement record that program operators say is impressive when compared to other training programs in the area.

A similar initiative in Michigan is also helping people to make their homes more green, and invigorating the local economy at the same time.

“We’re hiring local folks to do that [kind of weatherization] work. It’s skill training for them, real green jobs… and not only that, but then they’re buying the materials locally. So, they’re going to the local lumberyard to buy that insulation, to buy the caulk and to keep that money right here in Pontiac and Oakland County,” said Don Jones with the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency in Michigan.

“We’re helping neighbors and neighborhoods to become more energy efficient, which ends up saving people money. So, people can save money while putting people to work. It’s the kind of investments that the Recovery Act was really designed to do,” added Rep. Gary Peters.

green3 Green Jobs: How the Struggling Economy is Boosting Green Building

With the Obama Administration’s continuing support for green initiatives, it seems likely that these newly-trained construction workers will have many work opportunities awaiting them over the coming years. Obama has promised to spend $150 billion over the next decade to promote energy from the sun, wind and other renewable sources as well as energy conservation.

In addition, he hopes to create 5 million new green jobs over that same 10 year time period. And with other federal organizations such as the U.S. Green Building Council touting the benefits of LEED-certified buildings and other similar green initiatives, workers with educational backgrounds in green construction and hazardous materials abatement will almost certainly be in higher demand in the coming years.

Additional Information:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/04/business/fi-greenjobs4

http://inspiredeconomist.com/2008/12/16/obamas-green-job-plan-x-10/

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/04/nj_green_jobs_creation_slow_de.html

By TuckerSCummings | Posted in Green Building | Comments (0)

Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost-Effective Means of Ventilating a Well-Sealed Home

April 16, 2010 – 8:27 am

Do you ever get that not so fresh feeling when you’re breathing in your energy-efficient home? A ventilation system can help bring the freshness back to your home, but with so many options, which offers the best bang for your buck? Read on.Houseresized Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost Effective Means of Ventilating a Well Sealed Home

A tightly sealed house offsets the effects of outdoor temperatures, keeps your home more comfortable, and reduces your heating and cooling costs. However, a well-sealed home may not be properly ventilated, allowing the air inside to get stale with chemical off gassing form carpeting, plastics, paints and more or smelling of old cooking odors, chemicals, moisture or perhaps dirty socks, among other things.

Installing a ventilation system that moves fresh air into your home while retaining, as much as possible, the indoor air temperature is one of the best ways to make sure your home breathes as well as you smell. Many solutions exist and depending on where you live you may also need to install either a humidifier or dehumidifier to help regulate humidity in your home.

To help homeowners and builders avoid this problem, The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) established a mechanical ventilation standard (Standard 62.2) for residences. To meet the standard, residences must be able to move air at a rate of 1 cubic feet per minute (cfm) for every 100 square feet of livable space and for each resident an additional 7.5 cfm must be moved. So, to meet the standard, a 2,000 square foot house occupied by three people needs 42.5 cfm of ventilation to meet the standard.

Simply opening a window isn’t the cheapest way to get stale air out of your home, especially in the winter or summer months. Depending on your needs, better, more cost-effective methods of home ventilation include:

exhaust ventilation Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost Effective Means of Ventilating a Well Sealed HomeExhaust-only, pushing air out through leaks in the home envelop. This can be accomplished either with a continuos or intermittent exhaust fan;

supply ventilation Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost Effective Means of Ventilating a Well Sealed Home

Supply-only, a fan pushes outside air into the home, slightly pressurizing it and forcing stale air out through any leaks in the building; and

balanced ventilation Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost Effective Means of Ventilating a Well Sealed Home

Balanced ventilation, this is the most expensive, it uses one fan to bring fresh air into the home and another remove stale air from the home, keeping the amount of air in the home balanced. They generally can provide a more equal distribution of of fresh air throughout the home.

These systems may be coupled with a heat- or energy-recovery ventilator system to help reduce any heating or cooling losses associated with the system.

The DOE Berkeley National Laboratory’s report, “Energy Implications of Meeting ASHRAE 62.2”, examined the cost-effectiveness of different ventilation methods in different U.S. climates. In addition to evaluating the cost-effectiveness of the venting methods themselves, the report looked at heat gains and losses associated with the types of building envelops.

atticfanpic Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost Effective Means of Ventilating a Well Sealed HomeThe results of the study showed that the most energy-efficient means of providing mechanical ventilation was through the use of an intermittent exhaust fan. According to the study, most ventilation systems used between 800 kilowatt/hours to 1,700 kWh per year or between $50 and $100 in electricity costs per year, “for the most efficient options, which typically represented about 5% of the heating and cooling energy” used in the home.

Additionally, except for those systems that distributed air throughout the home, energy usage of such systems are directly associated with the “space conditioning” they provided for the home.

The second most cost-effective means of providing ventilation for the home was through a continuous-exhaust fan. Exhaust fans come in various sizes and powers to meet your needs, they start at around $100 and can be found at most hardware stores.

house leaks with text 800 Tight House, Fresh Air: Cost Effective Means of Ventilating a Well Sealed Home

The study also found that homes with air leaks suffered from severe energy-usage penalties to regulate temperatures, without “necessarily providing more ventilation then a house with a better envelope and mechanical ventilation.”

Supply-only systems, which consist of a fan blowing air into the house, weren’t as effective. That’s because they can only blow so much air into a home and a well-sealed home doesn’t allow the air that’s inside the home out easily. Exhaust-only systems, on the other hand, work because any air lost will come in through outside leaks or whenever you open the door or a window.

However, both supply-only and exhaust-only systems suffer to a certain extent because they are not able to help distribute the air throughout a home. This can leave some areas of the home with more stale air than other parts.

If you’re worried about this, than you should look into a balanced-air ventilation system. Such a system utilizes the existing ductwork of a forced-air heating or cooling system and a motorized damper, along with a fan to bring fresh air into the home. These are more expensive systems to install and to operate, but can provide superior ventilation throughout your home.

Balanced-air systems can also be coupled with a heat recovery system or a energy recovery system to make sure outdoor air temperatures don’t change the temperature inside the house. However, these add some additional cost and complexity to the system and aren’t considered a cost-effective investment in most U.S. climates.


By Chris10Meehan | Posted in Green Building | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

April 15, 2010 – 4:53 am

So, you’re committed to going green, and gearing up for a home renovation project. But wait! Before you get started, you should make sure you’ve done your research. Green home renovations can save you money and help protect the environment, but it is important to research the best methods for going green before you start tearing down walls and writing checks. So put down the hammer and pick up a copy of one of these great references before you break ground on your next project.

1. Green Building & Remodeling For Dummies by Eric Corey Freed

book1 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

The “For Dummies” series of books has been around for years, and is a great place to start your research. The book uses clear, non-technical language that is easily understandable to even the most novice of DIY junkies, and includes a number of helpful graphics, top ten lists, definitions, and diagrams. These edition promises to help first-time green renovators to understand the lifecycle of building materials, work within your budget, avoid asbestos exposure, and refinish old fixtures and materials.

Other books in the “For Dummies”  series that may also be of assistance are Green Your Home All in One For Dummies and Energy Efficient Homes For Dummies.

2. Green Building A to Z: Understanding the Language of Green Building by Jerry Yudelson

book2 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

Once you’ve got a basic understanding of what your project is going to entail, chances are you might have a couple of questions about the precise definition of certain green building terms like “zero-net-energy buildings” or “conservation economy”. That’s where this book comes in. In addition to hundreds of definitions, the book also contains a number of helpful visual aids to help you fully comprehend even the most technical of green building terms. Yudelson really knows his stuff, which explains why he has helped to train over 3,000 people in the US Green Building Council’s LEED system, and has also chaired Greenbuild, the world’s largest green building conference, for over three years.

3. Green Remodeling : Changing the World One Room at a Time by David R. Johnson and Kim Master

book3 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

Johnson and Master pose a simple question in their book: “How do you remodel in a healthy, environmentally friendly way?” Their tactic is to break down each area of your home, and tackle them individually, starting with foundations and framing and moving up to finishes and other final touches. The format is easy to read, and includes a number of simple checklists that will help you mark your project’s progress.

4. Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House: Bringing Your Home into Harmony with Nature by Carol Venolia and Kelly Lerner

book4 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

If you are the sort of person who finds inspiration from photographs of other people’s homes, this 280 page book is a great sourcebook for you. Lavishly illustrated with stunning photographs of completed projects, this guide also includes helpful diagrams, user-friendly graphics for step-by-step projects, and case studies from other green home renovators. The book was a finalist for the 2007 Nautilus Book Awards.

5. The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling by Daniel D. Chiras

book5 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

Chock-full of region-specific design guidelines and specifications, The Solar House: Passive Heating and Cooling outlines a number of ways to design and renovate your home using natural sunlight to your advantage. A number of different strategies for passive cooling and heating are discussed, with sections devoted to the pros and cons associated with each technique.

6. Green By Design: Creating a Home for Sustainable Living by Angela Dean

book6 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

Recognizing that there is no “one size fits all” plan for tackling a green home renovation project, Dean outlines a number of tactics and techniques that can be of use during nearly any DIY project. Topics covered include natural building materials, renewable flooring, using gray water for landscaping, taking advantage of local materials and labor, energy-efficient systems, passive solar design, and indoor air quality issues.

7. Green from the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy, and Energy-Efficient Home Construction by David Johnston and Scott Gibson

book7 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

This book has been favorably reviewed by numerous newspapers and magazines since its release in 2008. Sustainable Industries Magazine said that “Green from the Ground Up is easy to flip through…and easy to understand. Whether you are a veteran or new to green building, and whether it’s tar-paper spline covering the joints on a rain screen or the latest in dual-flush toilets that you are looking to learn more about, the authors have a page you can turn to.”

Clocking in at over 330 pages, this comprehensive reference guide is great for DIYers looking to refresh their memory of basic green building techniques, or to learn completely new information.

8. Green Remodeling: Your Start toward an Eco-Friendly Home by John D. Wagner

book8 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

A great guide for beginners who are new to the world of green building and renovations, this book outlines helpful ideas for reducing home energy use, selecting nontoxic products for your project, conserving water, and selecting products that support responsible and sustainable harvesting of natural resources. The book is organized by type of renovation, with the key points of each project (such as kitchen cabinet replacement or selecting new countertops) summarized with tips on what steps of the process can be “greened up”.

9. Green Building: Project Planning & Cost Estimating by R S Means

book9 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

With a hefty retail price of nearly $130, this book might not seem like it’s worth the investment. However, if you have problems budgeting your home improvement projects, this book could potentially save you hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars. In addition to helpful information on budgeting for your green renovations, the book also comes packaged with a CD-ROM that lists over 7,000 green renovations items that are commonly used during an average project. Reference tables and localized cost estimates for various geographical areas are also included.

10. The Green Studio Handbook: Environmental Strategies for Schematic Design by Alison Kwok and Walter Grondzik

book10 10 Books You Must Read Before Beginning a Green Home Renovation

When a book on green building design has the seal of approval from a US government official, it’s safe to assume that the book is worth perusing. This practical guide to implementation of green building concepts was hailed as “an excellent resource for both educators and practitioners,” by Karol Kaiser, the Director of Education US Green Building Council. Covering everything from roofing options to ventilation systems to aerobic tanks to direct gain systems, this helpful book is an excellent resource to complement a collection of beginner-level green building guidebooks.

Further reading:

http://www.greenbuildconsult.com/books

By TuckerSCummings | Posted in Green Building | Comments (0)