Sustainable Design Update

Zombie Proof House? Is this worth more than net zero energy?

Seriously?!

I was just on the phone with my mortgage company. Rudy, the outstanding customer service rep, told me about people calling for appraisals on Zombie Proof Homes.

We are refinancing our net zero energy home and having a tough time getting the bank or the appraisers to accept the new approaches now approved by the Appraisal Institute to value sustainable properties.  Traditionally they’d rely only on comparable value of nearby homes.  Well . . . . there are roughly five true net zero retrofits in the country.  Where are the comps?

Sandia Labs and the Appraisal Institute now advocate that the better approach for renewable energy homes is the income capitalization approach.  Surely our elimination of utility bills for life plus the addition of a contract for approximately $20,000 in solar renewable energy credits over 20 years has value.  Considering that our home was consuming $2,800 per year prior to our energy retrofit and solar addition, over 25 years we have eliminated between $151,104.75 (assuming a drop in recent average energy inflation of 5.5%) to  $189,494.12 (assuming projected 7% energy inflation).

So somewhere between $0.00 and $210,000 ($190k + $20k for SRECs) is the amount someone would pay for the privilege of comfort, savings and energy security.

Do zombie proof houses provide the same risk to value ratio?  Maybe I should build a zombie proof net zero home.

Matt is honored as a 2012 Michigan Green Leader by the Detroit Free Press.  His home is the oldest in America to achieve net zero energy.  Come join the conversation on Matt’s fan page, Facebook page, Google+and Twitter

via Jetson Green; posted by Matt Grocoff

In the very near future, expect to be able to control devices, appliances, and lights in your home with the help of Google. That’s the information coming out of Google’s developer conference, Google I/O, where Android@Home was first announced. With the right app, an Android-powered smart device, and an intelligent LED replacement bulb from Lighting Science Group, a savvy homeowner could geek out a home without much effort.

read more

by Matthew Grocoff, Esq. LEED

One exciting new entrant into the LED market is the Panasonic “Filament” LED.  It’s designed to look like a traditional filament light bulb but uses only a tiny, tiny fraction of the energy.  It won the 2011 Good Design Gold Award at this year’s Good Design Award show hosted by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.

It’s a traditional screw in bulb, uses only 4.4 watts (almost 80% less than it’s incandescent counterpart), and it has a soft, warm glow (for you lighting geeks . . . that’s a 2700 kelvin light temperature).

I think I’ll soon have to write an obituary for the CFL.  As my good friend Michael Klement says “CFL’s are the 8-track tape of the lighting world.”

Read my full story at Old House Web

Come join the conversation on Matt’s fan page, Facebook page, Google+and Twitter

The 100th Object - British Museum

It took curators four years put together the British Museum’s blockbuster exhibit “A History of the World in 100 Objects,” an attempt to tell the history of the world through objects pulled from the Museum’s huge collections.  The result:  a four hour BBC Radio show + book of the same name, soon to be published in the U.S.

Choosing the 100^th object we find was difficult and long debated.  In the end the curators chose a humble solar home lighting system for people who don’t have access to electricity.

As many SDU readers know we have been working on a home solar lighting system that can be assembled in the country where it is to be used.

Solar Home Lighting System

In 2008 an international research and development team lead by the Appropriate Technology Collaborative was awarded a grant by the Lindbergh Foundation in order to work with our partners in Guatemala and Nicaragua to build and evaluate various designs for LED lights that are superior in performance to the kerosene lamps widely in use in those low income countries today.  Energy efficient LED lights are both safer and more affordable than kerosene lighting.

The Appropriate Technology Collaborative will be working with engineers and educators in Guatemala to teach local tech school students how to design and install home lighting systems in February and March 2012.  We will have updates from the field.  Stay tuned.

More at:  New York Times

Photo Credits:  British Museum, John Barrie

by Matt Grocoff, Esq. LEED

Soaking in a hot tub after a walk around one of the most beautiful lakes in America. Relaxing by the fire after a fine meal downtown. Slipping between soft sheets at the end of a perfect day. Welcome to your next “green” vacation.

This exceptionally ambitious venture boasts solar, wind, geothermal and an aerobic mound system.   Fritz Kreiss and his wife, Catherine McQueen are the creators of The Green Leaf Inn located in Delavan, Wisconsin and will have 19 luxurious rooms.  The 50kW wind turbine will help produce as much energy as the hotel’s occupants consume.  This may be the first hotel in North America to achieve net-zero energy.

http://www.thegreenleafinn.com/

Come join the conversation on Matt’s fan page, Facebook page, Google+ and Twitter

www.MattGrocoff.com

by Matt Grocoff, Esq. LEED

A couple years ago when I launched Greenovation.TV I posted a video from Brazil about a creative hack to turn soda bottles filled with water into 50 watt equivalent lights. After 700,000 hits on that video, I just found another cool BBC video about a similar use of these inexpensive sun tunnels.

A simple initiative in the Philippines is bringing a bit of brightness into the lives of the country’s poorest people.  The project is called “Litre of Light”, and the technology involved is just a plastic bottle filled with water.  It’s an environmentally-friendly alternative to an electric light bulb, and it’s virtually free.

via BBC

Come join the conversation on my fan page, Facebook page, and Twitter

www.MattGrocoff.com