One of the most promising ways to recycle tires is by turning them into ground rubber "crumbs" and adding them to asphalt for paving roads, running tracks, runaways, and playgrounds. The result: pavement life is increased by 4 to 5 years.
If you are a commuter, consider carpooling. It saves on overall wear and tear on your cars.
Recycled rubber is also used in boat bumpers, carpet padding, and wire and pipe instillation.
In India, tires are cut up and used to make durable and inexpensive shoes.
A burning tire can leach 2 1/2 gallons of waste oil into the ground, threatening the ground-water.
Check your tire pressure! If all tires in America were properly inflated, we could save two billion gallons of gasoline.
Americans discard 280 million tires a year, 25 to 30% of which are re-treaded or otherwise reused.
About eight out of every ten tires in the U.S. wind up in landfills or "stockpiles." An estimated 2 to 3 billion tires are currently stockpiles in the United States.
At one site near Modesto, California, 8 million tires were stockpiled as of 1991. By 1995, through recycling efforts, that number was reduced to 2 million, although they receive 20,000 tires daily.
Artificial reefs, breakwaters and erosion control barriers made with whole tires can preserve precious natural habitats.
It takes half a barrel of crude oil to produce the rubber in just 1 truck tire.
A new trend in tire recycling has been to made tunics from used bicycle inner tubes.
When tires are ditched, they can collect rainwater. This makes them the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
In Iowa, 80% of used tires go to making tire derived fuel (TDF). The rest are made into products like door mats, crumb rubber, roofing, playground material and asphalt.
By chipping tires and recovering the steel wire, up to 99 percent of the average passenger car tire can now be captured for recycling.
Comment
We have 2-3 billion tires in landfills now and discard another 280 million tires a year. Why arent the landfill tires being recycled? How expensive is it to recycle those tires? How long does it take for tires to break down in a landfill? When they DO breakdown, do they pollute the ground, since they are petroleum products themselves? Why cant they just be ground up and made into new tires?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
At Singularity U., big brains meet the future
August 20, 2009 2:21 PM PDT
At Singularity U., big brains meet the future
by Daniel Terdiman 4 comments
Vint Cerf, the 'father of the Internet,' is one of the many thought leaders that students at Singularity University get a chance to learn from.
(Credit: Singularity University)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Sitting in a classroom, listening to students explain their approach to an assignment to develop an initiative to impact the lives of a billion people over ten years, one could be forgiven for taking it all with a grain of salt.
After all, student projects like this are usually peppered with holes, naive assumptions, and unrealistic goals.
But here at Singularity University, things are a little different. This group project, which aims to flip the car sharing movement on its head and bring affordable transportation to the masses, started less than two weeks ago but has already won a prize and attracted venture capital interest.
That's because Singularity University is no run-of-the-mill academic institution, and its students are not the usual breed of dreamers with good intentions. Founded by leading futurist and "The Singularity is Near" author Ray Kurzweil, X Prize chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, and former Yahoo Brickhouse head Salim Ismail, the nine-week course examines exponentially growing technologies like biotechnology and bioinformatics; nanotechnology; AI, robotics, and cognitive computing. As well, the 40 students in the program are focusing on future studies and forecasting, and finance and entrepreneurship.
Those chosen for the program are truly the cream of the crop. After all, they have regular access to superstar teachers like George Smoot, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics; Dan Kammen, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change team that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore; Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist; and Stephanie Langhoff, NASA Ames' chief scientist. And speakers include PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Ethernet co-inventor Bob Metcalfe.
According to program director Ismail, this summer's inaugural Singularity University class of 40 students was chosen from among more than 1,200 applicants from around the world. Ismail said there were three main criteria for selection: students who already had top-level academic rigor and who are already at the top of their respective fields; those who have demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial skills; and those who have demonstrated interest in global issues.
The result? A class of doctors, advisers to prime ministers, CEOs and successful start-up founders, just to name a few.
Singularity University students get regular access to technology superstars like PayPal co-founder and hedge fund manager, Peter Thiel.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
So when I showed up Wednesday to observe the program in action and first sat in on the car-sharing group project demonstration, I realized this was something I should take seriously.
The 40 students are split into four teams, which get three weeks to come up with a project that, as stated above, could impact a billion people over the next 10 years. The presentation I saw was by a group that was calling itself Gettaround, and which has set as its goal the creation of a new car-sharing program that would incentivize car owners to rent out their vehicles to members, while also making it easier for people to find cars to use for short drives in many more places than are served today by companies like ZipCar or CityCarShare. Ultimately, the idea is to spread the program to developing countries around the world, ideally helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the process.
At the heart of Gettaround's proposal was an iPhone application designed to make it possible for members to locate available cars and, then, when physically approaching them, to start the engines via a low-priced kit installed in the vehicles.
The app was awarded the "best money-making iPhone app" prize at a recent iPhoneDevCamp event in Sunnyvale, Calif., and on the strength of that, the team members said that they've already identified interested venture capitalists and are most likely going to pursue the project as a real business upon completion of Singularity University.
Students speak
After the presentation, I got a chance to speak with some of the program's students about their experiences at Singularity University over the last eight weeks.
This is an amazingly diverse group. Among the 40 students, half are from other countries, and 35 percent are women. The average age is 31.
I first talked to Sarah Sclarsic, 25, of Boston. She's a former medical school student who had previously designed her own emerging technologies major at Harvard University and who has a deep interest in health care and public health.
Sclarsic said the Singularity University course has been hectic, "but for me, that's good."
Among the most valuable aspects of the program, she said, is that students are shown, from the beginning, how the various fields being taught here relate to each other or, at least, can cross over in real-world practice.
She pointed out how she had never before thought about how someone working in quantum computing might have their research converge with health care, or how fields like computational biology, quantum computing, and protein folding intersect.
The results of such convergence down the line? That doctors may be able to design new therapies meant for specific patients, a "huge ability we've never had before."
But this isn't the distant future, she pointed out. The main focus of Singularity University is to teach the students how the various disciplines being taught will converge in the near future, and to help them see how to turn these developing technologies into real-world businesses.
For V.J. Anma, an entrepreneur from Seattle (via India), deciding to come to Singularity University, where tuition is $25,000 (though many students get at least some scholarship help), was based on his conclusion that his career building high-tech start-ups would be enhanced through introductions to his fellow high-powered students and the industry leaders and venture capitalists they'd meet. He was also drawn to the idea of discovering how the various technologies being taught all relate to each other.
"It has definitely lived up to my expectation of being able to learn new ideas and connect with people," Anma said.
One phrase he used to describe the intensity of the program, especially the early weeks, was that it was "like drinking from a fire hose."
Oddly, that was the exact same phrase used by another student, Paul Lem, a doctor and biosciences company CEO from Ottawa, Canada. Lem said Singularity University offers its students so many world-class mentors and "so many amazing opportunities" that, yes, "it's like drinking from a fire hose."
Lem, too, lauded the program's focus on teaching the students to "think about where all these exponential technologies (are) going, and to see where they're all going to intersect."
A huge fan of hockey star Wayne Gretsky, Lem said that one invaluable piece of the program is that it helps students visualize the near future and to "skate to where the puck is going to be." In other words, they will--hopefully--be able to determine where the various fields of technology being taught are heading and be among the first to get there to capitalize on the convergence.
"I'm not sure how it's all going to shake out," Lem said, "but mix enough of this stuff together, and really cool stuff is going to happen. Seeds are being planted in the ground, and they're going to germinate and sprout this cool rain forest of incredible things."
To Ismail, this inaugural Singularity University program has been a revelation about what's possible when you bring together so many talented students with the kinds of world class instructors that are possible in Silicon Valley.
He said he thinks the program has been going "phenomenally well" and said that he's been blown away by some of the ingenuity on display.
For example, he recalled that during a discussion on entrepreneurship, one student registered a domain name, threw up some Google AdWords against it, and started generating real revenues. All during a single lecture.
Ismail didn't use the drinking from a fire hose image, but he did say that he's been amazed at seeing the breadth of what's "coming down the pike" in the various fields being taught in the program and that, "I've been surprised by how mentally drained I am at the end of each day."
He also said that, so far, there are five companies likely to be started by groups of students in the program, including the Gettaround team, and that some of the program's founders are already interested in putting money into some of the projects.
The number of such companies emerging from the program should only increase in future years, as Singularity University will expand from 40 students to 120 next year. But despite a larger class, there's still no way that everyone who wants to take part will be able to attend. And with that in mind, Ismail said, the program is considering how it can share its content with the world at large. One possibility is the Ted conference model, in which lectures and discussions may well be posted online for all to see, free of charge.
For now, though, it's all private, and to the students who managed to get in, an extremely valuable experience. They seem acutely aware that they have been granted access to what could be one of the most exclusive technology clubs in the world, and one that will almost certainly bear important fruit in their careers.
"Creativity is about mixing and matching different building blocks together to build something new and powerful," Lem said. "I've never before been in a place where there are so many building blocks that you can move around."
Comment
I am particularly intrigued by the car sharing idea, something like ZipCar. I think of myself, who goes to work every day at 9am and my car sits there in the parking lot for 8 hours or so, without being used. Some other people could use my car for short trips to the grocery store, shopping, etc. at $15 an hour or so, and more fully utilize the resource that I have while helping me pay my car payment and insurance. Since I have a Prius the mileage would be excellent if I rented my car. There are some considerations that would have to be addressed before this would be doable, like how would the people who need the cars find you? What about depreciation on the cars? damages? Liability? Insurance? What if the cars just disappear? are stolen? vandalized? Who does the maintenance? upkeep? The customers would have to be checked out ahead of time by somebody, perhaps somebody like AAA, an insurance company, or a car rental company like Avis or Hertz. This idea is supposedly big on college campuses, where the students cant afford to own a car, but need one to do grocery shopping, etc. for a couple hours each week. Bicycle rentals could also be big on campus, I would imagine. A large database would be needed to track the vehicles and keep track of their location, type, and availability.
At Singularity U., big brains meet the future
by Daniel Terdiman 4 comments
Vint Cerf, the 'father of the Internet,' is one of the many thought leaders that students at Singularity University get a chance to learn from.
(Credit: Singularity University)
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Sitting in a classroom, listening to students explain their approach to an assignment to develop an initiative to impact the lives of a billion people over ten years, one could be forgiven for taking it all with a grain of salt.
After all, student projects like this are usually peppered with holes, naive assumptions, and unrealistic goals.
But here at Singularity University, things are a little different. This group project, which aims to flip the car sharing movement on its head and bring affordable transportation to the masses, started less than two weeks ago but has already won a prize and attracted venture capital interest.
That's because Singularity University is no run-of-the-mill academic institution, and its students are not the usual breed of dreamers with good intentions. Founded by leading futurist and "The Singularity is Near" author Ray Kurzweil, X Prize chairman and CEO Peter Diamandis, and former Yahoo Brickhouse head Salim Ismail, the nine-week course examines exponentially growing technologies like biotechnology and bioinformatics; nanotechnology; AI, robotics, and cognitive computing. As well, the 40 students in the program are focusing on future studies and forecasting, and finance and entrepreneurship.
Those chosen for the program are truly the cream of the crop. After all, they have regular access to superstar teachers like George Smoot, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley and winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics; Dan Kammen, co-director of the Berkeley Institute of the Environment and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change team that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore; Vint Cerf, Google's chief Internet evangelist; and Stephanie Langhoff, NASA Ames' chief scientist. And speakers include PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Ethernet co-inventor Bob Metcalfe.
According to program director Ismail, this summer's inaugural Singularity University class of 40 students was chosen from among more than 1,200 applicants from around the world. Ismail said there were three main criteria for selection: students who already had top-level academic rigor and who are already at the top of their respective fields; those who have demonstrated leadership and entrepreneurial skills; and those who have demonstrated interest in global issues.
The result? A class of doctors, advisers to prime ministers, CEOs and successful start-up founders, just to name a few.
Singularity University students get regular access to technology superstars like PayPal co-founder and hedge fund manager, Peter Thiel.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
So when I showed up Wednesday to observe the program in action and first sat in on the car-sharing group project demonstration, I realized this was something I should take seriously.
The 40 students are split into four teams, which get three weeks to come up with a project that, as stated above, could impact a billion people over the next 10 years. The presentation I saw was by a group that was calling itself Gettaround, and which has set as its goal the creation of a new car-sharing program that would incentivize car owners to rent out their vehicles to members, while also making it easier for people to find cars to use for short drives in many more places than are served today by companies like ZipCar or CityCarShare. Ultimately, the idea is to spread the program to developing countries around the world, ideally helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the process.
At the heart of Gettaround's proposal was an iPhone application designed to make it possible for members to locate available cars and, then, when physically approaching them, to start the engines via a low-priced kit installed in the vehicles.
The app was awarded the "best money-making iPhone app" prize at a recent iPhoneDevCamp event in Sunnyvale, Calif., and on the strength of that, the team members said that they've already identified interested venture capitalists and are most likely going to pursue the project as a real business upon completion of Singularity University.
Students speak
After the presentation, I got a chance to speak with some of the program's students about their experiences at Singularity University over the last eight weeks.
This is an amazingly diverse group. Among the 40 students, half are from other countries, and 35 percent are women. The average age is 31.
I first talked to Sarah Sclarsic, 25, of Boston. She's a former medical school student who had previously designed her own emerging technologies major at Harvard University and who has a deep interest in health care and public health.
Sclarsic said the Singularity University course has been hectic, "but for me, that's good."
Among the most valuable aspects of the program, she said, is that students are shown, from the beginning, how the various fields being taught here relate to each other or, at least, can cross over in real-world practice.
She pointed out how she had never before thought about how someone working in quantum computing might have their research converge with health care, or how fields like computational biology, quantum computing, and protein folding intersect.
The results of such convergence down the line? That doctors may be able to design new therapies meant for specific patients, a "huge ability we've never had before."
But this isn't the distant future, she pointed out. The main focus of Singularity University is to teach the students how the various disciplines being taught will converge in the near future, and to help them see how to turn these developing technologies into real-world businesses.
For V.J. Anma, an entrepreneur from Seattle (via India), deciding to come to Singularity University, where tuition is $25,000 (though many students get at least some scholarship help), was based on his conclusion that his career building high-tech start-ups would be enhanced through introductions to his fellow high-powered students and the industry leaders and venture capitalists they'd meet. He was also drawn to the idea of discovering how the various technologies being taught all relate to each other.
"It has definitely lived up to my expectation of being able to learn new ideas and connect with people," Anma said.
One phrase he used to describe the intensity of the program, especially the early weeks, was that it was "like drinking from a fire hose."
Oddly, that was the exact same phrase used by another student, Paul Lem, a doctor and biosciences company CEO from Ottawa, Canada. Lem said Singularity University offers its students so many world-class mentors and "so many amazing opportunities" that, yes, "it's like drinking from a fire hose."
Lem, too, lauded the program's focus on teaching the students to "think about where all these exponential technologies (are) going, and to see where they're all going to intersect."
A huge fan of hockey star Wayne Gretsky, Lem said that one invaluable piece of the program is that it helps students visualize the near future and to "skate to where the puck is going to be." In other words, they will--hopefully--be able to determine where the various fields of technology being taught are heading and be among the first to get there to capitalize on the convergence.
"I'm not sure how it's all going to shake out," Lem said, "but mix enough of this stuff together, and really cool stuff is going to happen. Seeds are being planted in the ground, and they're going to germinate and sprout this cool rain forest of incredible things."
To Ismail, this inaugural Singularity University program has been a revelation about what's possible when you bring together so many talented students with the kinds of world class instructors that are possible in Silicon Valley.
He said he thinks the program has been going "phenomenally well" and said that he's been blown away by some of the ingenuity on display.
For example, he recalled that during a discussion on entrepreneurship, one student registered a domain name, threw up some Google AdWords against it, and started generating real revenues. All during a single lecture.
Ismail didn't use the drinking from a fire hose image, but he did say that he's been amazed at seeing the breadth of what's "coming down the pike" in the various fields being taught in the program and that, "I've been surprised by how mentally drained I am at the end of each day."
He also said that, so far, there are five companies likely to be started by groups of students in the program, including the Gettaround team, and that some of the program's founders are already interested in putting money into some of the projects.
The number of such companies emerging from the program should only increase in future years, as Singularity University will expand from 40 students to 120 next year. But despite a larger class, there's still no way that everyone who wants to take part will be able to attend. And with that in mind, Ismail said, the program is considering how it can share its content with the world at large. One possibility is the Ted conference model, in which lectures and discussions may well be posted online for all to see, free of charge.
For now, though, it's all private, and to the students who managed to get in, an extremely valuable experience. They seem acutely aware that they have been granted access to what could be one of the most exclusive technology clubs in the world, and one that will almost certainly bear important fruit in their careers.
"Creativity is about mixing and matching different building blocks together to build something new and powerful," Lem said. "I've never before been in a place where there are so many building blocks that you can move around."
Comment
I am particularly intrigued by the car sharing idea, something like ZipCar. I think of myself, who goes to work every day at 9am and my car sits there in the parking lot for 8 hours or so, without being used. Some other people could use my car for short trips to the grocery store, shopping, etc. at $15 an hour or so, and more fully utilize the resource that I have while helping me pay my car payment and insurance. Since I have a Prius the mileage would be excellent if I rented my car. There are some considerations that would have to be addressed before this would be doable, like how would the people who need the cars find you? What about depreciation on the cars? damages? Liability? Insurance? What if the cars just disappear? are stolen? vandalized? Who does the maintenance? upkeep? The customers would have to be checked out ahead of time by somebody, perhaps somebody like AAA, an insurance company, or a car rental company like Avis or Hertz. This idea is supposedly big on college campuses, where the students cant afford to own a car, but need one to do grocery shopping, etc. for a couple hours each week. Bicycle rentals could also be big on campus, I would imagine. A large database would be needed to track the vehicles and keep track of their location, type, and availability.
Local Dirt aims to help focus on local food
September 22, 2009 4:44 PM PDT
Local Dirt aims to help focus on local food
by Daniel Terdiman 1 comment
S
AN DIEGO--Earlier this summer, I wrote about the blossoming transition movement, in which local communities around the country and the world are beginning to prepare themselves for a post-peak oil world.
One of the best ways for communities to do this is to focus on local food supplies. With oil prices at peak prices, it won't be economical to truck in food from around the country, and those that do continue such a dependence are likely to experience major financial problems.
But those towns and cities that do put an emphasis on building more sustainable local food infrastructures are the ones that are going to be in the best position to take care of themselves with as little outside assistance as possible.
At DemoFall 09 Tuesday afternoon, a company called Hevva unveiled a system that could help just about everyone in such communities to meet those local food needs.
The idea behind Hevva's Local Dirt system is to create a searchable database of local food that can serve farmers, sellers, and buyers alike with the development of a robust market for locally-grown produce and other foods.
According to the company, demand for local food now outstrips that of organic products. Yet it's hard for just about everyone in that ecosystem to find just what they need when they need it.
One of the unfortunate side effects of the inefficiencies in this market, Hevva argued, is that as much as 40 percent of the post-harvest supply is lost to spoilage. As a result, Local Dirt is built around trying to ensure that the market is as efficient as possible.
To begin with, the system provides a simple search that buyers can use. As an example, someone could search for where to buy pesto made within 100 miles and then see a list of all the purveyors who can meet that request. Similarly, the system shows all the online local sellers who offer pesto for sale right now.
Taking the example further, users can narrow their search results to farmer's markets, and can look to see when each such market is open.
To Hevva, while individuals are important buyers in the local food economy, those who can get the greatest advantage from the platform are larger buyers: grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and the like.
That's why buyers can also search for food that can be delivered to such institutions.
Ultimately, Local Dirt is meant as a way for every participant in the ecosystem--the farmers, the buyers and the sellers--to find the best way possible of getting what they need from the local food market.
Whether this helps communities move towards a future independent from large food producers spread around the country is impossible to know. But it is good to know that there are people working now to build systems that could make it easier for such communities to move forward with their goals of focusing more and more on food grown locally.
Comment
There are approximately six local farmers Market in Miami that I am aware of, but none locally. The Ecology Board tried to stir up some interest but wasn't all that successful, for a variety of reasons. One, the local supermarket wasn't crazy about having more competition and they noted that there was no electricity for a cash register where the Farmers Market was proposed. It was a delicate proposal to make without alienating the local grocery people while providing a service to the local residents. Buying local is a good idea and makes a lot of sense, but requires some organization and energy to get started. Perhaps a local club or organization, like the Lions Club or Optimist Club would be better suited.
Local Dirt aims to help focus on local food
by Daniel Terdiman 1 comment
S
AN DIEGO--Earlier this summer, I wrote about the blossoming transition movement, in which local communities around the country and the world are beginning to prepare themselves for a post-peak oil world.
One of the best ways for communities to do this is to focus on local food supplies. With oil prices at peak prices, it won't be economical to truck in food from around the country, and those that do continue such a dependence are likely to experience major financial problems.
But those towns and cities that do put an emphasis on building more sustainable local food infrastructures are the ones that are going to be in the best position to take care of themselves with as little outside assistance as possible.
At DemoFall 09 Tuesday afternoon, a company called Hevva unveiled a system that could help just about everyone in such communities to meet those local food needs.
The idea behind Hevva's Local Dirt system is to create a searchable database of local food that can serve farmers, sellers, and buyers alike with the development of a robust market for locally-grown produce and other foods.
According to the company, demand for local food now outstrips that of organic products. Yet it's hard for just about everyone in that ecosystem to find just what they need when they need it.
One of the unfortunate side effects of the inefficiencies in this market, Hevva argued, is that as much as 40 percent of the post-harvest supply is lost to spoilage. As a result, Local Dirt is built around trying to ensure that the market is as efficient as possible.
To begin with, the system provides a simple search that buyers can use. As an example, someone could search for where to buy pesto made within 100 miles and then see a list of all the purveyors who can meet that request. Similarly, the system shows all the online local sellers who offer pesto for sale right now.
Taking the example further, users can narrow their search results to farmer's markets, and can look to see when each such market is open.
To Hevva, while individuals are important buyers in the local food economy, those who can get the greatest advantage from the platform are larger buyers: grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and the like.
That's why buyers can also search for food that can be delivered to such institutions.
Ultimately, Local Dirt is meant as a way for every participant in the ecosystem--the farmers, the buyers and the sellers--to find the best way possible of getting what they need from the local food market.
Whether this helps communities move towards a future independent from large food producers spread around the country is impossible to know. But it is good to know that there are people working now to build systems that could make it easier for such communities to move forward with their goals of focusing more and more on food grown locally.
Comment
There are approximately six local farmers Market in Miami that I am aware of, but none locally. The Ecology Board tried to stir up some interest but wasn't all that successful, for a variety of reasons. One, the local supermarket wasn't crazy about having more competition and they noted that there was no electricity for a cash register where the Farmers Market was proposed. It was a delicate proposal to make without alienating the local grocery people while providing a service to the local residents. Buying local is a good idea and makes a lot of sense, but requires some organization and energy to get started. Perhaps a local club or organization, like the Lions Club or Optimist Club would be better suited.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Bathroom/water
The goals here are to reduce water consumption and to lower the amount of energy needed to heat water, which can be up to 25 percent of a home's energy use.
Low effort: Put an aerator on your bathroom sink--for 50 cents, you'll make your money back quickly on lower water consumption. Then, get a low-flow shower head, which save between 20 percent and 60 percent water. Fix those leaks.
Medium: Consider getting an on-demand (also called tankless) hot water heating. In some cases, you can have an electric on-demand water heater placed directly in the bathroom and other places in the home that need hot water.
High: Get a solar hot water system, either flat panel (left on this photo) or evacuated tubes. While solar electric (photovoltaics) cost about $25,000, you can get a solar hot water system for $10,000 or less. These systems have been around for decades (remember Jimmy Carter) but are more reliable and efficient than the 1970s variety
Low effort: Put an aerator on your bathroom sink--for 50 cents, you'll make your money back quickly on lower water consumption. Then, get a low-flow shower head, which save between 20 percent and 60 percent water. Fix those leaks.
Medium: Consider getting an on-demand (also called tankless) hot water heating. In some cases, you can have an electric on-demand water heater placed directly in the bathroom and other places in the home that need hot water.
High: Get a solar hot water system, either flat panel (left on this photo) or evacuated tubes. While solar electric (photovoltaics) cost about $25,000, you can get a solar hot water system for $10,000 or less. These systems have been around for decades (remember Jimmy Carter) but are more reliable and efficient than the 1970s variety
Green Home Office
With many people working at home, the home office is a significant consumer of energy both for electricity and space heating/cooling. It's no wonder when you look at the rat's nest of wiring in home offices.
Low effort: Set your computer's power management system at home and at work. Recycle your old electronics gear. See this map to find a recycler.
Medium: Use a laptop instead of a desktop PC. Put things that don't need to have standby power (computer speakers, etc.) on a power strip and click it off when not using. Unplug all those chargers--for the phone, iPod, Blackberry, etc.--when not in use.
High: In addition to buying an energy-efficient PC or other electronics, consider adding other green attributes to your list, such as whether the product can be recycled and the amount of toxins used inside
Low effort: Set your computer's power management system at home and at work. Recycle your old electronics gear. See this map to find a recycler.
Medium: Use a laptop instead of a desktop PC. Put things that don't need to have standby power (computer speakers, etc.) on a power strip and click it off when not using. Unplug all those chargers--for the phone, iPod, Blackberry, etc.--when not in use.
High: In addition to buying an energy-efficient PC or other electronics, consider adding other green attributes to your list, such as whether the product can be recycled and the amount of toxins used inside
Green Basements
Basement
Heating and cooling is where the bulk of most household's energy budget goes, so the basement is the location of your home's biggest carbon footprint. The clothes dryer and the hot water heater, often in people's basements, are typically among the biggest energy consuming appliances.
Low effort: Clean out the vent on your clothes dryer with a brush. Insulate hot water pipes and put an insulating blanket around your hot water heater. Set the hot water heater to 120 degrees and, if it's electric, put it on a timer.
Medium: If you have central air, have it maintained (filters cleaned, etc.) so it will run more efficiently. Use fans (although only when people are in the room) and ventilation, such as opening windows during the cool times of the day. Also in the low-tech department is hanging your clothes to dry.
High: You can supplement or replace your heating or cooling with a range of more efficient products, such as efficient space heaters or evaporative coolers in certain climates. The DOE again offers a good explanation of your options. Heat pumps, such as ground-source heat pumps or geothermal systems, seem to catch on a bit more every year as a very efficient way to heat and cool buildings.
Heating and cooling is where the bulk of most household's energy budget goes, so the basement is the location of your home's biggest carbon footprint. The clothes dryer and the hot water heater, often in people's basements, are typically among the biggest energy consuming appliances.
Low effort: Clean out the vent on your clothes dryer with a brush. Insulate hot water pipes and put an insulating blanket around your hot water heater. Set the hot water heater to 120 degrees and, if it's electric, put it on a timer.
Medium: If you have central air, have it maintained (filters cleaned, etc.) so it will run more efficiently. Use fans (although only when people are in the room) and ventilation, such as opening windows during the cool times of the day. Also in the low-tech department is hanging your clothes to dry.
High: You can supplement or replace your heating or cooling with a range of more efficient products, such as efficient space heaters or evaporative coolers in certain climates. The DOE again offers a good explanation of your options. Heat pumps, such as ground-source heat pumps or geothermal systems, seem to catch on a bit more every year as a very efficient way to heat and cool buildings.
Green Attic
September 29, 2009 6:49 AM PDT
Attic
This is where you can cut your heating and cooling bills significantly. The city of Austin, Texas, which has mandated home energy audits, found that almost 90 percent of the 400 homes audited needed both additional attic insulation and repairs to their leaky ducts.
Low effort: Get an energy audit and help snoop out the places where air from conditioned space (where you live) seeps into your attic, crawl spaces, basement, etc. To find an energy auditor, go to efficiencyfirst.org. There are subsidized weatherizing services for low-income people as well.
Medium: Add more insulation to your attic (and walls). Most homes could use more. Homes in the U.S. should have between R-30 and R-60 insulation. This attic was sprayed with Icenyne foam on the rafters, which provides both insulation and seals the air. The DOE's office of energy efficiency offers a map on what you should have for your climate.
High: Get a comprehensive audit with a blower door test and infrared camera. An audit can cost $500 or $600, but it will help locate air leaks around the house, which is important to do before insulating. Cellulose or fiberglass insulation doesn't stop air flow, it just keeps heat in. To fill those air cracks, learn how to use a caulk gun and canned foam.
Attic
This is where you can cut your heating and cooling bills significantly. The city of Austin, Texas, which has mandated home energy audits, found that almost 90 percent of the 400 homes audited needed both additional attic insulation and repairs to their leaky ducts.
Low effort: Get an energy audit and help snoop out the places where air from conditioned space (where you live) seeps into your attic, crawl spaces, basement, etc. To find an energy auditor, go to efficiencyfirst.org. There are subsidized weatherizing services for low-income people as well.
Medium: Add more insulation to your attic (and walls). Most homes could use more. Homes in the U.S. should have between R-30 and R-60 insulation. This attic was sprayed with Icenyne foam on the rafters, which provides both insulation and seals the air. The DOE's office of energy efficiency offers a map on what you should have for your climate.
High: Get a comprehensive audit with a blower door test and infrared camera. An audit can cost $500 or $600, but it will help locate air leaks around the house, which is important to do before insulating. Cellulose or fiberglass insulation doesn't stop air flow, it just keeps heat in. To fill those air cracks, learn how to use a caulk gun and canned foam.
A Green Dining Room
Dining room
Artificial lighting can account for 15 percent of a home's electricity use. LEDs promise long life and low power, but there's a lot to do before LED prices come down to earth.
Low effort: Install (more) compact fluorescent bulbs. In terms of light quality, you can get a range of colors--check the "K rating" or Kelvin rating. Yes, they do contain small amounts of mercury so you should recycle them with hazardous trash or return them to retail stores like Home Depot that recycle them.
Medium: Open the shades. Managing natural lighting can cut your artificial lighting (and cooling) needs significantly. If you're really hungry for the beneficial effects of "daylighting," consider getting an appliance, such as a Solatube, which pipes light in from the roof.
High: The most high-effort, high-tech approach to lighting is LED lamps. Because of the higher upfront cost, most LED lights are used in commercial spaces where one can take advantage of the different colors LEDs offer. But if price is no object, LED lighting can turn your basement TV room into a fancy home entertainment center or, as this homeowner did, give your dining room some classy ambiance.
Artificial lighting can account for 15 percent of a home's electricity use. LEDs promise long life and low power, but there's a lot to do before LED prices come down to earth.
Low effort: Install (more) compact fluorescent bulbs. In terms of light quality, you can get a range of colors--check the "K rating" or Kelvin rating. Yes, they do contain small amounts of mercury so you should recycle them with hazardous trash or return them to retail stores like Home Depot that recycle them.
Medium: Open the shades. Managing natural lighting can cut your artificial lighting (and cooling) needs significantly. If you're really hungry for the beneficial effects of "daylighting," consider getting an appliance, such as a Solatube, which pipes light in from the roof.
High: The most high-effort, high-tech approach to lighting is LED lamps. Because of the higher upfront cost, most LED lights are used in commercial spaces where one can take advantage of the different colors LEDs offer. But if price is no object, LED lighting can turn your basement TV room into a fancy home entertainment center or, as this homeowner did, give your dining room some classy ambiance.
Green Living Room
Living room
How to green your home? Let's start in the living room as electronics are sucking up more and more juice--as much as 15 or 20 percent of people's bills.
Low effort: Slay the vampire, or parasitic, load in your home by using power strips. Connect your computer or entertainment center gear to a power strip and flick the power strip off when you're done. A more high-tech approach is a "smart" power strip like this one by Bits. You plug your TV or computer into the Control Outlet (in blue) and peripheral devices like printers to the Automatically Switched outlets. When you turn the TV or PC off, the standby power for the peripherals gets cut automatically.
Medium: Do your homework before upgrading your TV, game player, etc. and make energy efficiency one of your top buying priorities. CNET rates products on energy consumption now and Greenpeace rates individual consumer electronics manufacturers on everything from toxic material to greenhouse gas reporting. Flat-screen TVs, in particular, can create a big jump in energy use if you don't choose with efficiency in mind.
High: Install a home-area network from a company like iControl which integrates home energy management with home entertainment.
How to green your home? Let's start in the living room as electronics are sucking up more and more juice--as much as 15 or 20 percent of people's bills.
Low effort: Slay the vampire, or parasitic, load in your home by using power strips. Connect your computer or entertainment center gear to a power strip and flick the power strip off when you're done. A more high-tech approach is a "smart" power strip like this one by Bits. You plug your TV or computer into the Control Outlet (in blue) and peripheral devices like printers to the Automatically Switched outlets. When you turn the TV or PC off, the standby power for the peripherals gets cut automatically.
Medium: Do your homework before upgrading your TV, game player, etc. and make energy efficiency one of your top buying priorities. CNET rates products on energy consumption now and Greenpeace rates individual consumer electronics manufacturers on everything from toxic material to greenhouse gas reporting. Flat-screen TVs, in particular, can create a big jump in energy use if you don't choose with efficiency in mind.
High: Install a home-area network from a company like iControl which integrates home energy management with home entertainment.
A Green Kitchen
Kitchen
Now apply the same thinking for reducing energy consumption from consumer electronics to the kitchen.
Low effort: Put a lid on a pot of water set to boil. Freeze food and use a microwave to heat it, which uses less energy than cooking from scratch.
Medium: Buy EnergyStar-rated white goods. Since its inception in 1991, the program has saved 100 terawatt-hours of electricity, or 2.5 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption in a year. In the no-brainer category.
High: If you want to get fancy with your appliances, look into what GE is doing. These "kitchen of the future" appliances, expected for release next year, will be clever enough to respond to a signal from a smart meter to take go into conservation mode or take advantage of off-peak rates. Whirlpool recently announced that it, too, produce one million "smart-grid compatible" clothes dryers by 2011.
Now apply the same thinking for reducing energy consumption from consumer electronics to the kitchen.
Low effort: Put a lid on a pot of water set to boil. Freeze food and use a microwave to heat it, which uses less energy than cooking from scratch.
Medium: Buy EnergyStar-rated white goods. Since its inception in 1991, the program has saved 100 terawatt-hours of electricity, or 2.5 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption in a year. In the no-brainer category.
High: If you want to get fancy with your appliances, look into what GE is doing. These "kitchen of the future" appliances, expected for release next year, will be clever enough to respond to a signal from a smart meter to take go into conservation mode or take advantage of off-peak rates. Whirlpool recently announced that it, too, produce one million "smart-grid compatible" clothes dryers by 2011.
McKinsey: Energy efficiency could save $700 billion
July 29, 2009 8:20 AM PDT
McKinsey: Energy efficiency could save $700 billion
by Martin LaMonica 10 comments
Energy efficiency--it's not just the low-hanging fruit, it's the fruit that's lying on the ground, Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently quipped. Now McKinsey has put a number on the potential savings: $1.2 trillion on an investment of $520 billion over 10 years.
The consulting firm on Wednesday released a follow-up report to its often-cited economic analysis for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
(Credit: McKinsey)
While there are countless proposals to generate energy in cleaner ways, the McKinsey study concluded that using existing products and practices, such as weatherizing homes or installing combined heat and power systems, could yield vast savings by 2020.
However, there are number of barriers, including the up-front cost, a fragmented array of products covering hundreds of thousands of buildings and billions of devices, and a lack of awareness that efficiency exists as a "fuel source" itself, McKinsey consultants said during a press conference Wednesday.
"If we do nothing, we will waste $1.2 trillion of energy," McKinsey partner Ken Ostrowski said. "Over a decade, (the up-front investment) would be $50 billion a year, which is about five times what we invest today. That investment pays back--it's one of the few that generate environmental benefits and economic cost returns."
The study examined the potential for efficiency in stationary sources, so it does not include transportation. The demand for power could be decreased 23 percent by 2020, which is equivalent to the nontransportation energy consumption of Canada or removing the entire U.S. passenger fleet from the road.
Individual homes and businesses could save about 28 percent off their current energy spending, while the industrial sector could save 20 percent. Within people's homes, electronic devices are quickly becoming a larger portion of monthly electric bills.
When surveyed, the average American estimates that "plug loads" represent 13 percent of energy consumption, but the number is more like 35 percent and growing, Ostrowski said.
Standby power alone, sometimes referred to a home's parasitic or vampire load, is 6 percent to 8 percent of the total. Putting in place efficiency standards to cut standby power could result in energy savings equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the Netherlands, Ostrowski said.
"These things are significant but fragmented. The awareness levels are not there today, and that's one of the barriers we have to overcome," he said.
Comment
It sounds like an educational issue, to raise awareness of energy efficiency as a viable and profitable option for America. I leave my computer on when I leave so that the cancer research program on my computer can run unimpeded until I return.
McKinsey: Energy efficiency could save $700 billion
by Martin LaMonica 10 comments
Energy efficiency--it's not just the low-hanging fruit, it's the fruit that's lying on the ground, Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently quipped. Now McKinsey has put a number on the potential savings: $1.2 trillion on an investment of $520 billion over 10 years.
The consulting firm on Wednesday released a follow-up report to its often-cited economic analysis for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
(Credit: McKinsey)
While there are countless proposals to generate energy in cleaner ways, the McKinsey study concluded that using existing products and practices, such as weatherizing homes or installing combined heat and power systems, could yield vast savings by 2020.
However, there are number of barriers, including the up-front cost, a fragmented array of products covering hundreds of thousands of buildings and billions of devices, and a lack of awareness that efficiency exists as a "fuel source" itself, McKinsey consultants said during a press conference Wednesday.
"If we do nothing, we will waste $1.2 trillion of energy," McKinsey partner Ken Ostrowski said. "Over a decade, (the up-front investment) would be $50 billion a year, which is about five times what we invest today. That investment pays back--it's one of the few that generate environmental benefits and economic cost returns."
The study examined the potential for efficiency in stationary sources, so it does not include transportation. The demand for power could be decreased 23 percent by 2020, which is equivalent to the nontransportation energy consumption of Canada or removing the entire U.S. passenger fleet from the road.
Individual homes and businesses could save about 28 percent off their current energy spending, while the industrial sector could save 20 percent. Within people's homes, electronic devices are quickly becoming a larger portion of monthly electric bills.
When surveyed, the average American estimates that "plug loads" represent 13 percent of energy consumption, but the number is more like 35 percent and growing, Ostrowski said.
Standby power alone, sometimes referred to a home's parasitic or vampire load, is 6 percent to 8 percent of the total. Putting in place efficiency standards to cut standby power could result in energy savings equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the Netherlands, Ostrowski said.
"These things are significant but fragmented. The awareness levels are not there today, and that's one of the barriers we have to overcome," he said.
Comment
It sounds like an educational issue, to raise awareness of energy efficiency as a viable and profitable option for America. I leave my computer on when I leave so that the cancer research program on my computer can run unimpeded until I return.
Politicos give natural gas, efficiency top billing
August 10, 2009 6:50 PM PDT
Politicos give natural gas, efficiency top billing
by Martin LaMonica 15 comments
Increasing domestic natural gas production and retrofitting buildings to be more efficient should form the basis of a low-carbon U.S. energy policy, according to a statement put out Monday during the Clean Energy Summit.
The summit, held for the second year in Las Vegas, brought together some of the most recognized political figures shaping energy policy, including Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and businessman T. Boone Pickens. Other speakers included Bill Clinton, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Al Gore, and green jobs advocate Van Jones.
The event was organized by the Center for American Progress and the Energy Future Coalition, which jointly put out a memo touting the benefits of natural gas and building efficiency.
The memo says that there is now technology to tap natural gas in so-called nonconventional sources, namely trapped in shale deposits in the U.S. "This creates an unprecedented opportunity to use gas as a bridge fuel to a 21st-century energy economy that relies on efficiency, renewable sources, and low-carbon fossil fuels such as natural gas," according to the memo. (Click for PDF of full text.)
Natural gas can be used to make electricity and as a transportation fuel. The memo recommends investing in natural gas filling stations for large trucks and buses, which are much harder to run from electric batteries than passenger cars. In addition to reducing imports of oil, natural gas burns cleaner than coal, emitting half as much carbon
Efficiency, considered the most cost-effective way to reduce fossil fuel use, was a consistent topic of discussion at the summit as well.
The Center for American Progress and Energy Future Coalition estimated that retrofitting 40 percent of U.S. homes and buildings would save consumers $1,200 a month on energy bills and create 625,000 jobs.
"Energy efficiency should be the first source we turn toward to meet energy demand and reduce consumers' bills" said Reid, who is a key figure in the energy and climate bill being considered by Congress. "It creates more jobs than nearly every other energy investment and the cheapest, cleanest, safest energy is the energy we never have to use."
Comment
While I like The Pickens Plan of wind power and a switch to natural gas as a bridge fuel until fuel cells or something better can be developed, I am a little concerned about his motivation. He owns a natural gas company and would stand to make a LOT of money by the the shift to natural gas. I do not mind someone making a profit, but I DO mind price gouging, whether its by the Arabs, or our own American companies. My sister lives in Augusta, Ga and said last year that natural gas prices there have tripled in the past four years. Natural gas prices are way down now, but if the demand goes way up I am concerned that the prices will go up with them.
Politicos give natural gas, efficiency top billing
by Martin LaMonica 15 comments
Increasing domestic natural gas production and retrofitting buildings to be more efficient should form the basis of a low-carbon U.S. energy policy, according to a statement put out Monday during the Clean Energy Summit.
The summit, held for the second year in Las Vegas, brought together some of the most recognized political figures shaping energy policy, including Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, Energy Secretary Steven Chu, and businessman T. Boone Pickens. Other speakers included Bill Clinton, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Al Gore, and green jobs advocate Van Jones.
The event was organized by the Center for American Progress and the Energy Future Coalition, which jointly put out a memo touting the benefits of natural gas and building efficiency.
The memo says that there is now technology to tap natural gas in so-called nonconventional sources, namely trapped in shale deposits in the U.S. "This creates an unprecedented opportunity to use gas as a bridge fuel to a 21st-century energy economy that relies on efficiency, renewable sources, and low-carbon fossil fuels such as natural gas," according to the memo. (Click for PDF of full text.)
Natural gas can be used to make electricity and as a transportation fuel. The memo recommends investing in natural gas filling stations for large trucks and buses, which are much harder to run from electric batteries than passenger cars. In addition to reducing imports of oil, natural gas burns cleaner than coal, emitting half as much carbon
Efficiency, considered the most cost-effective way to reduce fossil fuel use, was a consistent topic of discussion at the summit as well.
The Center for American Progress and Energy Future Coalition estimated that retrofitting 40 percent of U.S. homes and buildings would save consumers $1,200 a month on energy bills and create 625,000 jobs.
"Energy efficiency should be the first source we turn toward to meet energy demand and reduce consumers' bills" said Reid, who is a key figure in the energy and climate bill being considered by Congress. "It creates more jobs than nearly every other energy investment and the cheapest, cleanest, safest energy is the energy we never have to use."
Comment
While I like The Pickens Plan of wind power and a switch to natural gas as a bridge fuel until fuel cells or something better can be developed, I am a little concerned about his motivation. He owns a natural gas company and would stand to make a LOT of money by the the shift to natural gas. I do not mind someone making a profit, but I DO mind price gouging, whether its by the Arabs, or our own American companies. My sister lives in Augusta, Ga and said last year that natural gas prices there have tripled in the past four years. Natural gas prices are way down now, but if the demand goes way up I am concerned that the prices will go up with them.
Batteries set to become $60 billion industry by '13
August 12, 2009 4:25 AM PDT
Batteries set to become $60 billion industry by '13
by Candace Lombardi 5 comments
So far in 2009, battery companies have received over $600 million in venture capital funding, compared with $478 million garnered for 2008, according to research analyst Lux Research.
The investment isn't without reason. In a report released Tuesday, Lux predicted that the energy storage market will grow to become a $60 billion industry by 2013.
But for now, it's hard for even the experts to predict who will emerge as the victorious innovators. Instead of a few key players, there's a plethora of both established and start-up companies developing a wide range of approaches to power storage for things like cars, utilities, and gadgets, according to Lux.
A123 Systems' battery platform is being used for tools, transportation, and power grid energy storage.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
A123Systems, of which GE is an investor, and NGK Insulators are seen as leaders in power grid energy storage.
And Lux sees Johnson Controls-Saft and Compact Power as leaders in developing lithium ion batteries for electric hybrid cars.
But when it comes to batteries for products like power tools, electric bikes, and portables, the space is wide open. That space is open not only to emerging companies, but also as to which type of battery technology will succeed, according to Lux.
"Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), nickel-zinc (NiZn) and even lithium-sulfur (Li-S) and lithium-air (Li-air) batteries are all pitching themselves as lower-cost alternatives," according to the report.
At least one company is already poised to make money off the uncertainty. Lux is offering a service to manufacturers and investors interested in the market. It's dubbed the Lux Innovation Grid, a chart that plots the variables for evaluating companies' battery tech and business models.
Comment
Batteries for electric cars and hybrids will ba growth industry for the next ten years, not to mention cell phones, tools, and power grid storage.
Batteries set to become $60 billion industry by '13
by Candace Lombardi 5 comments
So far in 2009, battery companies have received over $600 million in venture capital funding, compared with $478 million garnered for 2008, according to research analyst Lux Research.
The investment isn't without reason. In a report released Tuesday, Lux predicted that the energy storage market will grow to become a $60 billion industry by 2013.
But for now, it's hard for even the experts to predict who will emerge as the victorious innovators. Instead of a few key players, there's a plethora of both established and start-up companies developing a wide range of approaches to power storage for things like cars, utilities, and gadgets, according to Lux.
A123 Systems' battery platform is being used for tools, transportation, and power grid energy storage.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
A123Systems, of which GE is an investor, and NGK Insulators are seen as leaders in power grid energy storage.
And Lux sees Johnson Controls-Saft and Compact Power as leaders in developing lithium ion batteries for electric hybrid cars.
But when it comes to batteries for products like power tools, electric bikes, and portables, the space is wide open. That space is open not only to emerging companies, but also as to which type of battery technology will succeed, according to Lux.
"Nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), nickel-zinc (NiZn) and even lithium-sulfur (Li-S) and lithium-air (Li-air) batteries are all pitching themselves as lower-cost alternatives," according to the report.
At least one company is already poised to make money off the uncertainty. Lux is offering a service to manufacturers and investors interested in the market. It's dubbed the Lux Innovation Grid, a chart that plots the variables for evaluating companies' battery tech and business models.
Comment
Batteries for electric cars and hybrids will ba growth industry for the next ten years, not to mention cell phones, tools, and power grid storage.
Energy-aware Internet routing coming soon
August 18, 2009 1:22 PM PDT
Energy-aware Internet routing coming soon
by Marguerite Reardon 7 comments
Researchers have come up with a new way to route Internet traffic that could save big Internet companies like Google millions on their electricity bills, according to an article published by MIT's Technology Review.
Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and the networking company Akamai recently published results from a study that suggest big Internet companies could save up to 40 percent on their electricity bills by using an algorithm to send Internet traffic to data centers where electricity is less expensive.
Data centers consume a lot of energy, which costs operators like Google and Amazon millions of dollars to run each year. And now as more digital information is "virtualized" and accessed in the cloud, centralized data centers are getting even bigger and are consuming even more energy.
In fact, data center energy usage is expected to quadruple during the next decade in the absence of efforts to improve efficiency, according to the article, which referenced a report from McKinsey & Company and the Uptime Institute published in July 2008. The article also estimated that today, some large Internet companies spend more than $30 million a year on energy costs.
But now there could be a way for these companies to lower their energy costs. Using an algorithm developed and tested by researchers at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Akamai, these companies can track electricity prices that fluctuate by location and time of day. It then calculates the best option depending on the price of electricity and the distance that data must travel to get to a particular location, to provide the most cost-effective route for data based on energy costs.
There is mounting pressure for big Internet companies to reduce their energy usage. Not only is it expensive, but these companies face pressure from governments and others concerned with the environment to reduce their carbon footprints.
The algorithm developed by these researchers doesn't necessarily cut the use of energy. It merely helps companies better manage their energy costs. But researchers argue it could also be used to direct traffic to facilities where greener forms of energy are being used.
The example used in the article is a Google data center in Belgium that relies on ambient cooling to keep its facilities under a certain temperature instead of firing up expensive air-conditioning systems. On days when the weather is too warm, the servers in the data center simply shut down. One researcher working on the project said that the energy-routing algorithm is an extension of this idea.
Managing energy and its costs is likely to be big business in the coming years for technology companies. Cisco Systems, the largest networking company in the world, recently said it sees a $100 billion market in helping power utilities better manage their electrical grids using communication technology.
Other high-tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and several start-ups, are also ramping up to develop sensors and other technology that alert power companies and their customers about energy usage in an effort to balance usage and reduce costs.
The idea of the "smart grid" is to modernize the electricity industry by overlaying digital communications onto the grid. For example, smart meters in a person's home can communicate energy usage to utilities, allowing these companies to more efficiently manage the electricity supply and potentially allow a consumer to take advantage of cheaper rates.
Some utilities are already testing technology from Cisco that will help its routers and switches more efficiently manage the flow of electricity and prevent outages in grid distribution equipment. Cisco also released new software earlier this year called EnergyWise, which allows more efficient use of energy in office buildings. The software is a free upgrade to Cisco Catalyst switches that can monitor and manage how energy is used on IP-connected devices, including phones and wireless routers. Using the software, companies can set policies on energy use, allowing PCs or networking equipment to go into sleep mode after work hours, for example
Energy-aware Internet routing coming soon
by Marguerite Reardon 7 comments
Researchers have come up with a new way to route Internet traffic that could save big Internet companies like Google millions on their electricity bills, according to an article published by MIT's Technology Review.
Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and the networking company Akamai recently published results from a study that suggest big Internet companies could save up to 40 percent on their electricity bills by using an algorithm to send Internet traffic to data centers where electricity is less expensive.
Data centers consume a lot of energy, which costs operators like Google and Amazon millions of dollars to run each year. And now as more digital information is "virtualized" and accessed in the cloud, centralized data centers are getting even bigger and are consuming even more energy.
In fact, data center energy usage is expected to quadruple during the next decade in the absence of efforts to improve efficiency, according to the article, which referenced a report from McKinsey & Company and the Uptime Institute published in July 2008. The article also estimated that today, some large Internet companies spend more than $30 million a year on energy costs.
But now there could be a way for these companies to lower their energy costs. Using an algorithm developed and tested by researchers at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Akamai, these companies can track electricity prices that fluctuate by location and time of day. It then calculates the best option depending on the price of electricity and the distance that data must travel to get to a particular location, to provide the most cost-effective route for data based on energy costs.
There is mounting pressure for big Internet companies to reduce their energy usage. Not only is it expensive, but these companies face pressure from governments and others concerned with the environment to reduce their carbon footprints.
The algorithm developed by these researchers doesn't necessarily cut the use of energy. It merely helps companies better manage their energy costs. But researchers argue it could also be used to direct traffic to facilities where greener forms of energy are being used.
The example used in the article is a Google data center in Belgium that relies on ambient cooling to keep its facilities under a certain temperature instead of firing up expensive air-conditioning systems. On days when the weather is too warm, the servers in the data center simply shut down. One researcher working on the project said that the energy-routing algorithm is an extension of this idea.
Managing energy and its costs is likely to be big business in the coming years for technology companies. Cisco Systems, the largest networking company in the world, recently said it sees a $100 billion market in helping power utilities better manage their electrical grids using communication technology.
Other high-tech companies, including IBM, Intel, and several start-ups, are also ramping up to develop sensors and other technology that alert power companies and their customers about energy usage in an effort to balance usage and reduce costs.
The idea of the "smart grid" is to modernize the electricity industry by overlaying digital communications onto the grid. For example, smart meters in a person's home can communicate energy usage to utilities, allowing these companies to more efficiently manage the electricity supply and potentially allow a consumer to take advantage of cheaper rates.
Some utilities are already testing technology from Cisco that will help its routers and switches more efficiently manage the flow of electricity and prevent outages in grid distribution equipment. Cisco also released new software earlier this year called EnergyWise, which allows more efficient use of energy in office buildings. The software is a free upgrade to Cisco Catalyst switches that can monitor and manage how energy is used on IP-connected devices, including phones and wireless routers. Using the software, companies can set policies on energy use, allowing PCs or networking equipment to go into sleep mode after work hours, for example
Ole Miss to tweet its electricity use
August 27, 2009 8:09 AM PDT
Ole Miss to tweet its electricity use
by Candace Lombardi 2 comments
The University of Mississippi is letting the world in to observe its power consumption in real time.
As part of a green initiative guided by its Office of Campus Sustainability, the university is installing SmartSynch's SmartMeters to monitor and transmit data on the power consumption of lights, appliances, computers, and climate control systems in its buildings.
The SmartMeters contain software and hardware that give electrical meters their own Internet Protocol (IP) address and communicate data via the types of wireless networks used for cell phones back to a centralized virtual dashboard that can be accessed by utilities or customers.
Lyceum's August 13 Facebook status: "(10.46kWh usage, 0.15 kWh peak) Bad day all around. Usage up 7.93% and peak up 6.67%."
(Credit: Facebook/University of Mississippi)
The University of Mississippi is already monitoring its historic Lyceum, the John Davis Williams Library, the Gillom Sports Complex, and some of its stadium facilities, and has plans to install SmartMeters in more buildings in the coming months.
In the spirit of social-networking transparency, the ongoing collection of data for the university often known as Ole Miss will also be published in real time on public Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Each building will have its own Twitter channel and Facebook page. Details on where students, faculty, alumni, and others can subscribe will be posted to the school's green initiative Web site, according to the University.
Besides providing the community with a glimpse of how much energy university buildings can consume, the data will be archived for further analysis. The university hopes to determine how things like weather and the habits of its population effect power consumption, and what it can do to lower that consumption.
Monitoring buildings to determine usage patterns--such as the use of Sentilla devices at San Francisco's Moscone Center to look at power and temperature changes during the JavaOne 2008 conference--has become a little more common in the last few years. But Ole Miss seems to be to be one of the first to put its community usage out there for all to see.
Is it wise to let people observe (and pass judgment on) how much power a university's old and new buildings consume?
I'm guessing that the University of Mississippi is no more wasteful than the next institution of higher learning. But if reader responses on past stories of energy consumption are any indication, the general public does not realize how much energy is collectively consumed.
Of course, maybe that is part of Ole Miss' plan.
SmartSynch CEO Stephen Johnston has insisted through several public statements that the biggest catalyst for conservation he's seen is when people come face-to-face with their own usage data.
Comment
I guess it would be good to increase peoples awareness of how much energy IS being used, in real-time. I would think that all that data would be the more important development for the utilities tho. I do not Twiiter and have no FaceBook page so I am just out of touch with those devices as an important part of my life. I would, however, think its pretty cool to monitor energy usage at my house, and have that information translated into dollars and cents.
Ole Miss to tweet its electricity use
by Candace Lombardi 2 comments
The University of Mississippi is letting the world in to observe its power consumption in real time.
As part of a green initiative guided by its Office of Campus Sustainability, the university is installing SmartSynch's SmartMeters to monitor and transmit data on the power consumption of lights, appliances, computers, and climate control systems in its buildings.
The SmartMeters contain software and hardware that give electrical meters their own Internet Protocol (IP) address and communicate data via the types of wireless networks used for cell phones back to a centralized virtual dashboard that can be accessed by utilities or customers.
Lyceum's August 13 Facebook status: "(10.46kWh usage, 0.15 kWh peak) Bad day all around. Usage up 7.93% and peak up 6.67%."
(Credit: Facebook/University of Mississippi)
The University of Mississippi is already monitoring its historic Lyceum, the John Davis Williams Library, the Gillom Sports Complex, and some of its stadium facilities, and has plans to install SmartMeters in more buildings in the coming months.
In the spirit of social-networking transparency, the ongoing collection of data for the university often known as Ole Miss will also be published in real time on public Facebook, Twitter, and RSS feeds. Each building will have its own Twitter channel and Facebook page. Details on where students, faculty, alumni, and others can subscribe will be posted to the school's green initiative Web site, according to the University.
Besides providing the community with a glimpse of how much energy university buildings can consume, the data will be archived for further analysis. The university hopes to determine how things like weather and the habits of its population effect power consumption, and what it can do to lower that consumption.
Monitoring buildings to determine usage patterns--such as the use of Sentilla devices at San Francisco's Moscone Center to look at power and temperature changes during the JavaOne 2008 conference--has become a little more common in the last few years. But Ole Miss seems to be to be one of the first to put its community usage out there for all to see.
Is it wise to let people observe (and pass judgment on) how much power a university's old and new buildings consume?
I'm guessing that the University of Mississippi is no more wasteful than the next institution of higher learning. But if reader responses on past stories of energy consumption are any indication, the general public does not realize how much energy is collectively consumed.
Of course, maybe that is part of Ole Miss' plan.
SmartSynch CEO Stephen Johnston has insisted through several public statements that the biggest catalyst for conservation he's seen is when people come face-to-face with their own usage data.
Comment
I guess it would be good to increase peoples awareness of how much energy IS being used, in real-time. I would think that all that data would be the more important development for the utilities tho. I do not Twiiter and have no FaceBook page so I am just out of touch with those devices as an important part of my life. I would, however, think its pretty cool to monitor energy usage at my house, and have that information translated into dollars and cents.
Green Building Trends
Green Building Trends [Giveaway]
Written by Preston Koerner | September 14, 2009 | read more: Books, Giveaway
Jerry Yudelson is a machine when it comes to publishing new books on cutting-edge green building topics. In his latest book, Green Building Trends: Europe, Yudelson tackles a topic that's popping up in the news more and more. Whether the topic is couched in a discussion of PassivHaus, Swedish prefabrication, or otherwise, it surfaces as a question: Are Europeans more advanced that Americans when it comes to green building design and innovation?
If you're looking for an answer, I suggest grabbing a copy of this book, and I'm not just saying this because Island Press was nice enough to send us a review copy. We're giving this review copy away to one lucky reader below.* I suggest grabbing Green Building Trends because it's thorough, and Yudelson spent a year doing the footwork and research to compile case studies, photographs, and illustrations. It's material you may not find anywhere else ...
Here's the straight truth, though. According to the case studies in the book, European green buildings routinely use 50-90% less energy than comparable certified green projects in the U.S. And that's a problem in need of a solution. Here's what you can expect from Green Building Trends:
Intro: European Green Buildings in Context
Ch. 1: The PassivHaus Concept and European Residential Design
Ch. 2: European Design Innovators
Ch. 3: European Green Buildings: What do They Know that We Don't?
Ch. 4: Green Buildings in the United Kingdom (case studies)
Ch. 5: Sustainable Buildings in Germany (case studies)
Ch. 6: Green Engineering in Europe
Ch. 7: Eco-Towns
Ch. 8: Green Building in the Retail Sector
Ch. 9: Looking to the Future
Ch. 10: The Challenge and Promise of Green Buildings: Lessons from Europe
I've previously read about the 2,000 Watt Society in an article on Samsø in The New Yorker, but in Chapter 9, Yudelson references the concept while making a point about setting stretch goals in absolute terms rather than percentage improvements. That's what the 2,000 Watt Society does. It sets an absolute goal to strive for rather than a percentage improvement.
Without going into too much detail, Yudelson makes some interesting recommendations that industry professionals should all read (for example: we should adopt a labeling system like the EPC/DEC regime in the UK). This is good reading, so make sure to grab a copy at Amazon:
[+] Green Building Trends: Europe by Jerry Yudelson.
[+] Green Building Consulting by Yudelson Associates
Written by Preston Koerner | September 14, 2009 | read more: Books, Giveaway
Jerry Yudelson is a machine when it comes to publishing new books on cutting-edge green building topics. In his latest book, Green Building Trends: Europe, Yudelson tackles a topic that's popping up in the news more and more. Whether the topic is couched in a discussion of PassivHaus, Swedish prefabrication, or otherwise, it surfaces as a question: Are Europeans more advanced that Americans when it comes to green building design and innovation?
If you're looking for an answer, I suggest grabbing a copy of this book, and I'm not just saying this because Island Press was nice enough to send us a review copy. We're giving this review copy away to one lucky reader below.* I suggest grabbing Green Building Trends because it's thorough, and Yudelson spent a year doing the footwork and research to compile case studies, photographs, and illustrations. It's material you may not find anywhere else ...
Here's the straight truth, though. According to the case studies in the book, European green buildings routinely use 50-90% less energy than comparable certified green projects in the U.S. And that's a problem in need of a solution. Here's what you can expect from Green Building Trends:
Intro: European Green Buildings in Context
Ch. 1: The PassivHaus Concept and European Residential Design
Ch. 2: European Design Innovators
Ch. 3: European Green Buildings: What do They Know that We Don't?
Ch. 4: Green Buildings in the United Kingdom (case studies)
Ch. 5: Sustainable Buildings in Germany (case studies)
Ch. 6: Green Engineering in Europe
Ch. 7: Eco-Towns
Ch. 8: Green Building in the Retail Sector
Ch. 9: Looking to the Future
Ch. 10: The Challenge and Promise of Green Buildings: Lessons from Europe
I've previously read about the 2,000 Watt Society in an article on Samsø in The New Yorker, but in Chapter 9, Yudelson references the concept while making a point about setting stretch goals in absolute terms rather than percentage improvements. That's what the 2,000 Watt Society does. It sets an absolute goal to strive for rather than a percentage improvement.
Without going into too much detail, Yudelson makes some interesting recommendations that industry professionals should all read (for example: we should adopt a labeling system like the EPC/DEC regime in the UK). This is good reading, so make sure to grab a copy at Amazon:
[+] Green Building Trends: Europe by Jerry Yudelson.
[+] Green Building Consulting by Yudelson Associates
Home appliances to get Cash for Clunkers-like rebate
August 27, 2009 9:00 AM PDT
Home appliances to get Cash for Clunkers-like rebate
by Martin LaMonica 15 comments
Now that you've dumped your gas-guzzling pick-up, maybe it's time to move that old fridge from the garage.
The Department of Energy is sponsoring a $300 million program, funded by the economic stimulus plan, that will let consumers get a rebate on an EnergyStar-rated appliance. It's modeled roughly like the Cash for Clunkers program, which is now ending, although trading in older home equipment isn't required.
The Energy Department has begun awarding funding for individual states. Maryland is getting a $5.4 million slice and will run the program through the Maryland Energy Administration, according to an article on Wednesday in the Baltimore Sun. Pennsylvania has also applied and is expected to receive $12 million, according to a report in the Reading Eagle.
Photos: GE's smart grid kitchen of the future
The program will be designed by individual states and U.S. territories, all of which are expected to participate. The rebates themselves could be administered directly by states, utilities, or some other third party, a Department of Energy representative said on Thursday.
States have flexibility to determine what will be covered but the Energy Department has suggested home goods that consume the most energy, including: air conditioners, washing machines, dryers, heating equipment, and refrigerators and freezers.
The final funding applications are due back to the Energy Department by the middle of October, which means that the rebates could be available later this year or early next year.
Utilities around the country already offer rebate programs for moving to more efficient home equipment. An often-cited example is the California Energy Commission which has set strict efficiency standards for refrigerators and other equipment, which has helped keep per capita electricity consumption nearly steady since the 1970s.
Already in place is an Energy Department program which will give homeowners a 30 percent tax credit up to $1,500 for energy-efficient equipment upgrades.
Cash for Clunkers was a resounding success! Why not appliances? Save energy and put people to work building new appliances. Win-win.
Home appliances to get Cash for Clunkers-like rebate
by Martin LaMonica 15 comments
Now that you've dumped your gas-guzzling pick-up, maybe it's time to move that old fridge from the garage.
The Department of Energy is sponsoring a $300 million program, funded by the economic stimulus plan, that will let consumers get a rebate on an EnergyStar-rated appliance. It's modeled roughly like the Cash for Clunkers program, which is now ending, although trading in older home equipment isn't required.
The Energy Department has begun awarding funding for individual states. Maryland is getting a $5.4 million slice and will run the program through the Maryland Energy Administration, according to an article on Wednesday in the Baltimore Sun. Pennsylvania has also applied and is expected to receive $12 million, according to a report in the Reading Eagle.
Photos: GE's smart grid kitchen of the future
The program will be designed by individual states and U.S. territories, all of which are expected to participate. The rebates themselves could be administered directly by states, utilities, or some other third party, a Department of Energy representative said on Thursday.
States have flexibility to determine what will be covered but the Energy Department has suggested home goods that consume the most energy, including: air conditioners, washing machines, dryers, heating equipment, and refrigerators and freezers.
The final funding applications are due back to the Energy Department by the middle of October, which means that the rebates could be available later this year or early next year.
Utilities around the country already offer rebate programs for moving to more efficient home equipment. An often-cited example is the California Energy Commission which has set strict efficiency standards for refrigerators and other equipment, which has helped keep per capita electricity consumption nearly steady since the 1970s.
Already in place is an Energy Department program which will give homeowners a 30 percent tax credit up to $1,500 for energy-efficient equipment upgrades.
Cash for Clunkers was a resounding success! Why not appliances? Save energy and put people to work building new appliances. Win-win.
Lithium: An energy source in the desert
September 10, 2009 12:26 PM PDT
Lithium: An energy source in the desert
by CBS Interactive staff 11 comments
Watch the video reportNothing grows in Chile's Salar de Atacama desert. It's the driest place on the planet, and one of the most remote. But to Tim McKenna, what's underground is paradise. He calls it, "the best place on earth."
McKenna's company produces lithium, the world's lightest metal. And lithium powers the batteries in the cell phones, BlackBerrys, and laptops that in turn power the world.
In Chile, the extraction process comes naturally: melting snow from the Andes Mountains runs into underground pools of salt water--or brine. That brine's pumped out. In a network of ponds, the desert sun evaporates out other salts, leaving lithium brine.
McKenna says, "the sun basically does all the work."
The brine's processed into white powder, lithium carbonate--a growing part of the world's energy future. Two companies, one American, one Chilean, produce half of the world's lithium in the salt basin in Chile.
As a source for battery power, demand for lithium is about to soar. This fall, Mercedes will sell the first lithium powered plug-in car. At least six more carmakers plan their own models. Chevy's new Volt is expected to get 230 mpg off of just one charge.
In your cell phone or BlackBerry battery, the lithium weighs one-tenth of an ounce. In a plug-in car, the battery's lithium weighs 20 pounds. In 10 years, lithium's price per pound has tripled to around $3, with only three major companies dominating the world's market in a half-dozen countries.
Chile, the largest supplier, has been called the "Saudi Arabia of lithium."
Energy analyst Ben Johnson said, "it looks very similar to an OPEC-style cartel. It's highly concentrated. The various producers are very secretive about their expansion plans and about their pricing movements."
Lithium producers deny that. Consumers will wait and see. But there's no denying, in the world's evolving energy science, lithium means power.
This story was written by Mark Strassman and originally posted at CBSNews.com
Lithium: An energy source in the desert
by CBS Interactive staff 11 comments
Watch the video reportNothing grows in Chile's Salar de Atacama desert. It's the driest place on the planet, and one of the most remote. But to Tim McKenna, what's underground is paradise. He calls it, "the best place on earth."
McKenna's company produces lithium, the world's lightest metal. And lithium powers the batteries in the cell phones, BlackBerrys, and laptops that in turn power the world.
In Chile, the extraction process comes naturally: melting snow from the Andes Mountains runs into underground pools of salt water--or brine. That brine's pumped out. In a network of ponds, the desert sun evaporates out other salts, leaving lithium brine.
McKenna says, "the sun basically does all the work."
The brine's processed into white powder, lithium carbonate--a growing part of the world's energy future. Two companies, one American, one Chilean, produce half of the world's lithium in the salt basin in Chile.
As a source for battery power, demand for lithium is about to soar. This fall, Mercedes will sell the first lithium powered plug-in car. At least six more carmakers plan their own models. Chevy's new Volt is expected to get 230 mpg off of just one charge.
In your cell phone or BlackBerry battery, the lithium weighs one-tenth of an ounce. In a plug-in car, the battery's lithium weighs 20 pounds. In 10 years, lithium's price per pound has tripled to around $3, with only three major companies dominating the world's market in a half-dozen countries.
Chile, the largest supplier, has been called the "Saudi Arabia of lithium."
Energy analyst Ben Johnson said, "it looks very similar to an OPEC-style cartel. It's highly concentrated. The various producers are very secretive about their expansion plans and about their pricing movements."
Lithium producers deny that. Consumers will wait and see. But there's no denying, in the world's evolving energy science, lithium means power.
This story was written by Mark Strassman and originally posted at CBSNews.com
Should contraception qualify for climate funds?
September 17, 2009 9:35 AM PDT
Should contraception qualify for climate funds?
by Candace Lombardi 46 comments
Contraception would be the cheapest and most effective way to reduce carbon emissions worldwide between 2010 and 2050, according to a study by the London School of Economics.
The report, "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost," (PDF) determined that if contraception was made widely available between 2010 and 2050 to women and men around the world who wished to use it, the reduction in unwanted births could result in saving 34 gigatonnes (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions. That's roughly 60 years worth of U.K. emissions or 6 years worth of U.S. emissions.
The cost for supplying, and distributing contraception over those 40 years would cost an estimated $220 billion, or $7 for each tonne of carbon emissions avoided. It's cheaper than the next most efficient low-carbon technology, wind power, which would cost $24 per tonne or $1 trillion to prevent the same amount (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions from being produced, according to the report.
In its per-tonne cost analysis, the report also calculated $51 for solar, $57 to $83 for coal plants with carbon capture and storage, $92 for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and $131 for electric vehicles.
The contraception as carbon reduction conclusion was based on United Nations statistics that 40 percent of worldwide pregnancies are unintentional. If contraception was made available to people who wanted it, those unintentional births could be reduced by as much as 72 percent. Between 2010 and 2050, that would result in curbing the world population growth by half a billion people, according to the UN statistics.
That is a conservative estimate, according to the report, since the UN figures are based solely on the lack of contraception access for married couples, and did not include unintended pregnancy statistics for unmarried women.
The study was funded by the U.K. environmental group Optimum Population Trust (OPT), which has argued that a more responsible attitude toward reproduction could be the answer to many environmental issues such oil, food, and water shortages.
The group has said that family planning programs in poor countries should qualify for environmental aid, since fewer people result in less energy use and fewer emissions.
"It's always been obvious that total emissions depend on the number of emitters as well as their individual emissions--the carbon tonnage can't shoot down, as we want, while the population keeps shooting up," Roger Martin, chair of OPT, said in a statement.
Is the practical idea too controversial to be considered because of moral reservations, or will countries warm up to it as not only climate change, but world water supplies become an issue?
"The taboo on mentioning this fact has made the whole climate change debate so far somewhat unreal. Stabilising (sic) population levels has always been essential ecologically, and this study shows it's economically sensible too," said Martin.
Topics: Environment, Policy, Water, Carbon Trading, In the home, Energy efficiency
An interesting idea. There are some cultures where having a large family is considered a good thing, as it provides cheap labor in the fields, etc. There is also a question of education - are the women in third-world countries educated enough to take the pill as ordered? How many of them want the Pill if offered? Would the governments pay for the contraceptives? Having a large population, like China or India, implies a certain sense of economic, intellectual, manufacturing, and military power. China already has a One Child edit in place to limit their population. Would that approach work anywhere else?
Should contraception qualify for climate funds?
by Candace Lombardi 46 comments
Contraception would be the cheapest and most effective way to reduce carbon emissions worldwide between 2010 and 2050, according to a study by the London School of Economics.
The report, "Fewer Emitters, Lower Emissions, Less Cost," (PDF) determined that if contraception was made widely available between 2010 and 2050 to women and men around the world who wished to use it, the reduction in unwanted births could result in saving 34 gigatonnes (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions. That's roughly 60 years worth of U.K. emissions or 6 years worth of U.S. emissions.
The cost for supplying, and distributing contraception over those 40 years would cost an estimated $220 billion, or $7 for each tonne of carbon emissions avoided. It's cheaper than the next most efficient low-carbon technology, wind power, which would cost $24 per tonne or $1 trillion to prevent the same amount (one billion tonnes) of carbon emissions from being produced, according to the report.
In its per-tonne cost analysis, the report also calculated $51 for solar, $57 to $83 for coal plants with carbon capture and storage, $92 for plug-in hybrid vehicles, and $131 for electric vehicles.
The contraception as carbon reduction conclusion was based on United Nations statistics that 40 percent of worldwide pregnancies are unintentional. If contraception was made available to people who wanted it, those unintentional births could be reduced by as much as 72 percent. Between 2010 and 2050, that would result in curbing the world population growth by half a billion people, according to the UN statistics.
That is a conservative estimate, according to the report, since the UN figures are based solely on the lack of contraception access for married couples, and did not include unintended pregnancy statistics for unmarried women.
The study was funded by the U.K. environmental group Optimum Population Trust (OPT), which has argued that a more responsible attitude toward reproduction could be the answer to many environmental issues such oil, food, and water shortages.
The group has said that family planning programs in poor countries should qualify for environmental aid, since fewer people result in less energy use and fewer emissions.
"It's always been obvious that total emissions depend on the number of emitters as well as their individual emissions--the carbon tonnage can't shoot down, as we want, while the population keeps shooting up," Roger Martin, chair of OPT, said in a statement.
Is the practical idea too controversial to be considered because of moral reservations, or will countries warm up to it as not only climate change, but world water supplies become an issue?
"The taboo on mentioning this fact has made the whole climate change debate so far somewhat unreal. Stabilising (sic) population levels has always been essential ecologically, and this study shows it's economically sensible too," said Martin.
Topics: Environment, Policy, Water, Carbon Trading, In the home, Energy efficiency
An interesting idea. There are some cultures where having a large family is considered a good thing, as it provides cheap labor in the fields, etc. There is also a question of education - are the women in third-world countries educated enough to take the pill as ordered? How many of them want the Pill if offered? Would the governments pay for the contraceptives? Having a large population, like China or India, implies a certain sense of economic, intellectual, manufacturing, and military power. China already has a One Child edit in place to limit their population. Would that approach work anywhere else?
IBM's North Carolina smart-grid trial shaves power
September 21, 2009 7:15 AM PDT
IBM's North Carolina smart-grid trial shaves power
by Martin LaMonica 4 comments
Data from a smart-grid pilot project which uses smart meters and wireless appliance controllers shows that such a system can cut electricity use by 15 percent on average.
IBM and Consert have been running the project in Fayetteville, N.C., for the last six months and published the initial findings on Monday. On Tuesday, the GridWeek conference on the smart grid is scheduled to begin in Washington D.C.
The term "smart grid" can mean different things to different people, but the pilot test in North Carolina provides a picture of smart-grid technologies in the home.
Buildings were equipped with wireless smart meter and controllers for the major appliances in the home, such as dishwasher and HVAC systems. These devices communicate with a digital thermostat. A gateway can send information to the utility over a 3G wireless connection supplied by Verizon.
The set-up allows people to see via a PC how much electricity they are consuming and to create a "profile" to improve efficiency. For example, a person can program the cooling system or hot water heater to turn off when people aren't in the home.
In some instances, customers were able to cut electricity consumption by 40 percent, according IBM and Consert. Consumers can also chose to participate in the utility's demand response program where devices, such as a clothes dryer, are turned down for a few minutes during peak times.
The energy-savings from the pilot test are consistent with other smart-grid projects. Many people are able to make adjustments to their home energy use simply by viewing real-time data which might spotlight a big energy user, such as a pool pump. Typically, tools to program home appliances are necessary to get deeper cuts in energy use, experts say
IBM's North Carolina smart-grid trial shaves power
by Martin LaMonica 4 comments
Data from a smart-grid pilot project which uses smart meters and wireless appliance controllers shows that such a system can cut electricity use by 15 percent on average.
IBM and Consert have been running the project in Fayetteville, N.C., for the last six months and published the initial findings on Monday. On Tuesday, the GridWeek conference on the smart grid is scheduled to begin in Washington D.C.
The term "smart grid" can mean different things to different people, but the pilot test in North Carolina provides a picture of smart-grid technologies in the home.
Buildings were equipped with wireless smart meter and controllers for the major appliances in the home, such as dishwasher and HVAC systems. These devices communicate with a digital thermostat. A gateway can send information to the utility over a 3G wireless connection supplied by Verizon.
The set-up allows people to see via a PC how much electricity they are consuming and to create a "profile" to improve efficiency. For example, a person can program the cooling system or hot water heater to turn off when people aren't in the home.
In some instances, customers were able to cut electricity consumption by 40 percent, according IBM and Consert. Consumers can also chose to participate in the utility's demand response program where devices, such as a clothes dryer, are turned down for a few minutes during peak times.
The energy-savings from the pilot test are consistent with other smart-grid projects. Many people are able to make adjustments to their home energy use simply by viewing real-time data which might spotlight a big energy user, such as a pool pump. Typically, tools to program home appliances are necessary to get deeper cuts in energy use, experts say
Silver Spring buys Greenbox's Web energy software
September 22, 2009 8:30 AM PDT
Silver Spring buys Greenbox's Web energy software
by Martin LaMonica Post a comment
Smart grid company Silver Spring Networks said on Tuesday that it has an agreement to buy Greenbox Technology, a home energy-management software company started by the makers of Flash.
The planned acquisition is a significant expansion for Silver Spring Networks, which makes wireless networking cards that are embedded in smart meters to broker communications between homes and utilities.
(Credit: Silver Spring Networks)Seven-year-old Silver Spring Networks is one of the most successful Silicon Valley green-tech start-ups. Its IP-based networking technology is being used in a number of smart-grid programs led by large utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Florida Power & Light. CEO Scott Lang said earlier this year that it plans to go public, although it has been considered an acquisition target itself.
Greenbox Technology's Web-based energy-management software is designed for consumers looking to trim their energy use. It allows people to see the electricity consumption of devices in the home and provides recommendations on how to cut use.
In-home energy-management software is a crucial piece of many smart-grid programs. By providing a dashboard to view data and an energy-management program--accessed either through a Web portal or stand-alone monitoring device--consumers can cut consumption by about 15 percent, according to initial smart-grid trials.
With the acquisition, the Greenbox software, already used by thousands of people, will be available to more consumers, said Matt Smith, the company's vice president of market. Greenbox Technology's product is aimed at utilities who offer the software as an "energy-management portal" to consumers in smart-grid projects, he said.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Greenbox Technology, which was founded in 2007, was angel funded.
Right now, Greenbox's software pulls data from a smart meter to give consumers a read on their energy use. But the company is working on future versions of the software that can operate with a wireless thermostat to control the settings for a homes heating and cooling system, Smith said.
It makes perfect sense to have a home energy program matched up with a company that can deliver that data to a utility via the Internet. There are those who might say the easiest way to control home energy usage is to turn most things off when you leave. A few things, such as refrigerators, freezers, clocks, etc. that should probably be left on, but the rest can be turned off manually. The minimal cost of leaving my computer on to run the BOINC programs, Rosetta at Home, malariacontrol, and SETI - are my little donations to worldwide research. A little gift to humanity, if you will. I am one of 5 million people who make these little donations in order to move forward cancer research, in the case of Rosetta at Home. I have mentioned this project to a couple of School Board computer people, about using the schools computers after the kids leave school, but was told the School Board wants to save money now, and turns the computers off, instead of leaving them on 24/7, like they used to. I would think that businesses could be persuaded to participate too, if the research institutions paid the businesses something to help defray the costs. The research universities could forge agreements with other universities and community colleges too. There are millions of computers out there being under-utilized, that could make up the computing power of several supercomputers for basic science research.
Silver Spring buys Greenbox's Web energy software
by Martin LaMonica Post a comment
Smart grid company Silver Spring Networks said on Tuesday that it has an agreement to buy Greenbox Technology, a home energy-management software company started by the makers of Flash.
The planned acquisition is a significant expansion for Silver Spring Networks, which makes wireless networking cards that are embedded in smart meters to broker communications between homes and utilities.
(Credit: Silver Spring Networks)Seven-year-old Silver Spring Networks is one of the most successful Silicon Valley green-tech start-ups. Its IP-based networking technology is being used in a number of smart-grid programs led by large utilities, such as Pacific Gas & Electric and Florida Power & Light. CEO Scott Lang said earlier this year that it plans to go public, although it has been considered an acquisition target itself.
Greenbox Technology's Web-based energy-management software is designed for consumers looking to trim their energy use. It allows people to see the electricity consumption of devices in the home and provides recommendations on how to cut use.
In-home energy-management software is a crucial piece of many smart-grid programs. By providing a dashboard to view data and an energy-management program--accessed either through a Web portal or stand-alone monitoring device--consumers can cut consumption by about 15 percent, according to initial smart-grid trials.
With the acquisition, the Greenbox software, already used by thousands of people, will be available to more consumers, said Matt Smith, the company's vice president of market. Greenbox Technology's product is aimed at utilities who offer the software as an "energy-management portal" to consumers in smart-grid projects, he said.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Greenbox Technology, which was founded in 2007, was angel funded.
Right now, Greenbox's software pulls data from a smart meter to give consumers a read on their energy use. But the company is working on future versions of the software that can operate with a wireless thermostat to control the settings for a homes heating and cooling system, Smith said.
It makes perfect sense to have a home energy program matched up with a company that can deliver that data to a utility via the Internet. There are those who might say the easiest way to control home energy usage is to turn most things off when you leave. A few things, such as refrigerators, freezers, clocks, etc. that should probably be left on, but the rest can be turned off manually. The minimal cost of leaving my computer on to run the BOINC programs, Rosetta at Home, malariacontrol, and SETI - are my little donations to worldwide research. A little gift to humanity, if you will. I am one of 5 million people who make these little donations in order to move forward cancer research, in the case of Rosetta at Home. I have mentioned this project to a couple of School Board computer people, about using the schools computers after the kids leave school, but was told the School Board wants to save money now, and turns the computers off, instead of leaving them on 24/7, like they used to. I would think that businesses could be persuaded to participate too, if the research institutions paid the businesses something to help defray the costs. The research universities could forge agreements with other universities and community colleges too. There are millions of computers out there being under-utilized, that could make up the computing power of several supercomputers for basic science research.
Why all the requests for paperless billing lately?
September 24, 2009 8:16 AM PDT
Why all the requests for paperless billing lately?
by Candace Lombardi 33 comments
Feel like just about every utility, bank, and service company you use is asking you to sign up for their paperless option?
It's not your imagination. And you're about to be inundated with even more requests to opt-in to paperless communications, according to an IDC survey released Thursday.
Ninety-two percent of the 300 U.S. companies in IDC's "Green IT & Sustainability Survey 2009" said getting customers to move from print to online services is a goal they hope to initiate within 12 months.
The survey also shows an increased interest from companies in implementing green practices as a way to take advantage of their growing IT infrastructure. About 46 percent in the new survey said it was the second most important factor driving sustainability practices, compared with 31 percent in a 2008 survey.
The trend is attributed to the budget squeeze being placed on IT managers and their desire to show executives they're maximizing assets, as companies look to save money.
"Because they understand that much of their expanding infrastructure remains underutilized--adding to their company's capital and energy costs--green IT policies can help establish a more comprehensive approach to utilizing their assets," Vernon Turner, senior vice president of IDC's Enterprise Infrastructure, Consumer and Telecom Research, said in a statement.
Saving energy, of course, remains the No. 1 reason companies are adopting sustainability practices with 64 percent of the respondents surveyed citing it as the most important factor in their decisions.
IDC surveyed 1,653 companies in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. That included the 300 surveyed in the U.S. The survey represented a cross-section of industries that included banking, manufacturing, health care, government, and transportation.
I have been working at a local school lately, and the daily attendance records are prinetd out every day, using 200+ sheets of paper each day. Paperless billing makes perfect sense to me but there are are technical issues about computer programs not being able to talk to each other, I have heard. Saves paper, time, and money
Why all the requests for paperless billing lately?
by Candace Lombardi 33 comments
Feel like just about every utility, bank, and service company you use is asking you to sign up for their paperless option?
It's not your imagination. And you're about to be inundated with even more requests to opt-in to paperless communications, according to an IDC survey released Thursday.
Ninety-two percent of the 300 U.S. companies in IDC's "Green IT & Sustainability Survey 2009" said getting customers to move from print to online services is a goal they hope to initiate within 12 months.
The survey also shows an increased interest from companies in implementing green practices as a way to take advantage of their growing IT infrastructure. About 46 percent in the new survey said it was the second most important factor driving sustainability practices, compared with 31 percent in a 2008 survey.
The trend is attributed to the budget squeeze being placed on IT managers and their desire to show executives they're maximizing assets, as companies look to save money.
"Because they understand that much of their expanding infrastructure remains underutilized--adding to their company's capital and energy costs--green IT policies can help establish a more comprehensive approach to utilizing their assets," Vernon Turner, senior vice president of IDC's Enterprise Infrastructure, Consumer and Telecom Research, said in a statement.
Saving energy, of course, remains the No. 1 reason companies are adopting sustainability practices with 64 percent of the respondents surveyed citing it as the most important factor in their decisions.
IDC surveyed 1,653 companies in Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., and the U.S. That included the 300 surveyed in the U.S. The survey represented a cross-section of industries that included banking, manufacturing, health care, government, and transportation.
I have been working at a local school lately, and the daily attendance records are prinetd out every day, using 200+ sheets of paper each day. Paperless billing makes perfect sense to me but there are are technical issues about computer programs not being able to talk to each other, I have heard. Saves paper, time, and money
Will American spirituality get serious?
Jay MichaelsonColumnist, activist
Posted: September 29, 2009 10:32
Will Spirituality Ever Be Serious?
Read More: Arianna Huffington, Benefits Of Yoga, Burning Man, Church, Huffington Post, Irrationality, Kabbalah, Kabbalah Water, Kirtan, Meditation, Meditation Practice, Meditation Retreats, Narcissism, Rationality, Religion, Spirituality, Talmud, The Secret, Ufos, What-The-Bleep-Do-We-Know, Yoga, Living News
Will American spirituality get serious? Those of us who do regular spiritual practice -- whether it's meditating every day or giving our time to the less fortunate, spending focused time with our kids or going to church each week -- have long been vilified by the cynical press as narcissists, flakes, or worse. In general, this is a cliché born out of fear and ignorance. But let's admit that the insult has some truth to it -- and will take work to rise above.
Let's start with two hard truths. The first is that spirituality makes claims to transformation and transcendence, but is often just a balm. Now, all of us who do a spiritual practice have experienced transformation. In small ways, this happens all the time. Before yoga, you feel angry, tense, and egocentric; after yoga, at least for a little while, you feel open, loving, and generous. In larger ways, it happens once in a while. A particularly inspiring sermon, a deep insight gained on an extended retreat, an ecstasy experienced at a place like Burning Man -- these kinds of things can meaningfully, and more or less permanently, change one's life. What they all have in common is transformation: a growth beyond one's previous limits.
All too often, however, spirituality reinforces rather than transcends conventional limits, boundaries, and notions of the ego. Sandwiched in between manicures and lunch dates, the quickie yoga class becomes just another way to augment and reinforce the self; pop Kabbalah and the Secret promise ways to get what you want more effectively, rather than, say, question whether "what you want" is really aligned with your deepest humanity, and your potential to lessen the suffering of others.
Not that there's anything wrong with manicures, lunch, or things which make the body more beautiful and life more pleasant -- I like all of the above -- but when spirituality is put into the service of pleasure, it is open to the cynical critique that all we're doing when we do breathwork, paint, and light Sabbath candles is making ourselves feel better. It's no different, really, from going to a NASCAR race -- except the racing fan isn't deluding himself that what he's doing is anything more than having a good time.
Second, spirituality often gets a bad rap because it often involves, well, a lot of hoo-hah. Water blessed by a "kabbalistic" rabbi, dubious modalities of energy healing, UFOs -- it's not that all of these are necessarily false, but the way that many spiritual people relate to them is all too credulous. Many of us rush to supernatural explanations for entirely natural phenomena, ascribing all sorts of mind-states and ideas to God or subtle energies or alien intelligences or whatever.
Now, unlike most of the cynics, I've experienced a lot of those mind-states, mystical experiences, and insights that indeed feel heaven-sent. I've had these experiences, and I know how they seem to be. But seems is not is. And when we interpret our experiences incautiously, we're not so different from the fundamentalist who believes she is on a mission from God. We deserve to be called out on this.
What's frustrating for those of us who really do take spirituality seriously is that there's often a lot of good mixed in with the bad. I remember seeing the film What the Bleep Do We Know? with a cynical friend of mine. I was so gratified by some parts of the film, yet so horrified by others. I wanted to say to my friend, "look, just because this crazy idea is crazy, that other idea is really very good. Really!" But of course, the leaps of illogic and messy thinking in the film negated its occasionally brilliant insights. The whole thing was suspect.
But I want to suggest that spirituality, as practiced here in America, can indeed rise out of the twin mucks of messy thinking and self-aggrandizement. Yes, it can be serious. And there are a few basic principles by which it can do so.
First, let's get serious about the worth of spiritual practice, and stop hiding. One of the reasons articles like this one appear on The Huffington Post is our editors' belief -- beginning with our editor in chief -- that spiritual work is part of being a well-rounded person, and that it should be taken as seriously as politics and culture. Just as one's life is incomplete if one never takes the time to appreciate music or art or film, so is it missing something if one lacks a spiritual practice. Let's not hedge about this. Let's be clear that intellectual giants who are spiritual infants are just as deficient in terms of human excellence as people who never exercise, or travel, or read.
And let's be serious about the proposition that learning to open the heart has real-world consequences; that it is possible to become more generous and compassionate toward others, and that it matters to do so. Our society has found ever more elaborate ways to get more stuff. Like religion used to do, spiritual practice offers one of the few counterpoints to the relentless march of desire. And that has political consequences, in the largest sense of the word.
Second, if we are serious about spirituality's worth, then we should be serious about doing it. Whatever your personal growth practice is, from kirtan to karate, pilates to psychodrama, it oughtn't be a hobby. These things work, in ways we can articulate and understand, and they should be respected as sacred -- or at least as important. Sometimes getting serious about spiritual practice means sacrificing other things in order to do it -- other activities, or certain foods, or indulging in gossip or revenge. Sometimes it may just mean ratcheting it up the priority list, fixing it as a regular part of your routine just as religious people prioritize going to church or synagogue. Sometimes it may even mean taking time off to do it; I recently devoted five months to silent meditation retreat, and it was one of the best (and hardest) things I've ever done.
Of course, not all of us are lucky enough to get away for months at a time. But wherever we find ourselves, that is where we begin. "Wherever you're going, there you are," as Jon Kabat-Zinn says. Or, in the words of the Talmudic rabbis, "It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task -- but you are not free to desist from it." If we take our own spiritual practice as seriously as traditionally religious people take theirs, we will help it gain the respect it deserves, not least because the benefits we obtain will be so obvious to ourselves and others.
Third, let's stop running away from the intellect. I believe that spirituality is one of the axes of human excellence. But so is rationality. Yes, Western materialism has been narrow-minded and brutal for hundreds of years. Clearly, the people who wear the suits and live in big houses are not to be trusted naively. But we owe it to ourselves as 21st century people to evaluate claims critically, whether they are made by Big Agri-business or holistic healers, corporations or gurus. Spiritual integrity and intellectual integrity should be allies, not enemies.
Finally, getting serious about spirituality means opening up to the possibility that the self is the object of the practice, not the boss of it. Working on the self means not taking every whim for granted, even if they are spiritual whims, and doing the practice even when you don't feel like doing it. If you're serious, you go to the gym even when you're not in the mood; likewise with meditation, or prayer, or yoga, or any other kind of spiritual or personal growth work. Old-fashioned values like constancy, reliability, and fortitude are invaluable allies. Remember, if it's authentic, it's not about feeling good -- it's about feeling, period. Let's not run to the comfortable, and let's be unafraid of hard work. Some days, spiritual practice feels like the last thing in the world I want to do. Often, those are the most important days to do it.
Admittedly, describing spirituality as hard work, soul-searing, and intellectually rigorous is probably not good marketing. Times are tough: people want to feel better, and there's nothing wrong with that. But each of us individually -- teachers and students, skeptics and true-believers -- has the opportunity to take responsibility for the care of our own soul. And in that work, spiritual people should spirituality the way that religious people treat religion: as serious, important, and worth building a life around. Not only will it get the respect it deserves -- it will be more able to do the most vital work on the planet.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-michaelson/will-spirituality-ever-be_b_302808.html
Posted: September 29, 2009 10:32
Will Spirituality Ever Be Serious?
Read More: Arianna Huffington, Benefits Of Yoga, Burning Man, Church, Huffington Post, Irrationality, Kabbalah, Kabbalah Water, Kirtan, Meditation, Meditation Practice, Meditation Retreats, Narcissism, Rationality, Religion, Spirituality, Talmud, The Secret, Ufos, What-The-Bleep-Do-We-Know, Yoga, Living News
Will American spirituality get serious? Those of us who do regular spiritual practice -- whether it's meditating every day or giving our time to the less fortunate, spending focused time with our kids or going to church each week -- have long been vilified by the cynical press as narcissists, flakes, or worse. In general, this is a cliché born out of fear and ignorance. But let's admit that the insult has some truth to it -- and will take work to rise above.
Let's start with two hard truths. The first is that spirituality makes claims to transformation and transcendence, but is often just a balm. Now, all of us who do a spiritual practice have experienced transformation. In small ways, this happens all the time. Before yoga, you feel angry, tense, and egocentric; after yoga, at least for a little while, you feel open, loving, and generous. In larger ways, it happens once in a while. A particularly inspiring sermon, a deep insight gained on an extended retreat, an ecstasy experienced at a place like Burning Man -- these kinds of things can meaningfully, and more or less permanently, change one's life. What they all have in common is transformation: a growth beyond one's previous limits.
All too often, however, spirituality reinforces rather than transcends conventional limits, boundaries, and notions of the ego. Sandwiched in between manicures and lunch dates, the quickie yoga class becomes just another way to augment and reinforce the self; pop Kabbalah and the Secret promise ways to get what you want more effectively, rather than, say, question whether "what you want" is really aligned with your deepest humanity, and your potential to lessen the suffering of others.
Not that there's anything wrong with manicures, lunch, or things which make the body more beautiful and life more pleasant -- I like all of the above -- but when spirituality is put into the service of pleasure, it is open to the cynical critique that all we're doing when we do breathwork, paint, and light Sabbath candles is making ourselves feel better. It's no different, really, from going to a NASCAR race -- except the racing fan isn't deluding himself that what he's doing is anything more than having a good time.
Second, spirituality often gets a bad rap because it often involves, well, a lot of hoo-hah. Water blessed by a "kabbalistic" rabbi, dubious modalities of energy healing, UFOs -- it's not that all of these are necessarily false, but the way that many spiritual people relate to them is all too credulous. Many of us rush to supernatural explanations for entirely natural phenomena, ascribing all sorts of mind-states and ideas to God or subtle energies or alien intelligences or whatever.
Now, unlike most of the cynics, I've experienced a lot of those mind-states, mystical experiences, and insights that indeed feel heaven-sent. I've had these experiences, and I know how they seem to be. But seems is not is. And when we interpret our experiences incautiously, we're not so different from the fundamentalist who believes she is on a mission from God. We deserve to be called out on this.
What's frustrating for those of us who really do take spirituality seriously is that there's often a lot of good mixed in with the bad. I remember seeing the film What the Bleep Do We Know? with a cynical friend of mine. I was so gratified by some parts of the film, yet so horrified by others. I wanted to say to my friend, "look, just because this crazy idea is crazy, that other idea is really very good. Really!" But of course, the leaps of illogic and messy thinking in the film negated its occasionally brilliant insights. The whole thing was suspect.
But I want to suggest that spirituality, as practiced here in America, can indeed rise out of the twin mucks of messy thinking and self-aggrandizement. Yes, it can be serious. And there are a few basic principles by which it can do so.
First, let's get serious about the worth of spiritual practice, and stop hiding. One of the reasons articles like this one appear on The Huffington Post is our editors' belief -- beginning with our editor in chief -- that spiritual work is part of being a well-rounded person, and that it should be taken as seriously as politics and culture. Just as one's life is incomplete if one never takes the time to appreciate music or art or film, so is it missing something if one lacks a spiritual practice. Let's not hedge about this. Let's be clear that intellectual giants who are spiritual infants are just as deficient in terms of human excellence as people who never exercise, or travel, or read.
And let's be serious about the proposition that learning to open the heart has real-world consequences; that it is possible to become more generous and compassionate toward others, and that it matters to do so. Our society has found ever more elaborate ways to get more stuff. Like religion used to do, spiritual practice offers one of the few counterpoints to the relentless march of desire. And that has political consequences, in the largest sense of the word.
Second, if we are serious about spirituality's worth, then we should be serious about doing it. Whatever your personal growth practice is, from kirtan to karate, pilates to psychodrama, it oughtn't be a hobby. These things work, in ways we can articulate and understand, and they should be respected as sacred -- or at least as important. Sometimes getting serious about spiritual practice means sacrificing other things in order to do it -- other activities, or certain foods, or indulging in gossip or revenge. Sometimes it may just mean ratcheting it up the priority list, fixing it as a regular part of your routine just as religious people prioritize going to church or synagogue. Sometimes it may even mean taking time off to do it; I recently devoted five months to silent meditation retreat, and it was one of the best (and hardest) things I've ever done.
Of course, not all of us are lucky enough to get away for months at a time. But wherever we find ourselves, that is where we begin. "Wherever you're going, there you are," as Jon Kabat-Zinn says. Or, in the words of the Talmudic rabbis, "It is not incumbent upon you to finish the task -- but you are not free to desist from it." If we take our own spiritual practice as seriously as traditionally religious people take theirs, we will help it gain the respect it deserves, not least because the benefits we obtain will be so obvious to ourselves and others.
Third, let's stop running away from the intellect. I believe that spirituality is one of the axes of human excellence. But so is rationality. Yes, Western materialism has been narrow-minded and brutal for hundreds of years. Clearly, the people who wear the suits and live in big houses are not to be trusted naively. But we owe it to ourselves as 21st century people to evaluate claims critically, whether they are made by Big Agri-business or holistic healers, corporations or gurus. Spiritual integrity and intellectual integrity should be allies, not enemies.
Finally, getting serious about spirituality means opening up to the possibility that the self is the object of the practice, not the boss of it. Working on the self means not taking every whim for granted, even if they are spiritual whims, and doing the practice even when you don't feel like doing it. If you're serious, you go to the gym even when you're not in the mood; likewise with meditation, or prayer, or yoga, or any other kind of spiritual or personal growth work. Old-fashioned values like constancy, reliability, and fortitude are invaluable allies. Remember, if it's authentic, it's not about feeling good -- it's about feeling, period. Let's not run to the comfortable, and let's be unafraid of hard work. Some days, spiritual practice feels like the last thing in the world I want to do. Often, those are the most important days to do it.
Admittedly, describing spirituality as hard work, soul-searing, and intellectually rigorous is probably not good marketing. Times are tough: people want to feel better, and there's nothing wrong with that. But each of us individually -- teachers and students, skeptics and true-believers -- has the opportunity to take responsibility for the care of our own soul. And in that work, spiritual people should spirituality the way that religious people treat religion: as serious, important, and worth building a life around. Not only will it get the respect it deserves -- it will be more able to do the most vital work on the planet.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-michaelson/will-spirituality-ever-be_b_302808.html
This green home will heat itself
July 24, 2009 4:00 AM PDT
This green home will heat itself
by Martin LaMonica
For all the complex solutions proposed to lower building energy use, Simon Hare has a project to demonstrate the power of simplicity in green buildings.
The design-builder earlier this year began reconstructing an 1850 cottage in Boston's historic Roxbury Crossing neighborhood to be so energy efficient that it wouldn't need any mechanical heating.
His work is inspired by the Passive House standard, which is based on a set of principles for building energy-efficient homes that took root in Germany in the late 1980s. But Hare has another goal: to show that net-zero, or very low, energy homes are within reach of everyday building professionals.
A green home grows in Boston.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
"The Passive House approach is very techie, which I think is its Achilles Heel--it appeals to geeks but not the layman, the lay builder," Hare said standing in the half-finished home last month. "We can prove we can do this without hiring consultants and using software to do the energy modeling. We'll just use precedent and established rules of thumb."
The Pratt House project is an example of a burgeoning movement in the building industry. With the growing concern over the environment and energy, builders and architects are devising ways to dramatically cut the energy use in people's homes, for both new construction and retrofits. In the U.S., all buildings represent about half of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
A more high-tech approach to super-efficient homes could be control systems that optimize a home's mechanical systems, such as heating and lighting, or demand-response appliances that can take advantage of off-peak electricity prices.
Photos: A Passive House in the making
By contrast, many builders like Hare are starting from the ground up by taking steps to lower the energy load that a home needs to operate. In practice, that boils down to constructing an air-tight building with lots of insulation and energy-efficient appliances.
When you add distributed energy, such as solar panels for hot water and electricity, to a well-sealed and insulated home, homeowners can dramatically cut utility bills and potentially get to net-zero energy use. Following the Passive House guidelines, for example, can lower energy use by 60 percent to 70 percent and drop the heating load by 90 percent.
Trickier than it looks
Hare's project in Roxbury, which happens to be his family's house, started out as a retrofit. The building, which once was a workshop for a 19th-century gunsmith, had been abandoned for 20 years before he acquired it. After construction began, the crew at his firm, Placetailor, discovered serious structural problems and the cottage was torn down and rebuilt with the exact same dimensions.
Since it's a new construction, they were able to take particular care with the air sealing. The frame of the home is built using structural insulated panels, which are 12-inch layers of foam insulation sandwiched between two sheets of plywood.
A layer of one-inch rigid insulating foam on the exterior walls brings the r-value (a measure of insulation) to 50, many times more than a typical home. The joints between the wall building blocks and the floor were taped or sprayed with foam to make the building more air tight.
Hare borrowed a fog machine from a local DJ during two blower door tests to see where air was escaping from the building, viewing it both from the outside and from the basement. Many tweaks made the house very tight with 0.6 air changes an hour, which for a building that size translates to 60 cubic feet per minute.
In an unusual twist, the floor is made of concrete and the interior walls, too, will be made of similar material. That material acts as a "thermal mass," able to retain heat in the winter or absorb heat from the air in the summer to maintain a comfortable climate, Hare explained. By adding solar panels, the Pratt House could easily be a net zero-energy home, he said.
Although it's rarely done, builders have been converting existing homes into these sorts of superinsulated buildings for decades. One way is to put foam board insulation on a home's exterior walls and roof while another option is to spray insulating foam onto the exterior and add shingles on top of that layer.
Adding that exterior layer of insulation is expensive upfront and, in practice, tricky when dealing with windows, doors, and drainage considerations. But a bigger barrier to better-sealed homes is simply inertia given that most contractors don't pay attention to how air flows in buildings.
"The basics are simple--a lot of insulation, a very tight building, and efficient appliance," said Hare. "But a regular construction crew would just put up a wall quickly and never stop to think about sealing cracks and leaving places where you want air to go through."
Homes that are extremely air tight need a heat-recovery ventilator which brings in outside air mechanically, while heating the air as it enters.
Miles per gallon for homes
In parallel to the push for more efficient homes, there are more calls for benchmarks and performance standards. Right now, builders and homeowners are largely "flying blind" when it comes to making efficiency improvements, according to Paul Eldrenkamp, of design and build firm Byggmeister, who is the first Passive House-certified consultant in New England.
The original structure, an 1850 gunsmith's workshop that had been abandoned.
(Credit: Placetailor)At the Pratt House, the approach is to build first and analyze later. Hare went that route because he's concerned that exhaustive up-front analysis, which might involve modeling software and complex spreadsheets, is too intimidating to most builders.
"People in this whole movement say that there needs to be standards but they are so far removed from established building practices--it's just another barrier in adopting these things," he said. "Passive House is a very strict standard. You could fall short by some fraction but still have an excellent building."
The target is to have the Pratt House nearly complete by October, which is when the big test for his experiment begins. In the winter, the goal is to maintain a temperature between 63 and 65 during the winter without supplemental heat. So far, in the summer, the home has stayed cooler than the outdoors, thanks in part to the concrete floor which absorbs heat and makes it feel cooler.
This sort of home is clearly not for everyone. It's very small at 750 square feet and the people inside will need to manage the temperature more actively than simply setting the thermostat. For example, to gain heat in the winter, they will need to open the south-facing shades during the day and close them at night to retain heat. In the summer, too, they open the windows at night to cool off the thermal mass of the building.
On the other hand, the materials involved are cheap or recycled. "You don't need fancy expensive windows from Germany," said Hare. And many of the construction techniques can be applied elsewhere. Placetailor, in fact, is involved in another local project called the JP Green House which aims to convert a 100-year-old home to be carbon neutral.
"We had this feeling that if (efficient homes) are going to be widespread, you should be able to do it with common sense," Hare said. "Otherwise, it's just a geeky pursuit or it's rocket science when most people just want a house."
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin.
Topics: In the home, Green buildingsTags: green buildings,
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(28 Comments) prev 1 next by greenireland July 24, 2009 4:51 AM PDT
Great idea, we are also working on Air Tightness testing and can say that it does matter a lot. Unfortunately under the current Irish building regs the allowed Air Permeability rate can't exceed 10m3/hr/m2 @50Pa which is way too high for an adequately built home. Fair play to you guys for starting to build right, showing everybody that it can be done and doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Any chance we can link our blog to your article?
Reply to this comment by mlamonica July 24, 2009 5:19 AM PDT
Sure, feel free to link to (but not reproduce entirely) .Here's the URL :http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10293753-54.html?tag=mncol;title Here's the URL of the photo gallery : http://news.cnet.com/2300-11128_3-10001256-1.html?tag=mncol;txt
by dbargen July 24, 2009 5:20 AM PDT
Hey, Martin,
Can we get a price tag on that home? Maybe without the demo costs, just to make it fair.
One item I'm surprised wasn't addressed was heating and cooling systems, and what controls vapor between all of those layers of insulating material. The way they talk about "concrete holding in the heat," I'm surprised there wasn't note of radiant heat systems put into the slab as it was poured.
One of these days, we'll actually see a side-by-side comparison of construction costs to let us see if it's *really* worth it.
Reply to this comment by pixelpusher220 July 24, 2009 8:41 AM PDT
Comparing 'construction costs' isn't a fair comparison. The false comparison is that these green builds will *ever* be cheaper than a normal build....*today*.
.
The real comparison would require the accurate pricing of the resources and detrimental effects of those resources used for power, heating and cooling. Then you'd know the true cost of a regular build and a green build. Over time the green build would be significantly cheaper.
.
The problem is that *today* we don't price in all the costs associated with energy production; we only factor in fuel and infrastructure costs. The costs associated with releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases and other pollutants isn't factored in. That's where the real savings of a green build are found.
.
Once you move to renewable fuel sources, green gets even better as your 'fuel' costs start to disappear as well.
.
It's the same with cars. No electric vehicle will ever be cheaper than a gasoline car *today* when it comes to fuel and power density. Over time, as gasoline prices rise electrics will stay relatively constant and/or drop a bit with efficiency. That's when electrics come into their own. Unfortunately, the environment may not wait for that to happen.
by mlamonica July 24, 2009 9:16 AM PDT
This house isn't going on the market since the builder is the owner. He doesn't have a very accurate number on cost but said it's in the range of $240/ square foot for construction. They plan on publishing that info when the complete the project in the fall, but the goal all along was to keep it relatively inexpensive.
There was another article on superinsulated homes. See here. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10123367-54.html?tag=mncol;txt
There is a significant upfront cost to doing that sort of deep energy retrofit and there are different ways to calculate your payback (see the Byggmeister link in article). But clearly your ongoing utility/operating costs will be lower.
by kyoung5446 July 24, 2009 10:00 AM PDT
As an employee of Placetailor, the 'project manager' for this project, and member of the construction crew, I will try to shed some light on your questions.
The price tag is a little tricky to figure out because the company was being established while this project was being built. Company startup costs and construction costs were not always separated. Our estimates for construction are between 120k and 150k, certainly a steal for Boston. Costs were kept low by having a small (2 man+ temp help when needed) construction crew, and many late nights put in by Simon, the homeowner.
Our goal for this project was to achieve the Passive House standard, which requires a very low annual heating and energy load (? 15 kWh/m2/year for heat, ? 120 kWh/m2/year for primary energy). So low in fact, that having traditional heating (including radiant) and cooling systems pushes the house over these limits and is not an option. Therefore, the primary source of heat for the house is the sun. By using very dense masonry materials on the interior (concrete floors, stucco walls, bricks within interior partitions) the house absorbs and stores the heat from the sun during the day, and slowly dissipates it into the space throughout the night. The use of dense materials to capture energy is called 'thermal mass' and is one technique among others that we employed to achieve our goal of no heating or cooling systems.
by kyoung5446 July 24, 2009 10:03 AM PDT
That should be (LESS THAN 15 kWh/m2/year for heat, and LESS THAN 120 kWh/m2/year for primary energy)
by Phil in MN July 24, 2009 12:23 PM PDT
Go to: http://www.passivehouse.us/passiveHouse/PHIUSHome.html
In most cases these homes can be heated with a hair dryer so ther is no value in very expensive hitech heating plants. The money goes into the envelope vs. the hi tech equipment.
by ssanchex July 24, 2009 6:10 AM PDT
Every time I see or read about these "green" home projects I get really excited at the prospect of being able to take real case examples to my architect for my home's renovation. I was particularly excited by the retrofit of a 19th century home, given my home is also from the same period. Then comes the inevitable let down from many of these projects; a concrete thermal mass. Concrete's use of Portland Cement means that is has a massive up front carbon output. So whilst the house may be cheap to run and carbon neutral on an on going basis, many of these homes will take up to 20 years to repay the carbon released in the manufacture of the concrete they use. Using large amounts of concrete is one of the least "green" things you can do when building or renovating your home.
Does anyone know of anyone using lime-crete (a Portland cement free concrete) as a thermal mass; does it have the right thermal properties?
Reply to this comment by Orengeman July 24, 2009 6:56 AM PDT
Where are the windows on this house? How dark and dingy is it going to be on the inside? The original structure had 3 windows on the street side - 1 up, 2 down, but the new house has only 1 on each floor, plus no windows on the long side and a small window on the single-story portion in the rear. How many people out there want to live in a small dark cave?
Reply to this comment by mlamonica July 24, 2009 6:59 AM PDT
There are big windows/ glass doors on the south side, placed there to let light and heat in. See the photo gallery: This picture gives you an idea of the back: http://news.cnet.com/2300-11128_3-10001256-6.html?tag=mncol
by iamarcin July 24, 2009 7:00 AM PDT
This building has stood for 150 years.
Id say that the improvements over its life time would have at least paid for themselves.
Reply to this comment by findmorefollowers July 27, 2009 5:23 PM PDT
The article said they had to tear the original building down due to structural faults... and a replica was built in its place.
[CNET editors' note: Spam deleted]
by whobob July 24, 2009 7:05 AM PDT
My father had his store built with a foam block building system. Found that even in winter where tempuratures are routinely below -20C (about -4F) that the heat generated from coolers in the store pretty much kept it heated. Of course in the summer he had to air condition a lot more than normal so maybe in his case the overall change in energy use was not that much.
A house of course would not have so much heat producing equipment in it. Super insulation can make a lot of sense in that case.
Reply to this comment by pjcamp July 24, 2009 8:19 AM PDT
I hate to point this out, but if he tore it down and rebuilt it, that doesn't count as a retrofit.
Reply to this comment by MischaMAC July 24, 2009 9:28 AM PDT
I want one!
Reply to this comment by danieliusC July 24, 2009 9:35 AM PDT
Another air tight home. When the HVAC system is not blowing air- the air is bad- very bad. Why is that good? Why go to such extremes? Its not necessary or very smart. High tech this- high tech high cost that. You can build a better, heathier, more pleasant to live in home for lots less money - I have. I live in it. With few exceptions there is no tech younger than 100 years. This is not a home- its a prison. You want to be a slave to the bank? or a slave to your high tech junk? My home has some similar characteristics- but I kept it real simple - my interior walls are brick- used brick- how is that for green. there is not a single fan or air moving device other than what gravity provides and some clever use of basic physics. No boxes of fans and heat exchangers taking up space and electricity. If the power goes down in this house it becomes toxic. I would not want to live in this little experiment- 10 bucks says they guys partner leaves him within a year of moving in.
Reply to this comment by ArtInvent July 24, 2009 9:39 AM PDT
You touched briefly on the air exchange systems pioneered in Germany. This is extraordinarily important since a super airtight building will need a constant supply of fresh air, and that system needs to somehow conserve the temperature inside the building. Without a very efficient heat exchanger the whole concept wouldn't be possible. A related consideration is making sure all spaces stay dry to avoid fungus which has been a big problem in earlier sealed and super-insulated homes. Again the key is ventilation without losing temperature.
Living in So. Cal. (or almost anywhere in CA for that matter) most homes still have heaters and AC. That's tens of millions of unnecessary units sucking power. We could probably skimp a bit, not be quite so stringent on insulation R values and airtightness, and still manage to build homes that need zero added heat or cooling. I am slowly converting all my windows to dual panes, but even with modest improvements to insulation and smarter systems, it can take very little energy in this part of the country to maintain a comfortable temperature.
In the summer, it's kind of shocking how well a substantial whole house fan can cool the house at night.. With good insulation, it's not hard to conserve that temperature throughout the day and eliminate AC. Yet almost no homes have a good system to really push the nice cool air outside into the home at night and push the warm air out. It really takes fans pushing air inside in certain locations, and out through the attic in other locations.
It's time to stop just throwing up marginally insulated buildings and bolting on the heater and AC units. Thanks for this article and hope to see more like it.
Reply to this comment by MD_Willington July 24, 2009 9:51 AM PDT
A lot of existing structures can be retrofitted in a similar way with a Larson Truss system, the system was invented in Canada, it is a pretty simple retrofit. Or you can build it that way to begin with.
Of course the SIPs do a great job too, SIPs are hardly new technology however...
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SolarHomes/LarsenTruss/LarsenTruss.htm
Reply to this comment by ecotopian--2008 July 24, 2009 10:51 AM PDT
IMHO - Air Tight is not the way to go. It can create very unhealthy conditions. I once worked on a "Double-envelope" house which had both inner & outer walls with air circulating in between. Extremely expensive to build, by the way. On the south side, this air gap opened into a solarium which created plenty of warm air that circulated through the entire envelope. Worked great, but only for one purpose. The air in the house smelled bad, the wife was sick & the baby miserable. I support Green Design 100%, but solutions that solve one problem by creating another will not fly. Fred Stitt, Green Design expert at SFIA, the San Francisco Institute of Architecture, says a properly designed passive home does not need tight seals and hyperinsulation.
Reply to this comment by Phil in MN July 24, 2009 12:28 PM PDT
In our cold climate (MN) we have data on air leakage of about 8,000 houses built before 1960. 30% are in need of mechanical ventilation, 30% are ok in ventilation and only 30% are over ventilated. Houses can be much tighter than you think.
next issue: distribution of fresh air. Can you predict that air leakage will be uniform through the home (nope!)
Mechanical ventilation can assure quantity and quality if done properly.
by Phil in MN July 24, 2009 12:32 PM PDT
forgot one or two points: point 1 with energy recovery you can reduce energy use and control comfort
2- energy recovery can reduce ac loads in humid environments by rejecting water vapor to the outside.
It really comes down to not being able to make a house tight enough. (here is a wild irony! We have been building specialized buildings - Hog Confinement buildings like this for almost 40 years now! - about time we treat people as well as pigs!)
Reply to this comment by aazippo1 July 24, 2009 1:43 PM PDT
How about a green home that will COOL itself!!!
RT
www.privacy-tools.tk
Reply to this comment by mkernagis July 25, 2009 11:43 AM PDT
Hello Mr. LaMonica,
Having recently read "This Green Home Will Heat Itself," I was gratified to see an examination of super-insulated and very efficient buildings. But I find myself disappointed and frustrated at the portrayal of Passive House. I am a co-founder of the Passive House Institute US, and feel a need to counter such misinformation as that offered by Simon Hare. I contacted Mr. Hare several months ago when I saw he was calling this project a Passive House. Though an interesting project, originally intended to be a retrofit and also making use of recycled product, his building was definitely not designed or built to the Passive House standard; and he clearly resented that I'd called him out and cut into his attempt to capitalize on our good name for his marketing purposes. That you've portrayed such a one-sided and negative view of what we're up to seems to me to be poor reporting...on a topic that deserves very good reporting.
Contrary to Mr. Hare's assessment, PH does appeal to the lay builder. I myself came to it from a very conventional building background, as have about a quarter of our consultants. Many builders are ready to move beyond current practices and apply themselves to a new and accessible level of craftsmanship, establishing an advantage for themselves in the process. As an aside: I recently spoke with a staff member from Mr. Hare's own Placetailor, who was a student in our New York Passive House Consultant training program last week. He told me that their building achieved the airtightness Mr. Hare claims only after they had employed such "tweaks" as taping off their leaky double-hung windows - hardly a solution with the widespread appeal that Mr. Hare claims to favor.
We are strong supporters of analyzing a building to see that it performs as claimed; but also of developing best building practices to assure that it will be comfortable, safe and durable, and that it won't melt or mold from moisture-related issues. That analysis and development is precisely what the Passivhaus Institut has been doing, on a broad scale, for over a decade (To wit: http://www.passivehouse.com/07_eng/news/CEPHEUS_final_short.pdf ). Mr Hare is correct that the Passive House standard is a very strict one. It is intended to be. He is also correct to say that one could come up short of that standard and still have an excellent building. But excellent tight and super-insulated buildings also require design and construction care that goes beyond the norm, and that can vary dramatically depending on climate. It's not rocket science, but neither is it a conventional "rule of thumb". Nobody's trying to make it difficult or inaccessible. To the contrary...Passive House energy modeling software helps a designer to accurately assess economical energy design decisions for very low-energy buildings - and also, where needed, to install appropriate space conditioning systems.
PH is not simply a geeky pursuit. It is an applied building science. It is a profound and proven energy efficiency standard now being widely applied in tens of thousands of units in Europe. It is now code standard for new construction in many states and major municipalities there, who apparently aren't too inconvenienced by subtleties of building science. There is also a rapidly growing community of practitioners here in the US who are, unlike Mr. Hare, neither exhausted nor intimidated at the prospect of a little upfront analysis and consideration in order to effectively and affordably address our climate, energy and building science issues.
Mike Kernagis
Passive House Institute US
Reply to this comment by jpgreenhouse July 28, 2009 10:17 AM PDT
Mike, I think the article by Martin LaMonica is well written and insightful and the response posts raise pertinent questions to which passivhaus advocates have persuasive responses, many offered above.
Your comments are somewhat jarring in this otherwise interesting and collegial conversation, however, and as co-founder of the Jamaica Plain Green House and Placetailor's first client, I don't think you have fairly characterized Simon Hare's views.
The two main points Hare makes in the CNET article are that the passivhaus standard is (a) important, and (b) achievable with commonsense and inexpensive construction practices.
We were advised by a number of people to aim for a lesser standard given the state of our structure (a 100 year old, shoddily maintained, former corner store, abandoned for 5 years) and our extremely tight budget. Hare made a persuasive case that our national demonstration project (currently featured in a special series on Grist.org) should aim for the exacting passivhaus standard and Placetailor was the only firm willing to tackle the project on our low/middle income household budget. Placetailor's approach has potential to strengthen the effort to advance passivhaus by devising and testing low-cost methods that expand opportunities for builders and put passivhaus construction within reach of homeowners who may otherwise be priced out.
But there's no need or reason to argue the point beforehand. Isn't that what certification is for? The Pratt House will either meet passivhaus criteria or not and it is worrisome to see the process prejudged. Your comments give the appearance that personal opinion may play a role in certification, which I'm sure is unintended, but nonetheless deserves to be corrected. Otherwise, shouldn't we have cause to worry about JP Green House certification?
I understand that passivhaus is at a crucial juncture. The US Institute must preserve the integrity of the name, standard and procedures and some small sharp elbows will no doubt be thrown in the process, but Hare and Placetailor committed, young, hard-working, creative and effective passivhaus advocates and professionals are the wrong target.
Sincerely,
Ken Ward
co-founder, Jamaica Plain Green House
greenhousejp@gmail.com
http://www.grist.org/article/series/jpgreenhouse/
http://jpgreenhouse.org
by mrhare July 30, 2009 11:15 AM PDT
It?s unfortunate that PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) has resorted to defamation tactics when all thats called for is an intellectual debate. Placetailor believes in the performance standards that PHIUS promotes, and Lamonica?s article is a fair portrayal of our novel approach to meeting these standards. For example: Instead of shipping very expensive and exquisitely crafted windows from far away (Germany, Canada) we bought affordable recycled windows from the nonprofit Building Materials Resource Center down the road. Using standard weatherization kits and custom-made insulating shutters we intend to show our neighbors that they too can turn everyday windows into remarkable energy savers. The outcome of this effort will be published after we?ve completed a full year of datalogging and analysis of the Pratt House?s performance (early winter 2010). Stay tuned for the results!
by kklingenberg August 2, 2009 12:10 PM PDT
While Mike and I (Katrin) very much applaud your appreciation of and admiration for the Passive House Standard, we are very concerned about misinformation that is being spread in the name of Passive House, as Mike had expressed in his previous comment.
You are right with your statement that it is PHIUS's responsibility to "preserve the integrity of the name, standard and procedures" (otherwise it would quickly become meaningless). I like to say I am surprised that those who strive to reach one of the most rigorous standards out there and are called "committed, young, hard-working, creative and effective passivhaus advocates,? yet professionals (the same professionals who just characterized Passive House as appealing to ?geeks, but not the layman? and as ?just another barrier?) call it defamation if their project is looked at critically and held to those criteria by the institute that certifies and verifies.
We have not received a request to get the Pratt House Project certified and verified. Yet the JP Green Home is described here (http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-29-promise-challenges-passivhaus-construction) as certified, if I understand that graph correctly. This is not the case and a false claim.
One reason might be that the process of certification here is fundamentally misunderstood. Projects are not certified based on the power bill after one year of occupancy, since this could be very much just be a reflection of user behavior.
Passive House Standard is superior to other rating systems that rely on checklists or prescriptive approaches. It is defined through predictable and verifiable performance standards. There are three criteria of quality and performance and you either meet them or you don't. It is pretty clear cut. The prediction is being done through modeling, mathematically balancing heat gains and heat losses in a building. Not any more geeky than balancing your checkbook, really. It allows the designer to not have to guess, which I think has happened here in this particular case.
It is not personal opinion that makes us think that your project does not meet the standard. We modeled many projects by now using the Passive House modeling tool PHPP and the measured results after one year match the predictions very closely.
Using modeling, I can tell in about 15 minutes where the house will most likely come in at in terms of energy consumption considering the materials? R-values, wall thickness, window specification and climate. Based on my approximate calculations, the Pratt home is likely to use about twice as much energy for space heating and cooling as a Passive House, even if they manage to legitimately reach the airtightness standard.
Back in March, a certified Passive House Consultant did conduct a blower door test and analyzed the Pratt House. His conclusion: Bottom line: it stands no chance of meeting the PH standards. It's an interesting project, and a good one, but it's not Passive House?. Many Passive House design principles have been disregarded in this project and some have been misunderstood. Passive Houses do not have to have all southern glazing, nor are windows to the East and West disallowed, they don't need masonry interior walls for thermal mass to work properly, the sun is not the main heating source, and the thermostat is set to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, not to 63. And it can be done in a very cost effective way.
Passive House has taken us to the next level of efficiency and comfort, and understanding that evolution and the reason why Passive Houses can reach those amazing levels of efficiency lies in systems design and components optimization. That is why it is superior to a prescriptive approach, or guess work "rule of thumb".
I like to respectfully disagree that we don't need modeling and that we don't need consultants. Every project is different. We need easy-to-use modeling tools and we need excellent consultants. The consultant is one of the most important and valuable people on the job as he/she is going to save you a lot of money.
I believe that this project is an admirable step in the right direction. It will be an excellent and efficient home even though it will be short of the Passive House standard. Placetailor has very recently sent someone to attend our Certified Passive House Training, to become a Passive House Consultant and to learn how to use the modeling software. It's unfortunate that in this case fundamental questions were asked later. We believe that Placetailor is on its way to taking future projects to the Passive House level. Keep up the good work.
Katrin Klingenberg
PHIUS
by euspos July 27, 2009 4:54 PM PDT
Wow, some good comments here. But, a lot of the energy related issues we see in US' houses today are due to really just poor craftmanship and speed, speed, speed (time=money).
We CAN build energy efficient, inexpensive houses if we just slowed down and did things right out of the starting block. Instead, we are smashing up houses with VERY questionable qualities, houses that will be OK for the first and possibly the 2nd owner, but after that - who cares? Therein lies the problem. Houses are built for shot term gain/profit as a "dwelling" and not for the long term viability as a "home". A very clear evidence of that is the lack of attention we pay to water/moisture management (like skipping on a few strips of metal flashing, and instead relying on caulk that always eventually will fail).
I was born and raised in Sweden, and even on our relatively northerly latitude (~as Alaska), there are tons of houses that require little or no supplemental energy to stay warm in the winter. They are just built upon good old proven simple standards like big (air tight) windows to the south. Place trees that drop their leaves in the winter to the south of the house (trees that provide shade in the summer while allowing the sun to provide heat in the winter). Put smaller windows on the north side. Use three-pane glass windows. Install doors that actually do SEAL. I think I still have to see an in-swing (the standard in the US) that actually is relatively air tight. And, do not even mention in-swinging French doors (easy to get to seal when they swing outwards).
Same goes for how insulation is "applied". A few good craftsmen do cut the batts and "stuff them" in properly, but most just "push the batts in, leaving large voids that wreaks havoc on insulating capabilities of otherwise good material. Same goes for vapor barrier (in cold/tempered climates). Who actually think that the kraft faced paper does anything? No, one has to apply a continous polysheen (or similar), seal all electrical outlets/boxes, stop using "bucket lights" (even the ones having an "air tight" seal), since they are really only great chimneys to shuffle heated air up into the attic (not necessarily bad for the house, but bad for the wallet). I could go on, but it is really not rocket science, it is just old established and tested practices, combined with professional pride in one's profession. A pride to do a good - a right/correct job - and not just "any" job in order to leave the job site after 8 hours.
I think unfortunately we've seen a bit of the same in the US auto industry (lack of attention to details and quality), but that is a whole other discussion.
Rant mode off.
I would say that professionals that are REALLY interested in this subjet, should take a few weeks traveling around primarily Scandinavia and Germany and just pick up on the already good, functional, tested, and widely implemented ideas. Do not go around and re-invent the wheel - when we've been able to both bike and drive a car for a long time on the subject of energy efficient buildings.
This green home will heat itself
by Martin LaMonica
For all the complex solutions proposed to lower building energy use, Simon Hare has a project to demonstrate the power of simplicity in green buildings.
The design-builder earlier this year began reconstructing an 1850 cottage in Boston's historic Roxbury Crossing neighborhood to be so energy efficient that it wouldn't need any mechanical heating.
His work is inspired by the Passive House standard, which is based on a set of principles for building energy-efficient homes that took root in Germany in the late 1980s. But Hare has another goal: to show that net-zero, or very low, energy homes are within reach of everyday building professionals.
A green home grows in Boston.
(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)
"The Passive House approach is very techie, which I think is its Achilles Heel--it appeals to geeks but not the layman, the lay builder," Hare said standing in the half-finished home last month. "We can prove we can do this without hiring consultants and using software to do the energy modeling. We'll just use precedent and established rules of thumb."
The Pratt House project is an example of a burgeoning movement in the building industry. With the growing concern over the environment and energy, builders and architects are devising ways to dramatically cut the energy use in people's homes, for both new construction and retrofits. In the U.S., all buildings represent about half of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.
A more high-tech approach to super-efficient homes could be control systems that optimize a home's mechanical systems, such as heating and lighting, or demand-response appliances that can take advantage of off-peak electricity prices.
Photos: A Passive House in the making
By contrast, many builders like Hare are starting from the ground up by taking steps to lower the energy load that a home needs to operate. In practice, that boils down to constructing an air-tight building with lots of insulation and energy-efficient appliances.
When you add distributed energy, such as solar panels for hot water and electricity, to a well-sealed and insulated home, homeowners can dramatically cut utility bills and potentially get to net-zero energy use. Following the Passive House guidelines, for example, can lower energy use by 60 percent to 70 percent and drop the heating load by 90 percent.
Trickier than it looks
Hare's project in Roxbury, which happens to be his family's house, started out as a retrofit. The building, which once was a workshop for a 19th-century gunsmith, had been abandoned for 20 years before he acquired it. After construction began, the crew at his firm, Placetailor, discovered serious structural problems and the cottage was torn down and rebuilt with the exact same dimensions.
Since it's a new construction, they were able to take particular care with the air sealing. The frame of the home is built using structural insulated panels, which are 12-inch layers of foam insulation sandwiched between two sheets of plywood.
A layer of one-inch rigid insulating foam on the exterior walls brings the r-value (a measure of insulation) to 50, many times more than a typical home. The joints between the wall building blocks and the floor were taped or sprayed with foam to make the building more air tight.
Hare borrowed a fog machine from a local DJ during two blower door tests to see where air was escaping from the building, viewing it both from the outside and from the basement. Many tweaks made the house very tight with 0.6 air changes an hour, which for a building that size translates to 60 cubic feet per minute.
In an unusual twist, the floor is made of concrete and the interior walls, too, will be made of similar material. That material acts as a "thermal mass," able to retain heat in the winter or absorb heat from the air in the summer to maintain a comfortable climate, Hare explained. By adding solar panels, the Pratt House could easily be a net zero-energy home, he said.
Although it's rarely done, builders have been converting existing homes into these sorts of superinsulated buildings for decades. One way is to put foam board insulation on a home's exterior walls and roof while another option is to spray insulating foam onto the exterior and add shingles on top of that layer.
Adding that exterior layer of insulation is expensive upfront and, in practice, tricky when dealing with windows, doors, and drainage considerations. But a bigger barrier to better-sealed homes is simply inertia given that most contractors don't pay attention to how air flows in buildings.
"The basics are simple--a lot of insulation, a very tight building, and efficient appliance," said Hare. "But a regular construction crew would just put up a wall quickly and never stop to think about sealing cracks and leaving places where you want air to go through."
Homes that are extremely air tight need a heat-recovery ventilator which brings in outside air mechanically, while heating the air as it enters.
Miles per gallon for homes
In parallel to the push for more efficient homes, there are more calls for benchmarks and performance standards. Right now, builders and homeowners are largely "flying blind" when it comes to making efficiency improvements, according to Paul Eldrenkamp, of design and build firm Byggmeister, who is the first Passive House-certified consultant in New England.
The original structure, an 1850 gunsmith's workshop that had been abandoned.
(Credit: Placetailor)At the Pratt House, the approach is to build first and analyze later. Hare went that route because he's concerned that exhaustive up-front analysis, which might involve modeling software and complex spreadsheets, is too intimidating to most builders.
"People in this whole movement say that there needs to be standards but they are so far removed from established building practices--it's just another barrier in adopting these things," he said. "Passive House is a very strict standard. You could fall short by some fraction but still have an excellent building."
The target is to have the Pratt House nearly complete by October, which is when the big test for his experiment begins. In the winter, the goal is to maintain a temperature between 63 and 65 during the winter without supplemental heat. So far, in the summer, the home has stayed cooler than the outdoors, thanks in part to the concrete floor which absorbs heat and makes it feel cooler.
This sort of home is clearly not for everyone. It's very small at 750 square feet and the people inside will need to manage the temperature more actively than simply setting the thermostat. For example, to gain heat in the winter, they will need to open the south-facing shades during the day and close them at night to retain heat. In the summer, too, they open the windows at night to cool off the thermal mass of the building.
On the other hand, the materials involved are cheap or recycled. "You don't need fancy expensive windows from Germany," said Hare. And many of the construction techniques can be applied elsewhere. Placetailor, in fact, is involved in another local project called the JP Green House which aims to convert a 100-year-old home to be carbon neutral.
"We had this feeling that if (efficient homes) are going to be widespread, you should be able to do it with common sense," Hare said. "Otherwise, it's just a geeky pursuit or it's rocket science when most people just want a house."
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin.
Topics: In the home, Green buildingsTags: green buildings,
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(28 Comments) prev 1 next by greenireland July 24, 2009 4:51 AM PDT
Great idea, we are also working on Air Tightness testing and can say that it does matter a lot. Unfortunately under the current Irish building regs the allowed Air Permeability rate can't exceed 10m3/hr/m2 @50Pa which is way too high for an adequately built home. Fair play to you guys for starting to build right, showing everybody that it can be done and doesn't have to cost a fortune.
Any chance we can link our blog to your article?
Reply to this comment by mlamonica July 24, 2009 5:19 AM PDT
Sure, feel free to link to (but not reproduce entirely) .Here's the URL :http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10293753-54.html?tag=mncol;title Here's the URL of the photo gallery : http://news.cnet.com/2300-11128_3-10001256-1.html?tag=mncol;txt
by dbargen July 24, 2009 5:20 AM PDT
Hey, Martin,
Can we get a price tag on that home? Maybe without the demo costs, just to make it fair.
One item I'm surprised wasn't addressed was heating and cooling systems, and what controls vapor between all of those layers of insulating material. The way they talk about "concrete holding in the heat," I'm surprised there wasn't note of radiant heat systems put into the slab as it was poured.
One of these days, we'll actually see a side-by-side comparison of construction costs to let us see if it's *really* worth it.
Reply to this comment by pixelpusher220 July 24, 2009 8:41 AM PDT
Comparing 'construction costs' isn't a fair comparison. The false comparison is that these green builds will *ever* be cheaper than a normal build....*today*.
.
The real comparison would require the accurate pricing of the resources and detrimental effects of those resources used for power, heating and cooling. Then you'd know the true cost of a regular build and a green build. Over time the green build would be significantly cheaper.
.
The problem is that *today* we don't price in all the costs associated with energy production; we only factor in fuel and infrastructure costs. The costs associated with releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases and other pollutants isn't factored in. That's where the real savings of a green build are found.
.
Once you move to renewable fuel sources, green gets even better as your 'fuel' costs start to disappear as well.
.
It's the same with cars. No electric vehicle will ever be cheaper than a gasoline car *today* when it comes to fuel and power density. Over time, as gasoline prices rise electrics will stay relatively constant and/or drop a bit with efficiency. That's when electrics come into their own. Unfortunately, the environment may not wait for that to happen.
by mlamonica July 24, 2009 9:16 AM PDT
This house isn't going on the market since the builder is the owner. He doesn't have a very accurate number on cost but said it's in the range of $240/ square foot for construction. They plan on publishing that info when the complete the project in the fall, but the goal all along was to keep it relatively inexpensive.
There was another article on superinsulated homes. See here. http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10123367-54.html?tag=mncol;txt
There is a significant upfront cost to doing that sort of deep energy retrofit and there are different ways to calculate your payback (see the Byggmeister link in article). But clearly your ongoing utility/operating costs will be lower.
by kyoung5446 July 24, 2009 10:00 AM PDT
As an employee of Placetailor, the 'project manager' for this project, and member of the construction crew, I will try to shed some light on your questions.
The price tag is a little tricky to figure out because the company was being established while this project was being built. Company startup costs and construction costs were not always separated. Our estimates for construction are between 120k and 150k, certainly a steal for Boston. Costs were kept low by having a small (2 man+ temp help when needed) construction crew, and many late nights put in by Simon, the homeowner.
Our goal for this project was to achieve the Passive House standard, which requires a very low annual heating and energy load (? 15 kWh/m2/year for heat, ? 120 kWh/m2/year for primary energy). So low in fact, that having traditional heating (including radiant) and cooling systems pushes the house over these limits and is not an option. Therefore, the primary source of heat for the house is the sun. By using very dense masonry materials on the interior (concrete floors, stucco walls, bricks within interior partitions) the house absorbs and stores the heat from the sun during the day, and slowly dissipates it into the space throughout the night. The use of dense materials to capture energy is called 'thermal mass' and is one technique among others that we employed to achieve our goal of no heating or cooling systems.
by kyoung5446 July 24, 2009 10:03 AM PDT
That should be (LESS THAN 15 kWh/m2/year for heat, and LESS THAN 120 kWh/m2/year for primary energy)
by Phil in MN July 24, 2009 12:23 PM PDT
Go to: http://www.passivehouse.us/passiveHouse/PHIUSHome.html
In most cases these homes can be heated with a hair dryer so ther is no value in very expensive hitech heating plants. The money goes into the envelope vs. the hi tech equipment.
by ssanchex July 24, 2009 6:10 AM PDT
Every time I see or read about these "green" home projects I get really excited at the prospect of being able to take real case examples to my architect for my home's renovation. I was particularly excited by the retrofit of a 19th century home, given my home is also from the same period. Then comes the inevitable let down from many of these projects; a concrete thermal mass. Concrete's use of Portland Cement means that is has a massive up front carbon output. So whilst the house may be cheap to run and carbon neutral on an on going basis, many of these homes will take up to 20 years to repay the carbon released in the manufacture of the concrete they use. Using large amounts of concrete is one of the least "green" things you can do when building or renovating your home.
Does anyone know of anyone using lime-crete (a Portland cement free concrete) as a thermal mass; does it have the right thermal properties?
Reply to this comment by Orengeman July 24, 2009 6:56 AM PDT
Where are the windows on this house? How dark and dingy is it going to be on the inside? The original structure had 3 windows on the street side - 1 up, 2 down, but the new house has only 1 on each floor, plus no windows on the long side and a small window on the single-story portion in the rear. How many people out there want to live in a small dark cave?
Reply to this comment by mlamonica July 24, 2009 6:59 AM PDT
There are big windows/ glass doors on the south side, placed there to let light and heat in. See the photo gallery: This picture gives you an idea of the back: http://news.cnet.com/2300-11128_3-10001256-6.html?tag=mncol
by iamarcin July 24, 2009 7:00 AM PDT
This building has stood for 150 years.
Id say that the improvements over its life time would have at least paid for themselves.
Reply to this comment by findmorefollowers July 27, 2009 5:23 PM PDT
The article said they had to tear the original building down due to structural faults... and a replica was built in its place.
[CNET editors' note: Spam deleted]
by whobob July 24, 2009 7:05 AM PDT
My father had his store built with a foam block building system. Found that even in winter where tempuratures are routinely below -20C (about -4F) that the heat generated from coolers in the store pretty much kept it heated. Of course in the summer he had to air condition a lot more than normal so maybe in his case the overall change in energy use was not that much.
A house of course would not have so much heat producing equipment in it. Super insulation can make a lot of sense in that case.
Reply to this comment by pjcamp July 24, 2009 8:19 AM PDT
I hate to point this out, but if he tore it down and rebuilt it, that doesn't count as a retrofit.
Reply to this comment by MischaMAC July 24, 2009 9:28 AM PDT
I want one!
Reply to this comment by danieliusC July 24, 2009 9:35 AM PDT
Another air tight home. When the HVAC system is not blowing air- the air is bad- very bad. Why is that good? Why go to such extremes? Its not necessary or very smart. High tech this- high tech high cost that. You can build a better, heathier, more pleasant to live in home for lots less money - I have. I live in it. With few exceptions there is no tech younger than 100 years. This is not a home- its a prison. You want to be a slave to the bank? or a slave to your high tech junk? My home has some similar characteristics- but I kept it real simple - my interior walls are brick- used brick- how is that for green. there is not a single fan or air moving device other than what gravity provides and some clever use of basic physics. No boxes of fans and heat exchangers taking up space and electricity. If the power goes down in this house it becomes toxic. I would not want to live in this little experiment- 10 bucks says they guys partner leaves him within a year of moving in.
Reply to this comment by ArtInvent July 24, 2009 9:39 AM PDT
You touched briefly on the air exchange systems pioneered in Germany. This is extraordinarily important since a super airtight building will need a constant supply of fresh air, and that system needs to somehow conserve the temperature inside the building. Without a very efficient heat exchanger the whole concept wouldn't be possible. A related consideration is making sure all spaces stay dry to avoid fungus which has been a big problem in earlier sealed and super-insulated homes. Again the key is ventilation without losing temperature.
Living in So. Cal. (or almost anywhere in CA for that matter) most homes still have heaters and AC. That's tens of millions of unnecessary units sucking power. We could probably skimp a bit, not be quite so stringent on insulation R values and airtightness, and still manage to build homes that need zero added heat or cooling. I am slowly converting all my windows to dual panes, but even with modest improvements to insulation and smarter systems, it can take very little energy in this part of the country to maintain a comfortable temperature.
In the summer, it's kind of shocking how well a substantial whole house fan can cool the house at night.. With good insulation, it's not hard to conserve that temperature throughout the day and eliminate AC. Yet almost no homes have a good system to really push the nice cool air outside into the home at night and push the warm air out. It really takes fans pushing air inside in certain locations, and out through the attic in other locations.
It's time to stop just throwing up marginally insulated buildings and bolting on the heater and AC units. Thanks for this article and hope to see more like it.
Reply to this comment by MD_Willington July 24, 2009 9:51 AM PDT
A lot of existing structures can be retrofitted in a similar way with a Larson Truss system, the system was invented in Canada, it is a pretty simple retrofit. Or you can build it that way to begin with.
Of course the SIPs do a great job too, SIPs are hardly new technology however...
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/SolarHomes/LarsenTruss/LarsenTruss.htm
Reply to this comment by ecotopian--2008 July 24, 2009 10:51 AM PDT
IMHO - Air Tight is not the way to go. It can create very unhealthy conditions. I once worked on a "Double-envelope" house which had both inner & outer walls with air circulating in between. Extremely expensive to build, by the way. On the south side, this air gap opened into a solarium which created plenty of warm air that circulated through the entire envelope. Worked great, but only for one purpose. The air in the house smelled bad, the wife was sick & the baby miserable. I support Green Design 100%, but solutions that solve one problem by creating another will not fly. Fred Stitt, Green Design expert at SFIA, the San Francisco Institute of Architecture, says a properly designed passive home does not need tight seals and hyperinsulation.
Reply to this comment by Phil in MN July 24, 2009 12:28 PM PDT
In our cold climate (MN) we have data on air leakage of about 8,000 houses built before 1960. 30% are in need of mechanical ventilation, 30% are ok in ventilation and only 30% are over ventilated. Houses can be much tighter than you think.
next issue: distribution of fresh air. Can you predict that air leakage will be uniform through the home (nope!)
Mechanical ventilation can assure quantity and quality if done properly.
by Phil in MN July 24, 2009 12:32 PM PDT
forgot one or two points: point 1 with energy recovery you can reduce energy use and control comfort
2- energy recovery can reduce ac loads in humid environments by rejecting water vapor to the outside.
It really comes down to not being able to make a house tight enough. (here is a wild irony! We have been building specialized buildings - Hog Confinement buildings like this for almost 40 years now! - about time we treat people as well as pigs!)
Reply to this comment by aazippo1 July 24, 2009 1:43 PM PDT
How about a green home that will COOL itself!!!
RT
www.privacy-tools.tk
Reply to this comment by mkernagis July 25, 2009 11:43 AM PDT
Hello Mr. LaMonica,
Having recently read "This Green Home Will Heat Itself," I was gratified to see an examination of super-insulated and very efficient buildings. But I find myself disappointed and frustrated at the portrayal of Passive House. I am a co-founder of the Passive House Institute US, and feel a need to counter such misinformation as that offered by Simon Hare. I contacted Mr. Hare several months ago when I saw he was calling this project a Passive House. Though an interesting project, originally intended to be a retrofit and also making use of recycled product, his building was definitely not designed or built to the Passive House standard; and he clearly resented that I'd called him out and cut into his attempt to capitalize on our good name for his marketing purposes. That you've portrayed such a one-sided and negative view of what we're up to seems to me to be poor reporting...on a topic that deserves very good reporting.
Contrary to Mr. Hare's assessment, PH does appeal to the lay builder. I myself came to it from a very conventional building background, as have about a quarter of our consultants. Many builders are ready to move beyond current practices and apply themselves to a new and accessible level of craftsmanship, establishing an advantage for themselves in the process. As an aside: I recently spoke with a staff member from Mr. Hare's own Placetailor, who was a student in our New York Passive House Consultant training program last week. He told me that their building achieved the airtightness Mr. Hare claims only after they had employed such "tweaks" as taping off their leaky double-hung windows - hardly a solution with the widespread appeal that Mr. Hare claims to favor.
We are strong supporters of analyzing a building to see that it performs as claimed; but also of developing best building practices to assure that it will be comfortable, safe and durable, and that it won't melt or mold from moisture-related issues. That analysis and development is precisely what the Passivhaus Institut has been doing, on a broad scale, for over a decade (To wit: http://www.passivehouse.com/07_eng/news/CEPHEUS_final_short.pdf ). Mr Hare is correct that the Passive House standard is a very strict one. It is intended to be. He is also correct to say that one could come up short of that standard and still have an excellent building. But excellent tight and super-insulated buildings also require design and construction care that goes beyond the norm, and that can vary dramatically depending on climate. It's not rocket science, but neither is it a conventional "rule of thumb". Nobody's trying to make it difficult or inaccessible. To the contrary...Passive House energy modeling software helps a designer to accurately assess economical energy design decisions for very low-energy buildings - and also, where needed, to install appropriate space conditioning systems.
PH is not simply a geeky pursuit. It is an applied building science. It is a profound and proven energy efficiency standard now being widely applied in tens of thousands of units in Europe. It is now code standard for new construction in many states and major municipalities there, who apparently aren't too inconvenienced by subtleties of building science. There is also a rapidly growing community of practitioners here in the US who are, unlike Mr. Hare, neither exhausted nor intimidated at the prospect of a little upfront analysis and consideration in order to effectively and affordably address our climate, energy and building science issues.
Mike Kernagis
Passive House Institute US
Reply to this comment by jpgreenhouse July 28, 2009 10:17 AM PDT
Mike, I think the article by Martin LaMonica is well written and insightful and the response posts raise pertinent questions to which passivhaus advocates have persuasive responses, many offered above.
Your comments are somewhat jarring in this otherwise interesting and collegial conversation, however, and as co-founder of the Jamaica Plain Green House and Placetailor's first client, I don't think you have fairly characterized Simon Hare's views.
The two main points Hare makes in the CNET article are that the passivhaus standard is (a) important, and (b) achievable with commonsense and inexpensive construction practices.
We were advised by a number of people to aim for a lesser standard given the state of our structure (a 100 year old, shoddily maintained, former corner store, abandoned for 5 years) and our extremely tight budget. Hare made a persuasive case that our national demonstration project (currently featured in a special series on Grist.org) should aim for the exacting passivhaus standard and Placetailor was the only firm willing to tackle the project on our low/middle income household budget. Placetailor's approach has potential to strengthen the effort to advance passivhaus by devising and testing low-cost methods that expand opportunities for builders and put passivhaus construction within reach of homeowners who may otherwise be priced out.
But there's no need or reason to argue the point beforehand. Isn't that what certification is for? The Pratt House will either meet passivhaus criteria or not and it is worrisome to see the process prejudged. Your comments give the appearance that personal opinion may play a role in certification, which I'm sure is unintended, but nonetheless deserves to be corrected. Otherwise, shouldn't we have cause to worry about JP Green House certification?
I understand that passivhaus is at a crucial juncture. The US Institute must preserve the integrity of the name, standard and procedures and some small sharp elbows will no doubt be thrown in the process, but Hare and Placetailor committed, young, hard-working, creative and effective passivhaus advocates and professionals are the wrong target.
Sincerely,
Ken Ward
co-founder, Jamaica Plain Green House
greenhousejp@gmail.com
http://www.grist.org/article/series/jpgreenhouse/
http://jpgreenhouse.org
by mrhare July 30, 2009 11:15 AM PDT
It?s unfortunate that PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) has resorted to defamation tactics when all thats called for is an intellectual debate. Placetailor believes in the performance standards that PHIUS promotes, and Lamonica?s article is a fair portrayal of our novel approach to meeting these standards. For example: Instead of shipping very expensive and exquisitely crafted windows from far away (Germany, Canada) we bought affordable recycled windows from the nonprofit Building Materials Resource Center down the road. Using standard weatherization kits and custom-made insulating shutters we intend to show our neighbors that they too can turn everyday windows into remarkable energy savers. The outcome of this effort will be published after we?ve completed a full year of datalogging and analysis of the Pratt House?s performance (early winter 2010). Stay tuned for the results!
by kklingenberg August 2, 2009 12:10 PM PDT
While Mike and I (Katrin) very much applaud your appreciation of and admiration for the Passive House Standard, we are very concerned about misinformation that is being spread in the name of Passive House, as Mike had expressed in his previous comment.
You are right with your statement that it is PHIUS's responsibility to "preserve the integrity of the name, standard and procedures" (otherwise it would quickly become meaningless). I like to say I am surprised that those who strive to reach one of the most rigorous standards out there and are called "committed, young, hard-working, creative and effective passivhaus advocates,? yet professionals (the same professionals who just characterized Passive House as appealing to ?geeks, but not the layman? and as ?just another barrier?) call it defamation if their project is looked at critically and held to those criteria by the institute that certifies and verifies.
We have not received a request to get the Pratt House Project certified and verified. Yet the JP Green Home is described here (http://www.grist.org/article/2009-07-29-promise-challenges-passivhaus-construction) as certified, if I understand that graph correctly. This is not the case and a false claim.
One reason might be that the process of certification here is fundamentally misunderstood. Projects are not certified based on the power bill after one year of occupancy, since this could be very much just be a reflection of user behavior.
Passive House Standard is superior to other rating systems that rely on checklists or prescriptive approaches. It is defined through predictable and verifiable performance standards. There are three criteria of quality and performance and you either meet them or you don't. It is pretty clear cut. The prediction is being done through modeling, mathematically balancing heat gains and heat losses in a building. Not any more geeky than balancing your checkbook, really. It allows the designer to not have to guess, which I think has happened here in this particular case.
It is not personal opinion that makes us think that your project does not meet the standard. We modeled many projects by now using the Passive House modeling tool PHPP and the measured results after one year match the predictions very closely.
Using modeling, I can tell in about 15 minutes where the house will most likely come in at in terms of energy consumption considering the materials? R-values, wall thickness, window specification and climate. Based on my approximate calculations, the Pratt home is likely to use about twice as much energy for space heating and cooling as a Passive House, even if they manage to legitimately reach the airtightness standard.
Back in March, a certified Passive House Consultant did conduct a blower door test and analyzed the Pratt House. His conclusion: Bottom line: it stands no chance of meeting the PH standards. It's an interesting project, and a good one, but it's not Passive House?. Many Passive House design principles have been disregarded in this project and some have been misunderstood. Passive Houses do not have to have all southern glazing, nor are windows to the East and West disallowed, they don't need masonry interior walls for thermal mass to work properly, the sun is not the main heating source, and the thermostat is set to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, not to 63. And it can be done in a very cost effective way.
Passive House has taken us to the next level of efficiency and comfort, and understanding that evolution and the reason why Passive Houses can reach those amazing levels of efficiency lies in systems design and components optimization. That is why it is superior to a prescriptive approach, or guess work "rule of thumb".
I like to respectfully disagree that we don't need modeling and that we don't need consultants. Every project is different. We need easy-to-use modeling tools and we need excellent consultants. The consultant is one of the most important and valuable people on the job as he/she is going to save you a lot of money.
I believe that this project is an admirable step in the right direction. It will be an excellent and efficient home even though it will be short of the Passive House standard. Placetailor has very recently sent someone to attend our Certified Passive House Training, to become a Passive House Consultant and to learn how to use the modeling software. It's unfortunate that in this case fundamental questions were asked later. We believe that Placetailor is on its way to taking future projects to the Passive House level. Keep up the good work.
Katrin Klingenberg
PHIUS
by euspos July 27, 2009 4:54 PM PDT
Wow, some good comments here. But, a lot of the energy related issues we see in US' houses today are due to really just poor craftmanship and speed, speed, speed (time=money).
We CAN build energy efficient, inexpensive houses if we just slowed down and did things right out of the starting block. Instead, we are smashing up houses with VERY questionable qualities, houses that will be OK for the first and possibly the 2nd owner, but after that - who cares? Therein lies the problem. Houses are built for shot term gain/profit as a "dwelling" and not for the long term viability as a "home". A very clear evidence of that is the lack of attention we pay to water/moisture management (like skipping on a few strips of metal flashing, and instead relying on caulk that always eventually will fail).
I was born and raised in Sweden, and even on our relatively northerly latitude (~as Alaska), there are tons of houses that require little or no supplemental energy to stay warm in the winter. They are just built upon good old proven simple standards like big (air tight) windows to the south. Place trees that drop their leaves in the winter to the south of the house (trees that provide shade in the summer while allowing the sun to provide heat in the winter). Put smaller windows on the north side. Use three-pane glass windows. Install doors that actually do SEAL. I think I still have to see an in-swing (the standard in the US) that actually is relatively air tight. And, do not even mention in-swinging French doors (easy to get to seal when they swing outwards).
Same goes for how insulation is "applied". A few good craftsmen do cut the batts and "stuff them" in properly, but most just "push the batts in, leaving large voids that wreaks havoc on insulating capabilities of otherwise good material. Same goes for vapor barrier (in cold/tempered climates). Who actually think that the kraft faced paper does anything? No, one has to apply a continous polysheen (or similar), seal all electrical outlets/boxes, stop using "bucket lights" (even the ones having an "air tight" seal), since they are really only great chimneys to shuffle heated air up into the attic (not necessarily bad for the house, but bad for the wallet). I could go on, but it is really not rocket science, it is just old established and tested practices, combined with professional pride in one's profession. A pride to do a good - a right/correct job - and not just "any" job in order to leave the job site after 8 hours.
I think unfortunately we've seen a bit of the same in the US auto industry (lack of attention to details and quality), but that is a whole other discussion.
Rant mode off.
I would say that professionals that are REALLY interested in this subjet, should take a few weeks traveling around primarily Scandinavia and Germany and just pick up on the already good, functional, tested, and widely implemented ideas. Do not go around and re-invent the wheel - when we've been able to both bike and drive a car for a long time on the subject of energy efficient buildings.
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