Many large-scale renovations only make sense for homeowners. Naturally, you don’t want to invest your hard-earned money on costly upgrades that get left behind when moving out of an apartment or rental home. But luckily, there are lots of ways to reduce your environmental footprint and save money even if you don’t own the property you call home.
Minnesota Power has developed this cool interactive tool to help identify and prioritize improvements in your home’s energy efficiency. Upgrades are arranged from the cheapest and simplest options at the bottom, to the most advanced possibilities at the top.
One of the hallmarks of a home’s energy efficiency is its thermal performance. So it’s important to understand the distinction between the concepts of thermal mass and insulation.
Some of this week’s top news from the world of green building and sustainable design.
World GBC report highlights several benefits green buildings offer various stakeholders throughout a building’s life cycle.
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and nonprofit Community Environmental Center (CEC) are partnering to provide energy-efficient building solutions to low-income residents affected by Superstorm Sandy.
Investing in efficiency isn’t just for homeowners – renters can also do plenty to save energy and money.
The commercial real estate construction and investment philosophy that places a premium on location and quality is giving way to interest in sustainable design, according to market analysts.
Italian architectural firm Traverso-Vighy and the Department of Physics at the University of Padua have teamed up to create an innovative zero-energy home utilizing insulation made from 40,000 recycled plastic bottles.
Ronacrete showcases the first top to bottom, fully-eco resin bound surfacing at last week’s UK Eco Build.
We’ve never seen this before, and we can’t quite wrap our heads around the underlying concept of how it works. But if the manufacturer’s claims are accurate, every home should have one of these bad boys plugged in to the wall.
Wind power is one of the most environmentally friendly sources of sustainable energy. Most wind energy comes from large-scale “wind farms”, but smaller turbines can be a great source of supplementary power for homes.
Just unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show, the Goal Zero Yeti 150 is a solar generator to keep bigger devices like laptops powered up off the grid. It’s a portable all-in-one design that emits no exhaust fumes, unlike gasoline or diesel generators.
One of the best ways to improve a home’s energy efficiency is by insulating and sealing openings, but the trade-off in a tightly sealed home can be stale indoor air. Energy recovery ventilators like the offer the best of both worlds, providing fresh air while keeping your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Sometimes, handheld electronics like your phone or iPod need to be recharged when there isn’t a plug in sight. Solar device chargers are one option, but nPower has come up with an alternative: the PEG (Personal Energy Generator) turns kinetic energy from your movement into usable power.
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Want to harness all that solar energy shining on your roof, but you’re not crazy about the space-age look of a massive PV panel rack? No problem. Apollo Solar Roofing uses lightweight, roof-integrated modules so a photovoltaic array becomes a subtle part of your roof.
