I usually try to find some time each week to surf the web in search of resources about green living. This morning in the middle of my wandering, I stumbled upon www.greenhomeguide.org — a website that is run by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Green Home Guide is overflowing with useful information about green living.

You can find anything from Green Home Checklists to Green Living Guides. It really is a great tool if you’re looking to learn more about anything green. You can bet that I’ll be returning! (In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll be blogging about some of the stuff I learn there). I can’t wait! Check it Out!

Now I’m going to digress a little from biobased insulation techniques to put in my two cents about green living. It doesn’t matter if you’re building, remodelling, or just getting a new appliance; going green is something I would suggest looking in to. I’m not saying that the greener option is always the better choice, but sometimes it is.

Take, for instance, this new insulation – EcoBatt.

 According to the article, “EcoBatt has the same performance and cost as Knauf’s other fiberglass products, with R-values ranging from R-8 to R-38, depending on density and thickness.” So, for the same price, you get the insulation you need, but can avoid exposing your family to the obvious dangers of formaldehyde. And as an added bonus, EcoBatt doesn’t contain any petroleum derivatives. That seems like a pretty good deal to me.

I know there are some other green ideas that are way out in left field (like using a wind turbine to power your home), but the number of practical applications of green technology really is growing. On one hand, you could argue that most green products end up using more green from your wallet. On the other hand, green advocates will point out that many of these investments will pay for themselves in the long run.

My advice is to look into it for yourself. Don’t go and buy something just because it says “green” on it. Take it easy, scope it out, and weigh all your options. As often as not, you’ll find that the green option provides the best benefits. But don’t take my word for it — check it out yourself!

I found a great site earlier today called greenbuilding.com. Now, I hope I’ve made it abundantly clear that I am an extreme novice when it comes to this sort of thing. All the same, greenbuilding.com has a lot to offer. The homepage has a mock-houseplan that provides a lot of helpful and practical information about making each part of your home just a little greener.

I always thought that a true green homeplan would have all sorts of photovoltaic panels and other super-expensive space-age gadgetry, but greenbuilding.com explains that green building is more concerned with adapting the design to the environment than adapting the environment to the design.

Adapting your homeplan is a lot easier than it sounds! It involves a little bit of thought and a deep working knowledge of the local climate, but by putting forth just a little more effort and using some common sense, your home can save money and the environment.

I also found it very interesting how much attention is paid to your personal health. Up until now, I thought that green building was all about conserving energy and non-renewable materials. It really is, but green building also keeps a keen eye on improving health conditions by reducing indoor air-pollution, etc. I was also surprised to see that there are very traceable beginnings to the Green Movement as early as 1973.

In all, I was very impressed with what I saw. You should really check it out!

Smart Home has furniture made of everything from crates and barrels to a dining room table fashioned out of a fallen Ask Tree. The architect, Michelle Kaufman, designed the home with large windows and motorized skylights to maximize temperature control. A garden on the roof of the home keeps the home cool and absorbs rainwater. Water use is cut to a minimum with low-flow appliances. A nontoxic collection of rugs and bedding complement an air filtration system.

But, not only is this home a just another green home. It has technological advances seen in few normally constructed homes. The home uses the motorized skylights and and lighting to reduce your energy consumption. The PC driven system of the home has many great features that will leave you with lots of extra time and peace of mind.

If your in the Chicago area I would recommend checking out this house. You will learn about both green architecture and smart houses in one location.

Recent posts detail this rollercoaster of triumphs and downfalls. A week ago, in his post titled “PV Solar Panel Quote for 100K House”, he laments the $53.9K price tag on the solar system he wished would make the house a zero-energy home (a solar/grid system that would produce enough power to cancel his electricity bill). My favorite line is a heart-wrencher “We wouldn’t even have enough room on the roof to fit enough solar panels…”

Check out Chad’s blog 100khouse.com and see what it takes to build a green home with a tight budget.

Titled REGREEN Residential Remodeling Guidelines and released last weekend at the Interiors 08 conference in New Orleans, the 182 page document covers topics such as home performance, major addition, gut rehab, and deep energy retrofit. In the interest of definitions, the guidelines state that “green remodeling is the design and construction of projects that reduce environmental impacts of remodeling, including energy, water, and materials consumption; waste generation; and harmful emissions, both indoors and out.” Clearly the effort is focused on a whole-systems approach, denouncing the thought that bamboo floors and recycled glass countertops make a home ecologically responsible. Planning is stressed, and the document is presented in a project-based approach, helping the reader see similar projects, including case studies, and hear comments of those involved. The format is designed to offer specific and thorough help with examples and an extensive strategy library. Consider this a must-have for anyone tackling a remodeling project.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of this guideline is that it’s a guideline. Don’t confuse this with the USGBC’s LEED for Homes. This is not a certification program, just some helpful hints from those who know the most. In a residential situation, certification doesn’t always make sense. Homeowners can still know they’re following the experts without spending extra money on a certificate that doesn’t hold any real value. Now certification will probably help out your equity, and I can see the importance of LEED for Homes with new construction especially. This may become an issue of codes before long. However, the reassurance that we don’t always need to be labeled by the state is a good thing.

Thanks to the USBGC and the ASID. This may be one of the most important steps in the battle for middle-class earth we’ve taken so far.

Traditionally, making nanoparticles from silver has been expensive. Researchers “devised a hydrocarbon soup that in turn helps form raw materials into nano-sized particles.” In other words, the researchers break down the silver into tiny particles, add it to the paint, and poof… antibacterial paint. “This means that the process is as simple as adding the metal salts to the oils and let the natural process occur, leading to a good dispersion of nanoparticles in the paints,” stated Pulickel Ajayah, one of Rice’s leading professors.

In summary, a vegetable oil based paint mixed with silver fights bacteria. Studies are ongoing, but the results look promising and the world of household green cleaning looks to have another great product. “The researchers added that the elements in the paint are fairly green and should also last longer than other organic pigment paints.”

credit: CNET Michael Kanellos

Brick making is an energy intensive process, one that ruins the natural landscape and burns a lot of fuel. Mining requires a quarry that destroys everything that once stood in it’s place, and takes plenty of gallons of deisel to create. Once the raw material is collected, the bricks are fired in 2,000 F kilns that guzzle more fuel and pollute the air. Coal mining may produce energy but is the dirtiest form of it, spewing out tons of CO2 emissions and sulfer dioxide per year. While improvements have been and are being made to clean up the process, little positive news has come from the coal industry in quite some time. Henry Liu’s brick will salvage the waste from coal and use it to fix the brick problem. His one idea will save the world millions of tons of CO2 and millions of gallons of fuel.

The new brick is made without kilns, and without additional mining. Fly ash is collected as waste from coal operations. Henry takes the fly ash, mixes it with water, and stamps with a hydraulic press. The bricks are then put in a hot steam bath to cure. With over eight years of perfecting the strength and performance, his bricks pass national standards with flying colors and are ready for distribution this year. Lets hope the paper work all goes well for him.

A note to brick lovers: Look for the Fly-Ash Brick from Henry Liu. I’ve looked around and found the same idea called Flash Bricks. However, I wasn’t able to find who the inventor of the Flash Bricks is. It might be the same brick. Additional testing has shown the the Fly-Ash Brick performes better than clay bricks on almost every standard. It will be interesting to see how the brick industry adapts.