From the category archives:

Energy Efficiency

Tweet One recent renovation project house was built the same year as the U.S. oil crisis, so you would think the attic insulation would be nice and beefy, right? Guess again. Turns out, the ceiling insulation only met ‘minimum code’ standard back in 1973 and hadn’t been upgraded since. In North Carolina, high efficiency residential […]

Tweet Do you want the ambiance of a fireplace but don’t have an existing fireplace or chimney? One option favored by green builders is an electric fireplace. They are pre-fabricated units sufficiently insulated to be installed safely within close range of walls or wood framework without requiring a masonry foundation. They also don’t require a […]

Tweet New bulbs, new standards push out Incandescents Starting January 1, 2012 new light bulbs must work more efficiently. Compact fluorescent (CFL), light emitting diode (LED) and some halogen bulbs, meet that requirement. 133-year-old incandescent light technology doesn’t because Mr. Edison’s bulb is an energy hog.  Less than 10 percent of the energy it uses […]

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Tweet “And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!” – Samuel Clement Moore This is the final tip in our 12 part series. Simply combining green values with green building can be very rewarding.  It’s my hope that by using these ideas, you’ll have received better […]

Tweet Wash delicate dishes by hand or with dishwasher? Join a growing trend among homeowners to embrace green values during Christmas.  Today’s topic: Give yourself a break on water and power expense with this holiday clean-up strategy. With wonderful tasty meals and special champagne toasts, dirty dishes pile up.  Unless frozen pipes burst, we pretty […]

Tweet It’s a Heavy-hitting Holiday Helping Oven Using high-performance appliances is vital to effective green building. Today’s ‘Break’ shows a novel way to use an energy-saving kitchen device to prepare a classic Christmas dinner. The goal here is simple: spend more time visiting, and less time working in the kitchen. Using your microwave oven for […]

Tweet Jingle Bells or Messiah – You Pick Many holiday songs praise the wonder of our natural world, so good stewardship of our resources is cause for celebration. Here is the next idea in our 12 part series: If you’re lucky to get a snowy-white Christmas, imagine bringing the Hallelujah choir with you sliding. Inside […]

Tweet Simply ‘Forget-About-It’, You’ll See Why… Here’s the next in our 12 part series to get home holiday breaks: As kids, we used to drive my dad wild by leaving a room without flicking off the lights. Not surprisingly, my kids adopted the same unfortunate habit which produced a similar effect upon me. We were […]

Tweet Save money, Save Energy, Stay Warm this Winter Enjoy your holiday but don’t forget to take care of yourself.  Here’s the next in this 12 part series: The temperature is dropping, too much to do, and when you finally sit down for a break, there’s an annoying current of cold air nipping at your […]