Practical Eco

Efficient Features Beat Luxury in Today’s Kitchens and Baths

Demand for luxury kitchen and bath items has fallen significantly, says the recently released quarterly home design trends survey by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

“Because of concerns over affordability and re-sale value, it’s not surprising that there has been a sharp decline in demand for high-end kitchen and bath products,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker in a press release.

The survey also found that buyers are increasingly interested in building products that are renewable and energy-efficient.

”People are both budget-conscious and environmentally-conscious. They ask a lot more questions,” said custom builder Phil Kean of Phil Kean Designs, in Winter Park, Fla. “People look at [green products] as a long-term investment.”

Kean said that some of his buyers are choosing energy-efficient designs expressly for cost management. “This year I’ve actually had people say, ‘I don’t want as high ceilings because I don’t want to have to heat that space,’” said Kean. However, he added, “people that are more environmentally conscious from the start are most likely to ask about green options, but I think people are moving that direction.”

Status may provide part of the motivation. “Consumer awareness of ‘green’ products” has made eco-friendly features this season’s must-haves in kitchen and bath design. “There is a real cache in being able to show your neighbors your very cool recycling center or countertops made from recycled products,” Edwards said.

Source: Buider Online

Proximity Hotel in Greensboro: a LEED Platinum

The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro is an inspired and inspiring building. They earned a LEED Platinum rating, and is the only hotel to hold a Platinum level so far. I came across this video from National Geographic Intelligent Traveler, I couldn't resist posting it.

The Proximity uses 36.5% less energy than conventional hotels. They then supply 60% of their hot water through solar panels. And they have the first Regenerative Drive Otis elevator in North America. The list of green and sustainable features is simply awesome. Which is what you'd expect from a Gold or Platinum rated building. Check out their site here for the full list of sustainable and green features of the build.

Household cleaning needs greening too

We've long been avoiding mainstream cleaning products at out home. Largely this is because my wife as a health therapist recognized the toxic effects of many of the common products. So we've gone out of our way to use baking soda and vinegar as mainstays of our cleaning routine. 

For many people who hire outside cleaners it's still a challenge to get them to use anything but name-brand chemical cleaners. The long onslaught of marketing messages designed to get us to buy cleaners that make life easier has taken its toll. Fortunately, some of the cleaning companies are starting to wake up to the real issues now.

Maid Brigade is one of the bigger ones that cleans green. They use only safe green cleaning agents and products that contain no harsh chemicals, toxins or carcinogens. Maid Brigade even use color coded microfiber cloths as part of their process and a four-stage filtration vacuum that removes harmful allergens from the air in your home as it cleans your floor.

Maid Brigade has also launched a useful and educational site www.greencleancertified.com with lots of great tips on cleaning your home without harsh chemicals. It features green living expert Annie Bond and even offers a way to ask Annie questions about green cleaning and green living.

Lucious counters and sinks from recycled glass and ceramic cement

VitraStone is a new sustainable sink and countertop material made from a blend of 70-85% recycled glass and natural minerals. A wide variety of sink and counter designs exist, but the makers will also do custom designs, colors and inlays to achieve more unique looks. 

It has an incredibly high compression strength and durability owing to the ceramic cement (not Portland cement) used in its manufacture. That also means a lower carbon footprint and that the finished product doesn't need additional water reducers, plasticisers or acrylics as are often added to other products.

The finished product won't off-gas, won't shrink, is integrally colored, is resistant to scratching, chipping, freezing, thawing, acid and mold. So it can be used indoors or out.

Care and maintenance is a breeze because they seal their surfaces with a deep penetrating sealer that protects them throroughly. Waxing is entirely optional. A clear carnauba paste wax gives countetops a nice feel, or just leave them as they came.

Contact me directly for more information.

Porto offers sustainable furniture

Emily Barrett and Michael Perry are people living their dream. Having worked for other home furnishing stores for years, in 2004 they struck out one their own to create something beautiful and eco-friendly too. Their first Porto store in Raleigh's North Hills shopping center is where they refined that vision selecting products that are uncompromising in quality of craftsmanship and original design. Since then, in 2007 they opened a second store in Chapel Hill's Eastgate shopping center which has just undergone a major refurbishment with the arrival of Trader Joe's.

Porto is more than a home furnishings store. Emily and Michael wanted it to be a part of the global community, and it is. They believe that their responsibilities go beyond the showroom doors, so Porto’s collections are designed and manufactured by companies who practice environmental and social responsibility. Porto is a founding member of the Sustainable Furniture Council, and so far the only store in the State to be acccredited by the organization.

They've also found that being green can save money. They estimate that the new store which is completely lit by compact fluorescent bulbs is saving them over $10,000 per year in energy costs.  So they're in the  process of replacing the bulbs in the North Hills shop too.

As a business, Porto also makes it a practice to give back to the community. The partners do that by sponsoring and participating in many charitable endeavors, including an annual fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity.

Fiber optic daylighting - a revolutionary technology

Sunlight Direct, a company in Tennessee,  has created a way of capturing sunlight and piping it indoors exactly to where it's needed. They even integrate sensors into light fixtures that dim bring on electric lighting as skies darken and therefore provide a constant light level for the indoor spaces.

A solar tracking mirror collects the light and concentrates it. Light is then carried via 127 1/8th inch plastic fiberoptic lines. Two lines offers the equivalent of a 50 watt bulb. 

At the ends of the fiber optic lines are hybrid luminaires that integrate the natural light with either fluorescent or incandescent lighting.  A sensor maintains a constant amount of combined illumination regardless of sky conditions.

The complete system can save building operators considerable money and energy.  Not only are there direct savings in electricity and indirect savings due to less heat output from the lights but there is a considerable advantage to having more natural daylight as it dramatically improves occupant moral and health.  For retail customers this system can improve sales - according to this study conducted by the California Board for Energy Efficiency.

Seal up the attic door and save energy

I saw this nifty product at the Energy Star event today and immediately wanted one for myself.

I would have made my own hatch cover out of foam board like some builders I know have done. But my attic is so low, with barely 2 feet of clearance above , that I have no place to raise and reposition such a thing.

The Attic Tent gets right around my problem. Plus it's much more professional looking as well as being a proper air barrier. That's important because air can be drawn into the house through that hatch affecting your air quality, or it can leak from the house into the attic losing energy.

[Addendum 1/10/08] I finally got round to installing my Attic Tent! Once I got the bead of caulk in, while I was still on the stairs, someone came into the house and I could literally feel the "puff" as it tried to leak into the attic but simply bowed the tent in then out a bit. That showed me it was doing its job. It fit in very quickly and easily too. I'm very pleased with it so far and along with all of my other house sealing tactics I'm sure my energy consumption will be much lower this winter.

Local NC countertops made with New River aggregate

I've finally found a locally made sustainable counter top solution. The New River Concrete Countertops company makes beautiful counters in Jefferson NC using local gravel and sand which is collected from the regular low impact dredging of the local dams on the New River.

The company typically takes a template onsite then makes a mold in their shop to pour the slab from a mix that includes the gravel, sand and recycled materials such as fly ash and fly ash iron oxides. The slabs are ground down to expose the beauty of the aggregate. They can then be sealed with either a no-VOC sealer, that will need regular waxing or a low-VOC sealer which requires no maintanence.

The company do installations throughout NC and VA. They are the latest addition to my growing list of building heroes who do great, local, sustainable work bringing beauty and integrity to home building.

Southern Ideal Home Show coming up this weekend

The Southern Ideal Home show is on at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh this Friday, Saturday and Sunday September 21-23.

I'm not sure how recently they started the Green Building category but it's clearly growing. I count 18 listed companies at this show compared with 12 at the previous show.  That seems to show either an increasing interest in Green Building from the public (which I think is true anyhow) or a realization on the part of vendors that the show helps them grow business - possibly both. After all I'm now considering if I should be an exhibitor at the next show. 

This year show I'll be there working with one of my partner companies, Healthy Home Insulation. So if you're at the show, drop by and say hi.

EcoTop™ - the greenest kitchen surface yet

The latest eco counter surface to hit the market is EcoTop™, which I'll have available from September.  I'm very excited about this new manufactured product because it comes with such a pedigree already.

EcoTop™ is the newest product from award winning eco product innovator Joel Klippert. It is the most durable & eco friendly counter top surface product in the world.

EcoTop™ is made with an FSC Certified 50/50 blend of post consumer recycled demolition wood fiber and rapidly renewable bamboo fiber. The bamboo fiber which is much longer and stronger than wood fiber, gives the product incredible dimensional stability.

The resin system used to bond the fibers is a water based proprietary product. It's free of petroleum, has no VOC’s, and E0 formaldehyde emissions.

EcoTop also uses an industry first two stage color system where the fiber and the resin are colored separately. This system gives much improved color consistency and color stability over other paper based products. The initial product offering with have 6 colors, Jet Black, Charcoal,Walnut, Safari, Khaki & Sand.

EcoTop's compressive strength of 50,000 psi & water absorption of less than 1% make it the most durable surface product available.

EcoTop can cantilever up to 4’ and span 10’ with no deflection at 300 lbs.

EcoTop has the greatest ease of fabrication; it can be cut, routed, sanded and finished with normal wood working tools much like butcher block.

*Addendum (11/15/07) After much delay the manufacturer has chosen to launch this product only early next year and then only on the West Coast. So it looks at the moment like I may be able to offer this only in the second quarter of 08 now. So perhaps this original posting, though well intended and based on the information I had at the time, was quite premature.

Anji Mountain Bamboo rugs

We've just started to represent the Anji Mountain Bamboo rug company who make a beautiful line of rugs in a variety of sizes and designs.

These unique floor coverings are sustainably made in China in the Anji Mountains from fast growing Bamboo. The region is well known for producing the finest most durable bamboo. The backing is a mold resistant vinyl that ensures a long slip-free life.

Bamboo a perfect flooring material for the Ecologically Sound and Economically Smart Consumer.