Yes I know there are many things that are wrong about Las Vegas. People shouldn’t even be there in the first place. The rape of the river that no longer reaches the sea. The rape of the pristine desert and the death of many Native Americans. I lived there for a year and there is also the cheesy nature of the culture. But when they do something right, you got to give them credit.

http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/id/1811/viewFull/

Nevada Energy Star Partners Demonstrate Peak Performance (Web Only)

Las Vegas may appear balmy and inviting with its sparkling pools and swaying palm trees, but those who live in Neon City know the truth: It’s too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.

Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of homes that were built during an amazing 50 years of rapid growth in the Southwest do not incorporate modern advances in energy performance to accommodate the wild swings of desert climate. As temperatures climb to 110°F in the summer, many homes leak large amounts of cooled air through gaps in ducts, roofs, windows, and doors. And when the frigid north wind drops the temperature below freezing in the winter, heated air escapes, leaving living rooms and bedrooms uncomfortably cold and drafty. While Las Vegans know their climate, they may not realize that they are paying to heat and cool the great outdoors.

The dramatic temperature shifts in the high-desert climate make Las Vegas an ideal place for homeowners who are looking to make their homes more comfortable and to save substantially on their energy bills. Funded in part by DOE’s Building America program, the Building America Retrofit Alliance is working with the Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners–Green Alliance (NESP–Green Alliance), and with Better Building Performance, a Las Vegas company, to upgrade two typical homes top to bottom. Their goal has been to show homeowners and remodelers how easy and effective energy performance upgrades can be.

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Go there and read. More Tomorrow.

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This is an interesting Blog and an interesting post. I am no good at posting videos so:

http://legalplanet.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/are-pace-financed-residential-energy-improvements-capitalized-into-home-prices/

The FHFA believes that an unintended consequence of obtaining a PACE loan is to increase the risk of mortgage default.  The FHFA’s  logic is that if the green investments are not capitalized into home prices then the home owner’s equity decreases as equity =  sales price – debt owed.   Under these assumptions, the green investment doesn’t raise the sales price but does increase the debt owed. My recent research convinces me that this pessimism is false.  Here is  My letter to the FHFA. Here is my July 2012 peer viewed paper on solar panel capitalization effects in San Diego and Sacramento   dastrup-zivin-costa-and-kahn .

We need more regulatory scholarship focused on empirical work and hypothesis testing.  I have an incentive to say this because that is what I do.

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Go there and see the video. More tomorrow.

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It doesn’t hurt that they got an environmental award as well. This the way it should be done.

http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/the-ivanpah-solar-project-named-2012-energy-project-of-the-year

The Ivanpah Solar Project Named 2012 Energy Project of the Year

April 24, 2012

Project recognized for its innovative approach, job creation and scale of clean energy production

(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) April 24, 2012 – NRG Energy, Google, BrightSource Energy and EPC partner Bechtel announced that the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (Ivanpah SEGS) received the 2012 Energy Project of the Year Award by the USC CMAA Green Symposium. Ivanpah SEGS in California’s Mojave Desert is currently the world’s largest concentrating solar power (CSP) plant under construction. When completed, it will nearly double the amount of solar thermal electricity produced in the US.

“The sheer magnitude of the Ivanpah project is reinforcing California’s position as the leader of renewable energy in the United States,” said Caroline Fletcher, USC Green Symposium Co-Chair. “The project has demonstrated an innovative approach to partnerships and is significantly contributing to job creation in the region. We’re very pleased to honor this important project with our 2012 Energy Project of the Year Award.”

“Ivanpah is a flagship project, widely recognized for its environmentally-responsible design, and lauded for its role in helping to grow Southern California’s High Desert economy,” said Joe Desmond, SVP of Government Relations and Communications, BrightSource Energy. “We look forward to completing this important solar power facility and help California meet its economic and clean energy goals.”

“We are pleased to be a part of this award-winning project. The innovation applied to the engineering and construction of Ivanpah will help advance the renewable energy industry and make solar energy a viable option for more people,” said Jim Ivany, president of renewable power at Bechtel.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Lets see they lie, cheat and steal. But they also pollute the heck out of the environment and they get people killed. I am going to miss these guys.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/story/2012-06-12/coal-to-gas-project-denied/55557114/1

U.S. coal use falling fast as utilities switch to gas

By Jonathan Fahey, Associated Press

NEW YORK – America is shoveling coal to the sidelines.

The fuel that powered the U.S. from the industrial revolution into the iPhone era is being pushed aside as utilities switch to cleaner and cheaper alternatives.

The share of U.S. electricity that comes from coal is forecast to fall below 40% for the year, its lowest level since World War II. Four years ago, it was 50%. By the end of this decade, it is likely to be near 30%.

“The peak has passed,” says Jone-Lin Wang, head of Global Power for the energy research firm IHS CERA.

Utilities are aggressively ditching coal in favor of natural gas, which has become cheaper as supplies grow. Natural gas has other advantages over coal: It produces far fewer emissions of toxic chemicals and gases that contribute to climate change, key attributes as tougher environmental rules go into effect.

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Go there and laugh, I mean read. More tomorrow.

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My ability to post videos is limited by my technological inadequacies. However, we care about the environment exactly because we care about the solar system and the universe. So since it will not happen again in my lifetime here is a short clip of the transit of Venus across the face of the sun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iDjo9D4t78&feature=colike

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Go there and gaze lovingly. More tomorrow.

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And for heavens sake, if you do not have one get one. Those disposable furnace filters are a huge waste of time and money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DJPF8atasc

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Go there and listen. More tomorrow.

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I have written about the need for cookers in Africa and India…any third world country really that gets sunshine that is…before. In fact I wrote whole sections of posts on both gardening and sustainable cooking methods including canning. Do I do any of them? No. I am happy with natural gas. Some people do not have the luxury though.

http://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/glimpses/solar-cooker-kenya

Solar cooker (Kenya)

The solar-powered cardboard cooker, known as Kyoto Box, is a cheap cooker designed for use in rural countries. It is estimated that the Kyoto Box will prevent two tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per family per year by reducing firewood use-  thus saving trees and forests.

The Kyoto Box is constructed from easily available resources. It uses two cardboard boxes, one inside the other with aluminum foil and an acrylic cover that absorbs sun rays. It can be easily packed and distributed. The Kyoto Box costs just $5 to manufacture, and the design has already gone into production in a factory in Nairobi, with a capacity to produce 2.5 million boxes a month.

The Kyoto Box stove seeks to address health problems in rural villages as well as reducing deforestation and avoiding carbon dioxide emissions. By eliminating the need to use wood, it reduces the time spent gathering firewood, and cuts down on indoor air pollution and other fire hazards. It can also provide business opportunities. The project envisions a network of women distributing thousands of the flat-pack devices from the backs of lorries to families across Africa and the developing world.

The inventor is Jon Bohmer, a Norwegian-born Kenyan based entrepreneur. The Kyoto Box won the Financial Times Climate Change Challenge in 2009.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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Yes, you can get a backhoe and dig a trench around your house for relatively cheap but, it really is a waste of time. Parging the walls first pretty much means coating the walls to make sure moisture does not get behind the insulation that you are going to put up. I suggest using a modern basement epoxy of some sort and I recommend rigid insulation after you have done that. Rigid is easier to work with and you can make the whole project into an adhesive affair where you adhere the furring strips to the epoxied walls and then you adhere the foam board (or whatever) to the furring strips. Boom, you are done unless you need to paint them for someone else in the house that hates the color of the “naked” board. You know who I mean. Like the article says as far as the vapor barrier placement you have to call your local building code people cause I got no idea,

http://www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com/energy-efficient-basement.html

Exterior wall insulation inside the walls

Insulating outside your exterior walls is often too expensive or impractical in existing homes. You can insulate the inside of your basement walls but you may exacerbate the problems associated with moisture if you don’t do the job correctly.

Parging: If moisture is seeping into your walls, parge the masonry walls to seal any cracks and strengthen any weak or porous masonry. This will help prevent water from seeping in from outside.

Vapor barrier: Vapor barrier should be outside the insulation if you are in a hot climate and only cool your home; it should be on the inside if you are in a cold climate and are mainly heating your home. Consult your local city building permits department to find out what are the suggested or mandated insulation and vapor barrier configurations for energy efficient basements in your area.

Framing: If possible, leave a gap between your framing and the exterior walls, to prevent moisture from the masonry from causing wood rot in your framing. Use small spacers behind 2×3 studs, rather than 2×4 studs against the outside wall, and you’ll still have room to install the standard insulation for 2×4, 16-inch-stud construction.

Insulation: If there is any likelihood of moisture getting into your basement, use a rigid foam insulation rather than batt or other fiber-based insulation. Moisture seeping through exterior walls will dampen the insulation and reduce its R value significantly within a few years, so you’ll start with an energy efficient basement and in a few years be losing as much heat to outside as before the renovation. Moisture will not have much effect on the R value of foam insulation. Buy the highest R value insulation you can – you can get an R value of 6 per inch in some insulating foam sheets. If you want both insulation and waterproofing, you could consider having Icynene insulation applied to exterior walls after framing but before drywall is installed.

Other places you should insulate

A couple of other important things to consider about basement insulation:

• In an older house, where a shower stall is already installed against an outside wall, check the insulation level behind the shower. A prior owner or contractor may have installed the shower without adequate insulation. If you are remodelling or can access the wall space behind it, inject foam insulation or otherwise upgrade the insulation. You’ll have more comfortable showers and you’ll cut down on overall heat loss.
• Insulate the perimeter of your basement ceiling (an area called the ‘rim joists’), from the outside walls to about 16″ to 24″ from the outside walls, to prevent moisture from creeping in between the upstairs

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In this case, go there and read a bunch. More tomorrow.

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If you are a home owner and you are still using the crappy disposable HVAC filters please stop. They are inefficient and expensive. For the price of 2 boxes of those filters you can buy a single washable filter that will save you a bunch of money on filter costs and equipment costs, and end up with cleaner home air and  house as a result. If you are a renter and you pay your own utility bills it is well worth your time to invest and you can take it with you to your next apartment or your first home.  As always, I have never owned this particular filter nor have I purchased anything from this company. It merely is an example of one of dozens of companies and types of filters on the market.

http://www.air-care-filters.com/

Electrostatic Air Filters

Air Commander electrostatic air filters are 10 times more efficient then the standard disposable filter. By switching to a permanent electrostatic furnace filter, the air inside your home will be cleaner and fresher. Our furnace filters are electrostatically charged to trap up to 94% of the dust and allergens in your home.

Just easily wash the filter every 1-3 months and put it back in place. The sturdy metal frame will stand the test of time. With a lifetime warranty and 100% money back guarantee, why not make the switch to a permanent air filter?

How Electrostatic Furnace Filters Work

Electrostatic Air Filters clean the air by using static electricity, a safe, naturally occurring phenomenon. An electrostatic charge is generated by air flowing through a maze of static prone fibers. Airborne particles are attracted and held by the static charge until released by washing. All Air Commander Electrostatic Air Filters contain an EPA registered anti-microbial material to inhibit mold and bacteria growth on the air filter surface.

The air you breathe contains many irritants such as pollen, dust, bacteria, mold spores, pet dander and smoke. Most of these particles are smaller than one micron. Our Electrostatic Air Filters are an effective and efficient way to reduce the number of these particles in your air. This illustration shows the typical dust loading pattern of the electrostatic fibers. This unique characteristic improves air flow while providing maximum filtration.

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Go there or google the subject and read. More tomorrow.

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Many times I use a particular company’s website and text to highlight advances in the industry, or as an example of new technology or even just because I have never been to their site before. However, UNLESS I say I have used their services OR if I specifically recommend them then do not think that they a good to go. Every company needs to be thoroughly checked out. Check with the better business bureau, check their references, get second opinions and prices, and most importantly get it in writing. So having said that and liking the marketing savy of calling something a water furnace here is:

http://www.waterfurnace.com/residential.aspx

Choosing a Residential WaterFurnace Comfort System Is Simply Smarter

WaterFurnace manufactures and sells more geothermal systems for homes than anyone else in the business. Why? Because we offer a wide variety of residential geothermal products. Our dealers and installers are the most highly trained in the industry. And we are wholeheartedly committed to customer support. All that makes us the first—and smartest—choice for a residential WaterFurnace system: the system that’s “Smarter from the Ground Up.”

Geothermal vs. Ground Water vs. Water Furnace
Geothermal energy has been used to heat and air condition buildings for several decades, and, during that time, these geothermal systems have been called many different things. Some of the more popular variations include geo-thermal, geoexchange, ground-water, ground-water assisted, ground-water-source, water-to-water, and even our company name, water furnace heating and cooling.

All of these terms, though, convey the same thought: use of geothermal heat pump technology to tap the energy in the earth’s surface and drive a heating and air conditioning system for both residential and commercial uses. The result is a green or natural heat pump that saves energy and benefits the environment.

For more information on geothermal technology, go to How it works.

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Go there and read. More tomorrow.

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