Jetson Green

Blue Ridge Parkway Center a Model of Ecological Design

This is Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center, a $9.8 million visitor's center near Ashville, North Carolina.  As a modern structure seeking LEED Gold certification, it's garnered significant press for its ecological design.  Designed by Lord, Aeck, & Sargent, Blue Ridge was modeled to use 75% less energy than a comparable, conventionally designed building.  That's due, at least in part, to its incredible green features, such as the sawtooth Trombe walls on the southerly face, 10,000 sf green roof, natural daylighting, high-efficiency mechanical system, natural ventilation, radiant heating, rainwater reclamation system for on-site use, etc. 

Home Depot To Save $16 M/YR By Switching to CFLs

You may have noticed recent news that Home Depot will be providing free, in-store recycling of CFLs at all of its U.S. stores.  But buried in that story is another interesting factoid -- a tidbit of information in the likes of plucking the low hanging fruit.  Home Depot announced that they will be switching to CFLs at all U.S. Light Fixture Showrooms and expect to save roughly $16 million in annual energy costs.

This news isn't all that sexy, but it's important.  Make the switch, if you haven't already and stop throwing money out the window.  With the low hanging fruit, it's true: money grows on trees!

Recycled Pallet Structure Gets A Human Touch

About ten years ago, I worked at UPS in their "boneyard" -- a place where all the pallets were unloaded and strewn in huge heaps on an asphalt parking lot.  We'd neatly stack the pallets, place them in a trailer, and UPS would get rid of them, netting about $0.25 per pallet saved.  At the time, I didn't realize the amount of pallets in circulation around the globe.  It's estimated that there are about 2 BILLION ordinary unit load pallets in circulation globally, and about two-thirds of these are only used once.  It's further estimated that U.S. companies throw away roughly 4 billion board feet of wood pallets every year.  Pretty crazy, I know. 

So HDR Architecture came up with Unit Load_Redux, a temporary exhibition intended as a probe for sustainable living through the redux of pallets and the use of bicycle energy.

Super Efficient SolarDuct Co-Generates Electricity and Heat Energy!

Conserval Engineering just announced the release of their newest product, SolarDuct PV/T, which is a rooftop solar PV system that goes beyond generating renewable energy from on-site solar power.  With the SolarDuct PV/T system, solar panels are mounted on metal collector panels that channel excess heat from the solar array into the building's HVAC system.  As a result, this system, which is part photovoltaic and part thermal, can generate electricity and put heat to use when heat is needed in the building.

Town of Babylon to Provide Funds to Make 65,000 Homes Energy Efficient!

In an innovative move, the Town of Babylon has set up an extensive program to work with citizens to pay for energy efficiency upgrades for every home in the town.  The basic premise of the program is that the town wants to help residents use less energy, so here's what they plan to do.  They're going to loan up to $12,000 at the super low interest rate of 3% to pay directly for renovation costs.  Under the program, residents get home energy audits that include recommended actions for renovations, including adding more insulation, changing out the HVAC system, etc.  The town pays for the renovations and the homeowner then makes payments to the town based roughly on the reduction in payments caused by having a more efficient home.  So it's quite the innovative system. 

Alberici Converts Old Plant into Modern Green HQ

[2:16]  As a global construction-services company in St. Louis, Missouri, Alberici sought to lead the transformation of the design and construction industry by renovating a 485-foot-long manufacturing plant into its new Class-A corporate headquarters.  The desire to convey resource efficiency, integrated design, and corporate responsibility prompted Alberici to achieve substantial resource and cost savings by combining various strategies, including:

Checking Out the 99k House Competition

Back in September 2007, Rice Design Alliance and the Houston Chapter of the AIA announced the 99k House Competition.  The general goal of the competition was to create an innovative design for a small house that is affordable, sustainable, and energy efficient.  More specifically, the competition called for a single family house with up to 1,400 sf of space, including 3 bedrooms, 1.5-2 bathrooms, on a 50' x 100' site in a historic neighborhood of Houston.  The construction budget for each home had to be under $99,000, too.

And recently, Hybrid / ORA out of Seattle was declared the winner of the competition (pictured above).  In addition, four other finalists each took $5k in prize money and had their home designs published for all to see.  Make sure to check out their ideas and download their designs below. 

How About SMEG's Retro Modern, Efficient Frig?

This fridge has a fantastic retro appearance and could save you a lot of money on your utility bills.  Designed by SMEG, it's a compact 9.22 cubic feet and uses only  305 kWh/year.  That makes it one of the most efficient it its class according to the government's energy guide, which is used to rate all Energy Star appliances.  This stylish fridge isn't big -- it's under 5 feet tall, but maybe it will encourage you to trade space for style and save energy as a result. 

New "Green Machine" Waste Heat Generator Launches with Fast Payback, Cheap Electricity

At this very moment, ElectraTherm is releasing details of the successful installation of its new product, a commercial waste heat generator called the Green Machine.  ElectraTherm tested their first Green Machine at none other than my alma mater, Southern Methodist University, and the results exceeded initial expectations.  Stated simply, the Green Machine makes electricity from residual industrial heat that usually just goes to waste.  ElectraTherm's new product employs minimal heat (200 degrees F liquid) to generate fuel-free, emissions-free electricity at $0.03 - $0.04 per kWh during a three-year payback period and at under $0.01 per kWh after that.  SMU's test of the 50 kW Green Machine reached output well beyond the 50 kW rating. 

Element Fan, Big Ass Fans' New Energy Efficient Fan

You've probably seen Big Ass Fans in the gym or in some larger space, and that's because they're huge and energy efficient.  Just last week, Big Ass Fans launched their newest product called the Element Fan.  Element uses the 10 airfoil and wiglet design to move air quietly and efficiently.  According to BAF: "At standard speed in a room with 16 ft. high ceilings Element is able to create comfortable breezes over an area larger than a basketball court, all while requiring less than 100 watts to operate. That is considerably less energy than even the most efficient small ceiling fan in production today."  I've been around these gargantuan fans and love them.  Seriously, they cool down a large space like nothing I've ever seen.  Plus, you can really get creative with the colors, so as far as large fans go, this is a dang good option to go with.