Let’s talk about zero energy architecture and the Truro Residence.  It’s an amazing residence, currently under construction on one of Cape Cod’s beaches in Massachusetts.  Designed by Independence Energy Homes (IEH) and being constructed by Silvia and Silvia, the Truro Residence is meant to accommodate a large family and friends and still remain environmentally responsible.  When complete, it will have a tight building envelope, a geothermal heating system, solar photovoltaic system, tank-less water heaters, compact fluorescent lighting, and Energy Star appliances.  The home also will feature popular green materials such as bamboo flooring, blue-jean insulation, and natural stone.

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I’d like to make it easy for you to attend West Coast Green 2007.  This will mark our 1st year as a premiere Media Partner with the nation’s largest residential green building conference and trade show. The event takes place on September 20-22, 2007, at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, CA. The first two days of the conference are reserved for trade only, and on day three, the doors open to homeowners. 

Taking a walk on the trade show floor of West Coast Green will provide you with hundreds of ideas on how to green your home; from simple items like eco-friendly paints and sustainable home furnishings to building a green home from the ground up.  West Coast Green has gone the distance to find and showcase the best green building resources, exhibits, trainings, presentations, and educational tracks, while ensuring you have an unparalleled experience.

Highlights for 2007 include:

• 275 exhibitors displaying the latest in green design and building products
• 250 renowned speakers and visionaries
• The Futures Room – filled with green innovations soon to come
• Green Built Pre-fabricated Home – designed by Michelle Kaufmann and built by Extreme Homes, to be placed on City County Plaza directly across from West Coast Green for the duration of the conference and will be open for West Coast Green attendees to tour (the mkLotus).

As a special gift, I’m proud to announce, by the generosity of West Coast Green, a 20% discount on your full conference registration.  Please enter the following promotional code when registering to receive discount:  jg3554.  Register at West Coast Green or call 1-800-724-4880. 

Pretty much everyone is talking about green roofs these days, so I thought I would round up a few of the good articles.  Just as a refresher, back in March, I wrote an article summarizing the costs and benefits of green roofing.  The benefits are numerous in comparison to the costs, but a green roof may not be right for every application.  I'll let you decide, but to get you thinking, here are some of the most thorough articles on green roofing that I've read and studied.  There's also some eye candy with each, too. 

• Green Roofs + 13 pages of pictures, Andrea Ford. 
• Green Roofs: An Introduction with Pretty Pictures, Philip Proefrock
• Green Roofs: For Healthy Australian Cities
• Green Roofs: A Primer, Lloyd Alter
• Green Roofs, Jill Fehrenbacher
• Sod Roof Doghouse, Kitty Bartholomew

Also, read other articles about projects involving green roofs in our archives.

This is going to be a short post, but I stumbled upon this building integrated solar technology called "SUNSLATES."  As you can see, they are low-profile roof tiles that fit on part of your roof.  To get an idea of the size, a system of 216 Sunslates will take up about 300 sq ft on your roof.  They’re installed in strings of 24, with each string having a home run cable that goes directly to the attic junction box.  That cable then gets spliced into the cable that runs to the inverter (although I’m not an electrician and can’t be 100% certain).  What’s the cost?  Roughly $13,000 per 100 sf of Sunslates, or $13.00 per watt, before any state or federal rebates.  Might be a little expensive, but I’m wondering if this kind of technology takes the "m" out of NIMBY.  Recall the recent news regarding Al Gore not being able to install solar panels on his roof?  Well, if the panels are integrated into the roof, does this shut the NIMBY up?  Via. 

What do you get with prefab?  (1) modular economies of scale and supposedly less construction waste, (2) labor efficient construction process, (3) ease of variability or parts interchangeability, and (4) the possibility of green, energy efficient homes, if you make that happen.  Jot Homes is backed by Yeh + Jarrard, who built the prototype JoT House in Joshua Tree (get it? JOshua Tree?) for a jaw-dropping $48 psf way back in 2004.  It seems that one of the ways they kept the costs down was by using a "central utility core" for the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry supplies.  Simple plumbing is cheaper, right?!  In addition, they use SIPs and sustainable harvested birch plywood (as opposed to fir plywood that comes from old growth), Forbo Marmoleum and cork tiles for the flooring, double-glazed low-E glass for the windows, and LED lighting technology.  Kitchen and cabinetry fixtures were all sourced from IKEA, too.

Currently, JoT House is planning some new stuff for release in early 2008 or so.  They will have the JoT Original, JoT ‘L’, and the JoT Two-story ‘Urban JoT’, with standard model prices at $210k, $260k, and $300k, respectively.  That works out to roughly $180 psf.  If you’re going after the mini-JoT, that starts at about $45k+.  And multiple mini-JoTs can be put together, too.  Let’s keep an eye out for new developments in 2008, and check the detail in some of the images below.

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