Green Building Blog - Jetson Green

Dutch Building Powered by Energy from Asphalt

Tom Konrad is an Analyst at Alternative Energy Stocks, where he writes about investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency companies.  This article is a guest post for Jetson Green.

The December 6 Technology Quarterly from The Economist profiles a Dutch office building that is both heated and cooled using heat (or cold) from the asphalt of the road outside the building, as opposed to the more conventional use of solar thermal panels on the building's roof.  The article optimistically ends:

The result is cheap heating in winter and cheap cooling in summer. And there is a bonus. Summer heating softens asphalt, making it easier for heavy traffic to damage the road surface. Dr de Bondt's system not only saves electricity, but also saves the road. Expect to see more examples of it, in other countries, soon.

Guide for Finding a Comfortable, Safe, and Energy Efficient Home

Tom Konrad is an Analyst at Alternative Energy Stocks, where he writes about investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency companies.  This article is a guest post for Jetson Green.

As a Jetson Green reader, you probably love efficient, modern homes, and probably dream of building your own one day.  But that may not be much help if the home you are looking for today is your next rental, or you need to live in an area where land is not available to build your own place.  You may find yourself looking at existing homes instead. (Existing homes account for 85% of the homes sold each year, and more of the rentals).

At the 2007 Energy Star Summit, which I attended December 3rd and 4th, I sat in on multiple workshops geared towards Energy Auditors, the people who verify the performance of your home and recommend cost-effective improvements.  After three of these workshops, I decided I will never buy a house that is not a new Energy Star, Built Green, or LEED certified one, without first having a home energy audit by a professional auditor, no matter what the price.  Each of the above ratings/certifications included some form of energy and safety audit.