West Virginia Gets First LEED-Platinum Certified Home

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Charles Pickering, the founder and CEO of architectural and engineering firm Pickering Associates, recently received a LEED-Platinum rating for his project at 12 Faith Meadows in Williamstown, WV. This is the first LEED Platinum certified home in West Virginia, and boasts of 11 kWDC of generation capacity. The solar system is located in an optimal array on the house and garage roof, and provides all the energy usage needs for the household, with some to sell back through the power grid. The house received a LEED Point Score of 113 and a HERS rating of .43.

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By |October 1st, 2013|Air Quality, Energy Efficiency, Green Building, HOME BUILDERS, LEED, Single Family, Water Efficiency|4 Comments
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Decorative Facade Removes Air Pollution in Perth, Mexico City, and Abu Dhabi

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Daniel Schwaag and Allison Dring, of design firm, Elegant Embellishments, have developed a remarkable three-dimensional architectural tile that is capable of reducing air pollution in urban locations, is quick and easy to install, and provides visual appeal.

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By |May 15th, 2013|Air Quality|8 Comments
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EPA Guide Ensures Healthy Air, Efficiency

The EPA recently published new, voluntary guidelines to help the home energy industry improve indoor air quality in conjunction with energy efficiency upgrades.  Designed as a companion to the DOE’s Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals (view), the new Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades (download) include Assessment Protocols to evaluate existing conditions, Minimum Actions to be taken during upgrade activities, and Expanded Actions to promote improved occupant health.

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By |November 27th, 2011|Air Quality, Energy Efficiency|0 Comments
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Cleaner Indoor Air with Desso Carpet

Keeping our tootsies pampered during midnight trips to the bathroom is a job any carpet can handle.  But clean the air of all that icky stuff floating around that we know is there but glad we can’t see? According to Dutch carpet manufacturer Desso, their new carpet line AirMaster can greatly reduce the concentration of that microscopic particulate matter to improve indoor air quality eight times better than hardwood floors. Tall claim, but they have several independent studies backing it up.

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By |October 31st, 2011|Air Quality, Materials|2 Comments
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Alcoa Unveils Smog Eating Aluminum Panel

We’ve seen roof tiles that eat smog, but Alcoa Architectural Products is introducing an architectural panel that the company claims can clean itself and the air around it.  Reynobond with EcoClean is what it’s called, and it’s a combination of Reynobond, which is a pre-painted, aluminum, coil-coated panel, and EcoClean, a proprietary coating with titanium oxide.

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By |May 12th, 2011|Air Quality, Materials|1 Comment
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How to Clean Air with Indoor Plants

In this rather concise TED video, Kamal Meattle explains that there are three common plants that can be used to grow all the fresh air needed to maintain human health.  Research suggests that these plants can help with tight, energy-efficient structures to mitigate what’s commonly referred to as sick building syndrome.  The plants are:

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By |March 10th, 2011|Air Quality, Vegetation, video|9 Comments
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