Carl Seville - The Green Building Curmudgeon
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Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Waiting for the Magic
Apr 30 2008 11:32AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |
I just saw a TV commercial with Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich sitting together discussing how we need to work together to solve our environmental problems. The message is good, but one thing kind of bothered me. Speaker Pelosi said “We need cleaner forms of energy and we need them fast”. In itself, this isn’t a bad thing, but it reinforces a big problem we have in our country – an unwillingness to conserve. While we sit around waiting for some magical, pollution free energy source, no one is doing much about reducing the amount of energy we use.
California, through careful conservation has managed to keep their per capita energy usage st...Read More
Getting in Hot Water
Apr 30 2008 7:58AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
One thing that they all have in common is that none of them are effective when connected to a poorly designed hot water distribution system. I have heard stories of homeowners replacing their old tank water heater with a new tankless unit, only to be upset that the hot water didn’t arrive at their faucet instantly, and incorrectly blaming it on the new heater. The tankless heater was working perfectly, heating water only when needed, but the problem arises when that nice hot water needs...Read More
Monday, April 28, 2008
Watch out for Vampires!
Apr 28 2008 10:20AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
While houses have become more efficient over the years, the extra electrical load has offset most if not all of the energy savings from efficiency. Manufacturers are currently redesigning chargers for cell phones and other devices to cut down on their standby power usage when not charging, which is a start. Unplugging many of these when not in use helps to cut down on electricity usage. Using a power strip that you can turn off is a low tech way to accomplish this. It is possible to use remote control switching to turn off selected...Read More
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
Apr 16 2008 1:24PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Green by Design, Not by Device
Apr 9 2008 7:06AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
Friday, April 4, 2008
Build it Green or Build it Wrong
Apr 4 2008 3:44PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
SAY SOMETHING!
Apr 2 2008 10:03AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
Friday, March 21, 2008
The Green is Dead! Long live the Green!
Mar 21 2008 8:55AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
Code is only a D-
Mar 21 2008 8:54AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
Don’t drink from the firehose
Mar 21 2008 8:53AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Lipstick on a pig
Mar 13 2008 1:46PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
While there are some materials that are really toxic and dangerous, they are really few and far between. Most available building materials can fit into a green renovation project, provided the project is truly green, and they are used properly.
...Read More
Water
Mar 13 2008 1:46PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
In most of the country, the generation of electricity requires the use of fresh water. One study determined that 39% of our fresh water is used for power plants. So one of the best long term solutions to water shortages is to use less electricity. That means making homes more efficient and us...Read More
Green starts with BS
Mar 13 2008 1:43PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
Building Science, that is. Building science is the concept of the “house as a system” – every part of a house affects the other to make a complete, efficient, and well operating machine. For too long contractors have not taken a hard look at all the systems in a house and how they relate to one another. The framers do their thing, the HVAC sub does his (or hers), then the insulators to theirs, the house gets finished, and when its done, the owner complains of drafts, hot spots, humidity, mold, and, eventually, rotting siding and windows. Homes are incredibly complicated structures that need to be looked at very carefully to make sure they operate properly. We need to keep water out, heat in (or out, depending on the season), dehumidify when it is humid, keep the moisture in when it is dry, and, generally, make sure that the house is detailed correctly for local...Read More

