Companies are looking at new ways to create materials we use in buildings. They’re looking for materials that utilize less energy in the manufacturing, pollute less throughout their lifetime, and that last longer.
It’s always tricky to vet these new products. The best way is learn everything you can, talk to people that have installed it and then, be daring and experimental.
Here’s one I’m looking at right now. Eco Rock is a replacement “green” product for traditional drywall.
Here’s the link to the Eco Rock company website Serious Materials They are making the most of using the American Recovery and Reinvestment money. It’s an interesting company story.
If anyone has experience with EcoRock, I would love to here more about it, including everything from availability, shipping, installation tips & tricks, painting, maintenance. If anyone has installed it in Central Oregon, please speak up.
SolWest Fair is July 24th, 25th & 26th, 2009
at the Grant County Fairgrounds, John Day, OR
SolWest is small, great event in Eastern Oregon that focuses on all things solar (and some wind too). An incredible mix of people show up to share and learn about solar technology. Cutting edge inventors and innovators are there, along with folks that can explain all the tax rebates and incentives available for renewable energy.
I truly mean this is a diverse groups of people: Ranchers are using solar energy to pump water for their herd. Farmers are using micro hydro to make a bit of power from their irrigation systems. Homeowners with solar systems installed enthusiatically want to share their experience. Mechanics that have been innovating with electric vehicles pop their hoods. People looking to learn more about the costs and paybacks of these systems. People who could care less about the cost, it’s a lifestyle choice for them. And then the gang that has great fun racing solar go-carts.
If you’re a camper, I’d highly encourage you to consider camping at the fairgrounds and partaking of the campfire atmosphere. It’s a great way to learn more about solar energy, share with others, and meet some incredibly talented and passionate people.
While this isn’t a completely green building focused resource, it’s still has some very interesting information.
Trying to run a green building consulting company, means I try to walk the talk. I have a specialized area of knowledge and that doesn’t include the variety of everyday business equipment and office supplies. Thankfully many manufacturers are finally responding to our questions and third party sources are starting to compair and test things in a way that includes “green” features.
Like most of GBD’s clients, I want to know the bottom line business details. Does it really serve my business needs? How much is it? Is it a high quality product that will last a long time? What are the “green” things that I can evaluate and compare from brand to brand? Are there any third party certifiers of the “green” features and do the regular shopping guides also agree on the consumer quality reviews?
GBD is shopping for a laptop and trying to evaluate green things like energy use, battery chemicals, recycled content, repair-ability, life expectancy, pollution from manufacturing, end of life disposal issues and of course- price.
USDA Rural Development published a notice in the Federal Register inviting REAP (Rural Energy for American Program) applications and spelling out the rules that will govern REAP applications in 2009. You can find the notice here: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a090526c.html
(click on the “Rural Business-Cooperative Service” link)
REAP offers grants and/or loan guarantees for the purchase and installation of renewable energy generating systems and for energy efficiency improvements. Assistance is limited to small businesses and farmers & ranchers. Projects must be located in a rural area. REAP grants and guarantees may be used individually or in combination. Together they may finance up to 75% of a project’s cost. Grants can finance up to 25% of project cost, not to exceed $500,000 for renewables, $250,000 for efficiency.
The Oregon USDA RD office is still reviewing the notice in all its detail, but there are three things that are extremely clear and important for prospective REAP applicants to take into account as they formulate their plans:
1. ≤ $20,000 GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE STRONGLY PREFERRED
The process this year will greatly favor applicants seeking a REAP grant of $20,000 or less. Such small grants will be funded on a twice-monthly basis, and at least 20% of all REAP funds will be awarded to such projects. So even if you technically qualify for a larger grant, your chances of receiving an award are much better if you limit your REAP grant request to $20,000.
2. NEW FEASIBILITY STUDY GRANT PROGRAM
The notice announces a new competitive grant program under REAP. These “REAP-Feasibility Study” grants will pay 25% of the cost (up to $50,000) of obtaining renewable energy feasibility studies. Assistance is limited to small businesses and farmers & ranchers. Projects must be located in a rural area. Details on this new grant opportunity are found beginning on page 24774 of the Federal Register notice.
3. DEADLINE - JULY 31
The deadline for REAP applications (for both project financing and feasibility study cost-sharing) is July 31, 2009. Applications must be received by USDA by not later than 4:30 PM on that day; a postmark is not sufficient.
We plan to update the Oregon web REAP website and application will be updated in the next few days by the USDA RD staff. http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/or/energy.htm So check that web site periodically to stay informed.
I absolutely hated math by 5th grade. I was just sure I did not understand and that I could not understand. The formulas, the methods made no sense to me. Music made sense though, and making things made sense. I could cook using fractions and ratios. I could sew using measurements and curves. I could build ramps for bikes. I could construct great forts.
Later when I found geometry that made glimmers of sense to me. There were moments where the paper formulas almost seemed to shine a light…. but then that faint sense of building energy that was just about to illuminate me would go out again, and I would get a C or D on the test.
If I had long enough to picture things as shapes and 3 dimensional issues, I could intuitively arrive at answers. But only in 3rd grade where we could make parabolic string art with nails and thread, was I ever allowed to actually experience math, at school, in a way that seemed to embed it’s practical value into my mind.
Architecture, design, and math seem to be haunting me. I’m forever fascinated by pattern and shape. This video on hyperbolic mathematics was a tremendous light bulb. Just like the earlier video on African Fractals, I found validation and knowledge in simple design techniques. It all may be a bit off topic from “green design” in buildings. Then again, it maybe the germination of my new ideas on design being more based in biological and mathematical formulas.
Heck, it’s about crocheting, coral reefs, and math. It’s pretty wack. Enjoy!
Keeping an “uninhabited” building under 200 square feet, means no permits are necessary. What it also means, is it frees me up to be experimental with materials and construction methods.
This greenhouse, is really a greenhouse, the kind for growing tomatoes and such. The windows are all salvage windows of various types. The bit of wacky colors you see in the drawing are actually just color coding the type of window. The ones with the brown sashes actually have frames and nailing flanges, the green sash ones are frameless and will require some glazing putty and finish carpentry to fit them into the rough openings.
The framing for the building is both post and beam (meaning the roof load is not evenly distributed down the wall, but channeled to the corner posts and some center posts. This was done becuase we’re gambling on the location of the septic system and we wanted to disturb as little of the yard as possible.
We’re still researching the venting/fan systems and have left room above the windows to install standard 12″ high vents and we’ve also left room at the floor level on the NW corner for cool air supply.
The North Wall is concrete and will act as “mass” to help absorb the sun’s energy and it will release it slowly once the sun goes down, helping keep the greenhouse warmer through the night. The concrete will be insulated on the exterior, to prevent the heat we collected on the interior from just leaking out into the night.
Hopefully we’ll get this built in the next few weeks and have updates on the progress of design and the construction. I’ll be very interested to see how much venting we’ll need to blow off the heat in the middle of the day. And also to see if we can really hold some heat into our generally cool or cold high desert nights.
As green building radically changes the systems of the building in terms of heating, ventilation, and daylight, it really changes the overall form from the look that we’ve become accustomed to in large buildings during the last one hundred years.
The new San Fransisco Federal Building (watch the video to see it, it’s not the one you see at the opening of the video) is an excellent example of a radical shift in the appearance of a building. At the end of the video, I can say I have tremendous appreciation for the architectural goals of eliminating air conditioning, providing operable windows, increasing “flow” through the building and for the work.
Still, just like everyone interviewed, I find the aesthetic of the building to be unattractive. The architect does not seem to care about that issue, but others point out that winning the hearts of people can be a critical issue in protecting and maintaining a building. The emotional connection that people feel to a space, is another dimension of design, that should not be ignored, it has a role in sustainability.
The San Fransisco Federal building is a ground breaking piece of building technology. I sincerely hope that we can study it, learn from it, and utilize the underlying functions to achieve more appealing buildings.
Diverting water from the Deschutes into Tumalo Reservoir would help meet future demand and make it ‘hugely cheaper’ to pump groundwater, say the plan’s backers….
Honest to Pete Insanity!
It’s probably about time that we folks of the High Desert woke up and realized we can’t waste water like an average American. If there is any place in Oregon that should be experiencing the water pinch, and pushing for household water conservation, it’s here.
I find that general public awareness of the area is pretty “green” when it comes to solar power. When asked about their water conservation, the vast majority of people tilt their heads quizzically and seem to have no idea they live in a desert.
There are so many things we should be doing to avert a water crisis and improve the watershed health of the region. These things are not extreme. They don’t radically change day to day life for us. Technology has come to save the day, and it should be used.
1) The Oregon Plumbing board has been dorking around with approving use of graywater systems. It’s time they got it done. Places like the Central Oregon counties could easily require that new construction no potable water be used for irrigation. Let that shower water, bathtub water, and sink water be the primary water source of irrigation.
2)
The Sterling "Rockton" 1.6 gallon big flush and .8 gallon little flush
Go to the super low flow toilet standard. Make it the norm. Use those dual flush toilets for all new toilet installations. It really won’t change people’s life experience to flush a toilet that uses less water. I think we’ll be OKAY.
3) Require installation of hot water recirculation systems on all new construction (There are passive gravity driven recirculation systems and pump driven systems). What? Okay these are nifty gizmos. When you want hot water at a tap, the circulation loop sends the cooled off pipe-water back to the hot water tank and pulls the hot water to tap, without running the water down the drain. This saves water and also reduces energy on heating the water, becuase that returned water is usually warmer than incoming water and so it requires less energy to re-heat. Besides that… people actually like it! They turn on the shower and voila! hot water!
And no, I don’t think we should incentivize these changes. I think we should make sure we always talk about it as the right thing to do. The local water boards should be releasing press releases on great new innovations in water conservation. Our local media should always call to mind that water conservation is the first option whenever someone is crying out that we need MORE.
Indoor Air Quality, often referred to as IAQ, is a fundamental issue of green building. For many years we’ve realized that the variety of toxic chemicals from household goods concentrates in our buildings and leads to respiratory problems like asthma and allergies. Much of our professional response has been to create elaborate mechanical systems and filtration as a solution to this problem.
In India, a country challenged by air pollution, an architect, Kamal Meattle, has returned to look at the simple purification that houseplants can provide. It’s a measurable quantifiable health improvement for buidling occupants. The addition of the houseplants even allows for reduction in our current standards of air exchanges and filtration. Instead the plants can do a large portion of that job.
The first meeting of the High Desert Green Building Council- LEED AP Study Group is this week!
The group is studying for the LEED New Construction 2.0 test. We plan a 6 week study group. The USGBC is requiring those that are registered to take the exam be taken by June 30th this year.
Thursday, April 2 at 5:00pm
Cascade Design Center Inc.
1805 NE Hwy 20 (Entrance through Jim Smolich Motors)
Bend, OR 97701
If you’ve registered to take the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional exam, then come join the study group.
Please RSVP here to receive the study topics for the meeting.
While this isn’t a completely green building focused resource, it’s still has some very interesting information. 
-May 26, 2009 - 
The bit of wacky colors you see in the drawing are actually just color coding the type of window. The ones with the brown sashes actually have frames and nailing flanges, the green sash ones are frameless and will require some glazing putty and finish carpentry to fit them into the rough openings. 