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My Home Can Help Reduce My Carbon Footprint?

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:38:30 EST

Mon, 24 May 2010 14:38:30 Whether you are considering a home addition, renovation or are planning to build a new home, there are a vast number of opportunities to help reduce your carbon footprint and help improve the environment in which we live. Decisions that you make during the planning and construction phase for your...

Ten Green Building Predictions for 2010

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:56:39 EST

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:56:39 smart energy management, home energy labeling, water conservation, calculating carbon footprints, and zero-energy homes will be among the top trends to emerge this year.

Source: residential architect online

Publication date: January 14, 2010

By Stephani L. Miller

The housing industry's ongoing distress has not dampened...

Trend Report: Growing Demand for Smaller, More Efficient Homes

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:26:51 EST

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:26:51 Source: residential architect online
Publication date: June 30, 2009

By Stephani L. Miller

According to The American Institute of Architects' (AIA) first quarter 2009 "Home Design Trends Survey," demand for less living space and overall smaller-sized homes has increased in recent years....

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:28:31 EST

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:28:31

Woodborne Design is the first residential design company in the High Country to join the EPA in offering an optional "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR" label on its home plans. Since Woodborne Design is as committed to quality and value as it is to a healthy environment and a...

A TIME TO BUILD

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:33:55 EST

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:33:55

If you’ve been planning to build a new home, you’ve surely had many decisions to make - and recently, a long list of reservations. One of your biggest decisions has probably been when to build considering the current economic situation. And that, no doubt, has been a difficult...

Timber Frames are Green

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:33:45 EST

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:33:45

First, let me attempt to define green. Almost every imaginable slice of the building industry has claimed to be green even if it means only the use of wood or bamboo flooring or "organic" cellulose for insulation.

To be green, a building should be durable, flexible,...

WNC Green Building Council to offer LEED certification

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:44:36 EST

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 13:44:36

ASHEVILLE – Western North Carolina Green Building Council has been selected by the U.S. Green Building Council to serve the local market as a LEED for Homes Provider, helping to certify new homes as green and energy-efficient.

LEED for Homes is a...

Housing: Where Does It Go from Here?

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:03:43 EST

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:03:43

Greg Gregory is president of Builders Supply Company in Lancaster, SC, located near Charlotte, NC. Greg is also a South Carolina State Senator.

Greg offers his fellow owners and managers his unique insights into the housing crises and where housing is likely to go from where it is...

The Green Puzzle: Putting It All Together

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:47:03 EST
Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:47:03
Consumers expect to double their spending on green products and services during 2008, totaling an estimated $500 billion annually or $43 billion per month.

You want some of that expenditure? If so, you have to put the pieces of the green puzzle together.

And a puzzle...

Green Building Trends to Watch in 2009

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:39:43 EST
Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:39:43
Green building and sustainable planning consultant Jerry Yudelson, PE, LEED AP, recently released his top 10 predictions for the green building industry in 2009. Yudelson, the founder and principal of Yudelson Associates, Tuscon, Ariz., has authored eight books on green building, is a frequent speaker at industry and professional conferences,...

Eco-Logic - H.R. 1424: Sustainable systems provide highest return

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:53:56 EST
Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:53:56
With the downturn in the U.S. economy and the resultant effect on world markets, homeowners and small business owners are challenged to find low-risk options to protect their wealth or to provide reasonable long-term return on their investments. One option lies in their own home or business facilities: investing...

Case study: Zero-energy home, ASU and Habitat for Humanity combine efficiency and affordability

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:23:59 EST
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:23:59
Wouldn’t it be nice if the power company sent you a check every month?

Duke Energy actually does send Hickory resident Frances Thompson a partial reimbursement for her monthly bill. Thompson’s house has a solar-photovoltaic array on its rooftop. Because the solar-electric system is tied in with the...

Growing green: WNC Green Building Council supports sustainable design

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:08:17 EST
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:08:17
The built environment is an energy hog. The U.S. EPA has estimated that 68 percent of electricity consumption, 30 percent of landfill waste and 38 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions in this country can be attributed to buildings. Lumber used in new construction may originate from dramatic clear-cuts that ravage...

Green building certification programs demystified: Energy Star, N.C. HealthyBuilt Homes and LEED for Homes

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:06:01 EST
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:06:01
Anyone who talks about green building most likely has a unique definition of what it means. Hopefully, all ideas include elements of sustainability, energy efficiency and natural-resource conservation. In the absence of a universally approved definition of green, a recent wave of certification programs has emerged to prevent greenwashing, and...

Learn the lingo: Frequently asked questions to help you find the real (green) deal

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:40:43 EST
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:40:43
Kermit the Frog’s famous line, “It’s not easy being green,” may still hold true today. But some developers or manufacturers who want to take advantage of a growing demand for environmentally friendly products have learned that it is easy to label something as green, even if they haven’t gone the...

A Disservice to the House: The Housing Boom Made Us Forget What Our Homes Are Really Worth

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:35:32 EST
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:35:32
Everyone is lamenting the deflation of the housing bubble. But there's at least one bright side to its departure. The housing boom did a major disservice to the house. It caused nearly everyone—owners, bankers, Realtors, builders, and even architects, in some cases—to think of houses as investments.

When...

Understanding Passive Solar Heating and Cooling: Learn what it takes to create a comfortable building environment with less reliance on fossil fuels

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:35:20 EST
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:35:20
Being passive isn’t always a bad thing, especially when it’s passive solar heating and cooling. The idea behind passive solar is to design buildings that take advantage of natural heat from the sun in winter; and shade and wind and in the summer. Although the concept has been used in...

Timber Framing 101

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:34:36 EST
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:34:36 For anyone considering the use of timber in their next building project, the folks at Carolina Timberworks have put together an excellent introduction to the wonderful world of timber framing. We highly recommend checking out this introductory primer as a way to start getting yourself up to speed about the...

The Lure of a Log Home

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:33:38 EST
Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:33:38
There’s just something special about a log home; maybe it’s a remnant of the pioneer spirit now indelibly written into the genetic code of the American dream. Maybe it’s that log homes fulfill a desire to get back to basics, to feel closer to nature, and to be reminded of...