Green Ideas

1)  Raise the Roof

PV Shingles: (still my favorite) The flexible thin-film solar cell shingles look and install just like ordinary shingles, but allow your roof to evolve from mere protection from weather, to a source of solar electric power. These shingles have been honored with the Popular Science Grand Award, "Best of What's New," and with Discover magazine's "Technological Innovation Award."  

Galvanized Aluminum Roof:  There's been a surge of interest in metal roofing.  It looks cool, and it keeps your home cooler too.  Aluminum is an affordable and extremely lightweight roofing material. It can be used either painted or unpainted; regardless, it will need a finish. Aluminum has a high coefficient of expansion, causing some thermal movement. Like steel, aluminum has a high strength-to-weight ratio. In addition, this material has excellent corrosion resistance and is ideal for coastal environments.      

Have a Green (living) roof:  More and more people are hauling dirt, plants, herbs and veggies onto their roof tops.  Giving home grown a whole new meaning!  They can eat what they grow,  and the extra layers insulates their homes even more.  Rooftop gardens are growing in popularity especially in Urban communities.     

If you need more convincing 26 States offer incentives for using "approved" green technologies.

2)  There's no place like home.

Pick Plants that are indigenous to your region.  Ones that are frugal on the agua are even better.  Many online nurseries have zone maps, as well as water and light indices for easy navigating.  Do you have an extra moist or swampy area in your yard?  Set up a rain garden to optimize and beautify the area. 

3)   Diffusing a myth

Install Exterior Siding with a Vapor Barrier (it's like sheet rock).   A vapor barrier or vapor diffusion retarder (VDR) is a material that reduces the rate at which water vapor can move through a material.  It doesn't stop all moisture transference as the name implies but it certainly slows the diffusion.  (Any material with a perm rating of less than 1.0 is considered a vapor retarder)

4)  The Answer my friend IS blowing in the wind

 Wind Turbines -  As long as there's a breeze, this wheel will keep on turning even after the sun goes down.   A wind turbine system converts the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy that can supply all the electricity you need for your home with some to spare -  you could also get back some money if you tie it into the power grid. 

5)  To Grid or not to Grid, that is the Question

It's costly to do so, but it's the only way to start having your meter actually begin to spin backwards!  The electric company would pay YOU for the electricity you are supplying to the power grid.  Some endeavor to break from the grid to become completely independent, but others like the idea of the EC paying them.  The government also has rebate incentives for people who choose green energies.  Supplying your own clean electricity and possibly getting paid for it - who holds the power now? 

6)  100 Bottles of Beer  in my counter?

Renovating?  Those glass bottles you’re throwing away can be recycled into beautiful, economical, sustainable floors, countertops and decorative surfaces  Recycled Quartz or Concrete  are other materials that have made a remarkable re-entry into the mainstream market  

7)   Getting a foot up.

Steel is another eco-smart choice.  Steel can find a new life reworked into stairs, and risers.  For a sleek, chic look use tempered glass for the footings, and you could see your way clear to the top - of the stairs that is.....

8)  Everything old is new again.

 Use Salvaged Wood:  There's plenty of it around, and you just might find an old treasure in the pile.  More and more companies are creating new products from the old such as doors, floors, windows, tables and chairs.  Trex decks has been doing it for many years now - as well as using recycled plastic bags to create weather resistant decking material.

9)  Will that be one or two?

Dual Flush toilets seem like a good idea, they can save water with a half flush option, and of course full flush.   The caveat is that sometimes you have to half flush twice.  Newer models promise better efficiency.

10)  You can take it with you

 There are plenty of portable solar chargers out there.  They come in rolls, in suitcase, and they even sew them into stylish purses and backpacks.  I stumbled upon one that can roll out in my car window, so I can utilize the time my car is standing in the sunlight.  The charger can juice up your ipod, cell phone, as well as your car battery if you find yourself in need of a jump.  Add in an inexpensive charge controller to ensure that your gadget's batteries are not overcharged.

11)  H2O + HHO = Water.  Ha!

 Convert your gas guzzler to a more efficient HHO (Hydrogen conversion).  Hi-Line - a high end conversion company has made it their business to convert Hummers and other low mpg vehicles to more efficient consumers.  Most of their models end up getting about 45 mpg after the conversion.  The company also has developed a Vaporizer that transforms gas from a liquid to a vapor- (claimed to optimize fuel efficiency by 30%) it is scheduled  to be released to the general public in about a year. 

12)  I'm shocked!

 Kill a Watt Voltage meters that tell you exactly how much energy you're using.  Most electronics come with a consumption ledgers, but this little gadget will let you know exactly how much power every

13)  Don't just stand there be idle

 Get a smart power strip / surge protector.  outlets work together, auto switching your devices on/off automatically, to save you money on your electric bills.  The surge protection keep your equipment safe from even the harshest power spikes.  

It's as easy as 

1)  Plug computer or television into blue CONTROL outlet.

2) Plug peripherals into white SWITCHED outlets to maximize energy savings. 3) Plug other electronics into red CONSTANT outlets.

Bye Bye Standby:  Works by completely cutting power to the devices plugged into it when they're not in use, saving the power that these devices would otherwise have consumed in Standby Mode.  The 1-2-3:  1. Set the dial on the reverse of the socket adapter to your chosen number.  2. Plug your existing power strip or the device you want to control.  3. Use the remote control to switch on and off with the corresponding button on the remote Smart Socket Adapters can be controlled individually or can be set up as a group of devices and can then be switched on and off together.

14)  A concrete plan?

 Thermal mass in-between your walls?  Renovators have begun to take demolition material like broken concrete pieces to literally fill the bottom third of their walls.  Why?  Good question....  One, it reduces the waste material going to the landfill, but the better reason is that it helps moisture and temperature stasis in your home.  How?   The extra mass absorbs more heat or lack there of so temperatures stay rather constant throughout the day in your home.