January 26, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Energy, Green Building, Uncategorized
Tags: cool roofs, Green Retrofit, Home Improvement
I recently learned a few things that I was a little shaky on.
This article talks alot about one of those things.
That is the power of WHITE – and yes I mean the color. 
For the majority of people out there we understand the ability of light colors. They reflect while dark colors absorb. And we are talking about heat for those of you just joining the conversation.
And a majority of us have heard of the concept of cool roofs. That is you paint or put some sort of white membrane on a roof and it dramitically reduces the cooling loads of a building because the temperature of the roof surface drops by 50+ degrees.
However in the above mentioned article you can read about the actual effects of a study that was conducted. This study has the audacity (a good audacity) to claim that adopting a cool roof and cool pavement strategy would change the climate drastically – drastically like 44 billion tons of CO2-
“That is more than all the countries on Earth emit in a single year. And, with global climate negotiators focused on limiting a rapid increase in emissions, installing cool roofs and pavements would offset more than 10 years of emissions growth, even without slashing industrial pollution.”
Pretty incredible! I also learned this weekend that shiny metal (which tends to reflect more than white surfaces) is not a good roofing strategy (actually it can be you just need to be aware of how to install it). This is because using a shiny metal as a “radiant barrier needs to have an air space accompanying it. Metal is a conductor and if it is placed next to another surface (i.e. you covering your roof with shiny metal) it will conduct that heat through the surface it is touching.
So what this means for you is – don’t get suckered into buying a foil faced foam board insulation to put on your roof. When you lay roofing shingles on top of it (or whatever you roof it with) you have eliminated the purpose of the radiant barrier all together. Hope this helps!
–The EBS Team
January 24, 2009
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Energy, Green Building, Uncategorized
Tags: architecture, energy, Green Retrofit, Home Improvement, organic
While gearing up for the new presidency and getting excited about him closing Guantanamo, I also think now is the time to actually get things done. President Obama to me seems like the type of man who is no bullshit, real, and measurable.
This means several things for us as peons. It means we will actually see things happen in the United States instead of that wait and react feeling we’ve had for the last several years (oh wait, let me correct myself and say last 8 years!). The good news is we’ve already see it.
Our last post revolved around the idea of Obama and energy efficiency for government buildings. Thats great and I’m happy for the government. Maybe they will set the example for the rest of us so we can actually look up to our leaders instead of following in their footsteps (look to American debt vs. other countries like Japan if you don’t agree – classic example).
With that said, you are probably wondering how you can contribute.
Well below is from the Organic Architect’s website.
EVERY Project should include these!!
1. Every project should be a Passive Solar design, orient to the sun and incorporate passive cooling.
2. Double the minimum amount of insulation required. Use only non-toxic or recycled content
insulation.
3. Use Low/No-VOC and Formaldehyde-Free Paint. Use Solvent-Free Adhesives.
4. Use Low VOC, Water-Based Wood Finishes.
5. Use certified wood or finger-jointed wood for all finish trim.
6. Expose the structure to avoid the need for additional finishes.
7. Avoid wall to wall carpet, or use carpet tiles with a company with a take back program.
8. If you must use drywall, use recycled content drywall. Try other natural wall finishes.
9. Use composite lumber for all exterior decks.
10. Replace up to 35% of the Portland Cement in the concrete with Fly Ash.
11. Avoid vinyl products. Alternatives include rubber, turned up carpet, linoleum, etc. As an
alternative to vinyl flooring consider linoleum, made from wood flour, resins and linseed oil. It’s
available in a variety of colors and can be cut and pieced in to any pattern you can dream up.
12. Specify a light color roof in warm regions; a non asphalt roof allows for future water catchment.
13. Avoid standard particle board cabinets and use formaldehyde-free medium density fiberboard,
plywood or wheat board for cabinet boxes.
14. Consider bamboo, reclaimed or sustainably harvested wood, and wheatboard for cabinet doors
and drawers, and sealed with a no- or low-volatile organic compound clear finish.
15. On-demand hot water pumping system rather than a whole house re-circulating hot water loop,
which has proven to be inefficient for delivering hot water quickly.
16. Any new toilets should be dual flush type. For $20, EcoFlush makes a kit to retrofit existing
toilets to dual flush.
17. Recycle Job Site Construction and Demolition Waste. Change your general demolition notes to
salvage all removed doors and windows for possible salvage or reuse.
18. Use treated wood that does not contain Chromium, CCA or Arsenic for decking and sill plates.
19. Landscaping uses drip irrigation system to save water and indigenous xeriscaping plants that
require little water.
20. Incorporate permeable paving at all driveways and exterior surfaces.
21. Reuse concrete form boards, or reusable slip forms.
22. Insulate foundation before backfill.
23. Substitute solid sawn lumber with engineered lumber.
24. Use OSB for subfloor and sheathing
25. If you are going to use stucco siding, use integrally colored stucco.
26. Install a whole house water filter.
27. Provide conduit for future solar addition.
28. Provide dimmers on all light switches. (Wattstopper)
29. South and west facing walls to have a high thermal mass material (concrete, or earthen).
30. All appliances to be high level EnergyStar models.
31. Pre-plumb for solar water heating.
32. On demand, tankless water heaters
33. Provide heat reclaimation GFX exchangers at all high use showers.
If you don’t understand what this stuff means then look it up and do your homework. This is real, its now and it needs to be known.
–The EBS Team
December 26, 2008
by Environmental Building Strategies
in Green Building
Tags: Blogs, Building Green, Christmas, Consulting, Eco Community, Green Building, Home Improvement, Paint, VOC
Merry Christmas! And Happy Quanza, Hanukkah and the rest.
I want to be in the giving spirit during this holiday season so I’ve decided to provide you with a breadth of resources instead of some politically or environmentally charged post.
So I recently came across a great company and their blog – Seville Consulting Blog. Great source of information and the author Carl is a leader in the industry. Contact him if you are going green in the Southeast United States.
Although not up and running quite yet, our friends at Building Green have started a new website called Green Building Advisor which looks like a promising resource for public information. Set to launch at the International Builders Show in Vegas on January 20-23 (oh and Environmental Building Strategies will be there so find us!).
Green Eco Communities is a newer website listing all environmentally friendly places to live in the US divided up by state. While this will be an incredible task for them to continually update and be subjective with, they are on the right path and we applaud them.
One of the most popular and longer running daily blogs out there is Jetson Green. I like the name more than anything as one of my best friends is named Jetzen (except my buddy spells it cooler). But seriously these guys post daily and are a breadth of knowledge.
A rarely ever discussed subject is the alternative wall coverings that exist out there. Today it seems like everyone is talking about Low and No VOC paints which is fine and dandy but at the end of the day, paint sucks. So do something unique with your interior or exterior space. Use a plaster technique like Venetian Plaster or Stucco.
However if you truly want a unique wall covering that is easy to apply and looks amazing, check out Wara Juraku which is a Japanese wall covering mainly consisting of natural materials such as sand, seaweed, and straw.
Cool companies to check out Green Fusion in San Rafael
and Eco Home Improvement in Berkeley
WikiHow is a good resource for DIY information and they have a great category on Sustainable Living that is worth a look if you are into greening your lifestyle.
Look for more tips coming in the new year as Environmental Building Strategies ramps up its campaign to change building and LEED the way towards a sustainable tomorrow.
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