Below is an article put out by The Taft School regarding the project we are workign on there!
http://www.taftschool.org/alumni/onephotoleft.aspx?storyname=59north
A Green Home
Walking Forward Into the Past
03/23/2013
Below is an article put out by The Taft School regarding the project we are workign on there!
http://www.taftschool.org/alumni/onephotoleft.aspx?storyname=59north
03/23/2013
I DO!! I have found 3 super cool products this week that I plan to get for my own house.
Here is a bit of info about each:
1. (COOKING + CHARGING) The Biolite Stove http://www.biolitestove.com/
What do you need when you are out of power for a week? Water, heat, a way to cook. Then also nice would be a refrigerator, an electrical source and a hot shower.
Biolite makes both the Camp Stove and the Home Stove that solve two problems- cooking and charging small electronics.. Currently only the Camp Stove is available to the general public. The Home Stove (which is the one I can't wait to get!) is still in testing- mostly in 3rd world countries in need I believe- and is not yet able to be purchased. A good friend of mine who is a leader in the green building movement has the Camp Stove and loves it.
Here is a blurb form the company:
Using our patent-pending technology, BioLite has created a low-cost biomass cook stove that, by converting waste heat into electricity, reduces smoke emissions by up to 95% while simultaneously providing users with the capability to charge mobile phones and LED lights.
2. (WATER) The Bison Hand Pump http://www.bisonpumps.com/
I have been thinking about this for the last year. The water problem is usually solved- in our house- by a giant bathtub filled with water before the power goes. This is not a bad answer and a jacuzzi tub of water can last 4 people for a week of cooking, cleaning and toilet flushing. But WOW! wouldn't be great to just be able to pump that water sitting down there in your well??
These guys have made that a possibility. Here is a blurb from the Bison web site:
We want to emphasize that Bison Deep and Shallow Well Hand Pumps can be installed in the same casing as your existing electric submersible or jet pump in nearly any situation. There seems to be some doubtful conversation out there that this cannot be done. Please give us a call and our sales and technical staff will guide you through your specific installation. As the ol' saying goes "Never say never"!
3. (HEAT) The Wittus Phenix Green Wood Insert http://www.wittus.com/
I love this stove. Here we have an alternative source of heat that is perfect for a blackout situation. It uses wood in a super clean way. It pumps out a lot of btu's very efficiently. It can be ducted to serve more remote parts of a house and it can be controlled by a thermostat. It brings in 100% outside make up air AND it looks great. The Fireplace Insert uses natural convection to disperse the heat and does not rely on a fan. Many of the high efficiency stoves that are installed really need the fan to make the heat fill the space. I appreciate this low tech/ super efficient answer to the heating problem. Plus the fact that it is operates with much lower levels of pollutants makes it a truly acceptable answer to the problem. AND since all have a lot of trees and wood around after the last hurricanes, it seems like a no brainer.
From Wittus:
The Phenix Green zero-clearance built-in fireplaces from Bodart & Gonay of Belgium set a new standard for wood burning stoves. Equipped with the latest retractable door technology, it allows the user to enjoy the fire with the door open or closed.
With the door lifted, you enjoy the warmth of a genuine open fire. With the door closed, you get a full view through the panoramic window and with the maximum efficiency range of 76%—82% and exceptional heating power.
Phenix Green are available in four models: the 75, 85, 95, and the 120. The technological advances along with low CO and particulate emissions makes the Phenix Green fireplace an ecologically friendly product.
All models include these special features:
- multi-ducting capability, which enables heat transfer in up to 6 additional rooms
- a linear, seamless steel frame
- an upward lifting/forward tilting door feature that make it easy to clean the glass viewing window
- the outside air system uses 100% direct air intake
- the thermostat keeps the temperature regulated
- choice of Class A or Heatilator chimney system
- an optional fan capability.
Every so often I get a question from someone and I feel that the answer is worth sharing with all similarly curious minds~ here is one now:
'How does the design of the house compliment the energy-efficiency and environmentally friendliness of the house? '
There are many ways that the design of the house can compliment energy-efficiency and environmentally friendliness.
One of our new houses is currently going up in Ridgefield! This 2,100 sf , two story, super-efficient, clean, green, brand new home will be the retirement home for a couple from New York City. The very small 1,000 sf 1950's era home that sat on this hill overlooking Rainbow Lake was just too small and had too many physical problem to keep. All but the exterior foundation walls were removed, a new sub floor and cantilever structure were put up and now framing is in full gear. (You can see images of what it will look like in the 'On the Boards' Section of our website.)
This house will be fun and different because not only will it be small and very sustainably built, but it will be a modern home. Brio54, a company out of Milford that specializes in Modern Green Homes is our partner builder in this endeavor. Our mutual goals: to build super efficient, modern, smaller homes that are extremely cost effective, beautiful and simple.
Some of our basics specifications for this model are:
This house will be a super comfortable and very low maintenance place to live. This it is not the MOST energy efficient house we have built and it will not be able to take advantage of active solar panels (due to tree coverage), and it has more windows than it truly should for optimum efficiency and passive solar orientation (the smallness of the house, the awesomeness of surrounding views and the desire for lots of natural light overruled.)
Though all of these things are true, it will still be a far better house than most built today. It will be extremely energy efficient and cost very little to operate and maintain and most of all it will be quiet, healthy and comfortable and seamlessly retain an ideal room temperature and humidity. It will be very reasonably priced, coming in at less than $200/ sf.
It will also be an 'off the grid' ready house. The high efficiency wood and gas stoves will be able to keep the house heated throughout a black out and the back up generator can cover lights, water and refrigerator. Down the road if the option of Photo Voltaics open up (if the highly loved giant tree to the south were to die or fall...) then many of the electrical services could be covered by PV in the case of a black out.
This house, to me is a great example of 'affordable super green'. It will not have every bell and whistle and it will not be Passive House or Net Zero but it will get the clients most of the way there and be a beautiful dream house to live in!
So excited to watch it going up!
Ah the snow ~ There is nothing I geek out on more the day after a snow storm than driving around looking at other people's roofs. Last night we got 22" of snow in my home town. The way snow melts off of a house roof tells the story of the roof's insulation inside.Different amounts of snow tell the story in a different way. Heavy snow will tell the story more in icicles and what I call snow slumps-large swathes of snow falling down a roof.
Why do icicles happen? Well really what is going on are called Ice Damns. Ice damns happen when heat from inside the house flows out of the house- mostly through the roof (because heat rises). When the heat flows out through the roof (because there is not enough insulation) it melts the snow that is touching the roof. That melted snow turns to water and runs down the roof until it gets to the gutter/ eave and then it starts to drip down. However since the air is very cold (less than freezing) the water turns to ice and as more water comes dripping down the icicles grow longer.
What's bad about this is that at the gutter line a LOT of ice is forming! And behind that ice the dripping down water that has not frozen yet is creeping into and behind your roof shingles, sometimes popping them up and often penetrating through to the interior of your house and then causing water damage in the ceiling near the roof eaves. Bad!
The way this problem shows after a light snow fall is with stripes on a roof. Look at these 3 pictures. All 3 of these houses are neighbors, they face the same direction. ( and yes, sun and wind can often throw off the results!) They quickly reveal the levels of insulation in each house.
House #1 has very poor insulation. You can see the white stripes at each roof rafter. There is likely no insulation between the rafters which is why you can see the black asphalt shingles showing. The heat from the house has poured through and melted all of the snow off the roof. Where the rafters are, the heat gets though more slowly and thus there is still a bit of snow clinging there- un-melted. You can also see at the over hangs and the porch roof below there is still all snow in tact. That is because there is no heat flowing through there- just cold outside air.
House # 2 is less 'bad' but you can see the same patterns emerging. This house may be moderately insulated in the floor of the attic/ above the living space.
By the way if you ever see the opposite- broad white stripes and thin black ones where the rafters are- that means there is some decent insulation in the rafters- probably batt insulation- but it pulls away from the rafters, or is not well installed, so it is letting heat sneak out right along the rafter lines.
The third house (below) was recently built and I watched it go up and I happen to know that it was very well insulated with blow in insulation and sheathed with the Zip System which provides a great air infiltration barrier which inturn makes insulation perform to its highest potential. Good job! All of the snow is in tact! No heat is leaking through!
Here is an example of the detail for a decently insulated house:
Have a look at your roof today and the next few days as your roof melts! Do you need more insulation?
BTW: simply insulating your roof can cut hundreds and hundreds of dollars off of your heating and cooling bill per year. Payback times for this kind of work are usually less than 2 years! Why not !!??
Happy sledding ~ Elizabeth
Jojo and I have to say that we are glad 2012 is over! It was not a bad year, it is more that for the last 4 years of this horrid recession everyone has been saying 'this will not end until after 2012'. For some reason, I could not believe that. Back in '09 I was sure things would turn around in '10. In the summer of '11 things seemed like they might be turning around for sure! But alas...the recession HAS lasted for 4 years. Especially for all of us in the building industry and for many other creative fields.
2013, for me, represents H O P E and so far it seems to be working. We have some very exciting jobs just starting or on the horizon. We have two or maybe three Passive Houses in the works. One LEED home and a number of lovely little additions. At this moment we have a super green little modern house under construction on a lake in Ridgefield. And a fresh new office space to work from.
I wish for all of my friends in the building industry and all of those in other industries that have suffered these four years to have a prosperous, stress free and healthy next 4 years. And great happiness also to all of those who have not suffered. It is time to move forward!
Trillium Architects is opening a new office location in Ridgefield. In pursuit of a simpler life and less of a daily commute, Elizabeth DiSalvo (principal and owner) has moved Trillium to Ridgefield, CT. Trillium will still serve the same client base of Fairfield and Westchester Counties and beyond and continue to focus on sustainable, energy efficient, beautiful, healthy homes.
Elizabeth grew up in Ridgefield and after 20 years living in Los Angeles, Colorado, and NYC, returned to Ridgefield to live in 2006. Trillium Architects was founded in South Norwalk in efforts to reach a broad client base and begin promoting green residential building. Now that Trillium is established as perhaps the most experienced green residential architecture firm in Connecticut, Elizabeth felt free to try to live a more sustainable lifestyle by locating her office close to home
So much of what we promote with our architecture is 'lifestyle' that enhances health and happiness as well as being good for the environment. Please do not hesitate to call for any of our services, no matter where your home is located. We look forward to working with you!
I have never owned an air conditioner, and I don’t have any immediate plans to change that. But if I did, what would I look for?
Answer:
For only occasional use and when you don’t want to spend more than $1,000, the options are limited to room air conditioners, which are most commonly installed in windows. These cool the rooms in which they are installed, though in a small house or one that’s very-well-insulated and tight, a single window unit may be able to cool much of the house.
Most room air conditioners are either installed in a double-hung window or in an opening in the wall specially created for the air conditioner. Special models are available that can be used in casement windows, though installation is trickier.
Window air conditioners are usually installed in the late spring or summer and removed in the fall. Because they don’t seal tightly in the window, they should not be left in place during the winter months, as they will result in cold drafts. Room air conditioners that fit into custom openings through the wall may be left in place as long as they are fairly well-sealing (most are not), and if they are removed the opening should be carefully sealed for the winter.
For whole-house cooling, central air conditioners or heat pumps are used, and chilled air is distributed through ducts. Heat pumps offer the advantage of being able to provide both cooling and heating—by reversing the refrigerant cycle seasonally. If I were putting in an air conditioning system and my budget allowed, I would install one of the new-generation mini-split air-source heat pumps. (Very significant for those of us in the Northeast, the cost of delivered heat from these heat pumps is usually lower than that of oil.)
Room air conditioner efficiencies and performance
Room air conditioner performance is reported as the Energy Efficiency Rating (EER), which is a measure of the energy output in Btus (British Thermal Units) per hour divided by the energy input in watts, assuming standard conditions (usually 95°F outside temperature and 50% relative humidity).
Federally mandated efficiency requirements for room air conditioners vary depending on size, ranging from an EER of 8.5 for models over 20,000 Btu/hour to 9.8 for models in the 8,000 to 14,000 Btu/hour size. To meet the Energy Star standard in these size categories, the EER must be a minimum of 9.4 and 10.8, respectively. The thresholds are somewhat more relaxed for the smallest units.
Today’s best room air conditioners have EERs over 11.5, but relatively few exceed 10.8.
SEER ratings for central air conditioners and heat pumps
Central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps in cooling mode are typically rated on a seasonal bases using the seasonal energy efficiency rating (SEER). This is the total seasonal cooling output in Btus divided by the watt-hours of electricity consumption.
Central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps must have SEER ratings of 13.0 or higher. On January 1, 2015, those standards are scheduled to be tightened. To qualify for the Energy Starstandard, central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps both must have SEER ratings of 14.5 for split systems (separate indoor and outdoor components) or 14.0 for packaged units.
The best central air conditioners and air-source heat pumps today have SEER ratings above 22.
Moisture removal with air conditioners
All air conditioners remove moisture, as described in last week’s blog. While there are no federal requirements or measurement standards for moisture removal, most manufacturers list moisture removal in pints of water per hour. As a first step, you must properly size an air conditioner to achieve good moisture removal (see below). If humidity is a problem, look for models that are effective at moisture removal. Models with variable-speed motors are typically more effective at moisture removal.
Discuss moisture removal with a dealer or air conditioning contractor. Your particular situation and humidity conditions may inform the product recommendations.
Sizing air conditioners and heat pumps
Particularly with central air conditioners and heat pumps, sizing is key to successful performance. With an oversized unit, frequent on-off cycling will occur, efficiency will drop, and moisture removal will be poor. Sizing requires carrying out detailed cooling load calculations; it is not something that should be done using rules of thumb. The sizing of ducting with a central unit is also very important, both for efficient operation and noise control.
Making decisions
A knowledgeable air conditioner salesperson should be able to help you pick out a quality room air conditioner. Insist on an Energy Star-listed model, ask about moisture removal, and then consider technical support, warranties, manufacturer reputation, and service in making your buying decision.
With central air conditioners and heat pumps, talk with air conditioning contractors and suppliers, but be aware that specific contractors may push only those products they are most familiar with or manufacturers they represent. The latest mini-split air-source heat pumps from such manufacturers as Mitsubishi, Daikin, Panasonic, and Fujitsu offer—in my opinion—the best option available today.
If the air conditioning contractor you contact doesn’t provide these systems, I would suggest that you seek out other contractors or suppliers before proceeding with a purchase.
The information above and in our GreenSpec guide should help you find the right central air conditioners and heat pumps.
Alex is founder of BuildingGreen, Inc. and executive editor of Environmental Building News. He also coauthored BuildingGreen’s special report on windows that just came out. To keep up with Alex’s latest articles and musings, you can sign up for his Twitter feed.
Posted by Alex Wilson on July 11, 2012
Please check out this great article on LED bulbs if you are interested in learning more about saving a lot of money and energy while getting the great light quality of my 'personal bulb favorite" ~ the LED!
http://greenspec.buildinggreen.com/content/beat-bulb-ban-led-replacement-lamps-new-light
At Trillium we have been specifying only LED can lights for 5 years now. They just keep getting better. The light quality is great, they turn on to full light capacity right off the bat and they save a ton of energy. Right now almost every non-decorative light fixture in my house is an LED. That is about 20 lights and the vast majority of the lighting in the house. Each of those bulbs cost about $1.00 a year in electricity.
One of the complaints about the bulbs are cost. The most popular/ famous bulb right now is the Philips EnduraLED. These are most of what I have in my house. I have never paid more than $15 for one. There is a comment on the bottom of this article referring to payback times, but that comment quotes the price of the Philips EnduraLED as $25. So cut the payback times in half. The prices are dropping on these bulbs all of the time.
Also none of our residential projects have had the issues with flickering or dimming problems noted in the article. LEDs do not dim 100%. They dim to anywhere form 80-90%. This is getting remedied as the bulbs evolve but so far does not seem to represent a huge problem to the user.
The one issue I have had to adjust to with these bulbs is that they are brighter than you think they will be. We have had to learn to draw in less lighting points into our electrical lighting plans. For instance, instead of putting 6 cans in a kitchen we may only put 4. This actually is a great money saver! But it is a difference to designers. YOu have to learn to think in a slightly new way about creating the 'lighting experience' of the home.
Decorative LEDs are also on the rise and the last LEED home we did used many of these to great effect. The light is a very nice soft white. And its a very white-white...not yellowish-white, not bluish-white like many CFLs.
We highly promote the use of LEDs here at Trillium. If you have any questions about them please feel free to call the office!
(I hope my cousin does not mind but I am posting one of our email correspondances here! Basically Cousin was interested in integrating a grey water re-use system into her home in Pennsylvania)
Her question:
Hi Cousin, I'm adding a bathroom to my house and asked my architect if i can have something installed to recycle the graywater from the bath/shower. I got a blank look!!!! then was told the local permitting process probably wouldn't permit it. When I was in Israel, my friend Yonit's shower drain led directly to her garden via a piece of exterior pvc pipe are homes in the Northeast ever designed to recycle graywater? are there resources for my builder/architect to come up to speed on it if so?
(my rainbarrel )
My Answer:
I love the idea of grey water re-use and so do my clients BUT my clients usually end up just collecting their rain water and recycling it into watering gardens etc. The reason is simply cost. The more you are using actual grey water (from shower, washer, etc) the more you get into costly plumbing and filter systems and the more maintenance. (There are actually health issues re: bacteria and our codes are likely more stringent than in Israel,etc. That said every county is different- talk to your local water/ health official. But yes it can be done and is done... sometimes)
first a couple of links:
http://www.smarterhomes.org.nz/water/re-using-greywater/
All of my clients so far have balked at the cost and opted for simple rain barrels or more elaborate rain water collection systems- gutters drain to underground holding tanks and go through light filtering, and are plumbed to the garden hoses or to an automated garden watering system...with overflow for the whole system to sewer or septic system. One step beyond this would be doing the plumbing to bring it to your toilet etc. This gets into minorly complicated plumbing because you have to be able to get water from your regular source as well as your water collection. Beyond this - potable water- is also possible with enough filters and plumbing. Just gets into $$$.
(Image from Stark Environmental- Thank you Michael.)
Ironically the water collection guy I have talked to the most about water systems is in PA.
Here is his info: Michael Stark, mstark@starkenvironmental.com, http://www.starkenvironmental.com/b-8-consultation.html
You may not be able to get into the second link without a password so I copied below. I DO NOT agree with 'Maritn' on this one - his claim - that saving water in places with plenty of water is a waste of time- I feel is in correct. We are all going to be in a water crisis soon enough and what we do actually effects the whole world...for real scientific reasons - not just good karma!
Green Building Advisor Link:
Grey water filtration system I have a customer requesting the installation of a grey water filtration/recycling system. The customer lives in the DC area and has explained that these systems are common and considered "green" in application in the urban DC area. The home I will be building for the customer is in the rural mountains of West Virginia. There is no shortage of water up here we have received close to 35" this year to date and average about 60" a year. We are looking to make budget decisions on "green" components. I admit I know little about these systems and have not talked to a plumber around here yet that doesn't say it is a waste of money. Is a grey water filtration/recycling system still "green" in an area that sees no water issues or will the system have a bigger footprint in terms of excess materials, maintenance, etc? ASKED BY JOSEPH GARTEN POSTED SUN, 05/22/2011 - 10:47
Answers newest to oldest oldest to newest:
You are probably better off using rainwater catchment over gray water. The water is much more pure, it needs minimal filtration and the entire system requires much less maintenance. Health codes generally restrict gray water to use in toilets and underground irrigation, while rainwater can be used for almost any use, including potable water (with proper filtration) and spray irrigation. The cost per gallon for rainwater is significantly less than gray water in terms of both first cost and ongoing maintenance. It may be appropriate to pipe the drains and toilet supplies for gray water even if you don't install the system initially. If higher performance gray water systems become available, then you can always install one, and having separate supply lines to toilets and laundry will allow you to use either rainwater or a future gray water system with minimal extra effort. ANSWERED BY CARL SEVILLE, GBA ADVISOR Posted Sun, 05/22/2011 - 19:31 2.
Joseph, Good green design and building doesn't follow a cookie-cutter checklist developed for a national audience. I agree with your implied criticism of greywater recycling systems for houses in high-rainfall areas: they don't make a lot of sense. Each climate has its own challenges. Where I live in northern Vermont, for example, water is plentiful, but warm days are few. In this climate, a very good thermal envelope designed to retain heat is an important green feature. Features designed to save water are much less important. Of course, in parts of Arizona or New Mexico, my priorities would be reversed. ANSWERED BY MARTIN HOLLADAY, GBA ADVISOR Posted Mon, 05/23/2011 - 04:53
Thanks for responses. I was thinking along the same lines Martin. What I am really thinking though...how green can you be if your building an elaborate vacation home in a poor rural community? Things are getting pretty twisted....green washing. ANSWERED BY JOSEPH GARTEN Posted Sun, 05/29/2011 - 19:31
I can't believe it is mid -February and we have barely had winter this year!
I think everyone is feeling hopeful in 2012. So far Trillium is off to a bubbling start with lots of new home renovation jobs and a couple of new modern green homes on the boards.
Remember - just because your realtors tell you modern doesn't sell doesn't mean it's true. I have so many clients who walk in the door and say 'what I really want is a modern home, but my realtor tells me I can't build one.' No! It may not be the biggest market but there truly is a market for houses that are a bit more 'dwell magazine'. And we love to design them!
We will start posting more images of what we are working on soon...here is one for now~
In the mean time Happy non-winter/ almost spring/ new year and happy renovating!
Elizabeth
I am one of the 'Pro's' on the Green Home Guide Website and as so I answer technical questions every month regarding green building. It is a very informative site!
Here is a link: http://greenhomeguide.com/
Below is one of my most recent question/answer's:
Q: New Construction, is a hybrid system the way to go for a 2x6 walls, 1 inch foam and the rest blown cellulose? Hybrid system vs just blown in cellulose for 2x6?
Asked by Scott
Paw Paw, MI
Hi Scott
As an Architect who designs only sustainable homes I am always a fan of the hybrid wall. But you have to do it right. You climate will heavily influence the type of hybrid wall you should build.
I see that Paw Paw, MI is in climate zone 5 but the northern edge of climate zone 5.
I live and work at the southern edge of climate zone 5 and a lot of our work falls to climate zone 4 or is right on the edge of 5 and 4.
Why am I saying all of this? Basically there is a ratio of exterior foam board insulation to interior cavity insulation that is ideal to achieve a great thermal envelope and at the same time avoid issues of moisture and mold occurring within the wall cavity. Basically the warmer the climate zone, the less exterior vs interior insulation you need to avoid air travelling into the wall cavity, reaching the dew point and turning into moisture.
So, in Zone 4 you can easily get away with 1 inch of polyiso rigid board insulation on the outside (about an R5) and 2x6 walls on the inside filled with foam or cellulose or some other cavity insulation. But when you get to Zone 5 you will get into trouble when you do that. In my area (southern Zone 5) you need at least an R7.5 (generally speaking) which is about an inch and a half. As you get more northern you need more- up to 2 or 2 ½ inches of rigid foam to your interior wall cavity.
The ironic thing is that – because this is all about the ratio of exterior to interior- if you build a 2x4 wall you need less exterior insulation. But in the colder climates what is the point of that? If you do that you significantly reduce the overall R value of your wall.
The biggest complication of putting more than 1” of rigid insulation on the exterior turns out to be construction. If you are only using 1” you can shoot your siding right through that to the stud beyond and it really does not complicate the construction process.
However if you are using more than an inch you have to introduce battens on top of the rigid insulation and lag through to the studs beyond and then attach your siding to the battens. (If you are using lap siding this is simple- battens are vertical to allow water to run down the wall, lap siding fastens horizontally across. But if you are using shingles or vertical panels you have to add horizontal nailers on top of the vertical battens and then attach shingles, panels etc. This is called a rain screen. There is more labor and a bit more material cost (battens are cheap).
This is a GREAT wall. Probably the best wall you can get. You get a lot of continuous insulation around the house plus you have an air space (the rainscreen) between you siding and the house itself. This air space makes the siding and the siding’s finish (no matter what kind of siding) last longer and require a lot less maintenance/ painting. If there is enough money in the job I will always go for this wall.
In your northern climate you deserve this wall! Your house will perform really well and you would not be sorry.
Another way to do the wall (my friends in Minnesota do this sort of wall primarily) is to simply build a double wall. Maybe a 2x4 wall, then a 2 “ gap, then another 2x4 wall. Fill the whole thing with whatever insulation you like. Cuts thermal bridging and you avoid the ratio issue.
One big factor of getting your wall to perform well is to focus on air infiltration as well as R Values. Some insulations like spray foams and rigid foam boards have their own innate air barrier properties, whereas batt and loose fill insulations like cellulose, cotton batt, blown fiberglass, etc do not. If you use one of the latter you should also pay very close attention so sealing all air gaps in the wall assembly. (You should do so with the foams as well, of course. There are simple less gaps in the foamed walls. ) That is a whole other topic.
In summing up- hybrid walls are great, you just have to do them right. There is a lot of information and complexity to true building science. You can usually get more help form one of your local green building professional to talk through your exact project. Just make sure whomever you talk to really knows their stuff and didn’t just recently become ‘green’ for marketing reasons!
Best of luck!
Elizabeth DiSalvo, Architect
Our latest LEED Registered home was featured in the Darien News last week! We were happy to spread the word about living alternatively in Fairfield County. More and more people of wealth are considering a simpler life style with a smaller carbon footprint. You can read here about a family who chose to build a smaller home and to make it as clean and green as they possibly could! We love the story behind this house and the process was such a great experience for everyone involved that we hold it up as the model for what we think every home building experience should replicate.
Here is the link:
Enjoy!
Elizabeth
We had a great time at the Westport Farmer's Market today! The Westport Market is perhaps the most established and respected markets in Fairfield County. Amazing produce! Delicious food! Interesting and purposeful people.
We spent four hours talking to visitors about prioritizing their green home renovations. So much fun to talk to such an educated and conscientious group. People of such conviction and compassion are truly our very best clients! We encourage everyone we spoke with to give us a call when you are ready to do some renovating! We would love to work with you!
We will be at the market once a month next summer and will likely appear at the Winter Market too. Look for us there and please stop by and say hi!
http://westportfarmersmarket.com/
LEED Walk Through Takes Place
LEED Checklist- Getting the Details Pinned Down.
While Demolition is still going on we meet in our office to go through the LEED checklist adn try to decide - for sure- some of the details that are outstanding. Generally our meetings are with the owner and the wife of the contractor team and maybe the landscape designer or an appropriate engineer or installer.
I hate to get so heavy on the first day back to reality after summer has ended but I really need to talk about the sate of the world. I realize that this may turn some potential clients off but I guess that is the risk I take for taking a firm stance.
The last few weeks of the summer have been weird to say the least. Weird is a bad word but what is another word? 'Unexpected', 'abnormal', 'troubling', 'disorienting', 'disheartening', hmmm so many plausible alternatives.
Here in the North East we had both an earthquake and a hurricane in the last 2 weeks. Unexpected! These two events both truly re-enforce the concept that global climate change is having an effect on our weather patterns and we should probably do something about it. Even people who have always poo-poo-ed (or aggressively denied) global warming are now basically admitting that there is something afoot with the weather and if we keep on with our current trajectory we could be having some really big problems really pretty soon. This too me is scary, but honestly I have been 'on this page' for so long it doesn't make me freak out- it just makes me know that we are on the right track in trying to make an effort to build homes with smaller and smaller carbon footprints. Though, really, I think these effort are still not enough - not nearly enough! At least we are trying to do things in the right direction.
Also the stock market and politics have both been absolute roller coasters of insanity with basically the feeling (or the plain old knowledge) that no one is at the helm of this ship. None of our leaders or experts seem to have any better idea than you or I of what is going on or how to fix it. Terrifying.
What is really making my head spin lately, however, is a different shift that has happened over the last 10 years. It is the ever growing rift between rich and poor, and the ever increasing sense of entitlement and shallowness in our society. It seems like the only people who get financially rewarded in our world anymore are people who are either in the financial industry or people who become super starts on TV - for whatever reason, no matter how stupid and empty. This is really such a sad state of affairs.
I am personal friends with people who are artists, doctors, writers, scientists, deep thinkers, musicians, sculptors, dancers, contractors, builders, craftsman, brilliant inventors,marketing people, teachers, clergy, firemen, police, nurses, and yes architects (the list goes on and on) and it is getting so that almost none of us make a decent living relative to our neighbors. Hell sometimes we don't make a decent living, period. Never mind the people who have always had to work super hard just to get by- you know- the road crew, the people who clean your house and serve your food and do your laundry and mow your lawn and pick up your trash?
It is like the frog in the hot water story. You know the one - you put a frog in a pot of cool water and slowly heat the water and before he even realizes that the water is too hot the poor guy is cooked all the way thru. I used to feel guilty because I wasn't getting rich being an architect. I used to feel like I was doing something wrong. I now see things in a totally new light. This water has been getting warmer and warmer these last 5 - 10 years for all of us people I listed above. Our jobs - the creative and thoughtful, the needed, the very difficult and the extremely dirty, and yes often very meaningful or brilliant work we all do quietly on a daily basis is being utterly disrespected financially....and socially.
I see it paralleling directly the state of affairs in which our society finds itself. It is a state of shallow and empty disrepair. A state in which there is no respect for creativity, art, spirituality, the making of things, helpfulness, caring, and certainly not an honest days labor. I heard the results of a survey recently in which teenagers were asked to prioritize a list of 10 things in the order in which they valued them. You got it- fame and money were the top of the list. Being a good person, doing the right thing, being true to your self and morals were the bottom of the list. Ugh. how really, really sad.
Maybe this is all more evident in Fairfield County and other very wealthy parts of the country.
Isn't it time that we made efforts to correct the course of this ship?
We design houses that bring families together and focus more on time with your loved ones instead of time with the computer or tv alone in your room. We design houses that let people connect with the world outside and the changing of the seasons. We make more from less. We help people use less. We find true, honest products and natural textures and nooks and crannies and light open airy-ness to inspire the soul and the mind. We do this all for a reason! We are trying to bring some balance back to the world. Some connection- to each other and to the planet.
We here at Trillium and the contractors, designers and craftspeople we work with all care. We care a lot. We all do very honest good work and we expect this work we do to be recognized and appreciated. Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not.
I have a great deal of respect for our clients in the financial industry who in turn respect all of the hard work that the rest of us do and who see that the direction of the world could be troubling, and so put a lot of their own work and money behind very helpful causes that frankly the rest of us cannot afford to put our money into. There are so many people in Fairfield County and beyond who make a difference. Shouldn't we all (and I mean all of us) try to do our best to make the world a more meaningful and respectful place for all people?
I believe that starts not with simply respecting our environment but respecting the people - all people- who live and work hard amongst us every day to try to bring meaning and value back to this world.