The Gossamer Wind Ceiling Fan is EnergyStar rated and incorporates an advanced blade design that greatly improves energy efficiency.

I always stress that the design of a green home must start with the passive-solar-design elements before even thinking about the mechanical systems. If you focus on the overall efficiency of the entire building, you can then reduce or eliminate the electrical/mechanical systems—such as heating and cooling.  My straw bale home is designed to stay comfortable on hot summer days without the need for a conventional air conditioner. This is accomplished by careful window placement to prevent solar gain in the summer, well-insulated straw bale walls, R-55 cellulose insulation in the ceilings, and the use of interior thermal mass walls.  When the overall building is designed properly, you may find that you only need to reduce the interior air temperature by a few degrees—instead of twenty or more degrees. A ceiling fan may then be all that is needed to make a room feel comfortable. In the case of my straw bale house, a conventional air conditioning system would not only be unnecessary, it would also greatly increase the cost of the off-the-grid photovoltaic system that supplies all of the electricity for the home.

The Concept of the Ceiling Fan
Ceiling fans have made a comeback due to their energy efficiency. They were invented in the 1860’s to 1870’s and were the standard method of making buildings more comfortable for decades.  By the mid 1950’s, electric air conditioners began to appear in homes and the sales of ceiling fans waned. An electric motor spinning a propeller-type fan blade uses a lot less electricity than an air conditioning system that has both blowers and compressors. Dropping the apparent temperature of your skin is much easier than cooling an entire room. Ceiling fans work by evaporating moisture off your skin with moving air, just as a summer breeze can make a hot day seem quite comfortable. (more…)

The greening of this downtown loft apartment will be a topic in this new series on how to adapt older buildings to higher ecological standards.

In my DVD video and book, “Building With Awareness,” I show the design and construction process of building a green home from scratch. With an emphasis on green building materials and the benefit of having complete control over the constructions process, you can see each stage of creating an energy efficient home from the ground up. By using a variety of natural materials such as straw bale, adobe, and earth plasters, it is possible to build an extremely green home with off-the-shelf components. For those who have the opportunity to start with a clean slate and an empty piece of land, this is an efficient way to go.

But what if you need to buy or rent a home that is already built? What if you desire to live in a city and the ability to use less-conventional materials is limited? After all, retrofitting existing buildings and homes will be an even larger industry than building new green structures. Millions of homes already exist and the majority of them need to be brought up to better energy efficiency standards.  How do you improve energy efficiency, lower your power bills, and limit your carbon footprint? (more…)

I love the novel ways that items destined for the scrap heap become something new and different. This recently completed Jumbo Hostel (located in Stolkholm Arlanda, Sweden) is one of the most novel examples of green building that I have come across. I consider this green building because the major structure of the hostel was once a 747 Jumbo Jet. It is made of durable materials, had reached the end of its intended life, and now as been recycled to house travelers at the airport. A good green building should also be of a visual design that is appropriate for its location. Given that this hostel is located right at the airport, the aerodynamic shape is perfect for the setting. 

There are 25 rooms in all with a total of 85 beds. Even the cockpit was turned into a double-bed suite. The renovation of the aircraft had to meet the same building codes of any structure. The left wing can be walked on and is an observation deck for observing other aircraft at the airport.

For more information: http://www.jumbohostel.com/
via: http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-offbeatraveler1-pg,0,4149657.photogallery?index=1

The Zen garden at the Ryoan-ji in Kyoto, Japan. Photo Thomas Guignard

This Japanese structure is very simple, yet very elegent in its simplicity. Even without the details of windows and doors, there is a warmth to the building. The earth plaster walls have aged to a watercolor-like patina. The patterns come from mud that was mixed with rapeseed oil (a vegetable oil more commonly known as canola oil).  Materials such as this are in beautiful contrast to the monolithic look of stucco or paint in that they create harmonious variations in color and texture.

The design principles used in this structure can be incorporated into home design. They are not hard rules, but something that can be drawn upon to add visual interest. By being able to evaluate what works and what does not work in a particular design, it will be easier to make the changes that are required to fix the problem. The owner/builder should be very involved in the structure’s design, instead of just turning it over to a “professional”. This goes for both green building design principles (for overall energy efficiency) and the aesthetic design. Being aware in all of the various design options is what I call ‘building with awareness” (hence the title of my book and DVD).

For simplicity, I will break the visual design of of a building into two parts. First, there is the overall physical form which is the shape of the building. The second part would be the color, texture, and surface treatments within the major shapes. An analogy would be the overall shape of a tree that is enhanced with the color and texture of the bark and leaves. (more…)