divine green: Sustainable Home, Beauty, & Lifestyle

Tract homes are turning eco-chic, at least in a small town outside of London. British architecture firm Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners has designed a 145-unit housing development in England that could be a future model for efficient housing around the world. The two-story homes, which are between 700 and 1,400 square feet, feature a modern twist on the English chimney: the Ecohat.

Sounds like something a hippie would put on in winter, but the EcoHat is an aluminum structure (painted bright red) that contains powerful solar panels and an airflow system to optimize energy consumption inside the home. Sitting on the spine of the house like a chimney and angled toward the sun, the Ecohat filters fresh air coming into the building for natural air-conditioning and reuses hot air circulating through the stack to power a hot water system.

(more…)

Homeowners and future homebuyers are among those in the best position to make a difference to global warming. That’s because buildings–their energy production in heating and cooling–are the single largest contributor to global warming, producing an estimated 48 percent of the world’s heat-trapping gases, followed by the transportation industry at roughly 30 percent.

That’s why it might make sense to bone up on the tips and tricks offered in the new book, “Green Building for Dummies.”

Admittedly I’m not a fan of “…For Dummies” guides, because on principle it’s not dumb to delve into a subject and learn as much as you can. This book’s author, Eric Corey Freed, a San Francisco-based architect of sustainable living spaces, is highly respected in his field and definitely smart.

Corey Freed says that homeowners can get the most bang for their buck in their home’s energy efficiency by improving its insulation. 

(more…)