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Hi Folks,

This week we have the last of our interviews with Danish architect Anna Maria Indrio. In Design Studio, we analyze the River City House by the Australian firm Biscoe Wilson architects.

Please click below to watch:

Postgreen of Philadelphia has contracted ZeroEnergy Design of Boston to perform energy consulting on the 100K House project in order to design the most energy efficient home possible on a small budget of $100,000 in the Delaware Valley region of the US. Postgreen and ZeroEnergy Design are determined to create an urban infill home that uses only 53% of the energy consumed by a standard new home while using a substantially smaller construction budget than is typical in the area. The combined effort is part of a case study - The 100K House - being built by Postgreen in an effort to prove that quality, green homes can be built for the same or even less cost than traditional homes. Postgreen is working on a construction budget of only $100,000 USD to build the infill home in Philadelphia with the goal of achieving high energy performance and a LEED Platinum rating. The average US home of the same size will consume 2.5 times as much energy as the 100k house. "In order to accomplish the lofty energy goals for the home on our budget, more time and care must be taken during the planning and design phase of every aspect of the home from insulation to HVAC equipment," states Chad Ludeman, President of Postgreen. "ZeroEnergy Design is the perfect company to ensure that we will get the most bang for our buck in terms of energy efficiency on the 100K House and we are excited to have them be part of the project," continued Chad. ZeroEnergy Design focused on cost effective passive aspects of the house first, looking for additional ways to conserve energy. Then the active systems that consume energy were analyzed for efficiency, including heating, cooling, ventilation, hot water, appliances, and lighting. And finally, renewable energy systems were considered with solar thermal being the top contender. Each improvement was reviewed on a cost versus benefit basis, considering the incremental change upon the home’s annual utility bills and Postgreen’s strict construction budget. “Knowing that 38 of the 136 possible points for the highest LEED certification score are energy related, any performance improvements we can make will not only be good for the LEED rating, but also good for the environment and the homeowner’s utility bills,” said Jordan Goldman, Principal Engineer of ZeroEnergy Design.

About Postgreen: Postgreen is a real estate development company focusing on modern, green and affordable buildings and homes in Philadelphia's urban neighborhoods. Our success is measured using a triple-bottom-line approach that ensures that each project benefits not only the bottom line, but the people in our community and the planet as a whole. Find out more at http://www.postgreen.com

About ZeroEnergy Design: ZeroEnergy Design is a professional services firm providing Custom Home Design and Energy Design services for residential new construction. The unique collaboration between in-house architectural designers, mechanical engineers, and financial analysts drives a competitive advantage and enables the firm to deliver fully integrated design for high performance homes. (ZeroEnergy Design was formerly known as Independence Energy Homes). Find out more at http://www.ZeroEnergy.com

It's sunshine, it's free, it's simple enough—right? With all the things to consider, from interpreting the power bill and reviewing solar proposals to comparing paying cash with lower-cost offerings, the process of switching to solar can leave a homeowner buried in paperwork and as confused as ever.

In recent years, a number of innovate companies and business models have emerged to help lower the initial costs and barriers to entry for consumers. Examples include New Resource Bank's solar financing initiative, CitizenRe's solar rental plan (still in pilot phase), and Solar City's group buying program, which also makes it easier to sell power back into the grid in states where this is possible. People can find lots of great information on financial and other aspects of solar at The Solar Guide website.

Another company who provides an innovative financing and service solution for consumers is Sun Run , who’s borrowed a model from commercial markets. We’ve written about them before , and we recently caught up with President and COO Nat Kreamer to get his thoughts on what people should be thinking about as they evaluate solar and solar service providers.

"Californians know that solar power saves money and cuts global warming. Now homeowners are asking us how to go solar in the most financially responsible way, so they can avoid hidden costs or hassles down the road," said Nat. "We're all concerned about the same things: making smart spending decisions that also help protect our environment."

Here's a list of the top seven questions homeowners should answer before they can triumphantly watch the meter spin backwards.

Q: I know solar is great for the environment, but I want to know the economic benefits--How do I compare the long-term cost of solar to what I currently pay my utility?

Part 5 of our 15-part Q&A series on all aspects of green building from the publishers of HealthyHouseInstitute.com. Click here for the introductory post and furthur details.

Question: Aren’t wood windows best from a health standpoint?

Answer: Wood windows are usually treated with water-repellent and fungicidal chemicals. So, while wood is a natural material, treated windows can certainly bother some sensitive people. Also, they’re usually made of pine which can have a strong natural odor. Furthermore, wood windows require routine painting. However, wood windows usually aren’t strong outgassing sources. Therefore, these concerns are only important for very sensitive people.

Vinyl windows are a less-expensive option. While they never need painting (a real plus), the vinyl itself can outgas a little—especially when new—which can be enough to bother some sensitive individuals.

Personally, we prefer aluminum-framed windows. Most are available prefinished in white or brown, and they require little maintenance. In cold climates, you should look for frames with thermal-breaks to minimize sweating. Aluminum windows generally have rubber or plastic seals that have a slight odor—but it usually isn’t significant.

Multiple panes of glass are a good idea in harsh climates for energy efficiency. Low-E coatings and argon-filled windows rarely cause health problems, and we think they’re important to conserve energy.

Question: Is there a healthy window putty I can use?

Today Oprah Winfrey highlighted the Home of the Future on her television show. One of the products shown was an accessory for a central vacuum system. Beam manufactures a product called the Kick Sweep. There are many other names for this product. They are also called vacpans, and VacuSweep by other manufacturers. Whatever name they go by, they all do the same thing, they allow you to sweep up dirt and dust into your central vacuum system. In previous posts we have already determined that central vacuum systems are essential for indoor air quality, but the vacpan is a great feature for convenience. Learn More About a Central Vacuum System Vac Pan

Regular readers of BGTV have followed the exciting design journey of our star member GreenModernKits, also known as Copeland Casati.

Today, Copeland announced her new prefab green cottage kit, available at GreenCottageKits.com.

The kit "offers affordable, traditional cottage and larger cabin kit home design with green energy efficient technology" such as passive solar, rainwater collection, and the use of Structural Insulated Panel ("SIPs").

The 2000 (or smaller) square foot modular homes were inspired by traditional Virginian architecture including farmhouses, browstones, and colonial buildings.

Copeland teamed with architect Eric Drivdahl to complete the design, and floorplans of the two story homes are available on the kit's website (the sister site of GreenModernKits.com).

You can read more about the new design on Copeland's announcement in our Share section, and you can follow Greenmodernkits blog on our website.

Congratulations to Copeland and GreenCottageKits.com!

We're looking forward to watching these kits being assembled and turned into homes!

It's hard to believe that another year has passed, and today is Earthday again. That's right, it's Earthday 2008! Earthday is one of those days that always makes us stop and wonder, what is this day all about?

We first visited Senator Gaylord Nelson's account -- he was the founder, so he it seemed like a good place to start.

We then took the opportunity to visit some of our favorite sites to find out what others were seeing, thinking and how they were honoring Earthday today.

Planet Green had a few links to last minute Earthday events, suggesting that people were getting together in many different local celebrations.

WorldChanging wrote a fantastic piece about how the tone of the day has shifted from facts and figures about pollution, to discussions about solutions spanning business practices, innovative technologies, and lifestyle behaviors.

In one of our favorites posts of the day, JetsonGreen gives a simple photographic homage to the earth, and announces that he'll be publishing material from his readers all week.

And finally, we enjoyed the Earthday at theme at Youtube (where one of ours was featured on the front door--thanks youtube!), which allowed us to watch the living web celebrate Earthday around the world.

Please come check out the Share section of our site, and tell us what Earthday means to you, and how you spent the day.

Happy Earthday everyone!

Part 4 of our 15-part Q&A series on all aspects of green building from the publishers of HealthyHouseInstitute.com. Click here for the introductory post and furthur details.

Question: We’re considering building a house with steel framing. Does it have any particular advantages?

Answer: Light-weight steel framing is becoming popular with some builders. It consists of C-shaped studs and channels that are usually lighter-in-weight than wood. Everything is held together with self-tapping screws, and the studs typically have holes prepunched in them for electrical wires and plumbing lines. This saves drilling time, but the holes have sharp edges, so they must be fitted with plastic grommets to prevent plastic-jacketed wiring from getting nicked and shorting out. Steel framing is also very uniform in size, it has no knots, and it won’t warp.

The biggest health-related advantage to steel is the fact that it never needs to be treated for termites. So, where toxic chemical use is the norm, or where less-toxic alternative treatments aren’t feasible, steel is a great option.

Although it’s not a concern for most people, some very sensitive individuals are bothered by the natural odor of wood, and steel is odor-free. Most framing lumber is pine or another softwood, and the odor is composed of the same chemicals in turpentine. These sensitive people are just reacting to much lower levels of the same pollutants that have the potential to bother all of us.