Blog's by "Planet Development" as an author

  Just what is this substance that our society depends on so completely? Images: 

This week I'll take a detour from practical energy-conserving solutions to take a look at oil (petroleum) — the fluid that has powered our automobile-based society. Be prepared for some new terminology and a little bit of chemistry!

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/understanding-petroleum

  Twice renovated, the house is still trying to heat the neighborhood Images: 

Rich Cowan lives in an 1,800-square foot bungalow in northern Massachusetts that has been renovated twice in the last decade but still has some problems: no insulation in the basement, and a furnace and air handler in the vented attic.

"The heat produced by our gas furnace is quickly moving through the ceilings to a vented attic, and then is lost forever," Cowan writes in a Q&A post. Money to correct the problems is not unlimited, but Cowan has a plan.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/how-stay-cozy-1930s-bungalow

  Our use of petroleum through history may surprise some readers Images: 

While most of us think of the petroleum age starting in the late 1850s, when North America's first oil well began gushing oil, human use of petroleum actually goes back much further.

Asphalt, a heavy constituent of petroleum (see last week's blog), was used four thousand years ago in constructing the walls of Babylon. During the Roman era, oil was collected and used in the province of Dacia (now Romania), where it was referred to as "picula."

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/our-history-petroleum-use

  Choose heating and energy systems with care and build a tight house Images:  UPDATED: 1/3/11 with expert opinions from Mark Sevier and Peter Yost

Chris Koehn will be building a 1,600-sq.-ft. home in British Columbia for owners who want to heat primarily with wood. They envision a wood-burning cookstove and a fireplace, and they'd also like to incorporate some solar capability.

Because of its island location, the house will be off the electricity grid.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/how-live-comfortably-grid

  What ever happened to "peak oil"? Images: 

It's fitting that this first blog of 2011 takes a look into the crystal ball — at the energy source that pretty-much defines our culture.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/thoughts-future-petroleum

  If your attic insulation isn't raked smooth, its performance will suffer Images: 

Guest blog by Allison A. Bailes III

If your attic is going to have 50 bags of insulation blown into it, does it make much of a difference if it goes in flat or lumpy?

One reason that I'm interested in the question is that my dissertation in grad school was called “Flat or Lumpy.” (Of course, it had the requisite incomprehensibility in the subtitle, with words like “heteroepitaxy.”) Those two words in the title, which cut to the heart of what my surface physics research was all about, also describe a property of insulation that's important in building science.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/there-downside-lumpy-attic-insulation

  Building-science-based advice on residential energy efficiency and home performance from Allison Bailes Images: 

by Martin Holladay

GBAGreenBuildingAdvisor.com is launching a new feature: periodic reviews of interesting blogs. To get ...

  An owner-builder inherits a foundation and now needs a house Images:  UPDATED with an expert opinion from Bruce King

Writing from Glacier, Washington, Karen Bean faces a home-building dilemma that confronts many thousands of people: what's the best way to insulate the walls of her new house on a modest budget?

She has $150,000 to spend on the two-bedroom, two-bathroom house, which she plans to build on a foundation originally intended for a traditional house. Although the concrete-block foundation is well made, it's not necessarily well matched to the double 2x4 walls she's hoping to use.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/double-stud-wall-construction-path-efficiency-budget

  A look at the "net energy" of different energy sources — how much energy it takes to produce energy Images: 

For the past few weeks, I've been writing about petroleum: what it is, the history of petroleum use, and what's ahead for this ubiquitous energy source that, to a significant extent, defines our society.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/energy-return-investment

  An owner-builder looks for a checklist or spreadsheet to guide construction Images: 

John Hess built a small house 20 years ago, and he may have the chance to build again in the coming year. But he realizes a lot has changed in residential construction since 1990.

He'd like to incorporate more green-building features this time around while making fewer mistakes than he did with his first house.

“Can anyone recommend a downloadable checklist or spreadsheet which covers the many and varied aspects of building a house?” he asks in this Q&A post.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/checklist-building-house

  Number-one on my top-10 list of green building priorities is to reduce our consumption of energy. Images: 

Energy consumption carries with it numerous environment impacts. Most importantly, burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, to oil) to heat homes or generate electricity emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which is the leading cause of global climate change. Debate about whether climate change is real has long since ended in most scientific circles and is now relegated to the radical blogosphere and pseudo news outlets. The vast preponderance of evidence supports the contention that greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere are trapping heat and warming the globe.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/green-building-priority-1-reduce-energy-use

  A homeowner wonders where makeup air comes from Images: 

UPDATED: 12/9/10 Expert opinions (David White and Marc Rosenbaum)

Frank Os new house is tight very tight. Tests by an energy auditor ...

  The light quality and long-term performance of LED lightingfrom some manufacturersis improving rapidly. Images:  ...

  For the last part of this Green Architects' Lounge podcast episode, Phil and Chris play "Five Questions" with two professional heat pump installers Images: 

I sent an email to

  My second annual Christmas shopping list Images: 

With Black Friday behind us, its time for my annual Christmas shopping list ideas for energy-saving and green living gifts this holiday season. Most of these products can be purchased locally benefiting the local economy. Discounts may be available for both in-store and online purchases.

Concept SL-100 Solar-Powered LED Security Light

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/presents-would-be-energy-savers-among-family-and-friends

  Building codes protect us from structural, sanitary, and fire disasters while ensuring a minimum level of energy efficiency in buildings. But according to some, better builder training is more important than code enforcement Images: 

After restoring historic buildings for more than three decades, Roy Harmon seems a little disillusioned, if not outright confused, with the current state of residential construction.

Most of the buildings hes worked on are more than a century old, built at a time when carpenters served apprenticeships but building codes did not exist. The only reason the buildings eventually fail is because of neglect, not inherently poor construction.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-blog/are-we-really-better-building-codes

  Using your foot or knee to turn your tap on and off is a great convenience and it can save water and energy Images: 

For the past eight years weve been able to turn our kitchen faucet on and off using a knee- and foot-controlled valve from the Canadian company Tapmaster. This may seem like a convenience-only product designed for lazy people. I cant argue with all of that and admit that I probably wouldnt have installed one if I hadnt received it for testing from the manufacturer after we had reviewed a competing product in Environmental Building News.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/energy-solutions/foot-controlled-faucet-convenience-and-savings

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