A New Thermostat that “Learns”?

Some of us are frustrated at the changing of the seasons – not because it's time to bring out the sweaters and coats, but because we have to find the directions on how to reprogram the thermostat! 

Nest  | The Learning Thermostat

The new Nest Learning Thermostat might be the answer. Developed former Apple executives Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, the Nest is said to be user-friendly with updateable software and nominal installation requirements.  Best of all, the Nest is easy to operate:  simply turn the dial to set the temperature as each day progresses on the screen.  After a week the Nest has stored and “learned” the data to keep replicating the first week’s settings.  Better yet, it has a motion sensor that can detect when the house is unoccupied, called Auto-Away™.  Auto-Away turns heating and cooling down automatically when no one is home, saving energy for you when no one is home.

Want to know if you’re saving energy?  It’s simple:  look for the Nest Leaf on the screen.  

The Nest is a great way to see if you're saving energy every day.  Whether you're putting it in your primary residence or vacation home, Bonin Architects gives the Nest a thumbs up!

Solar Technology: Solar Shingles

Solar Energy is often incorporated into our residential architecture.  Leading the pack in new solar technology is the Dow Chemical Company.

Dow has been developing Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) building materials that enable solar energy cells to be incorporated directly into the design of commercial and residential building materials such as roofing systems, exterior sidings, fascias and more. Dow’s BIPVs make solar power accessible and affordable for homeowners.

From solar product to an experienced solar support team, Dow offers an integrated, seamless solar solution that's intuitive to set up, install, use and maintain. Most importantly, it's backed by decades of innovation and on-the-ground R&D knowledge.

The Dow POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle delivers true building-integrated aesthetics by integrating PV functionality into an asphalt roof-shingle form factor. It utilizes high-efficiency, CIGS-based, PV cells manufactured on a flexible substrate. These cells are laminated and subsequently over-molded into the final shingle design using conventional materials and polymer processing methods. Dow's groundbreaking technology integrates low-cost thin-film photovoltaic cells into a roofing shingle design, which represents a multi-functional solar module. The innovative product design reduces installation costs because the conventional roofing shingles and solar generating shingles are installed simultaneously.

The DOW™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle was named one of the "50 Best Inventions of 2009" by Time magazine, and is expected to be available in 2011.

Build Green

There are more reasons to build green than saving the environment - expanding our green technology will certainly boost the economy and provide much-needed jobs. Here's an interesting article we read last week:

Green Energy Opportunities Start with Smart Climate Policy

by Frances Beinecke, President, Natural Resources Defense Council

January 15, 2010

Each new commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is yet another indicator that the clean energy market will explode.

The question is: how rapidly will this market grow in the United States?

I have seen promising signs here in America. Green jobs, for instance, are growing 2.5 times as fast as traditional jobs. But there is another indicator as well: the enormous sense of possibility that is spreading across the country. Everywhere I go I meet people who want to design, invest in, or build the next wave of clean energy technology.

I have talked with researchers at MIT who are fired up to create the next generation of hybrid car batteries. I have met with green entrepreneurs in Ohio who are converting windshield factories to make solar panels. And I have heard from steel workers in Indiana who want to revive America’s industrial heartland by manufacturing wind turbines.

These people are doing what America has always done well: leveraged our ingenuity to become technological leaders.

But there is no guarantee that we will retain our leadership when it comes to clean energy. Germany and Spain have long been leaders in clean energy, but now China has created stringent fuel-efficiency rules for vehicles and strong renewable energy standards. It is also reportedly preparing plans to invest between $440 billion and $660 billion in the next 10 years on alternative energy development. India’s cabinet meanwhile, just approved a bold plan for generating 20,000 megawatts from solar energy by 2022.

America has yet to take similar action. We remain dependent on dirty fossil fuels that endanger our national security and escalate the costs of curbing global warming.

The best way to secure a place in the global clean energy market is through smart policies. We need government incentives to get technologies out of the lab and into the marketplace, and we need pollution-reduction targets to increase demand for cleaner options.

The most powerful tool we have for accomplishing this is a law that puts a price on global warming pollution and directs investment into clean energy alternatives. Such a law will give businesses an incentive to invest in things like hybrid technology and highly efficient heating and cooling equipment, and it will reward consumers for buying more efficient appliances and better insulated homes.

The businesses supplying these low-carbon solutions will experience dramatic growth. NRDC’s experts say that contractors who can successfully manage commercial-scale green-building projects have more work than they can handle. The same will soon be true for energy auditors, smart grid engineers, green architects, and hybrid battery designers.

Read the whole article here.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs

We’re greening up our new office by replacing the incandescent light bulbs with Earthmate energy saving bulbs. By using Earthmate bulbs, we will use an average of 75% less electricity, help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For instance, we replaced our 45 watt overhead bulbs with Earthmate 8-watt Dimmable Reflector Bulbs, which will save us about $61 and last up to 7 times longer than our standard light bulbs. And bonus: they come with a 9-year warranty!

If you are looking for a great, long-lasting, energy efficient light bulb, learn more about Earthmate's products and company philosophy. We like their packaging, too, made from 100% post-consumer waste.

Bringing Smart Energy Home

Most of our clients are interested in how much energy their new green home will use. Wireless energy monitors are the answer. Here's an article I read recently in Business Week:

Bringing Smart Energy Home: Wireless energy dashboards to monitor usage are coming to many U.S. homes starting this year, fueled by the stimulus package, by Katie Fehrenbacher

Thanks to funds from the stimulus package and renewed attention to energy savings, 2009 is the year companies are planning to launch wireless energy dashboards that will sit in your home, monitor energy data from your electricity meter, and let you know if you're being an energy hog. While tech firms have been trying to sell you on the "digital home" for years—complete with wireless networks that can do everything from control your entertainment equipment to operate high-tech security systems and roast a chicken—the new energy-management companies are keeping it simple by using low-cost hardware and open standards to monitor energy data.

This year is particularly important to these mostly young companies, as President Barack Obama has pledged to help utilities install 40 million smart meters, which are basically digital meters that create a two-way connection with the power grid and the utility. Smart meters installed in homes can unleash data about the fluctuating price of electricity throughout the day, enabling consumers that have energy-management tools to shift energy consumption to the time of day when power is cheapest. For utilities, that can mean better management of the power grid, eliminating the need to build out expensive power generating systems.

In the U.S., 6% have smart meters
A half-dozen companies are launching their first energy dashboards this year and a few others are starting to gain traction with already available online tools. One of the biggest differences between these firms is whether companies will sell directly to the consumer or to utility partners for upcoming smart meter rollouts. Several of the already available options for consumers bypass smart meters and utilities and just help the interested consumer with a standard electricity meter. They're cheap and available online, but they provide less detailed data.

The utility-focused tools use smart meter information to provide deeper energy analysis and can even control smart appliances, enabling utilities to implement demand-response events. But the drawback of such tools is that you'll need a lot of patience and a little luck. To get hooked up via one, you'll need to be in the footprint of a utility that's rolling out smart meters. At this point fewer than 6% of the U.S. population has a smart meter.

Residential Solar Energy is HOT!

Solar is the hottest thing in green homes today – and with good reason.

According to The Clear Mountain Solar Store, our local solar experts, “all the potential energy of the earth’s known oil, coal and natural gas reserves is equaled by just three weeks of solar energy. It is estimated that the solar energy that reaches the earth on a typical day could supply all the power the earth needs for a year.”

New government incentives and the explosive growth of the solar industry is great news for people building a new home or preparing a green renovation of their existing home.

Photovoltaic systems can be grid-tied or off-grid, are completely safe, reliable, and require minimal maintenance. Better yet, they produce no carbon dioxide or air pollution.

Heating water for our households accounts for about 25% of our total energy costs. A solar hot water system in New Hampshire and Vermont can produce 70% of your hot water needs and can save an average of 60% - 70% in energy costs, paying for itself in 3-5 years.

You can see even more savings by using a solar space heating system in conjunction with a furnace or biomass stove. Clear Mountain Solar explains, “active space heating systems are most affordable when sized to handle about half of a household’s heating needs. Systems designed to offer more are not cost-effective because most of the excess capacity is only used on the coldest winter days, remaining unused the rest of the year.” A solar space heating system can heat one room, a wing, or the whole home. With a return on investment is between 6-8 years, this type of system pays off quickly while you see the benefits immediately!

One of our one story home plans (pictured above) includes both a solar photovoltaic and a solar hot water system. Now is definitely the time to go green with solar energy!

Resources:
Renewable Energy Resource Center, Burlington, VT

Clear Mountain Solar Store, Claremont, NH

Keeping a Green Home, Remotely

As seen in a recent online issue of The New York Times, soon you will be able to monitor the energy efficiency of your home on your cell phone, wherever you are.

The soon-to-be-released tool, called TREE (Tendril Residential Energy Ecosystem), will allow homeowners to turn appliances, heating, and cooling systems on and off from work, the theatre, or the kids’ soccer practice. Similar to a video game, TREE will integrate with a collection of tools to track energy consumption and broadcast the results to local and distant displays. If your electricity consumption rises above certain levels, a display will start flashing a different color, allowing you to decide which systems you can shut off.

TREE will compare your home’s energy consumption with similar sized homes in your neighborhood, make suggestions on how to reduce your energy, and predict how much lowering the thermostat will lower your bill. How's that for monitoring your carbon footprint?

TREE is expected to be released late this year. To read the full article, click here.