The Seifert House by Bau Kultur architects in Austria

The UK is going to require that new homes be carbon emissions neutral by 2016. One of the ways that this target can be achieved is by using passive solar building design (English Wikipedia page). This can be used to keep a house cool in summer and warm in winter with minimal energy inputs. There is also the term “Passive House” (not to be confused with passive solar design, though there are overlapping principles) refers to a design and construction standard that aims to drastically reduce heating requirements in homes so that conventional heating systems are no longer necessary.

In 1991 Wolfgang Feist (German Wikipedia Link) a physicist from Darmstadt Germany built the first passive heated home. Now the estimate is that 15,000 homes across Germany and Scandinavia have been built with the innovations Feist pioneered.

What’s different in a passive homes is ultrathick insulation very sophisticated doors and windows in an airtight design. That means virtually no heat comes out or cold getting in. The heat that is needed can come from simple warming by the sun, heat from appliances and the people and pets living inside. There is a provision for adding heat but the systems are small and used infrequently. The added energy efficiency adds about 5 to 7 percent to the construction costs in Germany.

Passive House in Europe

On January 31, 2008, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to propose a binding requirement that all new buildings needing to be heated and/or cooled be constructed to passive house or equivalent non-residential standards from 2011 onwards, and a requirement to use passive heating and cooling solutions from 2008.

A consortium of European partners, supported by The European Commission, is promoting the Passive House Standard because it has been demonstrated, through projects similar to CEPHEUS, that cost effective, non renewable energy savings is not only possible but also realistic. PEP, which stands for Promotion of European Passive Houses was established to promote this standard. You can visit their website www.Europeanpassivehouses.org for more information.

The Passive House Institute in Germany was founded in 1996 as a research / consulting firm to assist architects and engineers in the planning and designing of passive homes. Refer to their website at www.passiv.de (click on English flag) for a comprehensive overview of the Passive House concept. Most interesting is that in Germany the market is growing. Passive is popular as many more people are aware of the advantages. The doors, windows and ventilation systems and other parts have migrated to off the shelf markets for the do it your self crowd. New construction costs are dropping with the added market volume.

Ireland, as a member of the European Union, has a timber frame construction industry which has been influenced by the American Industry. As a member of the EU, Ireland must improve the energy performance of its housing stock and is promoting the Passive House Standard as one of the solutions to reach this goal. Sustainable Energy Ireland www.sei.ie has published guidelines called Passive Homes – Guidelines for the design and construction of Passive House dwellings in Ireland.

In the UK one of the organisations that is pushing to improve the sustainability of the built environment is the UK Green Building Council. Their aim is to help forge a new partnership between government, industry and other stakeholder groups. They are a membership organisation, primarily consisting of businesses from across the building industry.  They bring together architects, engineers, investors, product manufacturers and many others involved in all the  processes the building industry.

The Passive House Situation in the USA

The first passive house in the USA

In the U.S. designers and architects are specifying better insulation and high efficiency appliances plus adding energy with solar panels and wind turbines in an effort to close the utility bill gap that high efficiency can add to mortgage payments. A $100 per month saved in utilities can equal more investment in the home. The Passive House Institute US, PHIUS was established in Urbana, Illinois to promote the implementation of Passive House standards and techniques throughout the USA. You can visit their website www.passivehouse.us for more information.

The downside is that in the U.S. the prices are still much higher meaning construction would be higher than the falling 5% seen in Germany. Then there is the retrofit problem. In many U.S. homes no provision for forced air ventilation is available to retrofit.

The passive approach may be seeing more acceptance world over. The early attempts at tight homes suffered from stagnating air and susceptibility to molds as humidity would climb and air would settle to stillness. But now passive homes are being built with an ingenious central ventilation system. Inside air is expelled as outdoor air is drawn in with an exchange of the heat now up to 90% efficiency.

How Does a Passive House Work?

The strategy of a Passive House is to reuse “free” heat to heat the home. “Free” heat is generated from all electrical and gas appliances such ovens, refrigerators, computers and light bulbs. The building envelope of a Passive House must be extremely well insulated and air-tight so that this “free” heat can not accidentally escape out of the building.

• A mechanical ventilation system, with an air to air heat recovery component, is installed to simultaneously bring in fresh air and remove the same amount of stale air.
• The stale air leaving the house is carrying the “free” heat. It goes through the heat recovery ventilator, and transfers the heat, to the incoming fresh air, before it leaves the building.
• The cool, exterior fresh air comes into the heat recovery ventilator, picks up the “free” heat and goes into the home warm.
• A conventional heating system is not necessary.

A diagram from the Wikipedia website of a Passive House for a very cold climate. Passive Homes are designed according to their specific climate conditions. Triple pane windows are not always required. The ground heat exchanger is also optional.
Architect Nabih Tahan with 11 years of experience in Austria is building his family a passive home in Berkeley California. He is also heading up a group of 70 San Francisco Bay area architects and engineers working to encourage wider acceptance of the standards. “This is a recipe for energy that makes sense to people,” Mr. Tahan said. “Why not reuse this heat you get for free?”

Wolfgang Hasper, an engineer at the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt says, “We’ve found it’s very important to people that they feel they can influence the system.” The newest systems offer three settings, one down for being away; one up to circulate air for lots of occupants and the normal one.

Research is looking into the issues that are more American in nature, the cooling from air conditioning where a heat exchanger could be used in reverse, to keep cool air in and warm air out. Then there is the site issues, as passive needs correct positioning to get a sun facing wall for a heat driver.

Mona Vale House by architects Choi Ropiha in Australia

The key to the entire Passive House concept is that it makes many renewable energy systems viable because it reduces the amount of energy needed to heat and cool a home. It is clearly cheaper to transfer out stale air from a very tight house than to reheat or re-air-condition the air. It would be no huge matter for most forced air heating and air-conditioned homes to be fitted with an indoor to outdoor circulator as a worthy addition to a energy conservation program with goals of reducing heat loss through more insulation better windows and doors. Plus, these techniques could go a long way to making geothermal home heating smaller so making them much more affordable.

The competition challenges participants to create innovative devices to generate cheap energy from the sea, with the winner receiving a £10 million grant from the Scottish government to develop the idea. The government hopes that the project will help Scotland to continue leading the UK in terms of renewable energy and to reach its target of satisfying 50 per cent of it national energy demand through renewable means within eleven years.

Alex Salmond, the Scottish first minister, told the paper: “Since we unveiled the details of the Saltire Prize Challenge at the beginning of December, 33 declarations of interest have been registered from some of the great companies and best minds in the world.”

Entrants to the Saltire Prize must put forward a device that will produce at least 100GWh over the course of two years.

Scotland currently leads the UK in terms of green energy production, with renewable generation satisfying 20 per cent of the country’s demand in 2007.

If you want to compare all the UK’s green energy suppliers you can use the energy helpline calculator, to proceed click here.

Wondering how to recycle your tree once Christmas has come and gone? Rest assured, “O Tannenbaum” has plenty of life left in those lovely branches once he’s finished sprucing up your home. The National Christmas Tree Association is a great resource for all of us eco-minded types who want to make sure our trees stay green after the ornaments come off.

For those of you pondering whether you did the right thing by buying a real tree as opposed to an artificial one, you can finally put the debate behind you with the knowledge that real trees are clearly the more eco-friendly choice. Learn why artificial trees should be avoided when it comes to holiday decor.

This year, even the Vatican is going green, with plans to recycle the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square by using its wood to make toys for children. I was surprised to hear about a variety of other, less obvious ways to recycle Christmas trees, such as making vaccines and dune restoration.

When you’re ready to recycle your tree, visit Earth911.com to locate a Christmas tree recycling program, pick-up or drop-off location in your area. All you need to do is enter your zip code to be directed to your nearby options.

If you’re still in the market for a tree, and you’re in the Portland area, consider renting a tree from The Living Christmas Tree Company. They’ll plant it when your finished enjoying it, so it may live for many years to come. If you’d rather think outside the box, opt for the Cardboard Christmas Tree, which is affordable, chic, reusable, and do-gooding, as sales benefit the Arbor Day Foundation’s Trees for America Program.

National Christmas Tree Association

Earth911.com

The Living Christmas Tree Company

In the UK

Sheffield
veoliaenvironmentalservices.co.uk/sheffield/pages/recypostcode.asp

London
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/whatson/christmas-tree-recycling-feature-545.html

This is a post about a blog, 365 days of waste , and the remarkable man behind it, David Chameides, an award winning cameraman who lives in Los Angeles. About a year ago, (339 days at the time of writing to be precise) he decided to collect all the waste he generates in a year in his basement, and keep a blog that describes his detritus. He keeps a diary describing in what’s going on in fine detail:

Today’s Haul:

1 paper plate - worms
1 piece tin foil - recycle
1 plastic can concentrated grape juice HDPE 2 - recycle
1 cardboard coffee cup - recycle
2 ear plug thingys from doctors appointment - garbage
1 ear plug otoscope plastic cone from doctors office - garbage

So i went to Coffee Bean for a meeting and I bring my mug as usual. I got a chai tea latte and the guy behind the counter uses a cardboard cup to mix in and then pours it into my cup. Crazy.

A deep green by nature — he also runs a website called Sustainable Dave — he has been keeping all of of his trash — including recyclables and organic waste like food — stacked neatly in the basement of his Los Angeles house. He uses a tin box to hold bags of waste paper, and cans of garbage to hold the rest. For organic waste, he put in a worm composter that breaks down leftover food. Beyond that, he didn’t create a master plan for his year of no trash. “I didn’t really think this through — which is probably for the best,” says Chameides. His wife and kids are exempted from the challenge, but not from the neighbors’ scoffs. “My wife’s friends do make fun of me.”

Not only does Chameides carefully pack away any waste he creates at home, he also lugs back trash he may have produced outside the home. Sometimes far outside: On a recent vacation to Mexico with his wife, Chameides dutifully tagged and bagged all the things he would have thrown out, and brought them back with him to the U.S. When he encountered security officials at the airport in Mexico, they were understandably confused. “The woman in the security line opened up my bag and saw all the trash,” says Chameides. “She said, ‘Que esto?’ [What is this?] I told her, ‘Basura’ — garbage. They just laughed and zipped up the bag.”

It didn’t take long for Chameides to figure out that the best way to reduce the amount of trash he wasn’t throwing away was to simply cut back on the amount of stuff he consumed in the first place. Given that his nickname is Sustainable Dave, that wasn’t too hard. “I’m a non-consumer to begin with,” says Chameides. “After a month or two I became aware of just how little I was consuming.” Through about eight months, Chameides reckons he’s kept a little more than 30 lbs. of trash — most of which dates back to the first couple months of the year, before he got the hang of not taking out the trash. The average American, by contrast, would have passed 1,000 lbs by now. When the year is up, Chameides says he’ll probably have to send his collected waste to the landfill and the recycling center, but the simple act of keeping his garbage has reduced it. “It turned out that it’s not that hard,” he says. “I’m a pretty normal guy — I just keep my garbage in my basement.”

Video of David talking about vermicomposting, or worm composting

Though America’s landfills are in no danger of filling up any time soon, taking out the trash is increasingly costly, with major cities like New York now having to truck their garbage hundreds of miles to reach an open dumping space. That means energy and carbon emissions. Chameides decided to begin his year of no trash after he visited his community’s landfill. “It’s nearly 40 miles away, and they have 13,000 tons of trash coming in every day,” he says. “It’s going to close in seven years, and then they’ll have to ship the trash all the way to Arizona.”

Government and industry can play their part in reducing the trash stream by cutting back on unnecessary waste — especially packaging, which makes up a surprising amount of our garbage. That’s a symptom of the sort of culture we’ve become, one that’s disposable, that runs on unthinking convenience. Chameides shows that what we really need to do is simply slow down and think about the waste we’re creating, and the easy ways to reduce it, before we end up knee deep in our own garbage. “People ask me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” he says. “It’s because I want to know more about what my waste footprint is. I don’t want to be part of the problem, but part of the solution.” That’s a sentiment that even average Americans should be able to agree with.

via 365 days of trash

General care

Winter care
As cold nights bring the final leaves tumbling from the trees, rake lawns, sweep paths and patios, and pick up leaves from borders and rock gardens, where their soggy mass can smother tender alpines. Leaves also provide shelter for slugs and snails, so clear them up without delay, taking care not to disturb any nesting hedgehogs.

Water features
Removing pumps and filters from ponds and water features helps prevent them being damaged by freezing water during the winter. Keep ponds covered with netting to prevent fallen leaves blowing in.

Mail order
Send for the latest catalogues from mail order seed companies. Some new varieties may be in limited supply, so make sure you order early.

Dividing perennials
If conditions are mild and dry, continue to divide hardy perennials. On wet soils, it is best to wait until new shoots appear in the spring.

Soil conditioning
Where areas have been cleared, start digging over and conditioning the soil. It is worth carrying out a soil test now to check its acidity or alkalinity level (pH). Most plants grow best in a neutral soil, so make adjustments if necessary by applying a lime dressing to very acid soils, or sulphur chips to alkaline ones.

Planting shrubs
If the weather conditions remain dry, continue planting evergreen shrubs, conifers and hedging. Even when it’s cold, soil still retains a little heat, especially deeper down, which encourages root growth and helps plants get established. Always take time to prepare the soil well when you are planting long-lived shrubs. Be generous with the compost that you dig in to improve the soil.

Repairs
Repair fences, trellises and wooden features. Once annual climbers have died away and perennial ones have lost their leaves, treat timber with wood colour or preservative. Replace loose posts and those rotting at the base before they collapse and cause greater damage.

Kitchen garden

Old crops
Clear away the remains of old crops to tidy up the garden and prepare the area for next year. Add the material you gather to your compost heap. Spread a layer of compost over the cleared soil and fork it into the surface.

Apples
Fruits that have been picked but won’t be used immediately can be stored in clear plastic bags. Seal the bags, but make a couple of pinprick holes in the sides to release the ethylene produced by the fruits. Only store healthy fruits and keep the bags in a cool place.

Soft fruit
Sideshoots that were shortened to five leaves in early summer should be pruned back a further 5cm to 7.5cm (2in to 3in). Raise extra plants by taking hardwood cuttings from healthy bushes. These shoots should be about 25cm to 30cm (10in to 12in) long and buried to about half their depth. With blackcurrants, leave all the buds intact, but with white and redcurrants remove all but the top four buds. You can also take cuttings from gooseberries. Our guide to pruning soft fruit will help you to get a good crop next season.

Rhubarb
Clumps can be lifted and potted up in large boxes for forcing in a greenhouse or shed. Cover their roots with moist compost and place black polythene, supported on a frame, over the top of them to exclude the light.

Chicory
Now is a good time to lift the roots, cut back their tops and pot them up to force them to produce tender, blanched chicons, their whitened leafy shoots. Each 25cm (10in) pot should contain three roots and be covered with an upturned pot to exclude the light.

Greenhouse

Insulation
Lining the inside of your greenhouse with bubble wrap will keep it warmer and reduce energy costs if you’re providing additional heat. Large sheets of white polystyrene can also be used to line the sides below staging level. Make sure you wash the glass inside and out before you start lining to maximise light levels. Remove any debris from guttering.

Watering
Water plants sparingly during the winter months, as they can become waterlogged and prone to rotting. Check plants weekly and only water if their compost has almost dried out and avoid getting water on the leaves.

Pest watch
Be on the lookout for any pests on overwintering plants. Small infestations of whitefly, red spider mite and greenfly can soon spread, storing up more problems for the future. Control pests now by picking them off leaves, spraying or disposing of infected plants.

Flower garden

Roses
Prune down tall-growing bush roses by about a half to help prevent wind-rock loosening and damaging their roots and shorten all the branches on standard roses. Plant bare-rooted rose bushes this month.

Shrubs
December is a good time to move evergreens and large shrubs that have outgrown their current position. Try to lift them with as large a rootball as possible and tie them to stakes for extra stability.

Cuttings
Take hardwood cuttings now from a wide range of shrubs, including deutzia, wisteria, dogwood and Virginia creeper.

Forcing bulbs
If you haven’t already planted prepared hyacinths in glasses in time for Christmas, try Narcissus papyraceus which will flower in under six weeks if potted now. Check potted bulbs in forcing frames and water them if their compost is dry. Make sure you only bring them into cool, light conditions when their shoots are 5cm (2in) tall.

Eight web sites, in no particular order,  with a green bias that will keep your kids informed and entertained.

1. National Geographic Kids
The National Geographic children’s site is a great resource, which focuses on topics like animal migration, the environment and how it affects the wildlife around us. There are plenty of quizzes, videos, games, stories and tips to bring your children closer to the nature around them. Check out the step-by-step guide to planting your own garden.

National Geographic

2. Kidsrgreen
This hands-on site offers plenty of advice to children who want to go green - both in and out of school time. You can hop on a spaceship for a round-the-world tour or go on a mission with ‘Trip the Drip’ to discover the importance of water to the planet.

Kidsgreen

3. The Greens
Meet the Greens is a website about an environmentally conscious family who are trying to do their bit for the planet. This US-based site features short animated adventures, which all carry an eco-message. ‘Tons of trash’, ‘birds need trees’ and ‘food rescue’ are just a few of the episodes on the site.

Meet The Greens

4. CBeebies Green Balloon Club
The Green Balloon Club stars four eco-warrior children and a dog, who live in a virtual green club house. The site is full of songs, videos, print and colour activities – and there’s a green star club where you can print out a chart and collect reward stickers for good green behaviour.

Green Balloon Club

5. Recyclezone
The Recyclezone is sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and is a great source of green information for school children. It’s bright, interactive and easy to use with a wide range of brain teasers, jokes and ideas – don’t miss Recycler the Rapping Robot’s musical debut.

Recycle Zone

6. Nature Challenge for Kids
Meet David Suzuki - he’ll challenge your children to follow a ten-step action plan covering topics such as food, travel, and the home. The idea is for children to gain better eco-awareness and apply it to their everyday lives. You’ll also find fun role play ideas and activities to encourage kids to express their views on nature and the environment.

Nature Challenge for Kids

7. Charlie and Lola - Look After Your Planet
This popular game is a fun way of familiarising your children with the process of recycling. The task is to navigate one of the Charlie and Lola characters to collect falling rubbish in the correct recycling bins. The fun graphics and illustrations make this a pleasure to play, and you can progress through the site to bigger challenges depending on your level of skill.

Charlie and Lola

8. Scholastic Explorers - Earthwatch Partnership
This educational site is a great tool for inspiring children to expand their learning skills, as well as their knowledge of wildlife and the environment. Find tips on discovering the eco systems in your garden as well as the chance to watch a wildlife video and submit a report on what you see.

Teacher Scholastic

There are lots of ways to make your home greener, and not all of them will cost you money. But for the more ambitious projects, such as installing solar panels, it’s worth checking if you qualify for any grants.

People are turning to renewable energy sources for many different reasons. Energy Performance Certificates, which form part of the new Home Information Packs, are now compulsory when selling many homes. I just wanted to do my bit for reducing CO2 emissions.

Whatever your motivation, it’s worth checking to see if you are eligible for any financial grants from government, local councils and energy providers.

Getting started

Before you act, it’s handy to know where your efforts are best focused. The Energy Saving Trust (EST) provides an online tool that pinpoints your home’s weaknesses.

I soon learned that my flat ranks mid table - the site suggested I upgrade my heater, insulate the walls and fit double glazing.

These upgrades would cut fuel costs by £211 and CO2 emissions by 0.3 tonnes, an annual energy saving of 27 per cent. You can save and print off a PDF storing this data.

Armed with this information, I used a grant finder tool also on the EST site. It claimed I could save £90 on wall insulation from British Gas or up to £650 for wall and loft insulation from the Snug as a Bug scheme.

And extra support is available for those on benefits such as Income Support or Disability Living Allowance. The Government’s Warm Front initiative offers up to £2700 for insulation and heating improvements. Plus, over 60s who are not on benefits can claim £300 towards central heating.

Financial benefits

But do these grants and deals add up in the real world? Finding a truly beneficial solution means balancing initial costs with long-term savings, both financial and carbon.

“Think in terms of payback,” explains Dan Watt, from Ashmount Consulting Engineers Ltd. “Double glazed windows could cost £3000 and take 90 years to payback, but loft insulation could pay back in ten years for a cheaper outlay.”

How you interpret the figures depends on your perspective. Houses with energy saving measures installed may command higher value when it comes to sale.

Or future legislation may grow more forceful to drive carbon savings. This could involve tomorrow’s solar panels or wind turbines winning incentives like tax breaks, or improvements to local schools or hospitals.

For some people, the environment is a high enough priority in itself. They value helping the planet purely from an eco-conscious viewpoint, not for financial reasons.

The bigger picture

Sadly, grants in England could be kinder. In Scotland, you can get £8000 towards renewable technologies under Scottish Community and Householder Renewables Initiative and the Household Programme in Northern Ireland offers up to 50 per cent of installation costs on renewables.

Renewable technologies are better established in countries outside the UK too. In Germany and Japan if you generate excess energy, you receive a guaranteed price when feeding it back into the power grid.

To capitalise on your renewable system ask your supplier how much they will pay you for the excess power you generate. “You will find some are surprisingly generous in rewarding your so-called grid exports.” explains Will Wachtmeister from Powerhouse magazine.

Potential pitfalls

Understand the potential pitfalls too, such as planning permission, which isn’t always that straightforward. “It’s ridiculous you can freely put up a satellite dish, but installing the same size solar panel needs planning permission,” says Dave Sowden, chief executive for the Micropower Council.

Government grants

Once you understand what’s best for your home, the DTI’s low carbon buildings programme (LCBP) can help with most aspects of energy efficiency. So far, the programme has taken more than 6000 applications worth around £6 million. To qualify, you must insulate your loft and cavity walls, fit low energy lighting and install heating controls and thermostats.

When that’s done, you’re eligible for up to £2500 on solar panels, wind turbines, wood boilers and other technologies. Remember you might also need planning permission and you must use a certified installer.