Energy Efficient Designrss

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    Panama City, Fla., Home Achieves LEED Platinum

    Today's environmentally conscious builders and building science experts want platinum. And a StalwartBuilt zero-energy home in Panama City, Fla., has it.

     
  • Surveys Reveal Home Buyer Wishes for Energy Efficiency and Beyond

    Research conducted by the NAHB and Better Homes and Gardens reveals noteworthy consumer demands, including energy-efficient features, outdoor living, kitchen islands, and specialty spaces.

     
  • Home Buyers Willing to Pay for Energy Efficiency

    New NAHB study of consumers reports that 51 percent willing to pay up to $11,000 more if energy costs are reduced $1,000 annually.

     
  • Life in the Mainstream GreenHome

    The owner of the country's first house to be built under the NAHB's model green building guidelines loves the energy savings -- and instant hot water for baths.

     
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    Green Chi

    A Silicon Valley infill project balances energy efficiency and energy flow.

     
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    Back to the Future

    Of course, post-industrial houses do have their benefits (indoor plumbing, beer fridges, hi-def surround sound), so the task becomes figuring out how to integrate antiquity’s greatest green lessons into designs that meet the lifestyle demands of today. That is what Tradewinds, our show home for the ...

     
  • Technische Universität Darmstadt Wins 2007 Solar Decathlon

    Germany's Technische Universität Darmstadt won the U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 Solar Decathlon competition. The Solar Decathlon, the third event of its kind, was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Twenty university teams from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, and Canada signed o...

     
  • Nuevo Amanecer

    Until recently, migrant and resident farm workers in Pajaro, Calif., had no choice but to live in sub-standard, one-story units that often flooded. While many residents were temporarily housed in trailers, KTGY Group and South County Housing replaced the deficient housing stock with 63 two-story hom...

     
  • Brasada Ranch

    Community Of The Year

     
  • Sustainability Now

    Green building standards are becoming more universally accepted, but sustainable growth is not without its roadblocks. Following is a round-up of some newly released eco-building programs and findings.

     
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    2007 Gold Nugget Awards: Fields of Gold

    They are greenfields, brownfields, grayfields, and desert outposts. The 44th annual Gold Nugget Awards celebrate Western projects that transcend the norm and reshape the housing landscape as we know it. Don't look now, but the showy castles that dominated housing competitions in the not-so-distant p...

     
  • Back Inside OutBusiness CasualEscape ArtistryBehind the ScenesAbout the Project SponsorsTech Away

    Passive thermodynamics have heated and cooled homes for thousands of years. Builder’s 2008 show home marries classical architectural principles with high-performance building systems in a residence that’s built to last. Distributor Electronics Source, using its expertise in consumer electronics, ass...

     
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    Energy Star Gazing

    With electricity prices rising as much as they have been for the last five years, it is important that you outfit your homes with as many energy-saving features as possible. One way to do this is with Energy Star-qualified lighting packages.

     
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    Roof Level

    In recent years, The New American Home has been a beacon of innovation with regard to energy and resource efficiency, earning local and national distinction for low energy consumption and the use of sustainable construction materials and methods.

     
  • Earthy Excellence

    Rising energy costs and an increased focus on conservation have inspired more of today's home builders to incorporate technologies and features in their new homes that not only make the houses more comfortable, but also more energy efficient with less impact on the surrounding environment.

     
  • Powering Down

    AS RISING ENERGY COSTS continue to make headlines, builders and home buyers have become more aware of the need to reduce energy consumption. Granted, many builders include at least some power-conserving features in homes, such as energy-rated appliances and windows. But overall, the production of hi...

     
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    Sun Spots

    WASHINGTON IS KNOWN MORE FOR FILIBUSTERS than for innovative design. For one rain-soaked week in October, however, innovation was the word when 18 university teams converged on the city for the Solar Decathlon, an event in which students compete to see who can design, build, and operate the most-att...

     
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    Find Your Niche

    many forward-thinking builders and architects are actively pursuing projects that revolve around an edgier set of buzzwords: Affordable. Urban Infill. Green/Energy-Efficient. Nature. Good design is a consistent theme across the board.

     
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    inside the revolution

    The bucolic burg of Charlottesville, Va., isn't the first place you'd look for an internationally known architecture practice like William McDonough + Partners. But then, the eco-minded firm has never been one to play by the rules. The unconventional philosophies of its founding partner, Bill McDono...

     
  • Solar Challenge

    By Stephani L. Miller. Late last year, the U.S. Department of Energy sponsored a Solar Decathlon, an event that pitted 14 teams of architecture and engineering students against each other to see which could design, build, and operate the most energy-efficient and aesthetically designed house powered...