High-Performance High-Rises
As the sustainability movement continues forward, many construction projects of different types are starting to become more focused on greenbuilding. I'm receiving calls from developers I've never heard of on a daily basis, asking how they can make their projects more sustainable or even LEED (Leade...
SH Bookshelf: Your Home, Illustrated
Long-term readers of this magazine will recall that for our first three years of publication, we ran a continuing series of articles called "From the Ground Up," by then-technical editor Charlie Wing. Those 22 illustrated articles, which examined in detail all of the various systems in a typical...
Recycling Made Easy
Drop an aluminum can or plastic bottle into the top of the award-winning ecopod Home Recycling Center, step on a pedal at the bottom of the unit and presto! The aluminum or plastic container is instantly compacted and dropped into a portable pod at the bottom of the recycling unit. The pod can hold ...
The New Southern Home
Preempting an initiative proposed recently by Florida governor Charlie Crist to increase the energy efficiency of new homes built in the state by 15 percent, the New Southern Home in Orlando goes beyond efficiency. At a whopping 12,200 square feet, the showcase house may seem to contradict many gree...
10 Smart Energy-Saving Strategies
Energy bills soaring this winter? Fortunately, you can do something about them. By following some or all of these simple strategies, you can keep a cap on energy usage, while keeping your family comfortable. 1. Add a layer to your attic insulation, especially if your home was built before 1...
Green Luxury Condos
When most homeowners think of greenbuilding, they envision single-family homes with bamboo floors, solar panels and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. But builders across the country are proving that condominium projects can be just as green.In municipalities as diverse as Chica...
Eco-Friendly Furniture
Green home design doesn't stop at the walls, windows, roof and floors. It extends to the home's furnishings as well. Thanks to a burgeoning eco-friendly furniture industry, homeowners can now outfit their homes with all types of furnishings that are not only stylish, comfortable and functional, b...
Lighten Up on the Roof
Say good-bye to heavy asphalt roofing shingles and say hello to ArmorLite, a new roofing system that's up to eight times lighter than traditional roofing materials such as asphalt, concrete, clay or wood, yet is more weather-resistant and more durable. While the average roof can weigh as much as 30,...
Extending the Outdoor Season
Not so long ago, outdoor living spaces rarely received much attention from homeowners, and usually were sparsely furnished with less-than-attractive items - a white metal table, simple aluminum-framed deck chairs with nylon webbing, a kettle-like grill and perhaps a patio umbrella. Today, design ...
Energy Star Windows
As energy costs continue to rise, homeowners are looking for ways to improve the efficiency of their homes. One good option is to install energy-efficient windows if you're building a new home, adding-on to an existing one or simply updating the look of your current home. They are all sorts of optio...
The Modern Walls of Jeriko
Jeriko House, a Louisiana-based modular building company, is rethinking the way we build our homes. And interestingly, in developing its innovative prefab/modular building system, Jeriko House looked to the ubiquitous modern computer as its manufacturing template.When ordering one of today's...
