Photovoltaic Systems

Archive for May, 2011

This month, we had the opportunity to participate in Treehugger‘s Great Prefab Debate and saw some interesting products at the NAHB Green Building conference in Salt Lake City.  The most popular article on Facebook was about this modern chicken coop by MAKE Design Studio, while the most shared article on Twitter was about using trees to improve home cooling.  Below you’ll find a topical gathering of coverage from May.

Innovative Prefabs:

• Stunning Modern “Edge” Prefab in the Park
• Stillwater Dwelling Prefab Built in California
• New LABhaus Prefab Home in New Jersey
• Prefab LivingHomes Complete in Los Altos
• Fresh Prefab Readied for Dwell on Design
• Affordable Passive House Prefab in Whistler
• The Great Prefab Debate [Watch Video]

Homes & Projects:

• The Power Haus -22 HERS Index Home
• House Ocho with a Lively Green Roof
• Low Impact Dwelling on Orcas Island
• Straw Bales Used for Pop Up Structure
• Synergy: Affordable Beacon of Passive House
• Five Passivhaus Concepts for New Orleans

Technology & Products Innovation:

• Grow Food in a Vertical Home Minigarden
• Alcoa Unveils Smog Eating Aluminum Panel
• dRain Joint for Easy Storm Water Drainage
• High Recycled-Content Board called NewWood
• Resysta, the Non-Wood, Wood Product
• Accoya Offers Durable Non-Toxic Wood
• New Handmade Green Tiles from Clayhaus
• Flock Wool Modular Wall Tiles by Hive
• Bazzeo Kitchens Used in Preservation Project
• Google Intros Smart LEDs, Android@Home
• Designer CFL Perfect for Naked Lighting
• Flexible Tensile Solar Has Big Potential
• Cloud-Based Smart Watering: Cyber-Rain
• Modern Recyclable Planters with LEDs
• Modern Chicken Coop in Urban Seattle
• Chicken Coopsickle on a Steep Incline Site

Know-How & Green News:

• How to Improve Home Cooling with Trees
• Green Materials to Grow to $70B by 2015
• Lowe’s Rolls Out Sungevity Solar iQuote
• Week in Review Archives

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Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Passive House: Brighter Shade of Green
2. Affordable Passive House in Whistler
3. Green Prefab Extends to Chicken Coops

As someone trying to raise more plants indoors, I really like the Minigarden product, which combines a neat vertical wall design with food growth.  The white garden comes in a basic setup with three layers (nine pockets) with one water collection tray, three lids and trays, three planting rows, and 18 assembly clips.  When assembled, the Minigarden, which is made with a strong copolymer polypropylene plastic, is 25″ l x 5 3/4″ d x 23″ h.  The three-layer version sells for about $59.95.

[+] Purchase a Minigarden from EarthBOX in the U.S. – $59.95.

Credits: Minigarden; noticed at Urban Gardens.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Noticed: The Packaged Vertical Garden
2. Urbio Vertical Garden for Urban Dwellers
3. Solar Trees Grow on Parking Structures

• Low-income, high efficiency.
• Are we using wood sustainably?
• Drop in mounting slashes solar install costs.
• Deconstruction: can an entire home be recycled?
• Fearing the phase out of incandescent bulbs.
• The nation’s greenest home is a mystery.
• The price of being certifiably green.
• The deep energy retrofit.

Check out the latest green jobs and subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates, article summaries, newsworthy links, and other site news.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Getting a Home Energy Assessment
2. Energy-Efficient Wood Stoves by Morsø
3. GE Nucleus: Home Energy Manager

Salt Lake City-based ORE Inc. makes modern landscape containers, fire pits, benches, and other things. They’re beautiful and some of them are outfitted with LEDs evoking something of a TRON: Legacy feel. These containers can be powder coated and made with steel or aluminum. Also, depending on the piece, ORE Containers may contribute to up to four different LEED credits (i.e., low-VOC sealants and paints, recycled content steel/aluminum, and FSC certified teak and ipe).

[+] View and download’s Ore’s 2011 Catalog.

Credits: Ore; noticed @JoeZazzera.

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Modern Green Studio NOLA Pieces
2. Sleek Recyclable Kitchen by Valcucine
3. 32 Containers Later: Providence Awaits a Vibrant New Office Space [Video]