Photovoltaic Systems

Archive for August, 2011

Boy do I feel great for grabbing a handful of 60-watt replacement LEDs for $40 a pop!  Lighting Science Group and India-based Dixon Technologies today announced plans to launch the world’s first sub-$15 60-watt equivalent LED bulb.  The bulb will be available in India by the end of this year and around the world sometime in 2012.

The omnidirectional bulb will be 35% more efficient than a CFL yet it won’t have mercury.  Payback is expected to be about eight months assuming a price below $15, according to LSG.

LSG’s cheaper LED bulb will consume about 8.5 watts, according to Michael Kanellos of Greentech Media, and will boast a brightness that is the same as an incandescent, according to Jonathan Skillings of CNET News.  The bulb will have an expected life of 8 years.

On a related note, LSG is planning a smart bulb that works with the Android@Home program Google discussed in May 2011.  The LED replacement should be the shelves by the end of this year.

Photo credit: Lighting Science Group.

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I love this modern, backyard office by in.it studios for Klor, a design studio that makes trailer graphics for films such as Juno, Inglorious Bastards, and Scott Pilgrim.  It’s distinct from the home and creates a commute-free place to get the job done.

The home office was made with eco-friendly materials, LED lights, birch ply interior walls, a green sedum roof, concrete-saving plinth foundation, and sustainably-harvested timber.  A studio like this starts at about $15,000 in the UK.

In.it studios prefabricates these in Leicestershire, UK and ships them throughout Europe.  The company handles all aspects of the design, fabrication, build, and finish.  Another example of an in.it studios prefab is this tiny modern retreat in Slough.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Bold construction.
• A new era for solar power.
• Is green good for home resale value?
• Is this the world’s greenest neighborhood?
• Modular house construction still niche.
• Seattle to test new prefab system.
• Build tiny for a better future.
• Zero-carbon house.

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K-tect Sustainable Building Systems makes a wall system that the company calls the “newest generation of structural insulated panels.“  Although not a sandwich panel, the system is kind of like rSTUD but different and more comprehensive.  K-tect includes a light-gauge, metal-stud frame with insulation in a thermally broken assembly (see below) that improves thermal efficiency and controls noise.

The core is an expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation that’s been GREENGUARD certified in two categories and has no off-gassing chemicals, according to K-tect.  K-tect also says the EPS provides R4-R5 per inch.

K-tect panels “resist natural disasters, mold, mildew, moisture, insects, fire, rust and warping,” according to a recent statement announcing the use of this system by Project Frog to deliver zero-net-energy buildings.

Both the frame and core are recyclable and the system may contribute towards several points in the LEED green building certification system.  K-tect, which is made in Las Vegas, Nevada and Brownsville, Texas, is suitable for interior walls, exterior walls, roofs, and floors in the residential context.

[+] More about K-tect Sustainable Building System.

Credits: K-tect Sustainable Building Systems.

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