We will be at AltBuild Santa Monica again this year, come see us and other great companies that support sustainable building and healthy living!

Green Gardens for Earth Day!

A green sustainable garden can be achieved by incorporating several ideas into your design or simply becoming more aware of what can negatively affect our environment. When we talk about a sustainable garden we are referring to a garden that is able to maintain long-term well being, for both humans and the environment, and at the same time its resources are well managed to minimize consumption and obtaining the most out of them.  As we all know, we need to eat, including wildlife. By hanging feeders or introducing native shrubs or fruit/nut trees, your garden will become a five star restaurant for wildlife, that’s if you enjoy the presence of wildlife. One of the best ways, probably the least expensive yet most ignored way to make your garden more sustainable, is by conserving water. Other ways your garden can become more sustainable is by reducing resources and or using renewable ones, taking responsibility of your gardening practices, reducing the amount of chemicals used in a garden especially when nature can solve the problem, and by growing your own organic foods.

                Water can be conserved in many ways. Having clean access to water is a privilege and not many people in the world enjoy such privilege. Although some ways of conserving water may require more effort than others, the intention to conserve it is worth it because water is not an infinite resource and it may not last forever like many of us think. For example, instead of using a hoe to clear out your driveway use a broom to conserve water. Reducing resources and using renewable resources also helps reduce the impact in our environment and makes our gardens greener. Not all plants are created equal and not all plants are able to survive in the same medium, since soil composition tends to vary. By informing yourself on plants needs and requirements, you can pick plants that prefer the type of soil that’s already available in your garden, at the same time you are reducing resources. When using plastic in a garden, try and use high recyclable plastics with low VOC. Some plastics leech chemicals into the environment and using plastics with little or no VOC’s helps reduce environmental pollution.  Creating a sustainable garden may also involve responsibility. Taking responsibility of your garden practices is also important if your goal is to create a sustainable garden. Some positive gardening practices may include collecting rain water in rain barrels in order to use that water to water your garden. Rain water tends to be better for plants and you are also helping to reduce run off which tends to wash pollutants into your local water shed, not to mention you are also conserving water. As a responsible owner you can take on more responsibility by finding ways to avoid the use of harmful chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides, alternate ways such as implementing biological pest management practices. Growing your own vegetables and fruits will also make your garden more sustainable and at the same time save you money.

Energy Upgrade CA

Go Green California became a participating contractor in the State of California’s new program, Energy Upgrade. As part of the program, Go Green was required to attend and receive training in the latest home performing standards in order to be considered a qualified contractor for the basic upgrade package. The required measures for a basic upgrade include: air sealing, attic insulation, duct sealing, hot water pipe insulation, thermostatic shower control, combustion safety testing, and smoke/co detectors. As part of the training process, some of Go Green’s employees attended a two-hour orientation about the program and a three-day building science basic training about building envelope elements.  All participating contractors are trained to provide the highest level of service from nationally recognized home performance and green building organizations.

The Energy Upgrade Program is a program that provides assistance to qualified individual who are looking to upgrade their homes in order to increase their energy efficiency. As part of the program qualified individual might be able to receive up to $4000 in utility incentives, $500 in federal tax credits, eligibility for weatherproofing services, energy efficient appliances, and various local city and county rebates depending on the area in which you live. At the same time individuals will be receiving energy education which might range from how to conserve energy to reduce your utility bills, improve air quality, conserve resources, reduce green house gases, and most important how to make your home comfortable in all seasons. For more information you can visit www.energyupgradeca.com, www.cpuc.ca.gov or contact your local utility provider. For information regarding the weatherization process, qualification criteria and a list of local service providers visit www.csd.ca.gov. The price of energy has been steadily increasing and educating yourself about energy efficiency is important in order to maintain your bills low and to educated people about the importance of keeping our planet clean and conserving resources.

A Rumbling Deal

Current technology cannot help predict earthquakes they are phenomenons that occur without warning. Depending on the magnitude, an earthquake may cause significant damage as was the case in Japan which experienced a magnitude 9 earthquake. Many of us aren’t prepared and might even think a disaster of such magnitude will never happen here in the U.S. We cannot assume an earthquake will never happen, especially residents living in California where earthquakes are known to occur. One thing we can do is prepare for such an event. One smart decision home owners might consider is buying earthquake kits which vary in price and supplies.

When buying an earthquake kit take a look at the supplies it includes since some supplies tend to be more useful than others. While researching several earthquake/emergency kits, we found kits that range from $14.99 to $499.99 depending on the number of persons in a household and the supplies it includes. Keep in mind your location and the condition you might be exposed to during a disaster. For example you wouldn’t need a water proof poncho if an earthquake struck California in the middle of summer. Look for kits that supply items necessary for survival, items such as first aid kits, water, food bars, waterproof matches, candles, water purification tablets and some even offer tents to shelter 1 or 2 persons. Some of the more expensive kits also include portable fire extinguishers and a 3 way powered radio with cell phone charger. 3 way power indicates 3 different source of electricity: solar, hand crank, and direct current (battery powered) all of which can be useful depending on the environmental conditions one is exposed too during a disaster. One usually thinks Swiss army knives should be included with every earthquake/survival kits but it was surprising how many kits don’t even offer such a tool. Swiss army knives are equipped with useful tools for survival ranging from small knifes, can openers, screw drivers, to small scissors. Websites such as essentialpacks.com and quakekare.com offer some of the better supplies and their prices vary depending on your preference. Preparing for an earthquake is always important in order to help minimize casualties and disaster. We cannot take nature for granted especially after the damage experienced in Japan.

Radiant Floors

A radiant floor is a type of floor system that supplies heat directly from the floor to object in contact with it or in its line of site. They depend on radiant heat transfer, which is the delivery of heat directly from the hot surface to object in the room via the radiation of heat, also referred to as infra red radiation. Infra red radiations are energy waves which are given off by all warm objects and produce heat in all objects they strike. A good radiant floor design includes proper insulation of the space to be heated (to minimize energy loss) and an efficient heating system. The 3 most common types of radiant floors are radiant air floors, electric radiant floors, and hot water (hydronic) radiant floors.

Radiant air or forced air floors are those in which heated air is pumped through a network of pipes and then heat is transferred via infra red radiation. Two disadvantages of radiant air floors is that air cannot hold large amounts of heat compared to other sources like water and they are usually not cost-effective. As many of us have noticed, the price of energy has been slowly increasing and may continue to do so. Most radiant air floors require a system such as a heater that requires electricity or fuel in order to keep the air warm. If the price of electricity keeps increasing so will your bill.

Electric radiant floors are floors in which electric cable or mats are built into the flooring system. Energy in the form of heat is passed through conductivity to the cable and then it’s dissipated through infra red radiation to other objects. Again, one of the big disadvantages of electric radiant floors is the high cost of electricity. Such system would only be cost-effective if it were to be installed in an area with significant thermal mass. Material with significant thermal masses, such as a thick concrete slab, can store large amount of heat and stay warm for some time. The heat stored in the slab helps warm up the space.

The most cost effective, most common, and one of the more efficient systems are hot water or hydronic radiant floors. Hydronic radiant floors are floors in which a network of pipes is placed within a flooring system and hot water is pumped through the pipes to keep the space warm. They usually require little electricity and water can also be heated with a wide variety of energy sources including standard gas or oil boilers and solar water heaters, all which have high energy efficiency. The temperature in each room can be controlled by adjusting the flow of hot and cold water as you would do with your shower. Although hydronic systems cost more up front than standard forced air systems, they are usually more efficient and last up to several years longer.