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Win the plans to your Green Dream Home at FreeGreen.com
We all have dreams of what our dream home would be like, many want it to be a green dream home. The problem is getting it designed and then built and finding the mony to do it all. Well, the folks over at FreeGreen could be bringing that dream one step closer to being a reality with their latest contest.
By visiting the FreeGreen website and entering the FreeGreen Challenge you could win the custom plans to the green home of your dreams. The FGC is a contest (starting today and ending on September 30th) that any FreeGreen user planning to build a home in the United States can enter. The winner will receive a Free Custom House Design from FreeGreen, valued at $25,000!! Just head to the homepage, click on the Custom Design Contest button, login, and fill out the contest form.
Over at Active Rain where I am a member ECO-All-Stars~ GREEN Resources, Trends & Friends I had fun taking part in a challenge back in December where we offered up what our green dream home would be if money were no object? Well, you can do the same thing and make it a reality! So head over to FreeGreen and enter the contest. Then, while you are there check out the site.
Most concise shipping container (ISBU) resource yet.
Shipping container ISBU homes are gaining in popularity every day. It is probably because it is a sturdy, viable, cheap mode of construction along with using an existing resource that is piled high in ports and rail cities around the world. It is also the keyword used most that brings folks to my site and the reason for many phone calls from people looking for more information.
Today I found what is probably the best resource for more information that I have seen yet.
More information on Geos Neighborhood
When I first posted about Geos Neighborhood I promised to update you all when I was able to find more information and today Preston over at Jetson Green managed to gather several renderings for his post on the neighborhood. Jump over and take a look. It looks great!
Source: Jetson Green
The debate rolls on with Ceramic Paint On Insulation.
This was a very interesting post over at Treehugger about the legitimacy of Ceramic Paint On Insulation. Basically the result was a resounding it might work, but who knows. You see, it is being used by major architects to insulate shipping container homes and I personally feel it would be a godsend in a 100 year old masonry home like mine, but does it work??? Continue reading
A new shipping container resource that I came upon today – isotecture.com
While searching the internet today I came upon a comment on a blog post over at weburbanist.com. In the comment a gentleman had mentioned that he had started a new website that gives the nuts and bolts of building with Shipping containers. The site is called Isotecture. While it appears to have just been launched in June, it is shaping up to be a pretty good resource. If you are thinking at all of building with shipping containers, like I am, Then I suggest that you bookmark it.
The video below has nothing to do with the site. Just a cool container project and some color for this post.
Shipping container homes get national press.
I have been posting on shipping container homes for some time now and in my comments and feedback I get many who think this is just another flash in the pan. That they will never make mainstream homes. Well, in my searches today I came upon this recent article in USA Today through a post over at Materialicious.
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It does my heart a lot of good to see these homes getting this kind of press. I personally feel it a strong and viable form of architecture that we will see a lot more of. That, and it also is using a very abundant and CHEAP resource that is available to us all throughout the country. You can’t beat that!
I can guarantee you that my next home will be made from shipping containers. |
Blu Homes have officially launched and they are on their way to Utah and Massachusetts.
I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with one of the founders of Blu Homes as they scouted locations and scoured the country finding the city with right fit for their innovative, new, prefab homes. Happily, they chose Salt Lake City, Utah (my home state) as one of the first locations in which to build, the rest of the country is not far behind. Not only that, the first home should be delivered and completed by late fall here in Utah and a personal walk-through for interested parties will be a reality.
What Blu Homes is building is a very innovative, prefab home that will be manufactured in 4 weeks and the keys will be in your hands within 10 days of the home being delivered to your lot. How is that for fast and convenient?
Blu Homes will be green. Very green. Not only will they cause 50-75% fewer carbon emmisions in the construction process, they will also have 40-75% lower annual utility costs.
Affordability often comes into question with projects like this and in the case of Blu Homes these homes will be very affordable. priced from $50,000 – $350,000, based on amenities and size, these homes are very affordable and can realistically be built at about $150 a square foot.
I think Bill Haney, Co-Founder and President of Blu Homes speaks best about the company and there mission in the video below.
Work on nations largest Zero Energy Development to begin this fall.
According to this article in the Denver Business Journal work on what is considered the nations largest Zero Energy Development will begin this fall, 6 months later than planned.
The development called Geos Neighborhood bills itself as “Colorado’s first sustainable, integrated community where energy from the Earth and the Sun replaces all fossil fuels.” The neighborhood will feature 250 single homes ranging in size from 850 sq. ft. to 3500+ sq. ft. and prices will start in the mid $200′s.
What excites me most about this community are the sustainable measures they will be taking (download a PDF fact sheet here).
First, they will maximize the use of solar energy through active and passive designs. Rooftop photovoltaic panels will be used along with innovative design measures to enhance passive solar output. Next, they will use geothermal for heating on overcast days or during nightime hours, hot water and for summer cooling. Finally they are building these homes super tight to ensure minimum air leakage.
I look forward to learning more about The Geos Neighborhood and will share it here when I do.
Gorilla Design to build Salt Lake City’s first (that I know of) shipping container home.
Last Friday I had the great pleasure of meeting with Roi Maufas and Alyssa Kay of Gorilla Design to discuss their new shipping container project just South of Liberty Park here in Salt Lake City. We had a very nice discussion about the project and I am excited to share what I learned with you.
The first home will be located at 580 E. 1300 S. in Salt Lake City, Utah and will be constructed of shipping containers with a 12″ inch exterior coating of highly insulative Fibrous Cement. The anticipated cost of the prototype build is $70 sq. ft. However, this price per sq. ft. is for the prototype home and cost will vary depending on client needs. Not everyone will want wind and solar energy and not everyone will want solarium’s and atrium’s so cost can go up or down based on needs and wants.
You don’t have to move to live in a green home.
I am a firm believer that the greenest thing you can do with a home is take an old home and re-use it. Nothing is more sustainable. Not only do you save one more piece of land from the bulldozer, you save a boat load of natural resources as well. You also keep pollutants locked on site and out of the waste stream.
Over at TreeHugger they recently posted Victorian Houses Can Have A Green Makeover Too. In this post they discussed the recent Eco Open House tours in Brighton, England. In this tour the majority of the homes were older or very old and saw significant reductions in utility expenses through green upgrades.
I have also made significant performance increase in my 100 year old home through very simple and mostly inexpensive upgrades, that can be seen in the video below.
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So the next time you think about moving just to be greener, know that you can do it right where you are.
