IntelEfficient

Germany is once again leading the world toward a more sustainable future, introducing an ultra-efficient home capable of producing twice as much energy as it consumes.  The surplus energy can be used to charge an electric vehicle, or be exported to the grid.

The house was designed by a team lead by Professor Werner Sobek at the Stuttgart University Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK).  Dubbed the Efficiency House Plus, the 1400 sq. ft. home is a model for the future.  A prototype was built near Berlin, and a family of four is scheduled to inhabit the home for 15 months as part of a live test beginning in March, 2012.  Until then, the building is open to the public. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s exciting to see more and more people embracing sustainability.  St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay recently demonstrated leadership in the area by convening a Sustainability Summit December 6-7 at the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Missouri History Museum.  The event brought both experts and interested citizens together to discuss their ideas and formulate a plan.  Similar initiatives are underway in cities across the globe.

While it’s hard to find someone who is “against” sustainability, it’s easy to find people who are confused about its definition.  One of the most popular definition was first used at a 1987 UN conference, which stated simply: “meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”   Using that definition, we might all agree to the value of such forward thinking, but the debate begins over which of our current practices falls into the “unsustainable” category. Read the rest of this entry »

The Energize Missouri Homes program, made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, was introduced last year to offer significant financial incentives to improve your home’s energy efficiency.  This included energy audits, insulation and air sealing, and heating and cooling upgrades.  These improvements save you money on your utility bill and enhance the comfort of your home.

We had an energy audit done, which included an analysis of our HVAC equipment, the insulation and how well our home’s exterior was sealed against air leaks.  By upgrading our attic insulation and our 50-year-old boiler and 12 year-old air conditioner, our overall energy costs would be reduced by over 25%, so we were eligible for the program.  Our initial application in December 2010 was wait-listed due to the high volume of responses, but we received an approval to proceed in August and were awarded a $7,500 rebate to help pay for the three improvements. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine the days when, if you needed hot water, you put a kettle or pot (or several of each) on the stove and heated as much water as you needed.  Of course, you may also have needed to add some fuel to the fire, assuming it was already going.  I suspect this was a strong motivator to be conservative in our use of hot water! 

As our domestic appliances advanced, we developed a hot water storage tank, where we could use an appropriately-sized storage tank to meet the demands of the home or business.  The water in the tank is kept heated to a preset temperature, usually around 120 degrees for normal use, using either an electric heating element or a burner fueled by natural gas.  As water is drawn from the tank for showers or washing, fresh cold water is drawn into the tank and the whole tank is heated to maintain that set temperature.  Tanks vary in size, usually from 40 to 60 gallons, but for larger homes larger or multiple tanks may be used. Read the rest of this entry »

The bicycle is a wonderful marriage between (hu)man and machine.  Of course, it helps to have pavement roads to minimize friction, but it still amazes me that you can, using your own energy, travel 75 miles in a day.  This sounds like a grueling feat, but it’s really just a series of ~10-mile rides. 

Three of the our four members of “Team CSL” from last year returned, including Harold Anderson, Debbie Boyer and me, and Tim McIntyre rejoined us this year.  You may recall that Tim broke his wrist last year and was unable to ride.  Read the rest of this entry »

With evidence of climate change becoming more prevalent, there is a growing awareness and desire to reduce our “carbon footprint.”  While there continues to be debate in the mainstream about the cause and effects of climate change, the scientific community is overwhelmingly undivided on the subject.

In America, buildings are responsible for about 39% of the country’s total carbon emissions.  This represents a significant opportunity for rethinking how we design, build and use buildings.  A team led by HOK and The Weidt Group decided to try and design a market-rate, class A office building with net-zero emissions. Using the Department of Energy’s definition, this is “a building that produces and exports at least as much emissions-free renewable energy as it imports and uses from emission-producing energy sources annually.”  Read the rest of this entry »

When GM recalled all of their leased EV1 electric cars in 2002, there was quite a bit of speculation about the conspiracy that killed the electric car.  Many owners begged to keep their vehicles, but had no choice but to surrender them to GM to be crushed or put in a museum.

This fall, we’ll finally begin to see the return of electric vehicles (EVs) that have been long promised.  While dreams of a Tesla Roadster or Fisker Karma may be a bit elusive, the Nissan Leaf may be just the car you’re looking for.  The Leaf will be available this fall, at least for those who’ve put their names on the waiting list.  The Chevy Volt, which was only available in select markets, is also expected to be available nationwide later this year and the Ford Focus has been delayed to 2012.  The Top 10 electric carmakers will be battling it out to win the hearts of EV drivers. Read the rest of this entry »

The sun continues to rise in Missouri!  Since 2008, when Missouri voters passed the Renewable Energy Standard by a 2 to 1 margin, the solar industry has been growing rapidly across the state.  This citizen initiative created a rebate program that requires investor-owned utilities like Ameren and KCP&L to pay a $2 per watt rebate for new solar installations.  This, coupled with the broader 30% federal tax credit, has made solar a cost-effective complement to grid-based energy.

It actually started with the Easy Connection Act in 2007.  This allowed businesses and residents to interconnect a renewable energy system, like solar or wind, to a grid-tied electrical system.  The clean renewable energy produced locally is consumed first, and additional energy requirements are pulled from the grid.  If the renewable energy system produces more energy than is needed, the excess electricity flows out onto the grid, and the electric meter essentially “spins” in reverse.  This process is called net metering, and ensures that you are credited for any energy that you supply to the utility. However, if you are a net producer during any billing cycle, the utility is only required to pay you their avoided cost, which is usually less than a third of the retail price you pay the utility.

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Last week, my 11-year-old daughter surprised my wife and me in a store with a handful of seed packets.  “Let’s grow our own vegetables this year!”  My mind raced in the moment, excited about the fact that this child, who we have a tough time getting to eat her vegetables, actually wanted to grow some.

I recalled the time years before when she came with me to the nursery to buy some bedding plants for our flower garden.  She’d picked out some that she wanted to plant and take care of on her own.  At that time, I wrestled with how much to water her plants for her versus letting her experience the consequence of seeing them wither.  That was a few years ago, though, and she’s learned a lot of life’s lessons since then. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all heard the adage “You are what you eat.”  As we acknowledge and embrace the truth of this assertion, many of us are starting to take a closer look at what we put into our bodies.  Whether you’re exploring fresh foods, raw foods, organic foods, or simply more natural foods that haven’t had all of the natural nutrition processed out of them, this can become either a casual quest or an ongoing obsession.

Truly fresh food is still alive.  The sooner you eat it from the time that it’s picked, the higher the concentration of enzymes, vitamins and nutrients.  Most of the produce in grocery stores was picked prematurely, before the food is fully ripe, and then treated with preservatives to maximize shelf life.  There are farms where you can actually pick vegetables yourself, but a more convenient way to get fresh food is to go to a farmers’ market. Read the rest of this entry »