Posts Tagged ‘engineering’

Presenting the GIH at The Alt Build Conference and the Solar HomesToursYesterday!
by Robert Fortunato on May 13th, 2012 No Comments »

Interesting and interested participants on the tours and panel presentation made it a joy to share our experiences designing and building the GIH.  It was great connecting with old and new friends of the project.
At 9am and 10am we ran tours (outside only) as part of the South Bay Solar
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Two FREE Opportunities This Saturday to See How the GIH Works!
by Robert Fortunato on May 9th, 2012 No Comments »

At 9am and 10am on Saturday May 9th we will be running tours (outside only) as part of the South Bay Solar and Green Homes Tour put on by the Environmental Priorities Network.  Nine other families will be opening their houses for the tour as well: SolarGreenHomesTour 2012
Also on Saturday at
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Green Idea House Receives Los Angeles County’s 2012 Green Leadership Award
by Robert Fortunato on April 29th, 2012 1 Comment »

We are honored to receive the award on behalf of all of you who have supported us over the last five years in bringing this to fruition.
It was a pleasure meeting the other award winners at the County Supervisor’s meeting and our son, Carter, was thrilled to get the morning
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Happy Earth Day! The Beach Reporter Celebrates with a Green Idea House Update in its Green Edition.
by Robert Fortunato on April 22nd, 2012 No Comments »

Thanks to Dawnya Bartsch and Chris Miller for wonderful the article and photo.
http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2012/04/21/hermosa_beach_news/news02.txt
A number of you have asked, so we did want to clarify a few points from the article:
–          instead of radiant floor heating, we used Runtal baseboard heaters.  They are much less expensive and operate more efficiently in
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The Green Idea House won Los Angeles County’s Green Leadership Award for 2012!
by Robert Fortunato on April 20th, 2012 No Comments »

This was only possible because all of you came together as a community around the idea that anyone can and should build with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind.  Thank you!
Special thanks go out to the City of Hermosa Beach’s Senior Planner, Pam Townsend who used her own personal time
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“I’ve tested over 500 buildings and this is, by far, the best test score I’ve ever seen!”
by Robert Fortunato on April 18th, 2012 No Comments »

That is a direct quote from Jim Creech, a building science professional at RHA who did the blower door* test-out on the GIH for the Energy Upgrade CA Program.
When we tested the building before we renovated we received a score of 1959 (higher is more leaky).  Normal is about one
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Judges and City Officials Made Us Feel Like Winners
by Robert Fortunato on March 18th, 2012 No Comments »

Judges for the Green Leadership Award and officials from the City of Hermosa Beach came for a visit last week.  We were honored to have them at the house.  Irrespective of the outcome, we appreciated their interest and attention. They already made us feel like winners!
 
 
 

Pouring (over) Concrete
by Robert Fortunato on April 3rd, 2011 No Comments »

Lucas’ words were ringing in my ears as the second cement truck finished unloading.  When asked what materials his Danish eco village tries to avoid, the number one item is poured concrete because of it’s high embodied energy and the fact that you can’t really recycle it.   Discarded concrete just
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Permit Issued!
by Robert Fortunato on February 24th, 2011 No Comments »

The advice and support of all the incredible people in Hermosa Beach’s Planning and Public Work’s Departments makes the impossible possible.

GIH Small Wind Turbines Supported by Hermosa Beach City Council
by Robert Fortunato on February 9th, 2011 1 Comment »

Last night the Hermosa Beach City Council voted to support a reduction of the conditional use permit fee so the Green Idea House could test the viability of residential rooftop wind generation systems and report back to the city.
Obviously, we do not have the “Saudi Arabia of wind” like western
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