A House as a System
Source: GreenBuilding.com
Link: http://www.greenbuilding.com/knowledge-base/house-system
A building is a very complex system, wherein each part of the system affects every other part of the system. Consequently, and in turn, each individual system is made up of components. Each component is further made up of individual products, technologies which dictate how the products function, and particularly the relationships between the different products. How things function as a whole is the focus of our investigation.
Better All the Time
Source: Su Casa Magazine
Author: Emily Esterton
This year’s inspiring award-winning homes set an example for smart eco-conscious building.
From a ridge-top hacienda to a small-footprint contemporary to a production home in a subdivision, winners of the second Green Home of the Year Awards competition conducted by Su Casa Magazine and Build Green New Mexico span tastes, locales, and budgets. This year’s Green Home of the Year impresses for its ability to conserve—and generate—its energy. Designed by Mark Chalom, Architect, and built by Custom Homes by John Di Janni with close involvement from homeowners Susan and Richard Bechtold, the award-winning home was a favorite among the jury because of the intense care taken in placing the home on the land, its energy and water efficiency, and its traditional yet contemporary design. The Bechtold home is certified at the Gold level by Build Green New Mexico, which requires meeting rigorous green-building criteria. (For more about this home, see “Finding the sweet spot,” page 82.)
Source: Su Casa Magazine
Author: Gussie Fauntleroy
Snug construction and careful energy management help break new ground at this Innovative Green Home award winner.
Klaus Meyer was committed to green, healthy building and had established his own construction company, EcoHouse Santa Fe, when he happened to see a German children’s educational TV show that inspired him to pursue a whole new level of energy efficiency in the homes he builds. Now Meyer’s goal for his own Santa Fe home, after he adds active solar systems for hot water and photovoltaic, is a zero carbon footprint: a house that creates no greenhouse gases—ever—as it meets his family’s total needs for electricity, cooking, and heat. This house recently received Su Casa and Build Green New Mexico’s Innovative Green Home award in our 2009 Green Home of the Year competition (see our Winter 2009 story “Better all the time” for more about the winners).
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