Green Your Real Estate Purchases with Historic Properties

Breaking ground and building new may be exciting, but it is rarely environmentally-friendly.  Not only is pristine land and wildlife habitat being destroyed at alarming rates, but the construction process generates a massive amount of waste, much of it not being recycled, even though 95% is typically recyclable.  Two to seven tons of waste, including [...]

NYC Green Building Forum Open to Public

Interested in learning more about green building in The Big Apple?  The “Green Building Forum” is held once a month at the Hafele Showroom, 25 East 26th Street at Madison Avenue.  The free events feature presentations by green building practitioners and are followed by discussions with attendees.  The general public is always invited and AIA [...]

Plastered Walls are Making a Comeback, Naturally

Decades ago, lathe and plaster walls were common in many homes, but with the advent of less labor-intensive (and less expensive) drywall, those days are long gone.  However, if you’d like to achieve the warm look of plaster in your new or historic home, you still have options.  Whether you live in the Southwest or [...]

Green Cabinet Options, Part 1: Bamboo

Renovating that old kitchen and looking for some sleek, sustainable options?  In this series of posts, I will shed some light on various eco-friendly cabinetry options for the kitchen, bathroom, office, or media room.  One great green choice is bamboo, a member of the grass family and a rapidly renewable resource.  It grows very quickly, [...]

The Power of the Sun Can Really Heat Up Your Swimming Pool

Craving a longer swimming season?  A great way to achieve this is with a solar thermal heating system.  Not only can you keep the pool feeling warmer for 2-4 weeks longer, but your summer electric bills won’t skyrocket.  Plus, utilizing the power of the sun does’t create any pollution or greenhouse gases like conventional electricity generation.  Other [...]

Going on Vacation? Save Energy and Money While You’re Away

Is your dream of taking that long-anticipated vacation becoming a reality?  You may be spending time researching and planning your trip, but there are a few things you may not have thought of to add to your “to do” list.  Take a look at a few simple ways you can reduce your home’s energy consumption [...]

How to Power Your Home with Clean Energy

When you stop to think about how our electricity is generated, much of it by burning coal, you may wonder about alternative sources of energy that don’t pollute the air and generate greenhouse gases.  Clean energy, powered by renewable sources, includes solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass fuels.  While the initial cost of renewable energy systems [...]

« go back