Energy-Efficient Design

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    Setting a Solar Standard

    Forced to offer solar as an option to gain its permits, Vantage of Palo Alto went a step further and made PV a standard feature.

     
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    Projects We Like: Graham Street Lofts

    A boutique, mixed-use loft project offers green living in a gray town. See it in pictures.

     
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    No House is an Island

    Is a green-built home in a sea of suburbia truly sustainable?

     
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    Bleak Assessments

    Economic and environmental experts see problems and solutions in terms of changing personal behaviors.

     
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    The Greener Good

    A radical shift toward sustainable practices may be the housing industry’s saving grace.

     
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    Site Matters

    No conversation about green building can commence without a discussion about the site.

     
  • Projects We Like: The Sycamore Model at Georgetown Village

    Green production housing for the middle market is perfectly doable, and Green Builders of Austin, Texas is showing how it’s done.

     
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    Lofty Goals

    Florence Lofts marries the sustainability and efficiency of live/work ­housing with multiple green building products and practices.

     
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    They're Stock Plans, They're Green and They're Free. Really.

    Start-up offers sustainable house plans for free download with hopes of bringing eco-friendly homes to the masses.

     
  • Surveys Reveal Home Buyer Wishes for Energy Efficiency and Beyond

    Research conducted by the NAHB and Better Homes and Gardens reveals noteworthy consumer demands, including energy-efficient features, outdoor living, kitchen islands, and specialty spaces.

     
  • Home Buyers Willing to Pay for Energy Efficiency

    New NAHB study of consumers reports that 51 percent willing to pay up to $11,000 more if energy costs are reduced $1,000 annually.

     
  • Life in the Mainstream GreenHome

    The owner of the country's first house to be built under the NAHB's model green building guidelines loves the energy savings -- and instant hot water for baths.

     
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    Tradewinds

    Of course, post-industrial houses do have their benefits (indoor plumbing, beer fridges, hi-def surround sound), so the task becomes figuring out how to integrate antiquity’s greatest green lessons into designs that meet the lifestyle demands of today. That is what Tradewinds, our show home for the...

     
  • Technische Universität Darmstadt Wins 2007 Solar Decathlon

    Germany's Technische Universität Darmstadt won the U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 Solar Decathlon competition. The Solar Decathlon, the third event of its kind, was held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Twenty university teams from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Spain, Germany, and Canada signed...

     
  • Nuevo Amanecer

    Until recently, migrant and resident farm workers in Pajaro, Calif., had no choice but to live in sub-standard, one-story units that often flooded. While many residents were temporarily housed in trailers, KTGY Group and South County Housing replaced the deficient housing stock with 63 two-story...

     
  • Brasada Ranch

    Community Of The Year

     
  • Sustainability Now

    Green building standards are becoming more universally accepted, but sustainable growth is not without its roadblocks. Following is a round-up of some newly released eco-building programs and findings.

     
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    2007 Gold Nugget Awards: Fields of Gold

    They are greenfields, brownfields, grayfields, and desert outposts. The 44th annual Gold Nugget Awards celebrate Western projects that transcend the norm and reshape the housing landscape as we know it. Don't look now, but the showy castles that dominated housing competitions in the not-so-distant...

     
  • Back Inside OutBusiness CasualEscape ArtistryBehind the ScenesAbout the Project SponsorsTech Away

    Passive thermodynamics have heated and cooled homes for thousands of years. Builder’s 2008 show home marries classical architectural principles with high-performance building systems in a residence that’s built to last. Distributor Electronics Source, using its expertise in consumer electronics...