Recent Green Living Posts | By Steve Rypka on December 1st, 2011  Green buildings perform well by incorporating a variety of ways to increase efficiency and enhance occupant comfort. Perhaps one of the most common strategies is daylighting, a means of utilizing natural light for interior illumination. It not only reduces energy usage, but provides natural, full-spectrum light that enhances our well-being. When an architect designs a new green building, they might employ several daylighting techniques. Obviously, window location, size, type and orientation play a key …(more) Continue reading From Daylighting to Moonlighting By Steve Rypka on August 25th, 2011  I found a great book and I’m recommending it to anyone who would like to know more about just what a high-performance home can be. It’s called “Recreating the American Home: The Passive House Approach” by Mary James. The publisher is Low Carbon Productions. Ms. James has put together an extraordinary and diverse collection of profiles describing homes built using the Passive House approach. The small but very informative book is easy on the …(more) Continue reading Recreating the American Home – The Passive House Approach By Steve Rypka on July 14th, 2011  Green living happens when we apply conscious thought to everyday life; when vision coupled with planning intersect at appropriate times. Setting yourself up for success is the key.
Since summer is here, let’s use an appropriate example. Most of us would not care to live in Southern Nevada without modern air-conditioning systems. We depend on them to get us comfortably through months of extremely hot temperatures. Like all equipment, they require regular maintenance, periodic repair and eventual replacement. We know this. It’s a fact. If your vision includes an energy-efficient, comfortable home then having an air-conditioning equipment strategy makes sense. Since these systems can be expensive, the first big hurdle is almost always money. Make regular savings a part of your plan. Living without a few frivolous do-dads or daily lattes can eventually add up to a substantial “green fund” to use when the time is right, whether for an AC upgrade or a hybrid car. I look at it like making payments in advance, avoiding interest while gaining flexibility and peace of mind. Continue reading Cool and Green. By Steve Rypka on March 10th, 2011  This column often explores the exciting transformation taking place in the building industry. Green building programs have grown and multiplied at an amazing rate in recent years. We’ve looked at Energy Star, LEED and even the Living Building Challenge. These programs are important because they raise the bar and provide real-world examples of what is possible, not just what is permissible. They drive innovation and change.
Each program has its own unique approach but they all share a common goal of creating a better world by improving the built environment. Energy efficiency is a key to every meaningful green building program but one program in particular takes it to an entirely new level of performance. I’m talking about Passive House, where energy use reductions of 90% are not uncommon. The term applies to many types of buildings, not just homes. Continue reading Passive House – Ultra Efficiency. By Steve Rypka on January 13th, 2011  I got to the gym a little late yesterday and it was already dark outside. After checking in at the desk at Sun City Anthem’s Liberty Center, I headed for the locker room. As I opened the door, the lights were out and it was pitch black inside. It wasn’t that late and the place was not closing down. The lights had been shut off automatically by a sensor that had not detected anyone in the room for several minutes. I smiled at the reminder that this was a LEED certified facility. Energy efficiency is part of its DNA. After one step through the door, the lights came on, acknowledging my arrival.
Continue reading Getting a Green Workout. By Steve Rypka on November 4th, 2010  When we have a choice to make, taking the high road means choosing the honorable or ethical course over some lesser alternative. In terms of housing efficiency, Nevada has a choice to promote an ethical path toward increased home energy efficiency and savings, or to maintain the dismal and expensive status quo.
I’m referring to legislation passed in 2007 to require a professional home energy audit whenever an older home is sold in Nevada. The requirement could be waived if both seller and buyer agreed to do so. To allow time for the industry to prepare, the activation date was set for January of 2011. I won’t bore you with the torturous details, but the bottom line is that due to opposition from industry trade groups, primarily the Nevada Association of Realtors, it may not happen. This would be a tragic outcome for the citizens of Nevada. Continue reading Energy Audits are the High Road. By Steve Rypka on October 21st, 2010  In my previous column, I emphasized the incredible amount of energy we use in our daily lives and how it is often taken for granted. A reader subsequently expressed his willingness to conserve energy but also conveyed some trepidation about NV Energy’s new “smart meter” program that is getting underway in Nevada. It seems that many people have similar concerns. It’s a timely topic and since it is still Energy Awareness Month, let’s take a closer look at smart meters.
Continue reading Smart Meters. By Steve Rypka on October 7th, 2010  October has been officially proclaimed Energy Awareness Month – again. The first proclamation was in 1991 and now for the second year in a row by President Obama. It’s good to reinforce the concept of energy awareness, and by proclaiming the same month again and again, our leaders are also setting a good example by recycling October, a valuable, limited resource.
All kidding aside, energy awareness is of vital importance to everyone. Most of us don’t think much about our energy use except when it’s time to pay the bills. Many complain about the high cost but do they really understand what we get in the bargain? Continue reading October is Energy Awareness Month. By Steve Rypka on September 9th, 2010  Mojave? What Mojave? There's no desert here... The choices we make about where and how we live have a tremendous impact on our environment, community and economic well-being. If we choose wisely, we can minimize the negative impacts while maximizing value. They go hand in hand. Well-designed, efficient spaces can be beautiful, functional and comfortably provide for our needs. Architect and “Not So Big House” author Sarah Susanka defined a relationship with “home” that is driven by quality not quantity. This is a timeless message that is often lost in our culture of consumption and growth. The term “bigger is better” means little when it comes to Green Living. Continue reading Right Sized Homes. By Steve Rypka on June 3rd, 2010  Energy efficiency has never been more important or more urgently needed. Our homes are taking on a new and very important role in terms of energy: they are becoming an integral and active part of the electric grid system. The existing model of electrical generation, distribution and use, one that has basically changed little for over one hundred years, is about to take a major leap forward. The change will provide benefits in the form of lower energy costs, greater comfort and control, increased reliability and security, and environmental healing. The premise is relatively simple: greater efficiency, real-time load management (down to the micro level), distributed generation and renewable energy. Homes will generate energy, share it with others when it makes the most sense, as well as use it much more wisely. The integration of these concepts will forever transform and improve the way we use energy while providing a major part of the solution to some of society’s most pressing issues. The details are complex and will take some time, but the seeds of change have already taken root and are sprouting. It’s a paradigm shift that will transform not only our homes, but our energy utility companies as well. Continue reading Energy Evolution: Efficiency is Key. | The Clark County Library District is sponsoring a series of five presentations on Green Living to be held at the West Charleston Library. I hope you can join us!
Download the flyer (PDF). Green Transportation: Getting Over Oil Thursday, May 31 6:30 p.m. The future of transportation is exciting and changing rapidly. Learn how people are saying adiós to the gas pump, saving money and helping the environment. |
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