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5.31.2012
Sharp achieves solar cell efficiency record of 43.5%
Thank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotty for any Home Improvement Projects or Energy Reducing Needs and Scotty, Scotts Contracting will respond ASAP. Company Web Address: http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
Great News for Windows with R30+Attributes
Light 12-Glazed Window on the Horizon
Light 12-Glazed Window on the Horizon
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Infographic: Home gardening in the U.S. | MNN - Mother Nature Network
As more and more Americans grow their own fruits and vegetables, MNN digs up some dirt on this DIY food revolution.
Infographic: Home gardening in the U.S. | MNN - Mother Nature NetworkThank you for stopping by St Louis Renewable Energy. Feel free to comment in the section below or contact Scotty for any Home Improvement Projects or Energy Reducing Needs and Scotty, Scotts Contracting will respond ASAP. Company Web Address: http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
How Much and Where From-Dirty-OIL
How much petroleum does the United States import and from where?
The U.S. imported approximately 11.4 million barrels per day of petroleum in 2011 from about 80 countries. This accounted for 45% of the petroleum consumed in the United States, the lowest annual average since 1995.
"Petroleum" includes crude oil and refined petroleum products like gasoline and biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. In 2011, about 79% of gross petroleum imports were crude oil, and about 60% of the crude oil processed in U.S. refineries was imported.
The top five source countries of U.S. petroleum imports in 2011, were Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Nigeria. Their respective rankings vary depending on whether you consider total/gross petroleum imports or net petroleum imports (gross imports minus exports). Net imports from OPEC countries accounted for 52% of U.S. net imports.
Top Sources of Imported Petroleum to the United States in 2011 In Million Barrels per Day (and Percent Share of Total Imports) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Import Sources | Gross Imports | Exports to Import Source | Net Imports |
Total, All Countries | 11.360 | 2.924 | 8.436 |
OPEC Countries | 4.534 (40%) | 0.126 | 4.408 (52%) |
Persian Gulf Countries | 1.862 (16%) | 0.019 | 1.843 (22%) |
Top Five Countries | |||
Canada | 2.706 (24%) | 0.295 | 2.411 (29%) |
Mexico | 1.205 (11%) | 0.569 | 0.636 (8%) |
Saudi Arabia | 1.195 (11%) | 0.002 | 1.193 (14%) |
Venezuela | 0.944 (8%) | 0.032 | 0.912 (11%) |
Nigeria | 0.817 (7%) | 0.015 | 0.802 (10%) |
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An Easier Way to Design Floating Stairs - Products, Molding Millwork And Trim, Walls And Ceilings - Builder Magazine
Stair Ways
Architect Jonathan Feldman knows the trick for creating floating stairs at a fraction of the cost.
- By
- Nigel F. Maynard
Staircases have often added a dramatic touch to a house, but in recent years architects and designers have discovered that there is also a practical and very important use for the contemporary floating version.
"[Floating stairs] can be very dramatic," says architect Jonathan Feldman, principal of San Francisco–based Feldman Architecture. But because they float, he adds, "Light can filter through them. It's one of the great architectural opportunities in a building."
The problem for some builders, however, is that floating stairs are not easy to execute. "They require real skill, they need good structural support, and because of the codes, they usually require tight tolerances," says Feldman, who often designs his homes with this type of staircase. "[They are] often a challenge for builders and contractors and usually expensive for homeowners."
But the quasi-floating stair Feldman designed for this 1860s house in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood is an exception to the rule. Instead of the typical structural support for a floating staircase, Feldman specified standard 2x4 and 2x6 stud framing, which was covered in traditional drywall.
The architect then put in place 3-inch-thick oak treads, screwing them into the framing below and cantilevering them over the structural support. "The treads were thicker than they needed to be," the architect says.
Not as visually heavy as a traditional treatment, the completed staircase permits light to filter down to the living areas on the first level. Plus, Feldman detailed the installation with 12½-inch-by-24-inch slate wall panels that snap into place with adhesive. But the best part of the whole process is that Feldman's staircase design cost 75 percent less than a typical floating version.
5.30.2012
Retrofit Turns Energy-Guzzling Home into Energy Producer - Green Building, Green Remodeling, Solar Power - EcoHome Magazine
Retrofit Turns Energy-Guzzling Home into Energy Producer
The extensive renovation achieved an 80% reduction in energy usage.
That's what Sara and Gareth Ross were thinking when they purchased an 1880s two-story house in Amherst, Mass., complete with green and white asbestos shake siding over lead-painted clapboard and a brick veneer addition. The roof was falling, the chimneys needed rebuilding, and the walls were uninsulated.
Despite its lack of curb appeal, the home's location was attractive, within walking distance to the town center and to shops, schools, and the local farmers market. In addition, its southern orientation was ideal for passive solar heating during cold New England winters, and at 2,000 square feet (plus 900-square-foot unfinished attic) the house would provide ample space for the Ross' family of four.
Although it was sorely in need of a facelift inside and out, the couple decided against demolishing the home and instead undertook a major renovation that would exponentially increase the home's level of performance while opening up and modernizing the interior. They also chose to renovate the attic into a guest suite and office.
The deep energy retrofit included a comprehensive insulation and air sealing package that provided an 80% reduction in energy usage compared with a traditionally built home of the same size. Project manager Andrew Webster of Amherst-based Coldham & Hartman Architects used a foam in/foam out approach that provided a high R-value with no loss of existing square footage and a robust air barrier. He filled interior cavities with Icynene open-cell foam and clad the exterior with Dow Tuff-R foil-faced foam.
Combined with an equally efficient roof assembly, Fibertec triple-glazed windows, and a low window/wall ratio, the airtight envelope provided whole-assembly R-values of 20 for the basement walls, 34 for exterior walls, and 57 for the roof. This reduced the estimated peak winter heat loss from more than 100,000 BTU/h to less than 30,000. The maximum cooling load was reduced from an estimated 6.8 tons to less than 1.5 tons, a more than 75% reduction in heating and cooling needs.
The old boiler, 40-plus-year-old furnace, and hot water tank were replaced with state-of-the-art high-efficiency equipment, including:
--a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heating and cooling system from Mitsubishi Electric, which allowed the home's less frequently used guest suite and office to be zoned separately;
--a Steibel Eltron heat pump hot water system; and
--a Venmar EKO 1.5 HRV for mechanical ventilation.
Are You Up for the Challenge?
Not every high-performance remodel meets the requirements of the 1,000 Home Challenge, which calls for drastic reductions in the energy use of existing housing stock through a combination of efficiency upgrades, behavioral choices, renewables, and community solutions. In fact, many builders and homeowners are surprised when their projects come up short.
"These houses have to demonstrate performance that is beyond what most people have thought of as readily obtainable," says director Linda Wigington, who encourages applicants to try again (and again) with solutions that lead to meeting the Challenge. There are currently more than 100 projects working toward meeting the program's requirements.
The free, pilot initiative is based on measured—not modeled—performance, and was designed to help remodelers and homeowners think beyond traditional weatherization strategies. "Lots of projects can achieve significantly greater reductions," Wigington says. "There's a lot of opportunity for reductions all along the spectrum of energy use, and I think that's really exciting."
To learn more about the Thousand Home Challenge and to register for a June 14 introductory Webinar, click here.
— Jennifer Goodman
RENEWABLE ENERGY
After researching federal and state incentives, the owners decided to implement one more technology that would push their project from energy efficient to energy producing: a 12.4 kW solar PV system from SunPower. Averaged over its first year of operation, the $70,000 grid-tied system produced one-third more energy than the home used. In the first six months of occupancy, the house earned $416 from the electric company in excess electricity.
Thanks to the extreme upgrades, the house qualified for a $32,000 Deep Energy Retrofit rebate from Western Massachusetts Electric and won the 2012 Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Net Zero Challenge. It is also the eighth home in North America to meet the requirements of the1,000 Home Challenge, an initiative of Pennsylvania-based home performance education organization ACI.
The 1,000 Home Challenge aims to demonstrate how remodelers, designers, contractors, and homeowners can drastically upgrade existing houses in order to alter their environmental impact, says Linda Wigington, ACI's director of deep energy reduction initiatives. Homes in the Challenge must show energy usage for one year that meets a customized threshold of at least a 70% better than average. In projects such as the Ross home where previous energy use information is not available, the threshold is based on location, square footage, and occupancy.
"We're showing that we can be doing things in a way that's not a little bit better or better than average but significantly better," she says.
With its state-of-the-art facelift, the Ross home now performs better than most new houses, Webster points out. "This was a chance to demonstrate the strategies that could be used in all kinds of existing housing stock, to show that older homes aren't lost causes," he says.
Hurricane Season Forecast!
May 30th, 2012 Will this season bring a big one? Find out!
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Create a Backyard Bird Oasis!Building a birdfeeder is a fun and educational project for your whole family!
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Looking Up: A Stargazer's Guide to June 2012 A quick look at what's going on in the sky during the coming month.
Read More »Catnip: It's Not Just for Fluffy! Catnip may make your feline frenzied, but it's good medicine for people, too.
Read More »Healthy Comfort Cooking for Spring The taste of comfort food without the calories!
Read More »Helpful Hint
To remove fish odors from hands, wash them in one teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in one quart of water. More in Home & Garden » Current Moon Phase
Waxing Gibbous
67% of FullMoon Phase Calendar » Today's Best Day Tasks
Bake, Cut Firewood, Mow to Increase Growth, Dig Holes, Wax Floors, Get Married, Buy Clothes, Entertain Friends, Host a Party
More Best Days » Gardening Tasks
May 30th - May 31st
Excellent Time For Planting Corn, Beans, Peppers, And Other Aboveground Crops. Favorable For Sowing Hay, Fodder Crops, And Grains. Good For Planting Flowers.Gardening Calendar » View today's full calendar »
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