When I first purchased solar panels 15 years ago, there was very little help for homeowners beyond other homeowners who had already gone solar. Solar panels were mostly the realm of do-it-yourselfers. I remember taking a protractor with a weighted string to our building site and trying to figure out our solar window from charts. Basically, solar success was by trial and error, but those days are over now. If you live in California, two new websites are offering services for homeowners wanting to explore their solar options.
Simply enter your zip code, select your region and utility company, then submit your average monthly utility bill. Renewzle will give you a "Solar Overview" that includes your recommended system, monthly cost, solar potential (including savings), average monthly emissions, etc. You can make adjustments based on your energy needs and then request quotes from multiple retailers/installers.
Sungevity Sungevity asks users to first enter their home address. Next, a virtual earth map pops up of your neighborhood, and you find your rooftop. Sungevity calculates your roof's dimensions, including the pitch and azimuth, and then selects appropriately sized solar arrays. You are then given an image of your house with panels installed, as well as a computation of your investment return. If you decide to purchase, the panels are shipped directly to you, and an installation crew is dispatched.
Since I live in a very remote region of Northern California without a real physical address, I could not get Sungevity's map to find my house. The virtual map is very cool, but it was much easier to simply enter my zip code on Renewzle. I did try Sungevity on a friend's house in Arcata, only to find out they are only serving the San Francisco Bay Area currently after I selected her roof. It appears Renewzle gives you access to many different suppliers and installers for quotes, whereas Sungevity provides only one option for purchasing. If I was a homeowner in California interested in solar energy, I would probably explore both sites to determine my options.
Ever wanted to have plants growing on your walls? Lifehacker suggests DIYers can create a plant wall from the above diagram, as the retail indoor wall plant hanger sells for $250. House plants are known for improving indoor air quality. I'd much rather grow plants to clean air than rely on an energy using air purifier. Besides, the plant wall is very cool for your green home decor.
Whirlpool has developed an eco-friendly concept kitchen inspired by natural ecosystems. This concept kitchen is 70% more energy efficient than standard kitchens. It is designed to use 60% of the water and heat generated from appliances to power other appliances in the kitchen. For example, heat produced by the refrigerator's compressor is used to heat water for the dishwasher. Why didn't someone think of this sooner?
There's no doubt that bamboo grows like a weed, but what about the processes used to turn bamboo into fabric and flooring?
LA Times: Green clothes: How green is my bamboo T-shirt?- This article states that farming is what makes bamboo clothing green, but that "strong chemical solvents such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH - also known as caustic soda or lye) and carbon disulfide in a process also known as hydrolysis alkalization combined with multi-phase bleaching" is used to break down the woody shoots and leaves. These chemicals are especially harmful to workers.
"growing it is really green, but manufacturing it into useful plywood boards, for anything that the tubular stalks won't do on their own...well, not so much. It's a pretty messy, intensive process; as such, it's important to look for bamboo made with water-based, formaldehyde-free adhesives with low/no-VOC finishes, if you're looking for some grass-based interiors."
"the manufacturing processes where bamboo the plant is transformed into bamboo the fabric are where the sustainability and eco-friendly luster of bamboo is tarnished because of the heavy chemicals, some of which are toxic, that are often required. Very, very little bamboo clothing would qualify as sustainable or organic clothes."
Bamboo can be processed naturally, similar to how linen is processed from flax, but "very little bamboo linen is manufactured for clothing because it is more labor intensive and costly."
Kitchen Composters: Consider the NatureMill Automatic
Considering buying a kitchen composter, but worried about the amount of work it will require? Concerned you don't have the yard space for an outdoor composter? Concerned about the smell? Consider the Porsche of composters -- NatureMill's automatic kitchen composter.
To use it, add your organic waste -- food scraps (including meat and dairy), coffee grinds, and even pet waste (yuck!), close the lid, and voila. NauralMill's composter uses the hot composting method -- mixing, air flow, heat and moisture -- to create compost without icky odors. The compost gets transferred via a trap door to a lower chamber so you can keep adding new waste and making more compost in the top chamber. Remove fresh compost every two weeks.
Worried about the energy such a composter might consume? From the NatureMill website:
A NatureMill automatic composter recycles its weight in waste every 10 days, diverting over two tons of waste from landfills over its life. This reduces emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas produced when organic matter decomposes in oxygen-starved landfills. Compost returns nutrients to the environment, reducing our need for chemical fertilizers. NatureMill uses 5 kwh / month of energy - or about $0.50/month - less than a garbage truck would burn in diesel fuel to haul the same waste. It is made from recycled and recyclable materials.
Here's something everyone needs: an emergency shake-and-go LED Flashlight. Shake it for 60 seconds and you get 30 minutes of bright white light from three LED bulbs.
The Princess LED Flashlight is great for camping, power outages, or to keep in your glove compartment. And, with no batteries and LED lightbulbs that last over 100,000 hours, it's good for the environment as well. Plus, it's waterproof (just in case).
Buy two or more and get 5% off each of them on Amazon.
Update: Sportsman's Guide appears to be sold out of their solar-powered LED lights, but Get Organized is carrying them for $20 for a 26' string of 60 lights. Buy them at Get Organized LED holiday lights.
We've switched our clocks for Daylight Savings Time. And what better use is there for that extra daylight than....solar powered LED holiday lights?
Sportsman's Guide is stocking these lights, available in strings of 50 or 100 bulbs, and in white or colored lights. Place these lights anywhere outside - cover your house, string them on a tree, deck the front bumper of your hybrid SUV - and the sunlight will recharge the battery. When the sun goes down, the lights turn on automatically. Voila! Twinkle, twinkle, without the high electric bills or eco-guilt.
The toothbrush handle is made of 100% recycled plastics, including at least 25% recycled Stonyfield Farm yogurt cups. The ergonomic, pea pod shaped handle makes it easy to grip. The nylon bristles are soft and gentle on kids' teeth and gums.
Each brush features a fun fact about one of three endangered animals: the Karner Blue Butterfly, the Utah Prairie Dog or the Grizzly Bear. And a portion of the proceeds from each toothbrush sale supports the National Wildlife Federation's efforts to protect endangered species.
As if good dental hygiene isn't a reward in itself.
Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup - BPA-Free for the Whole Family
BPA-free drinking vessels aren't just for babies and grown-ups. Check out your toddler's sippy cups to make sure they don't contain the dangerous chemical compound found in hard plastics. (Here's how to tell.)
The Klean Kanteen stainless steel sippy cup is safe and non-leaching, with no epoxy coating on the inside of the bottle. It comes with a non-leaching #5 polypropylene adaptor and #5 polypropylene sippy spout. (The Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup also works with the Avent Sippy Spouts - two of which are included - and is dishwasher safe. ) When your child outgrows the sippy spout, you can replace it with any other Klean Kanteen cap.
Inhabitat has a great article on how much it costs to create those amazing green buildings we all know we want around. Though green buldings are more expensive - isn't it worth it? Find out.
One of the key issues that plagues green architecture proponents worldwide is how the cost of green building compares to conventional construction. After all, if a green building is more expensive than a standard one, what incentives do the developers and moneymakers have to go green? Despite what you may think, thanks to a new study by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, we can safely say that building an environmentally-friendly building is not as expensive as commonly thought.
It's sunny in Sonoma and a perfect place for a giant solar topped winery to debut. The Medlock Ames Winery has come to full fruition beautifully with glowing wine reviews and an operation that is now 100% solar powered. The winery building, designed by George Riley of Sebastopol, incorporates passive solar design, natural daylighting and natural ventilation.
The PowerPod: A Green Home That Arrives In Cambridge, MA
Being Cambridge, MA residents we were very excited to see the news of greener homes arrive in the bay state. What's even more surprising was the fact the PowerPod is designed right in Massachusetts - Lawrence, MA to be exact. We'll have to check out their offerings and perhaps one day have a greener home ourselves.
The PowerPod is a modular home that incorporates many green design elements, including a solar butterfly roof that collects rainwater and includes an active solar array for electricity and hot water. Designed by Lawrence, Massachusetts based PowerHouse Enterprises, the PowerPod can be transported on two trailers to your site for assembly. Measuring just 480 square feet, the floor plan highlights an open living/dining/kitchen area that opens onto a front porch. High ceiling create a sense of spaciousness. A PowerPod home costs about $100,000 or $200 per square foot.
Want to bring the forest into your home? Artist and designer Katherine Ahern of Birch and Willow here in Boston makes one-of-a-kind pendants, sconces, and lamps from bittersweet vines, grapevines, reeds, sea grass, and stones.
The lamps are positively gorgeous, and create almost magical shadows and reflections. Pictured here are Ahern's Roost Pendant Lamp (above) and her Cairn Table Lamp.
Should Your Home Go Solar?
Here's something everyone needs: an emergency shake-and-go 
Update: Sportsman's Guide appears to be sold out of their solar-powered LED lights, but 
Continue reading: 
BPA-free drinking vessels aren't just for babies and grown-ups. Check out your toddler's sippy cups to make sure they don't contain the dangerous chemical compound found in hard plastics. (
The lamps are positively gorgeous, and create almost magical shadows and reflections. Pictured here are Ahern's 
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