I have written about a wind turbine in San Francisco: HGTVs World Greatest Homes. This video tries to strip the politics from wind energy and show the benefits that wind power can bring schools, farms, businesses and communities. Talco, is the video sponsor and they help customers install small-scale wind turbines.
Renovating a Neglected Log Home
Mark and I (Terry – your eco friend) have always been eco enthusiasts and dream of one day living in an off-grid home. A few years ago we renovated a Moose Mountain Log Home on 15 acres just outside of Calgary. This was a huge renovation and took just under 2 years to complete. Regretfully, […]
Off-Grid Timber Frame, Turtle Valley, BC
Marjorie lives in an off-the-grid home in the mountains near Turtle Valley, about 45 minutes from Kamloops in British Columbia, Canada. Marjorie is a strong and extremely self-sufficient woman and was the builder, designer and contractor for her Timber Frame home. She wasn’t completely alone as she had help from her 23-year-old son. Her dad helped with […]
World’s Greenest Home, San Francisco: HGTV video
We visited Robin last fall on our ECO tour and we were amazed at the extent of the green features in her home. The previous post is here: San Francisco Solar and Wind Powered Home. Robin really has to be commended. She installed the first wind turbine in an urban setting. This was to her home in central […]
Passive Solar using a Water Wall
I have blogged before on my friend Jack’s passive solar home. He toured us last fall Bellingham, Washington: Passive Solar, PV and Solar Thermal home. Passive solar, combined with a good heat sink (concrete, stone, masonry, water) creates one of the most cost-effective methods to heat and cool your home. With passive solar you have few […]
Heat Recovery Ventilation
There are many reasons to install a HRV system and several of the homeowners we visited included one in their renovation or build. Having a system like this becomes really important when you have a well sealed home and no system of air exchange. Mark and I had one installed when we renovated a log […]
Net-Zero, Leeds Platinum Home, Cupertino, CA
This home in Cupertino seemed to have every green and modern feature imaginable. Homeowners David and Stephania are 2 of 3 principles from “Integrated Design Associates, Inc. (IDeAs) is a California and Colorado based consultancy providing electrical engineering and lighting design services for buildings.” There were many exceptional green technologies used, but when it came […]
Off-Grid Straw Bale Home, Northern California
I had been really looking forward to this stop on the tour…some long off dream of living on an acreage with an off-grid home and my own art studio… that is my dream, Stan and Judy are living theirs. Stan and Judy live off-grid in an area of northern California between Mt. Shasta and Mt. […]
Extremely ECO Renovation, Belmont, CA
David of MyEarthBoundHome.com introduced us to two of his clients, both have lived in their homes for about a year. Yao and Chris, Belmont When Yao and Chris found a great home, with a fantastic view overlooking a 200 acre park, they bought it knowing that some renovations were required to bring this sixties home […]
Passive Solar Vented Sunroom, Eugene, OR
What made this John and Heidi’s home unique, was the Passive Solar sunroom. A bright glass room to the rear of the home, south of course. Yes, we have seen sunrooms before, but this one used this warmth to heat other parts of the home. The couple had pipes installed that moved this air throughout. […]
