When we talk about the circular economy, we picture batteries stripped for their metals, factory floor scraps spun into sweaters, and agricultural waste transformed into biogas. We don’t picture mucking out the barn to collect material for surgical masks and food packaging. Engineers are constantly looking for ways to
This is Ascent Milwaukee. A gorgeous combo luxury apartment and retail space. But if you look closely, you might notice something special about this building… Figured it out yet? It’s made out of wood. That’s right, aside from a concrete garage and elevator shafts this 25 story-tall building
In a recent heat pump video I covered how air source heat pumps are getting so much better in the cold, but in my new house I decided not to go with one. Instead I went with the more expensive option: a geothermal heat pump. Why did I decide it
Concrete, the literal foundation of our built environment, is the most commonly used man-made material in the world. But its key ingredient – cement – has a carbon footprint that rivals the world’s biggest emitters. Under pressure to reduce emissions, the global construction industry is reckoning with an array of innovative,
One of the benefits of a factory built home is that the insulated wall panels are assembled in a climate controlled facility. However, they still need to get assembled on site … and that’s when mother nature can take her revenge. My factory built house started getting raised on site
I’m in the process of building a new energy efficient, net zero modular home that’s being built in a factory. Why did I choose this path versus one of the many other sustainable and energy efficient methods like stick built passive homes, ICF, earthships, etc. (fill in your
Recently I’ve talked about my new net zero home I’m building, but not all net zero buildings have to be homes or houses. The same net zero, passive house concepts can be scaled up to large buildings, offices, and apartment buildings. In fact, I had a chance to
While less visible than motor vehicles and power plants, steel manufacturing is a similarly significant source of global carbon emissions. That’s why the global steel industry is now under pressure to turn to “green steel” production to help combat the climate crisis. Steel is the world’s most commonly
There are a lot of different paths you can take to get to a net-zero home. Everything from passive homes to earthships to modular and factory built houses. You can retrofit an existing building or you can build a new one. All of the options can make your head spin
You probably don’t walk barefoot on the road very often. It’s gravely, dangerous, and there are a million other reasons not to. But if you’ve ever been sitting on your porch on a hot summer day, and see the ice cream truck roll by, you might be
Graphene is considered one of the most important breakthroughs in material science since its discovery. This “wonder material” was widely overhyped, and still hasn’t lived up to its potential. But since my previous video on the truth about graphene, we can now see more concrete and realistic applications hitting