I’ve been living with solar panels for almost 5 years now here in Massachusetts, and I thought it was time to take a look at how it’s been going. There’s been some twists and turns with solar production and how it’s fared going through the cold
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
Whether it’s to regulate the temperature of food, medicine, or people, we’ll always need some form of cooling tech to survive. We tend to turn to air conditioning to solve these problems, but that has us stuck in a positive feedback loop that isn’t at all positive.
Wind generates enough energy to produce about 35 times more electricity than the entire planet could even use each day.1 It's free, clean, and renewable, so why don't we see more wind turbines used on rooftops like solar panels? In a nutshell, it’s the
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
Forty-four million households rent their homes12, but are they left out of the solar energy world entirely? As the solar industry grows we’re seeing innovations not just on rooftop solar panels and efficiency, but we’re seeing new areas and ideas for how we use solar, like community solar
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
Solar power is on sale Maybe the biggest opportunity for homeowners is through the Residential Clean Energy Credit. The government is returning 30% of costs for installing solar energy in your home through federal tax credits. So for example, if you spend $10,000 setting up a solar power system,
When it comes to heating and cooling our homes or producing hot water, heat pumps are proving themselves to be one of the most energy efficient ways to go. However, there’s a category of material that could be used to efficiently produce hot water, or to reduce your heating
I recently visited the Ace Hardware trade show in Chicago, IL. The main theme of the show was sustainable electric tools and hardware. DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ego, and many more had a massive foot print with all the latest in electric battery powered equipment. While visiting each booth they were packed
From increased battery durability to smarter design, electric lawn mowers are improving every year. But how do they compare to their gas-powered counterparts? Here’s what you need to know, and what you should think about, before you decide to buy one: Pro 1: Less noise The first thing you’