Author: Matthew Cutler-Welsh
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145: How to build a passive energy home
Dennis Dowling produces finely crafted, passive energy homes in Queenstown. What’s a passive energy home? Basically, it’s a good quality one. If you’re looking to build a healthy, energy efficient home, then you want to find a building company like DCD. Part of my mission here at Home Style Green is to find these builders…
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144: A System for High Performance Homes
Beattie Passive is a complete system for high performance homes. I love the concept of ‘a house as a system’. I also love the idea of making it simple and easy to get right, and that’s exactly what Ron Beattie has done. As explained in their technical information, “The Beattie Passive system achieves superior levels of…
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143: Why is foam such a good building material?
Many people have concerns about using foam (polystyrene) because of the chemicals used to make the stuff. In fact some of those chemicals are on the Living Building Challenge Red List. So why is foam such a good building material? Foam is a Great Insulator It’s all about R-value. Foam is an incredible thermal insulator. For…
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142 Bamboo is Sustainable
Bamboo Technologies, LLC (Bamboo Living) design and manufacture structurally certified bamboo homes. Founded in 1995, Bamboo Technologies has produced over 350 homes in Hawaii and around the world. I spoke with founder David Sands about why bamboo is sustainable and a great building material. Bamboo is Sustainable The speed at which it grows is a key reason why…
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Eco Christmas Gift Ideas
Back in 2012 Sam Judd gave his ‘top ten eco-friendly gifts‘ for Christmas. Here’s my updated list of eco Christmas gift ideas to make your home (or someone else’s) a better place to live. Eco Christmas Tips Christmas time is a great time to be around family and to do some projects around the house. My…
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141: Are Passive House and Green Building Relevant in a Temperate Climate?
I love Rich Williams’ enthusiasm for what he does. Even if you don’t live in the temperate climate of San Diego, you can learn a lot about the relevance of concepts like Passive House for a better performing home. Alliance Green Builders are dedicated to ‘building tomorrow’s homes for today’. As well as being Passive…
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140 What happens when eco becomes mainstream?
Marketing can be used in an ‘evil’ way, but Kristy Hoare always wanted to use her marketing skills for good. She’s done this by helping to promote products that she believes can me the world better. As solar power and eco homes become more mainstream, it’s increasingly important to have somewhere to find unbiased information, and that’s…
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139: The Future of Green Design
The terms ‘sustainability’ and ‘eco’ are not obvious on Adam Taylor’s website. They are there (see if you can find them). But perhaps the future of green design is embedded in good design. Not something separate. Homestar Practitioner Among other things, Adam is a Homestar Practitioner. There’s nothing particularly special about this nowadays, except when you…
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138 Dr. Allison Bailes Energy Vanguard
Dr Allison Bailes III uses his PhD in physics and his background in teaching, to educate the world about better buildings. Through his company Energy Vanguard, Dr Bailes has been recognised as a great communicator, turning complex ideas like relative humidity and psychrometrics, into understandable fundamentals for better home performance. The Phsyics of Good Buildings…
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137: From Economist to Eco Homes
Jeffrey Dinkle has become a recognised leader in Atlanta’s green building scene. After originally training in economics and sociology, Jeff founded Eco Custom Homes. He’s served on the board of the National Passive House Alliance and is passionate about efficient, healthy, high performance homes. Like a few of my guests, Jeffrey started down the sustainable…