Category: On-Demand Green Home Videos

The typical American household produces a carbon footprint of an estimated 48 tons per year— approximately doubling the global average. We are a nation in need of an environmental makeover, starting in the home.

Lowing your carbon footprint may seem like a daunting task, seeing that humans themselves are made up of carbon. Many may wonder how they can reduce their household’s carbon footprint without sacrificing their entire lifestyle.  One relatively simple way to lower your carbon footprint, as well as make your home more environmentally friendly, is to start with your fireplace.

Gas Log Systems versus Wood Burning: A Question of Efficiency

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that America has more than 12 million wood stoves and fireplaces in homes present-day, 9 million of them being outdated and not up to the EPA’s standards. These burn at a rate that’s 50% less efficient than updated systems.

Thus, gas-burning fireplaces are largely more environmentally friendly and more efficient than their older, wood-burning counterparts. The EPA also claims that replacing your older fireplace will cut your need for wood by two-thirds, which effectively saves you a lot of time, money, fuel, and resources.

Emissions

Your car isn’t the only thing that has emissions—fireplaces have emissions as well.  While both wood and gas-burning fireplaces release emissions into the air, gas systems do so in a massively less significant portion. It’s been found that natural gas fireplace systems can have much less of an impact than wood— with 99% less pollutants. This huge cutback in emissions means your gas-burning fireplace will produce less unhealthy pollution in your home, as well as outdoors. It will also cut Creosote build up in your chimney, which is a highly flammable byproduct of burning wood in your fireplace; not to mention that you’ll no longer have to deal with pesky soot or ashes. A good rule of thumb is: the lower the emissions, the higher the efficiency.

Health Benefits

Not only does replacing your wood burning fireplace with a gas burning one reduce your carbon footprint, but it can also reduce health risks. A gas burning fireplace will naturally reduce wood smoke pollution, which has been linked to cancer, asthma, and a slew of other health issues. This simple change can make a big difference in your family’s health.

Vented and Vent Free Gas Burning Fireplaces

There are two types of gas burning fireplaces: vented and vent free. Each have pros and cons depending on what you’re seeking for your household. Venting gas-burning fireplaces, for instance, will expose one to less Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), but they do not produce as much heat as vent-free systems, nor or they as efficient. Still, both options are considered to be safer and more efficient than older, wood-burning fireplace systems. Regardless of which you chose, fireplace experts suggest installing CO detectors in any gas installation.

Vented or not, replacing your outdated, wood-burning fireplace with a gas-burning system is not only financially savvy, but is also a simple and safe way to:

• Lower your carbon footprint
• Reduce the health risks associated with burning wood
• Bring your home into a more environmentally-friendly and efficient way of life

Thus, hopefully you’ll stop to consider how you can make a difference in your own home, simply by reconsidering something as small as your fireplace.

Minnesota State Fair – Built to MN GreenStar Standards

For the third year in a row SALA Architects was honored to design the ECO House for the Minnesota State Fair’s Eco Experience. The General Contractor the did the work was Showcase Renovations, Inc. The 2009 ECO House is an innovative design solution using sustainable principles for domestic needs. This house’s focus is Net Zero, which we’ve defined as “using only as much energy as it produces on site.” The house features a south facing working facade that incorporates photovoltaic and solar hot water panels into the architecture. Not only does this working facade aide in the production of energy, it is designed to also serve the many other needs of the house such as; summer shading, winter passive solar heating, water collection, and operable thermal blanketing. Our goal is to design a house that not only responds to the demands of today, but also to the future needs of our planet.

By SALA Architects

For more information on this project visit www.salaarc.com.

Virge “believes that architecture has the power to change our lives. Our world is undergoing monumental shifts in climate due to natural evolution as well as the impact of human activity. Our firm is committed to the goal of utilizing environmentally sound materials, systems, design, and construction methods in the creation of our built environment, in order to reduce the impact of buildings on our environment.’Virge just recently completed the ITHACA home, a LEED platinum new construction in Gills Rock, WI that averages $30.00 energy bills and used low and no voc paints for improved indoor air quality. She is now working with WI’s premier rater Thomas Krawczyk on a new registered LEED rebuild in Sturgeon Bay that will target platinum and aim to reuse or locally recycled 100% of the existing home onsite in the new home. Learn more and follow the project.

Virge Temme received her Master of Architecture degree from the University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, and has been a professional residential designer since 1988. Widely recognized as an expert in the field of green architecture and sustainable design, Virge is often a featured speaker, panelist and author on these issues. Virge Temme Architecture, Inc. was founded in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1999.She is an active member of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) the Passive House Alliance and now GreenStar / AES!

Check out all her work and philosphy here at VirgeTemme.com

Maria Finsness is thrilled to have the opportunity for an internship with Greenstar this summer. It fits perfectly with her passion for environmental sustainability that she has had since high school.

Maria is going on to be a senior at the University of Minnesota studying Bioproducts Marketing and Management in the track of Residential Building Science. This unique major provides her an opportunity to be prepared for the growing future in sustainable construction. Along with construction, Maria’s other environmental efforts are put into urban beekeeping and ecology.

Maria will be spending her time updating, cleaning up and helping overall the Greenstar program, manual and checklist. Greenstar expansion is contingent on better user functionality of our checklist and up to date building science information and practices. Maria may be reaching out to YOU at some point for your feedback prior to roll out. I