Robert just returned from a week of lecturing at the international innovation school in Denmark, Kaos Pilot. The students and faculty there know of his interest in all things sustainable and Denmark is a haven for all things sustainable. Therefore, every time he goes to visit they take him on
Read more…
Amber Keenoy, the highly respected green building consultant and estimator very kindly mentioned the Green Idea House in an excellent article that is part of her weekly series: http://gogreenamericatv.com/global-green-sustainable-buildings/
Yesterday’s paper printed our letter (http://tinyurl.com/3e3jtb4) combined with a response from one of the uphill neighbors in the article from Saturday’s front page (http://tinyurl.com/3lketza). We are glad to see the neighbors are starting to understand that our solar array will be BELOW the height limit and we are building in
Read more…
Some of you may have noticed us driving a funny little car lately (see photo). It is a fully electric local use vehicle (LUV) and was lent to us by one of our partners, the South Bay Environmental Services Center. You can find out more about the benefits of these
Read more…
The latest crop of students from the Youthbuild program came for a tour last week. YouthBuild is an excellent program that gives at-risk inner city kids the opportunity to finish school and learn a trade at the same time. Graduates of the program have worked on the GIH and have
Read more…
Yesterday about 20 Southern California Edison Energy Efficiency Interns came to the GIH for a construction site tour. They were very interested and asked great questions. Doug Morino and Robert Casillas from the Daily Breeze also joined the group and got their piece published in today’s paper: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_18457632
Watching Bill McDonough’s expanded version of his TED talk at the Dwell conference Friday night was extraordinary. He is one of the key sources of inspiration for the Green Idea House.
Ed took the stage Sunday afternoon with a vigor and clarity that was masked in the nature of his “living
Read more…
Read about it in Eric Michael Stitt’s Beach Reporter article published this week.
Many thanks to the Easy Reader reporter Rebecca Zisser for a great article. During the tour she was very engaged, asked great questions and ultimately turned in a wonderful report. Thank you for your interest in spreading the word.
P.S. One small correction: “Fortunato first became interested in green technology
Read more…
We really appreciated the opportunity to be in the Water and Energy Expo in the morning and on the EPN Green and Solar house tour circuit in the afternoon.
We were impressed by the interested and engaged group that showed up. Thanks to all our friends (old and new) that
Read more…
Eric Michael Stitt very kindly marked our first big milestone: Owners save 97.5 percent of razed home
We didn’t feel it was fair if we entered LA County’s Home Energy Makeover Contest, but you still have 15 days to submit your entry at: https://energyupgradeca.org/county/los_angeles/makeover_contest
The conference, Green Building: Legal and Regulatory Realities is on March 18, 2011 in Santa Monica, CA. A discount of $100 off your regular tuition rate is available when you register by phone using the code “FAC101” to 206-463-4400 or 800-574-4852.
Read more about the conference here: http://www.theseminargroup.net/brochures/11.GRNCA%20Brochure%20ni.pdf
Everyone knows that burning natural gas is less harmful than other fossil fuels, but the process of shale gas drilling is certainly not natural and certainly not less harmful. Watch this 60 minutes piece to understand how the push to extract it from the ground is contaminating drinking water and
Read more…
Hermosa Beach is hosting an event on Jan 26th. Find one near you. http://www.sbesc.com/programs/residential
The groundbreaking ceremony of the Green Idea House was covered by CBS news and the local press and can be seen at the following links:
CBS News a 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFfsYUiaWyc
CBS News at 11:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt660JF3R1A
Easy Reader:
http://www.easyreadernews.com/2010/10/news/hermosa-beach/ground-broken-innovative-house
The Daily Breeze”
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_16260936
Hermosa Beach Patch:
http://hermosabeach.patch.com/articles/green-idea-house-is-now-shovel-ready
Our ground breaking ceremony on Tuesday could not have gone better. Thank you all for your support which made that possible. With well over 100 people attending or stopping by, it was great seeing old friends and meeting new. Everyone from our Mayor, city council members, planning commissioners, key members
Read more…
I am honored to be a lecturer at an innovation school in Denmark. The school, interestingly called KaosPilot, is doing amazing things in the world and is at the cutting edge of social and business innovation.
Half way through my week long series of lectures, one of their former students, Lukas
Read more…
You are invited to the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Green Idea House on Tuesday, October 5th, 8:45 am at 1556 Prospect Avenue, Hermosa Beach.
The ceremony will be done by 9:30 am; but information about the Green Idea House and the Southern California Edison Mobile Energy Unit (MEU) and demonstration
Read more…
We were proud to be a part of Hermosa Beach’s first Green Idea City Leadership Forum that brought together 70 environmental leaders in HB to support our city in being the first carbon Neutral City in LA County – if not all of Southern California. See agenda below:
HERMOSA BEACH
GREEN IDEA
Read more…
The Green Idea House is mentioned on pg 44 of Angelino Magazine’s August issue!
As we approach out fall start date, it is time to think about undergrounding our utilities. This is mandatory as we are doing a more than 50% renovation. In meeting with our local Edison Service Planner, Ryan, he had some great ideas for saving money. One of them was to
Read more…
As a direct result of Congresswoman Harman’s briefing at our house in October, Scott Gobble and the rest of the Edison team mobilized to make Hermosa Beach a beta site for Smart Meters!
Even though we are in a temperate climate (zone 6), understanding the climactic conditions is the first step to getting to net zero.
Dry Bulb Temperatures
C1Psychrometric Chart (CZ6)
Wind Speed and Direction
In terms of background, California’s Public Utilities Commission has set guidelines that ALL new residential construction will be net zero energy by 2020, and ALL new commercial buildings will be net zero by 2030.
We (and Edison) believe this project can act as a catalyst to change energy policy in the
Read more…
Typical Energy Consumption Profiles
Knowing when and how appliances are used helps us understand how to minimize their impact
The GreenPoint Rated label is the mark of quality for green home construction. It is a recognizable, independent seal of approval that verifies a home has been built or remodeled according to proven green standards. To make sure that every GreenPoint Rated home is healthy and efficient from the inside
Read more…
Passive Solar Heating in the Winter
This diagram depicts how the thermal mass wall in the stairwell
collects heat in the winter and stays cool in the summer
During summer months, the south facing lightwell window is shaded and prevents overheating.
During the winter months the low angles of the sun heats the thermal
Read more…
We started the project with a system of interdependent objectives that acts as a map and a compass. No project is perfect and this one won’t be either; but being mindful of these objectives keeps us on track when making decisions. We have found that it is particularly
Read more…
Mayor Michael DiVirgilio sees carbon neutrality as the future of the city.
