Tag-Archive for » green design «

Going Green Monday; Radiant Glass
Tuesday, April 01st, 2008 | Author: Holly

Radiant glass was a product I did some research on for my interior design blog. I decided that the product was so environmentally friendly that I had to share it on this blog for going green Monday. Radiant Glass is glass that has be manufactured with an electric current going though it. The power that is run is the equivalent of running two light bulbs and in most cases a few pains of this glass will heat or cool your entire home year around.

Radiant Glass Industries makes this product and it really works well. Many users have claimed that they almost never run their heater and instead of feeling hot or cold next to a window it’s usually the best place to be. The glass is also fog resistant so that you can see out of it year around also. A great addition to any home that has an amazing view.

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Going Green Monday
Monday, January 07th, 2008 | Author: Holly

This addition of going green Monday is about a website called The Green Guide. This is a wonderful site I ran across while doing some research for next weeks going green Monday. They have many features, tips and products that will help you to live green and be healthy in the process.

They have a newsletter you can sign up for as well as daily tips for living green. There is a huge list of articles that can help you to live a green life. Today I read a great article about olive oil and what it does for you. I use olive oil a lot as it is healthier for you then butter and I think it taste a lot better too.

There is also another great article on green flooring. I talk alot about bamboo flooring on my Interior design blog. Bamboo is a great way to help the environment as it grows quickly and can be grown in many places. It also last just as long as other hard woods and can be stained any color.

Of course if you looking for some green design tips, stop here, then go on to The Green Guide for some more great info on going green.

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Going Green Monday
Monday, December 10th, 2007 | Author: Holly

The following is a paper I wrote: 

 

Geothermal Energy 

Geothermal heating is used in three different types of applications, heat pumps, direct use and generating electricity. There are many reasons to use geothermal energy, it will save you money on your electric bill and provide a constant source of heating and cooling. Right now that is very important to me as I watch heating prices rise along with gas prices.

Heat pumps are a common use in Geothermal applications, they can be used to heat or cool any type of building. The system works by fluid such as water being circulated through a loop of piping that is set underground. The fluid running through the piping creates a heat exchanger. The indoor system will extract the energy from the fluid to heat the building or it will add energy to the fluid to cool the building. This replaces the need for both a furnace and an air conditioner.

Geothermal heat without conversion into electricity is used throughout the western united states and in parts of the east. A district heating system in Boise, Idaho supplies more than 400 homes and a number of public and commercial buildings including the state capitol complex. In Iceland, geothermal energy is used to heat 85 percent of the country’s houses.

There are many industries that can use geothermal energy. It is used for such purposes as heating greenhouses, dehydrating vegetables, and pasteurizing milk. Drying onions and garlic is the largest industrial use of geothermal energy. Because of this success geothermal heating has been proven to be an effective way to heat businesses and homes and to help grow the crops our world needs to survive.

Geothermal energy can also be converted into electricity. In 1960 the country’s first large-scale geothermal electricity-generating plant began operation at The Geysers in California. Today, there are 69 generating facilities in operation around the country.

In the future geothermal energy could play an important role in agriculture, including greenhouses, aquaculture, and crop drying. In rural areas, ground space to install geothermal heat pump systems is readily available, and tax incentives may encourage their use.

I feel that this is a great system that could really help many people I hope that the government will really look into tax breaks or better grants for people who are willing to have this system installed now, not later down the road. This form of energy is not only good for your wallet is also good for the environment and could help to slow down global warming. These reasons alone would make geothermal energy a very attractive alternative energy source.

 

The above information was taken from the following sites:

http://find.galegroup.com/itx/start.do?prodId=AONE

http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/greenpower/renewabletech.htm#Geothermal

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Is Global Warming Real?
Monday, December 03rd, 2007 | Author: Holly

As an interior design student we talk alot about the environment and global warming. We talk about ways to decrees global warming by building green and recycling. The big question is does it even exists and what can you do to slow it down.

I think that even if you believe it doesn’t exists. pollution is still a true factor of life and many of the things that you would do to prevent pollution will help with global warming. So do those things. If you live in a city and don’t leave it often take a drive way out in the country. You must be at least 2 hours from the nearest major city. When you see the word village and miles of farmland around it your there. Step out of the car and breath. It smells different, you can actually breath better and you can see alot farther then you can in the city. Why? There is not as much pollution. Wouldn’t that be nice to have in your city?

So if pollution is real and pollution is a cause of global warming wouldn’t that make global warming real too? Now I don’t think it is just pollution that is causing global warming, but a natural warming of the earth that we have just helped speed up. So instead of it happening 5000 years from now, it may happen within the next 100 or 1000 years.

What can you do to help stop global warming. There are many things you can do and they will even help you save money. Use less heat and air conditioning by insulating your home. This will save you alot of money in the long run. Also buy better fuel efficient cars, Yes I know you like your truck or your gas hog hummer, but think about how much you spend in gas with one of those. If your not worried about gas prices, then you need to be donating some of that cash to charity instead of putting it in your gas tank.

If you have a good amount of land check into thermal heat. I have done some research on this and it’s a great system that will heat and cool your home using the constant temperature of the ground. It can even be converted into electricity. Perfect for the northern areas that don’t get much sunlight.

There are also many more ways to help stop pollution and global warming. I will be starting a new series on that called Going Green Monday.  I hope you enjoy it.  If there is a environmentally friendly system you would like to have featured or know more about, please comment here or contact me and I will get a post done about it.

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