By Eliza Laubach As falling leaves signal approaching winter winds, autumn is an ideal time to “bundle up” your home. Over time, building materials shift, which forces heating and cooling systems to work harder. And since many houses were built…
Blog Archives
This Green House
Appalachian University Builds Home With Solar Flare
Appalachian State University, partnered with a French university, will be the sole representative of Appalachia’s green ingenuity in the third European Solar Decathlon Appalachian State University’s net-zero energy home, shown above under construction in Boone, N.C., will compete in the event.
A Sustainable Habitat
By Sarah Kellogg Nestled in a mountain forest of oaks, poplars and rhododendron, a neighborhood of charming houses sits lightly on the land. These are the energy efficient homes of the GreenWood Community, a project of the Watauga County Habitat…
TAGS: community Greenwood Community Habitat for Humanity Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church sustainability Watauga
Gateway to Sustainability
By Kimber Ray For Patrick Ironwood, the point where the Sweet Gum Gateway home ends and the wild lands of the Cumberland Plateau begin is blurred, with the sweeping porch and edible landscape of Sweet Gum elegantly blending with the…
Growing Community in the New River Valley
Story and photos by Molly Moore From a curvy, two-lane road roughly four miles from downtown Blacksburg, Va., Arlean Lambert’s property is easily recognizable. Three solar panels are mounted by a pond in front of her ranch-style home. A verdant…
Microhydro Powers Mountain Farm
Our spring multimedia assistant, Matt Abele, traveled to Woodland Harvest Farm in Ashe County, N.C., to see how Elizabeth West and Lisa Redman are harnessing their creek’s energy to power their small farm and homestead.
Home Energy Tips
Making your home more energy efficient can sound like an expensive and complicated task, but in reality there are many easy steps homeowners and renters can take to convert a dwelling from an energy waster to a sustainable homestead. Below…
Two School Districts Go Green to Save Green
By Toby MacDermott North Adams Elementary is one of the greenest schools in southeast Ohio. With solar panels on the roof, wild turkeys roaming the grounds, and a design based on LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, standards,…
TAGS: Adams County/Ohio Valley school district energy conservation Energy Efficiency geothermal energy green building Scott County Schools Solar Energy
Recycling the Rain Brings a Barrel of Savings
By Paige Campbell Tom McMullen may be the most water-wise homeowner in the neighborhood. McMullen, his wife Amanda and their two sons live on six-tenths of an acre inside the town limits of Abingdon, Va. A small front lawn and…
These Green Houses:
Green Building 101
By Jeff Deal Green building might just be the world’s oldest construction style. Caves, lean-tos, waddle and daub, mud brick, stone pyramids and temples, wooden post and beam, Devonshire Cob; all are green building styles, some dating back more than…
TAGS: cob green building recycling building materials straw-bale sustainable building This Green House yurt
