Green Building : Jetson Green

Bike Arc Modular Bike Park System

Commentators take pot shots at the bike storage and showers credit available in the LEED Green Building Rating System, but I've always liked it -- it's hard to ride a bike to work when there's no bike rack.  Certainly bike transportation is good for the environment, and Bike Arc has designed a modular bike park system that I believe will be huge in the next few years.  The company incorporated the system into several designs to suit different needs: the Rac Arc is low profile, the Umbrella Arc saves space (see video below), and the Tube Arc and Half Arc versions protect vehicles from the elements. 

Top 10 Green Building Products [2009]

As the magazine does every year, Sustainable Industries has just published its list of the Top 10 Green Building Products of 2009.  Selections are chosen based upon environmental performance, scalability / market impact, innovation, design aesthetic, value, and compatibility with LEED.  Download the guide at Sustainability Industries.  Here are the top ten:

Free Microsoft Hohm App Coming Soon!

If you haven't noticed, the big news today is Microsoft Hohm, a free online beta application that's rumored to launch sometime next week.  Microsoft Hohm will be a web-based service that takes information about your energy use -- not just electricity -- and examines it to provide recommendations to save money and energy.  Here's what you can do:

Honeywell Wind Turbine to be Sold at Ace Hardware Stores for $4,500

Last week, we mentioned that the small wind market is growing like crazy, and if things go as planned, there could be another turbine company to watch.  The Honeywell Wind Turbine from EarthTronics, according to Martin LaMonica of CNET, will be sold in participating Ace Hardware Stores starting this October.  EarthTronics claims the turbine can generate power at wind speeds as low as 2 mph.  With Class 4 winds, the turbine can generate about 2,000 kWh per year, which is roughly 15-20% of an average home's electricity needs. 

Small Wind Market Surges 78%, U.S. Manufacturers Making Money!

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) just released a new report, the AWEA Small Wind Turbine Global Market Study, detailing a sizable advance in the small wind turbine market in the United States.  Small wind turbines, you may know, are those with a capacity of 100 kW or less.  And the U.S. market for this niche grew 78% in 2008, with a total of 17.3 (MW) of new installed capacity.  The report indicates that the growth is due, in large part, to private equity investment in the sector, as well as economies of scale, rising electricity prices, and heightened public interest. 

Hella Efficient Exterior Venetian Blinds

I noticed BuildingGreen added these exterior venetian blinds to the GreenSpec Directory recently.  Hella exterior blinds are distributed in the U.S. through Savannah Trims and available in slat sizes of 2", 3.1", and 4".  The blinds are aluminum, have lateral tension, and can be controlled manually or electrically.  They're slick looking and come in a variety of heights, widths, and colors. 

Simple DIY Rooftop Solar Clover

Greentech Media broke news today of a prototype rooftop solar system made for simplicity, shipability, and affordability.  The system is being developed by Armageddon Energy and is aptly called a "clover."  The clover includes three hexagonal solar panels, a micro-inverter, and a triangular frame.  It's lightweight (check out the regular folks below doing installation work) and can generate roughly 400 watts.  The company just finished early stage testing and is readying a beta program for further testing. 

Living in a Tesla World [Video]

Transportation is inextricably linked with (green) buildings.  And for a number of reasons -- peak oil, national security, price gouging, and concern for the environment -- the current oil-based transportation system is dying.  Its death started with hybrids, and to a certain extent, continued with natural gas vehicles.  With the advent of electrical vehicles, we will all witness the slow, prolonged, and painful death of oil-based transportation.  Tonight Dateline NBC gave us a glimpse of the next generation of transportation in Tesla Motors.  The future of electrical cars is bright, but let's be clear: it's complicated, too.

The Venus Project, a Total Redesign of the World

The great American architect Daniel Burnham once said, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood."  The Venus Project is no little plan -- it's a proposal for a total redesign of the world.  From cities on the sea to mass transit, mega sky scrapers, and even colonies in outer space, it covers every angle.  Furthermore, it proposes to achieve all of this by switching to a resource-based economy and adopting radical lifestyle changes.  The plan is large, thoroughly documented, and beautifully rendered.  The architecture even comes with plans to build the machines needed to build these massive structures.  Here's a look at just a couple of the many concepts ...

Future Now: Solar Plug-in Stations

This is ChargePoint, an electrical plug-in station that’s powered and monitored through a smart network. It was developed by Coulomb Technologies, who recently teamed up with Carbon Day Automotive to add a new little twist. Coulomb and CDA coupled the ChargePoint with a solar photovoltaic array to create one of the nation’s first Solar Plug-in Stations. These pictures show a Solar Plug-in Station provided for the City of Chicago. You may be interested in knowing that this Solar Plug-in Station was designed by Chicago’s own Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (you know, the Eco-Bridge and Clean Technology Tower).