Chilling out on A/C
Cranking the central air yet? We all know it’d be better not to heat up the planet just to cool our houses. Here are the best strategies for minimizing your house’s solar gain in summertime, courtesy of Reed Muehlman, a designer with Bushman Dreyfus. This way, you won’t need to put that dial on 10.
 Keeping sun out is the cool way to avoid running an air conditioner. |
If you’re building or remodeling, ask your architect about:
*Building location and orientation. “From the beginning, you are controlling what is essentially a natural thermostat,” says Muehlman, through decisions about which direction a house faces and where it sits on a site.
*Eaves and decks. The larger the eaves, the more shade they give. A second-floor deck can protect the first floor and provide a hangout.
*Windows. “It’s really easy to say, ‘I want a lot of glass, I want that view,’” Muehlman says. But big windows can let heat in, too. Low-E glass offers some protection.
If you want to cool an existing house, look into:
*Shade trees. “Think of the mature height of the tree before you plant it,” says Muehlman, lest you shade your garden as well as your house.
*Blinds, curtains, or shutters. Choose insulating blinds, opaque or translucent curtains, or shutters depending on your space. “To have open glass but closed shutters is a magical quality,” Muehlman says.
*A pergola or trellis. “In Albemarle it’s the grape arbor,” Muehlman says—in short, any structure that supports a leafy vine that will give some shade and, as a bonus, food.—Erika Howsare
Honor society
If you’re a regular Green Scene reader, you might remember the Hinge House, the first LEED house in the country built by high school students—specifically, young builders at CATEC, in partnership with the Gaines Group, a local architectural firm. The project provided challenges for both parties, but it’s paid off. In April, the Environmental Virginia Conference presented the Gold Medal Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award to the group. (The City of Charlottesville and UVA also received honors.)
 The Hinge House, built by high school students, is now officially award-winning. |
Working with a high school budget was daunting for the Gaines Group, but donations from Benjamin Moore and Pella Windows and Doors eased costs. Says Gaines Group designer Adrienne Stronge, “It really taught us that green design can be done for any budget.”
The student learning curve proved another small challenge: Since students learned as they built the house, the project schedule expanded a bit. (And really, what building project doesn’t?) On the upside, the next generation of green builders learned best practices and will take those skills to market upon graduation. Gaines says it hopes to work with CATEC again.—Sarah Jacobson
Second thoughts
It’s a bummer when apparently green products turn out to have hidden troubles. BuildingGreen.com recently published a notice that a University of Texas study has shed new light on some common building materials that were supposed to be environmentally friendly—cork wallpaper and perlite ceiling tiles among them. Although these materials are “biobased,” when they interact with naturally occurring ozone they can actually form VOCs, which green products are supposed to help us avoid. Research carefully before you buy.—E.H.
LEED and fixer-uppers
What’s the next frontier for LEED? The gold standard for enviro certification is getting into the remodeling game. The U.S. Green Building Council has just released an instructional manual for “environmentally preferable” re-modeling and renovating your home.
Based on the assumptions that remodeling means many things—from re-painting a hallway to gutting a kitchen—and that no two projects are the same, the USGBC has stuck with a comprehensive guideline, called REGREEN, rather than a certification. Practical suggestions for the average eco-minded homeowner range from paint choices to weatherizing strategies.
 Doug Lowe and other local green builders will be absorbing the REGREEN remodeling guidelines into their already-green practices. |
Local builders, including UpStream Construction and Artisan Construction, have been following green practices for some time, and plan to absorb the USGBC guidelines into their repertoire. Doug Lowe, owner of Artisan, predicts this document is just the first in a new wave of green re-modeling initiatives that will be appearing online, and says he plans to methodically adopt these green principles as they arrive. Translation? When it’s time to rip that bathroom out, you’ll have more and more ways to do it green.—Lily Robertson
Tips from Better World Betty: Inside the green basket
What is summer without the requisite afternoon picnic? This summer, treat the ubiquitous picnic guest—Mother Nature herself—more kindly with these green tips.
 |
*Choose your favorite greenscape, nearby vineyard (eight vineyards lie within 10 miles of Downtown), or romantic spot by the river and go local for the menu. Select fruits and veggies from the farmer’s market (Tuesdays at Forest Lakes 4-7pm, Wednesdays at Meade Park 4-7pm, and Saturdays Downtown and Scottsville 7am-noon), but be sure to ask about the farm’s location and spray protocol.
*For fancier fare, visit the Main Street Market. Local cheese from Feast!, a fresh baguette from Albemarle Baking Company, and some Gearhart’s chocolate will satisfy the greenest palate. Finally, toast to your pint-sized carbon footprint with a local beer (Starr Hill) or wine.
*Pack reusable plates (bamboo, recycled or biodegradable plastic work well), flatware, glasses, and cloth napkins.
*For those uninvited guests, mosquitoes, try Avon’s Skin-So-Soft bug repellent (an alternative to DEET) and chemical-free sunscreen from Burt’s Bees or JASON Natural.
Your summer picnic is now a brighter shade of green!
Check out Better World Betty’s local green-living resource list and blog at http://betterworldbetty.com.
By the numbers
70 million pounds
That’s the amount of pesticide applied to lawns, shrubs and trees around American homes each year, according to Grist.org’s book Wake Up and Smell the Planet. Guess where it goes? Into groundwater, lakes and streams, where it causes algae blooms and other mischief. Can you skip the chemicals this summer?