It's The Custom

In this rendering from architect Jeff Day you can see how Active House utilizes natural lighting and energy via windows and lot placement to conserve energy.

We are in the middle of two very exciting and important weeks in the construction of Active House USA. As you can imagine, it takes a team of highly skilled hardworking people to partner together to build a new, custom home. And with all of the industry leading technologies and techniques that are going into Active House USA, the partners involved in the project are as enthusiastic as they are dedicated to making this project successful.

Over the last few months architect Jeff Day has worked closely with the homeowners, as well the Hibbs Homes and Verdatek Solutions crew and project partners, to design an innovative green home that also blends seamlessly with the surrounding, historic neighborhood of Webster Groves, MO. Visually the home is at home with it’s neighbors, however the energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and the attention to the surrounding environment are features that the rest of the block would be hard pressed to keep up with. In fact, the design fits within in the neighborhood so well that Active House project manager Matt Belcher of Verdatek Solutions overheard many people who visited at an Active House Alliance conference booth in Europe commenting on how traditional and all-American the design of the home is compared to the other prototype homes around the world.

Consulting partner & Active House project manager Matt Belcher with homeowners David, Thuy & Cameron Smith.

To make way for Active House USA, the previous house on the lot was torn down yesterday, and the homeowners were there along with friends and family to watch this very important first step towards their new home take place. Homeowner David Smith was even manning the equipment during the first few swipes, taking down the front porch and front facade before turning it over to the pros.

Next week marks another important Active House milestone-groundbreaking! Hibbs Homes, Verdatek Solutions, Active House Alliance members, will be there along with local leaders and the homeowners to mark the official start of construction on May 2 at 10:00am. In the weeks following the ceremony, construction crews will start getting to work, and the goal is to have the home certified, the homeowners moved in, and have Mizzou’s monitoring set and ready to go by this fall.

You can find out more about the project and follow the progress by heading over the the website ActiveHouseUSA.com, and find out more about Active House and the Alliance by heading to ActiveHouse.info.

Image credit: Microgrid Energy

As St Louis Cardinals baseball fans, we have a lot to be proud of-a World Champion Team, Willie McGee, and the fact that our home team is one of the teams in the MLB that is one of the leaders in sustainable operations. In addition to the ball club’s efforts in recycling and reducing energy usage, they have recently stepped up their game and made a massive energy overhaul by becoming the sixth team in the MLB to install solar panels in their park.

“St. Louis Cardinals’ fans may not taste the difference, but the next hot dog they consume at Busch Stadium could be cooked with power from solar energy,” said Microgrid Energy’s website. According to an recent post on Microgrid’s site, the team worked with Microgrid Energy, Electrical Connection, and Sachs Electric to install 106 solar modules on the roof of the ticketing building and a concession area canopy in the Ford Family Plaza that has the capacity to produce 25,000 Watts (W) total power, and around 32,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy annually.

The power collected from the panels is mixed with traditional energy in the stadium’s system and though it might just be a small percentage of the stadium’s overall energy usage, when looked at over the life of the stadium and combined with all of the other green and sustainable efforts the club has tackled, the St Louis Cardinals are hitting a home run for the environment.

And this weekend, when the Brewers come to town, they will be celebrating the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day and teaching fans about solar energy and recycling during their 3rd annual Green Series, April 27-29.

With 2012 Earth Day festivities just around the corner many homeowners are either starting a new push towards a more sustainable lifestyle, while others are taking the opportunity to reinvigorate their eco-friendly home and lifestyle. In the spirit of the coming celebrations we have three items for your home that look great and making living a green lifestyle a little bit easier…

Simple Human Recycling Trash Can-Separating your recycling can be a pain if you don’t have a proper set up inside. If you have limited space but want to install a recycling center in your home, Simple Human has a series of recycling trash cans that have double liners perfect for separating your waste from your recycleables – and they even have specially sized liners that will fit perfectly in the smaller can.

Algreen 50 Gallon Rain Barrel with Top Planter – An increasingly popular fixture in backyards and home gardens, and great way to conserve and reduce your water usage, are rain barrels. These barrels affix to your gutter down spout to capture runoff, which can then be used to water gardens and landscaping. Though many are simply designed to look, well more or less like a barrel, this urn shaped rain barrel looks like a garden decoration and even doubles as a planter.

Solar Powered iPad Charging Case – Electronics and their chargers are notorious for being power vampires.We recommend unplugging unused charging cords and appliances, or even better you can start using the natural energy of the sun to charge your iPad-straight form the case. The leather material makes for a great looking case, and the innovative solar panel saves electricity while keeping your battery from running on empty.

Going green can still be gorgeous…and with these great green home products convenient too!