Ted Owens

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 20)

  A straw bale wall is approximately eighteen inches thick,

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 19)

  Designing and building a green home requires quiet time—time to remove yourself from the semi-chaos of the actual construction so that you can re- focus on the

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 18)

  In the last post I spoke about the process of insulating the roof. We opted to install the insulation

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 17)

  Before I start to talk about insulating the ceiling, I want to make one additional comment on the windows. As a

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 16)

  In my last article, I spoke about the installation of the electrical wiring. Now we are ready to install the windows. This in one step in the building process that is very satisfying from a visual standpoint. Once the windows are in place, the various

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 15)

  The straw bales are now in place, and it is time to complete the rough-in of

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 14)

  This week's article will once again address the construction of the main house (the past few articles focused on construction of the workshop).

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 13)

  The small Japanese lamp (about 3 watts) is plugged into the same electrical outlet as the television and stereo system. This lets you know that there is power to the appliances. If you are not using the TV or stereo, the light reminds you to turn off

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 12)

  As my workshop was nearing completion, twelve solar panels arrived for the photovoltaic (PV) system. Six boxes—with two flat PV panels in each box— contained the entire electrical generation system

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 11)

  Continuing with the construction of the

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 10)

  Building your own home is no small task. It takes time, money,

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 9)

  Depending on the area that you live in and the local building codes, the straw bale walls can either support the roof directly (load bearing) or the roof can be supported by a post-and-beam structure. There are many ways to construct a straw bale or

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 8)

  As mentioned in article 1, thermal mass walls and floors help to heat and cool the home. The floor of this house is exposed concrete that has been acid-stained

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 7)

  In this article I will discuss the advantages of straw bale for the exterior walls. Unless you live in a climate where heating and cooling are not necessary, some sort of wall insulation will be required. Code will specify the minimal amount of wall

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 6)

  As mentioned in article 1 of this series, thick walls made of a heavy material such as stone or mud help to heat and cool the interior of the home. Most of the

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 5)

  The design decisions that you make on paper for your green home will determine the impact it has on the environment. The ideal green home is one that will last for over 100 years, yet, when the time comes, will dissolve harmlessly back into the earth.

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 4)

  Continuing on with my last column's topic of designing a home that is compact, and therefore space-efficient, this week I will discuss sailboat design as an analogy to house design. Form and function merge in sailboats made for cruising. The craft must

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  Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials (Part 3)

  Last week I discussed the importance of orienting the majority of the windows of the home to the south (if you live in the in the northern hemisphere). This adds nothing to the cost of the home and can make it dramatically more energy efficient in the