Green Building News

Fannie, Freddie Hold Firm on PACE Program Impasse

Posted on September 1, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

It’s final – at least to the extent any government agency’s pronouncement is final: homeowners who borrowed money through Property Assessed Clean Energy funding programs to pay for energy efficiency upgrades, including solar power installations, can’t refinance their mortgages without first paying off their PACE loans, according to guidance issued this week by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which underwrite most of the mortgages approved in the U.S.

The Big-Home Balloon Continues to Deflate

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

Just like a home’s energy performance and overall green credibility can diminish – or evaporate, in the opinion of some green advocates – when it is designed to McMansion dimensions, the market appeal of a McMansion can erode as homebuyers’ tastes change and they shift their priorities to reducing energy costs, landing a loan they can more easily afford, and using the home as source of shelter rather than speculative investment.

Divining "Dilbert" and Green Construction

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

Confusion is a powerful marketing tool. It often plays a fundamental role – sometimes for the better, but usually not – in the marketing of a wide variety of products and ideas, from consumer goods to government policy and political candidates to, most certainly, homes. And when it comes to the latter, consumers face few sources of confusion more potent than the word green.

Heliotrope: When a Home Becomes a Solar Hive

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

Heliotrope, a solar-powered house in Frieberg, Germany, with just under 2,000 sq. ft. of interior space, is hard to pass up as a blog item.

DOE Targets Innovation in Its Weatherization Program

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

After a sputtering start, the delivery of services under the expanded Weatherization Assistance Program has in most communities finally gotten up to speed. Now the Department of Energy, which runs the WAP, is looking for ways to enhance the energy efficiency improvements made to the low-income homes targeted by the program while also developing financial models and encouraging partnerships that will help keep the weatherization wagon rolling after its stimulus-funded grants have been spent.

Remodeling a U.K. Victorian for Passivhaus Performance

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

There are so many Victorian-era homes still in service in the U.K., it is small wonder they’re among the prime targets for remodelers striving to increase the energy efficiency of Britain’s housing stock. So it's no surprise the planned remodel of an 1860s Victorian row-house to Passivhaus performance standards has attracted the attention of many of the country’s residential retrofitters.

A Habitat in Mississippi Follows Two Paths to Green

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

A lot of Habitat for Humanity affiliates have been pushing hard to boost the performance of the homes that they, their homebuyer-clients, and teams of volunteers build, all the while keeping final costs in the affordable realm.

Traditional Styling, Passive House Construction

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

Short of training as a Passive House consultant, one way to immerse yourself in Passive House technology and practice is to have a home built to the standard and then live in it. That’s what Sarah Evans and her husband, Stuart Rue, have done with their two-story project in Salem, Oregon, which broke ground in August 2009 and earned certification by Passive House Institute US last month.

A Three-Home Project in Wales Aims for Serious Green

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

Wales is pursuing an aggressive low-carbon policy for residential and commercial construction, with strict requirements for energy efficiency, water consumption, and use of sustainable materials set to take effect September 1.

An NZE Project, a Tragic Fire, and a Will to Rebuild

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Richard Defendorf

On August 29, 2007, Montreal-based architect Sevag Pogharian broke ground on Alstonvale Net Zero House, a project whose ambitious energy efficiency design earned it one of 12 berths in the 2007 edition of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s EQuilibrium Sustainable Housing Demonstration Initiative program.

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