News Picks:

• ‘Desertification Danger’: A new report suggests 38% of the world’s land is at risk of ‘extreme deterioration’ due to human activities.

• Weather Chaos for Winter Olympics: Warmest temperatures on record in Vancouver threaten winter games due to lack of snow.

• NY Fashion Week Goes Green: For the first time ever, New York Fashion Week will have net-zero emissions levels.

Multimedia Pick:

HGTV’s Green Home 2010 recently posted an Outstanding Features Slideshow that has great ideas for green home design.








New and Cool Pick:

Swedish and American researchers are working together to create affordable energy-efficient glowing wallpaper using plastic panels and electrode technology.

I’m trying to be greener, but still practical. I guess I’m in the right place.

I’ve owned my home in Eastern Massachusetts for five years, and I’ve upgraded (sometimes by choice, sometimes not) much of the infrastructure in the house: the boiler, the washer and dryer, the refrigerator/freezer in the garage, the deck, and more. I’ve dumped enough money into this house that I’m wary of putting in more. Still, I’m intrigued by the “Cash for Appliances” program.

I’d love to upgrade some of the remaining original elements in the house, especially if Uncle Sam is going to chip in for it. I took advantage of similar programs over the past few years when I re-insulated the attic and put in central air conditioning. Everybody wins: my energy bills are lower and I’m dumping less into the environment. So, it’s a slam dunk, right? Bring it on!

Maybe not. We’re moving next year.

I really don’t want to drop more money into this house if I’m not going to get it back when I sell. Times are tough. And I’m not that hardcore.

CNN is reinforcing my worry, writing this morning that home-energy retrofits aren’t paying for themselves at resell time.

Nearly everyone agrees that performing an energy retrofit will make your place more comfortable and save a lot on bills. But if the retrofits don’t add value to the home’s price, will homeowners make the improvements, regardless of whether or not the government decides to pick up half the tab, as they are considering?

I think that a lot of the trouble is that the real-estate market hasn’t caught up to the green trends yet.

Part of the problem is that many real estate appraisers aren’t trained to look for energy efficiency upgrades.

…

[Appraisal Institute President Leslie] Sellers said the institute is currently running green certification programs that will teach appraisers how to better value upgrades like efficiency improvements.

Will Realtors and home-buyers be able to properly price these enhancements when they’re looking at a house? Eventually? Yes. In 2011? I don’t think so. To really be able to perform these retrofits if you’re planning on moving within a couple of years, the upgrades must pay for themselves as reliably as updating the 70’s bathroom and redoing the kitchen.

I want high-efficiency furnaces and zero-VOC paint to be this decade’s marble countertops. I just don’t think we’re there yet.

So, I’m probably going to hold off, even with the tax credit. I’m going to save that money and use it to upgrade the next house.

What do you think? Have you seen the housing market reward green retrofits? Let me know in the comments, or send us a tweet @practicalgreen.

One of my biggest pet peeves around home energy management is that I can set and monitor the temperature and if I try hard enough— kilowatt hours—but I can’t tell how much I’m spending as I’m spending it.  So every month, when the electric and gas bill show up, it’s a surprise.  Sometimes surprisingly low.  Sometimes, like this month, surprisingly, and ridiculously, high.  Had I known how much we were on track to spend, I can guarantee we would have cut back.

Fortunately, Earth2Tech reports that help is on the way.

In early January, the Consumer Electronics Show, the harbinger of next-generation gadgets and gizmos, featured its biggest showing of consumer-facing home energy management in my recollection, and at least five different home energy management devices launched, from heavyweights like General Electric, Control4 and Best Buy. A couple weeks later news broke that Apple has filed for a patent that focuses on managing the energy of its computing devices, suggesting that the firm has been eyeing the home energy management space. And this week Blue Line Innovations announced that it has started selling the PowerCost Monitor, a $99 energy management tool, to consumers via Fry’s Electronics.

This is all very good news, but like any new technology, it may be challenging to get it installed.  I’m sure there will be limitations on who can use it, bugs, and other things that make you crazy.  But it does suggest that homeowners may finally get an opportunity to easily monitor their energy spending and there is probably no greater incentive than knowing what you spend to change behavior.  Blue Innovations claims that trial users cut back by up to 18%!

And I, for one, will be happy for a world without January energy bill surprises.

Part of the Apartment Therapy family, Re-Nest features multiple daily posts featuring cool, green items for your home. But for those of you interested in green who also have a slight addiction to cruising online real estate photos of homes you can’t afford, the green home tour feature of re-nest is a blast.

Home tours range from a net zero energy home in Bellevue, WA to a recycled train caboose in Mercer Island to a reclaimed loft in Rhode Island.  Each tour has photos and an interview with the owners listing items like “Proudest DIY” to “Biggest Indulgence”.  The variety of design ideas is inspiring and the interviews informative.  If you are embarking on a renovation, or just needing a break from the daily to do list, these homes offer a glimpse of the possible, not just the practical.

Dual-pane windows are energy efficient windows that consist of two glass panels set in a frame, separated by a small space (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch wide). The space between the layers of glass are filled with nontoxic, inert gasses (such as argon) which add to the window’s insulating properties. The glass itself is often coated to reflect heat as well.

To learn more, go to:
http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/home/windows/todays_windows.html

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=windows_doors.pr_windows

A zero energy home uses state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building techniques and renewable energy systems to produce its own energy. A zero energy home produces enough energy to offset the amount purchased from a local electric utility. This offsetting results in a net-zero energy consumption status from the local electric utility and a net-zero annual energy bill.

To learn more (and to see some examples of zero energy homes), go to:
http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/designing_remodeling/index.cfm/mytopic=10360
http://www.toolbase.org/Home-Building-Topics/zero-energy-homes/zero-energy-home-project
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/En/research/buildings/zero_energy/index.htm

ENERGY STAR ™  is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy. ENERGY STAR provides energy efficient products and practices to help consumers make informed energy choices, save money, and protect the environment.

ENERGY STAR also provides strict energy efficiency guidelines and standards for products set by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy (these products can be identified with the ENERGY STAR emblem:

ENERGY STAR emblem

To learn more, go to:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=about.ab_index

An energy audit is a voluntary step taken to make a home more efficient. It helps you assess how much energy your home uses and evaluate what changes you can take to improve efficiency. During an audit, improvements are recommended and it is up to the homeowner to implement the recommendations or not.

Energy audits can not only enhance energy efficiency but lower utility costs and increase comfort inside the home.

To learn more, go to:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_improvement.hm_improvement_audits