The Varying Degrees Of Eco Friendly Homes

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These days, most everyone wants to do their part to lighten the load on the planet and that’s why the topic of eco-friendly homes is popular.  The thing is that this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to  build your house partially underground or invest in a lot of expensive building practices or even buy a new house at all.

Even if your house wasn’t built to be eco-friendly is still quite a few things you can do to make your house more environmentally friendly.

Benefits of Using Eco Friendly Home Products  - Here’s some of the benefits you will experience when you  start using eco friendly products in your home – going green can be done a little at a time.

Of course, there’s a lot of benefits to building a new eco-friendly home as well as changing some of the things you do in your home or keeping eco-friendly materials in mind when you renovate your home. Doing some eco friendly upgrades can help you save money as well as save the planet.

Reduce, Reuse, Remodel: Eco-Friendly Home Upgrades that Pay You - See how making money-wise and energy-wise home remodeling decisions can make a huge impact upon your return on investment.

Eco Friendly Homes Offer a Glimpse into the Future  - The Greenhabbing101 blog shows you  how Eco Friendly Homes Offer a Glimpse into the Future.

Here’s some eco friendly homes I’d love to live in:

Joyce’s Eco-Friendly Home House Call  -  ”We live in an eco-home that we designed and built on the foundation of a 1959 ranch. It was designed to embrace the beauty of simple natural materials, open spaces, and

Green, Beautiful & in Control – Not Just an Eco House w/ Sustainable Architecture

Silicon Valley ishome to countless Hi-Tech inventions, so it’s no surprise that we found a house here that is so cutting edge, so environmentally friendly that some people are calling it, “The World’s Greenest Home”……

EcoFabulous Construction – Green Sustainable Eco-Friendly Modular Home in Canada

This EcoFabulous Home was designed by Kanau Uyeyama Architect Inc. an architecture firm that has been researching eco-friendly solutions for many years. In 2008 they put all their  knowledge to the test and designed and built the EcoFabulous Home:

Tour Our Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Green Home

Here’s a tour of one of the eco friendly homes thanks to the joint efforts of Reclaimed Space and Ecofabulous. Dwell on Design Conference attendees are treated to a personal tour and a shot at taking home the prize as the eBay auction begins.

Live in Luxury with Rammed Earth Homes

Rammed earth homes can be interesting to live in and to look at:

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Green Architecture

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Green architecture is becoming more and more mainstream as more people take an interest in having an active role in preserving our planet. Indeed, building green homes and furniture is probably one of the most interesting and rewarding jobs today.

But what is green architecture, really?

Green Architect – Making the World a Better Place to Dwell - We always hear the term sustainable architecture used everywhere, but what does it mean? What should we sustain?

What Is Green Architecture?

Here’s a basic explanation of what green building or architecture is.  Basically it refers to building homes with the environment in mind, such as recessing the home in the ground for natural heat, strategically placing windows to gain natural heat or planting large trees to shade and cool the house. Find ways to …

There are some people coming to the forefront of the green scene when it comes to architecture and design:

Green Designers & Architects to Watch in 2012 - The search for sustainable solutions often yields the most innovative results—and that’s what keeps us forever fascinated with green design. From furniture and accessory visionaries to the brightest modern architects, take a

…Of course, if the government has it’s way, green building will be stifled as evidenced by this article over at TreeHugger:

Congress Goes Through With Ban On Green Building at Department - Can this government do any more damage to the green movement?

Green Architecture In The News:

Lynchburg wins the gold for going green – Lynchburg News and Advance

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Lynchburg wins the gold for going greenLynchburg News and Advance”To date, there have been some gold buildings in Virginia, but not a lot,” said Amanda Adams of CJMW Architecture, who served as the project’s LEED consultant. “So this is very signific …

Seattle’s Bullitt Goes Green With Toilets, Cooling Hat: James S. Russell – Bloomberg

news.google.com

BloombergSeattle’s Bullitt Goes Green With Toilets, Cooling Hat: James S. RussellBloombergEnlarge image Bullitt Foundation Bullitt Foundation Miller Hull Partnership via Bloomberg An architectural rendering of the Pike Street side of the Bullitt Foun …

Choi Jeong Hwa’s Artistic/Architectural Approach to Life – Green Building Elements

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Choi Jeong Hwa’s Artistic/Architectural Approach to Green Building and reusing commonly found goods that would otherwise be added to our growing waste facilities are the very fundamental concepts of green architecture and some really cool looking homes and designs.

Green Architecture – Part 1

How do we design for a sustainable future? Check out why some of the leading pioneers in the green field have to say when Leadel.NET takes a look at the future of Green Architecture

 

These videos below show some cool homes made with green in mind:

GREEN ARCHITECTURE

Green architecture is also the title of a very interesting book by James Wines, which was the basic inspiration for this video.

Green, Beautiful & in Control – Not Just an Eco House w/ Sustainable Architecture

Silicon Valley, is home to countless Hi-Tech inventions, so it’s no surprise that we found a house here that is so cutting edge, so environmentally friendly that some people are calling it, “The World’s Greenest Home”……

 

7312 Annette Modern Green Homes Austin Texas

Modern Contemporary Green Home in Austin Texas in award winning modern neighborhood. Awarding modern architecture and award winning modern subdvision. Unique Modern Home in Modern Home Subdivision 5 miles from Downtown Austin. This is an Agave Archit…

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What’s So Cool About Eco Friendly Schools?

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Learning how to “go green” should be part of any teaching curriculum which is why I hope that eco friendly schools will become a big part of the future.

In fact, the number of them are growing exponentially and have been for the past 10 years.

Not only do most of these schools incorporate green living into their teachings but the thing that makes them cool is that the buildings themselves are designed to be more eco friendly. Everything from using solar panels for energy to using less water. It’s a great way to help reduce the overall strain on the planet as well as show students how being green can be cool.

Eco friendly schools aren’t use a fad either. May communities are requiring that new school buildings are built greener and many new schools are leeds certified which means that they adhere to certain requirements.

Having a green school is perfect for younger kids because it helps them learn more about conserving resources. But it can also be pretty cool for college kids and there are some eco friendly colleges that stand out.

Arizona State University, for example, has the largest set of solar collection panels of any university campus in the US. Since 2007 this university has offered a School of Sustainability – the first of its kind in the states.

The College Of The Atlantic in Bar Harbor ME has been carbon neutral since 2007 with all of its power from renewable resources. And it should be no surprise since Human Ecology (the relation of humans and the environment) is their only major.

The University of Maine has a unique twist on eco friendly schools – it offers the use of bicycles to faculty, students and visitors so that they can reduce driving.

Virginia Tech is perhaps one of the greenest schools with 15 graduate majors and 17 undergrad majors in the areas of sustainability. They also have huge programs for green building, recycling and alternative transportation.

All this green school stuff is very cool now but it will be even cooler in the future when graduates of all these schools (our future leaders) are much more environmentally aware than the current generation.

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Building Green Homes

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When it comes to building green homes there are many companies that will accommodate you.  Of course, there are different levels of green building so you’ll want to make sure you know exactly what you want and are on the same page with your builder.

If you are considering a green home, the first thing you will probably want is to get a hold of some green home plans.  One of the best places to look is Leap Adaptive:

You might also want to educate yourself on green building technology and the practices that are available in your area.  Some areas of the world are more advanced than others when it comes to building green homes so you really need to read up on what can be done in your area.

Once you have a good idea of what you want, the technology available and your price range, then you need to look for some builders in your area that adhere to green practices.  There’s actually a directory of green builders you can use to find ones in your town:

http://directory.greenbuilder.com
What's it like to build a green home?  Here's a video that outlines the experience from a couple of different viewpoints:


Once a rarity, building green homes is becoming more and more mainstream. If you are having a home built, there is no reason why you can’t incorporate at least some “green” elements into the design and building materials of your home!

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Eco Friendly Flooring

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Is eco-friendly flooring a must have for your families health?

What if I told you that studies have proven indoor pollutant levels are from between 2-5 times higher than they are outside and all because of the kind of flooring you use – would you still consider using the same kind of carpets and flooring?

You see installing these kinds of floorings fills the air with hundreds of volatile organic compounds – known commonly as VOCs, and include carcinogens such as formaldehyde and benzene. It can take years for these substances to disappear from the atmosphere inside the house and as if that was not enough – carpets need to be cleaned and treated with toxic chemicals to repel soil and moisture! Carpets are also notorious for trapping toxic lawn chemicals, allergens and VOCs that are tracked in from outside, by means of shoes and pets.

It is for this reason that going for sustainable, eco-friendly flooring options is a must! Not only would this minimize health problems but one can find extremely stylish choices to pick from that are many a time less expensive than traditional floorings. These floorings are made from recycled and eco-friendly materials making your way to decorate your home, a responsible and healthy one.
Following are some of the eco-friendly options for flooring:

Cork

Even though softwood is not the ideal choice of flooring, cork is a good alternative for many reasons. It naturally elastic and hence very comfortable. Moreover, the wood provides thermal and acoustic insulation and the durable feature of the floor ensures that marks are not left from high heels or furniture. Furthermore, the floors are hypo-allergenic and repel dust, fire and insects. As if that was not enough, they are made from the bark of the cork oak tree, which actually grows back every three years. So damage to the environment is minimal, if not completely non-existent.

Tiles and Linoleum

Tiles and Linoleum are a colourful way to light up the room and are preferable for kitchens and bathroom. They are easy to maintain, available in a large variety and for every price range. Moreover Natural linoleum floors are a good eco-friendly flooring solution as they are hypo-allergenic as well as biodegradable!

Carpet

There is a wide variety of sustainable carpets available nowadays. These are made with natural fibres that have undergone little or no chemical treatment. Another kind is carpets with natural fibre backing that is attached with less-toxic adhesives. Similarly, purchasing natural carpets made of woven wool, jutes, natural sisals and sea grass is another choice. These use minimal levels of natural latex and toxics. Moreover, one should choose carpets that have lightweight padding or padding made of recycled materials. When installing the carpet it is advisable to use water based, low-VOC glues. Another safe alternative is tacking the carpet as this can help eliminate many of the hazardous pollutants that result from using chemical based glues. Lastly, during carpet disposal it is best to send it to a carpet recycle that will reuse the carpet, albeit in a different form.

Bamboo

This is a popular eco-friendly flooring option and is known to last longer than most conventional hardwood floors. This flooring too is naturally resistant to water, mildew and insects and is sustainable due to the fact that bamboo grows back quickly and in large quantities.

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Eco Friendly Kitchen Ideas

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We live in a world that now requires us to be “green” and environmentally friendly. This applies not only to our day to day lives, but it also applies when we are creating something that will endure heavy use and last a long time. Kitchens and kitchen remodels fall into this enduring use category, and if you are either building a house that needs a kitchen design, or you are in the midst of a kitchen remodeling project, trying to be eco-friendly should be part of your plans. Here are a few eco-friendly kitchen ideas you might want to consider:

Cork, Bamboo or Recycled Flooring: When it comes to green materials for your remodeled or new kitchen design, your choosing an eco friendly kitchen flooring can go a long way towards being green. Consider using a cork, bamboo or some other type of natural or recycled flooring product. There are a number of options out there, and most are very durable. The most readily available recycled flooring is a rubber flooring. These are made of 80 – 100% post consumer product including tires. Rubber floors are extremely durable and come in a variety of colors and styles. Cork and bamboo, while not recycled, both offer quickly renewable products that don’t require deforestation of millions of trees to produce these types of floors. Both cork and bamboo are natural products as well.

Reclaimed Wood Flooring: If you prefer an older, more traditional or even antique look, you might want to consider reclaimed wood flooring. This is exactly what it sounds like; used wood that has been removed from another house or building, then reconditioned and made ready to install in your home. For the rich warmth of aged wood, this product can provide the look without destroying more trees.

Eco-friendly Lighting: When you choose the lighting for your new or remodeled kitchen, you can use products that will keep to the green theme. First, look to the types of bulbs you will use. Fixtures that have CFL bulbs rather than incandescent bulbs use one quarter of the power. LED lights can reduce energy consumption by 80-90%. Lamps and fixtures that use LED lights are usually built exclusively for that type of bulb. CFL bulbs can be used in any fixture that accepts a regular incandescent bulb. In addition to artificial lights, also consider the use of skylights and sufficient amounts of energy efficient windows in your plan. By making natural light readily available in your kitchen, you can significantly reduce the need for artificial light sources, at least during the day. You may also want to consider solar powered options for lighting.

Recycled Counter Tops: Recycled glass counter tops are quickly becoming a popular product for use in kitchens. These glass counter tops are very durable, and have a variety of styles that actually mimic the look of granite and marble. They are a mixture of recycled glass with a concrete base, or resins that are non-petroleum based that can be used for safe and beautiful eco-friendly kitchen countertops.

Energy Efficient Appliances: When you are ready to outfit your kitchen with new appliances, be sure to look for appliances that are marked with the energy saver labeling. All large appliances are now energy rated, so you will be able to comparison shop for the most efficient ones out there.

Solar Power: While many people think that solar energy only comes in the form of a whole-house system that includes panels that cover the roof of your home, there are other options that can provide solar power for efficient applications that are much less complicated. Rather than taking on the large scale solar conversion for all your electric needs, you could consider a small solar system that runs your water heater to take care of all your hot water needs. These systems are compact, and designed to work exclusively on your electric hot water heater system. This type of system costs only a fraction of what a whole-house solar system costs, and can save you hundreds of dollars per year off your electric bill.

Once you have your new eco-friendly kitchen in place, there are a few things you can do every day to be more eco-friendly and live a greener life in your kitchen:

Use Fabric, Not Paper Whenever Possible: This goes for shopping as well as kitchen clean-up. When you do your grocery shopping, opt for fabric, reusable bags to carry home your purchases. This keeps literally tons of plastic and paper out of the landfills each year. Another fabric to opt for is in the towels you use. Opt for cloth towels for your kitchen clean-ups rather than paper. Not only will you be keeping all that extra paper out of the landfill, but you’ll save a bunch of money not spent on paper towels.

Composting: Start composting your kitchen scraps. You can create rich organic soil from the materials you compost. Simply put, composting is a process that allows you to place food, coffee grounds and other kitchen scraps in a pile created outside. The materials added go through a natural rotting process that eventually turns them into a product that can be added to soil in your garden to provide nutrients. Composing is relatively easy and another way to keep unnecessary waste out of the trash.

Use Green Cleaning Products: There are more and more green cleaning products available to use in your home. These environmentally friendly products don’t use harsh chemicals to do the cleaning. They are derived from natural and safe materials that do a great job cleaning things without putting anything dangerous into waste water. You can also come up with some of your own green products with things around the home, like vinegar to clean windows or baking soda to get stains off dishes.

Use Local and Organic Produce: A delicious way to keep up with your eco-friendly kitchen is to try to buy as much organic or local produce as possible. Organic produce is popular because the farming process used to grow organically doesn’t deplete the land and doesn’t introduce any chemicals into the soil or plants. Whether organic or not, using local produce is a great idea as well because it supports local business and you know where the product is being grown. Best of all, it doesn’t get shipped across the country in a truck, and it is usually picked fresh at the peak of it’s ripeness, so it just tastes better.

Whether your redoing your kitchen or just trying to do things better, you can make many changes that will lead to a more eco-friendly kitchen in your home. It just takes a bit of attention to doing the right things, and it will eventually become your way of life.

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Green Roofs Have A Lot To Offer

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You probably never thought of your roof as helping out the environment, but green roofs can actually be a big help, a fun place to hang around and look pretty cool too.  Green roofs, or living roofs are just that – a roof that is alive with grass, trees, plants and more.  Of course, you need a flat roof to pull this off which is why they are often rewerved for condo and apartment buildings.  A green roof can help the environment as well as provide an oasis for city dwellers.

Naturally, these types of roofs need to be installed in a certain way to ensure proper drainage and that roots don’t cause damage to the roofing structure.  So you don’t want to just run up to the top of your apartment building and throw down some dirt and grass seed.  Here’s some tips on green roofs and what it takes to build and enjoy one:

What is a Green Roof in LA Produced of? | LeClair Enterprises

A green roof in Los angeles serves being a excellent insulating technique within this city where the sun shines generously all yr round. A green roof not just helps make a residence or any constructing seem beautiful,

Publish Date: 08/06/2011 7:33

http://www.leclairenterprises.com/2011/08/what-is-a-green-roof-in-la-produced-of/

Organic Gardening » How to Create a Green Roof

13 responses to How to Create a Green Roof so far. Follow any responses to this post through the RSS feed or trackback from your own blog. BCWakePark commented on August 6, 2011 at 4:49 pm. Try Citysoil

Publish Date: 08/06/2011 12:30

http://organicgardening.lurns.com/how-to-create-a-green-roof/

Are there any bad things about green roofs/living roofs? | Go

are there any bad things about green roofs?Hi, I was.

Publish Date: 08/05/2011 22:31

http://gogreenliving.org/are-there-any-bad-things-about-green-roofsliving-roofs/.php

And green roofs for sloped residential homes might not be too far off in the future!

Earth Day 2011 – Green Roofs

Wanna see some green roofs in action? There’s nothing better than a video to show off what a living roof is really like:

Vancouver’s 6 Acre Living Green Roof

The roof of the Vancouver BC Convention Centre is covered with over 2.5 hectares (6 acres) of native grassland. Usually closed to the public, we were able to get a tour and interview with the landscape architect of the project, Bruce Hemstock. This i…

New York City Rooftop Farm

It’s got a view to die for. Rooftop Farms atop a warehouse in Brooklyn grow more than 30 varieties of organic fruits and vegetables, including heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, aubergines and green onions. While green roofs are nothing new, the sheer scal…

Sky Gardens – Greenroofs of the World E#2 – Cook+Fox Architects Office

This is our latest Sky Gardens — Greenroofs of the World™: The Cook+Fox Architects Office episode in Manhattan, New York. In the summer of 2006, Cook+Fox Architects decided to set a greener, healthier example with a roof that absorbs stormwater, low…

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Can You Really Live In A House Made Of Straw

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Remember the three little pigs? The first pig built his house out of straw and it got blown down by the wolf, so can you really live in a house made of straw without it getting blown down?

Turns out you can and not only that but straw bale houses are extremely eco-friendly and don’t look as crazy as you might think. Here’s an article I found on a house in upstate NY that is made from straw bale construction:

 

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Eco House Design

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What’s an “eco house”? It’s one that is eco-friendly and uses “green” features and elements. This could be the materials that go into the house as well as the building practices used to make the house. Today, building green homes is getting more and more popular as many people dont mind spending a little bit more for this type of construction. Eco-friendly houses are not only better environmentally speaing but they are better for your families health too since they don’t contain a lot of the traditional materials that emit toxic gasses into the air.

Here’s some eco house posts I found that you might be interested in:

Eco Home Design in Oregon ~ Interior Design Files

Since then the house which features four bedrooms, a guest house, three stone fireplaces, a 32 feet long pool has been renovated and modernized. It was listed for $1595.000 by Realty Trust Group last May. Eco Home Design in Oregon

Publish Date: 08/02/2011 20:58

http://www.luxinteriordesigns.com/2011/08/eco-home-design-in-oregon.html

UrbanPeek.com » Flower Eco House

The Bolton Eco house concept idea has been presented to the city council and the scheme has already been approved as an exemplar project within the government's “Planning Performance Agreements for Renewable and Low

Publish Date: 07/19/2011 21:17

http://urbanpeek.com/2011/07/20/flower-eco-house/

The Tiny Eco House: The Way Of The Future

A group of students at Northwestern University have built a very tiny, zero net-energy house — with a toilet in the shower — being built on a trailer on Northwestern University's Evanston campus, will produce its own

Publish Date: 07/29/2011 12:17

http://www.planetfashiontv.com/whats-cool-now/artist-news/places/1946-the-tiny-eco-house-the-way-of-the-future

Wanna see what an eco house looks like? Here’s some videos from youtube:

Serbian Eco House

High electricity bills prompted engineer and inventor, Milenko Milenkovic to build his first eco-friendly house in the Serbian town of Boljevci. He says the dome-shaped house, 18.5 meters in diameter is up to 80 percent more energy efficient than a c…

Panasonic Prototype Eco-House in Tokyo, Japan

Eco-friendly tech house with fuel-cell electricity, smart appliances, and more.

AMAZING ECO HOUSE. RECYCLED MATERIALS, CEBU, PHILIPPINES

Here is one man’s passion to SAVE THE PLANET….He uses recycled materials to make his furniture, floors, decoration and other practical functions. Solar energy, wind, biogas recycled water for duck ponds, etc…and other amazing efforts to do his pa…

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A Green Home Adds More Value

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With more and more people becoming interested in lowering their carbon footprint, it’s no wonder that green homes are commanding higher prices and more interest. Of course, green building can be more expensive but for most the added cost is outweighed by the knowledge that their home isn’t loaded with toxic materials that will damage their health and harm the planet.

Building a greener home can have many different levels starting with the materials you put in the home themselves. At the very least, you want to use items made from sustainable materials like bamboo or materials that have been recycled from something else like old barn boards or counter tops made from chips of recycled glass. You might also want to look at the manufacturing methods of the companies making the materials and only buy from those that use earth friendly practices.

Here’s some “green home” notes:

Green Homes Sell for More, Studies Show | Un Mundo Sostenible

As green building pros know all too well, today's recession-weary home buyers are often more concerned with price than with a home's energy rating, durability, or indoor air quality. New research, however, reflects a

Publish Date: 08/02/2011 2:06

http://100sd.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/green-homes-sell-for-more-studies-show/

Will Building Green Increase My Home's Resale Value? | It's The Custom

Green home building isn't just a construction industry buzz word, it is a body of home construction techniques and practices that are becoming increasingly.

Publish Date: 08/01/2011 11:58

http://hibbshomes.com/itsthecustom/2011/08/will-building-green-increase-my-homes-resale-value/

Making Homes Affordable: Affordable Green Homes – eBooks Mall

Green homes are making homes affordable in two different ways. The purchase price of the home itself can be affordable for most middle class families, and even people looking to buy their first house. The other way green

Publish Date: 07/31/2011 5:02

http://www.ebooks-mall.org/main/2011/07/31/making-homes-affordable-affordable-green-homes/

What does it take to build a green home? People have come up with some innovative ways like the house built out of straw in Colorado:

“THIS NEW GREEN HOUSE”

SEE HOW A HOUSE IS REALLY BUILT OUT OF STRAW THESE DAYS! DESIGNED FOR COMPLETE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, THESE STRAW BALE HOMES ARE IN CRESTONE, COLORADO, A SMALL TOWN JUST NORTH OF THE GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK ,AT THE BASE OF THE SANGRE DE CHRISTO MO…

Here’s something more traditional:

Business: Home Green Home: Affordable Green Living – NYTimes

A development in Western Massachusetts features solar powered, tightly sealed and super-insulated homes, which are nearly off the grid and affordable.

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