SanJoseGreenHome.com

Here is a great example how one can take an older home and make it more energy efficient with an element of smart design.  These home owners in San Jose could have built this sun room addition in an old fashion way but instead, they decided to incorporate a passive solar element that not only made their home more comfortable but also chipped off a few bucks off of their energy bills.  You will also learn a few more benefits of a cool roof and see a couple of them in action.

The technical info is fun and educational, however, your favorite part might just be the very end, where Sigmond shares a message with us all from his heart.  Enjoy.

If you have any questions for Sigmond feel free to leave a comment here or give him a call direct at 408-353-6727.

In a market where hardly anyone is building green in San Jose, this newly constructed house in Milpitas area stands as a monument of energy efficiency and inspiration.  

It is about 35% more energy efficient than a standard home and prides itself on green elements like engineered lumber, radiant barrier roof, solar water heater, energy star furnace, extra thick insulation, excellent indoor air quality and much more.  

Come with us on a video tour and discover for yourself what makes this property truly unique.

This beauty is a five year project by Green Earth Construction, a Milpitas based and family run company.  Sylvia Leung and her husband had a vision to go green 15 years ago and are finally able to marvel at the fruits of their labor.  In addition to what you’ve seen on the video, keep in mind that the home is wired for solar and if one decided to invest into solar panels, one’s utility bills for the most part of the year could be virtually zero.  Now that’s a good number, isn’t it? 

Building green normally commands higher costs so perhaps the most pleasant detail about this home is that when considering a dollar per square foot basis, the home is priced comparably to a 25 year old home.  If you like more details, you can find all the info under Featured Listings on http://GreenHomeParter.com.  Feel free to contact me directly with any questions. 

For obvious benefits, many home owners will remodel their home before putting it on the market for a better re-sale value. Being a busy Realtor, my job requires touring a lot of home listings. What I notice is that following the advice of their agent, the majority of folks pick granite counter tops as the choice to update their kitchens and appeal to the modern buyer. But is granite a true must when it comes to style?

Mining of granite so that our kitchen counters can look just like everyone else’s is not only becoming boring but is also blight on the environment. You see, most of it is quarried from an open-pit mine, which then just becomes an open pit that is often used as a landfill. Plus there’s the issue of how far the granite has to be transported and the carbon footprint it leaves behind. Some of the mines are in desert areas of the United States, but others are in China and India. That’s one long way for it to travel before it reaches our kitchen. That is not necessary.

If you are in a mood for a chic new look and a much more sustainable product check out recycled glass counter tops. You may be absolutely stunned by how great this product looks (I sure was). Your friends will always inquire about it and drop their jaws when they find out how it’s made.

At the West Coast Geen 2009 I interviewed Ryan Bloom. He works with IceStone products for Cerami Inc. In this video Ryan briefly discussed environmental impacts of granite mining and provides an overview of the new recycled glass countertops. It’s only 3 minutes long so enjoy!

Some hate him, some love him, but this seems to be the trait of every person that sets out to make a change with a bang…  In his view, protection of the planet is more important than preserving his own life.  His name is Captain Paul Watson, founder of SeaShepherd organization.

Some criticize him for his pirate ways, but most applaud him for his ingenuity on getting the job done given the available resources.   Some critique him for not being civil but the  people from whom he protects defenseless creatures are insane.  As he says himself, his job is to “confront the hypocracy of humanity.” 

Captain Watson has got to be the most controversial Environmental Activist on the planet right now. He says “We should measure the intellgince of human beings by ability to live in harmony with other species.”  Yep, sounds radical to the masses but I’m sure for most of us here, this is our mantra too. 

I’d like to share with you a video that paints a portrait of a true environmental champion.  This is a long video, about 30 minutes but if you want to see what drives a truly passionate activist you’ll see it here.  His courage is contageous, his dedication is inspiring.   (If you also want to watch the video below Captain Watson’s speech then  use caution, it’s graphic and it really shows hell on earth and the true stupidity of the people committing the slaughter of those whales. Why do they undertake this carnage every year? Because of tradition – that’s right – tradition.  The footage will speak for itself).

The annual Grind of the Pilot Whales by stranding and slaughtering them in the sea of blood. Torshavn, Faeroe Islands 23/7-2010 (more…)

Oh yes, it’s a bit scary out there, isn’t it… Ooooh, the real estate Halloween indeed.  Existing home sales nationwide fell 27.2 percent in August from the previous month to 3.3 million, new home sales are at the records low.  Brrrrr, chilly indeed. 

Bay Area, however, seems to be weathering the storm pretty well.  The inventory is slowly rising and sales are slowly dropping, nothing too dramatic for the time of the year.  Some buyers are out and about happily hopping around buying homes and some are understandably a bit apprehensive. 

So let’s see if we can broaden our view of the horizon though.  Yes, the market is not perfect but it rarely is!  The thing is… if it’s cloudy a bit but the weather is favorable, a good captain will sail out not waiting for the sun to come out because he knows it may not come out for a long time.  Goods will spoil, time will be lost, days will turn to weeks and months will go buy staying in port drinking rum.  Where I am heading is… if you want to buy a home – it is very unlikely you will time this market to find most optimal conditions.  Life is always in a flux and so are the markets, would you agree? 

You see, even though “experts” say a home is no longer a safe investment, no one is saying that a Mercedes is not a safe investment.  How about a new boat or that 401K at work… are any of these safe investments?  A house is a house, it’s a home, it’s the place where your children grow, and it’s where you spend your days and nights living your life.  One really can’t put a price on the kind of joy that comes with homeownership. Ask anyone without a home whether it’s a dream of theirs to own a home and you’ll likely hear a resounding “yes!”

You see, its these intangibles of home ownership that will keep this market alive.  You probably know (more…)

A small PETE device made with cesium-coated gallium nitride glows while being tested inside an ultra-high vacuum chamber. The tests proved that the process simultaneously converted light and heat energy into electrical current. Credit: Photo courtesy of Nick Melosh, Stanford University.

Solar energy, more commonly defined by the energy geeks as “radiant light and heat from the sun”, continues to be harnessed for energy production. As you may be aware, most accountable renewable energy invokes the following:

• Solar Radiation
• Wind Power
• Wave Power
• Hydroelectricity
• Biomass

The problem is, only a fraction of the radiation gathered from the sun is really used.

Scientists have always used both light and heat from the sun to produce energy, however, they hadn’t yet discovered a way to efficiently utilize both simultaneously – Until now!  A device out of Stanford University is promising not just one production of the solar energy but two by being able to harness the power of both light and heat.

A Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission device, or PETE device, is not only a state of the art technology but could potentially reduce the costs for the production of solar power to the point of where it could be a real competitor against oil as a source of energy. This is great for two reasons: 1) the environmental aspect of having solar power being a big player in the energy game is huge considering that it’s a renewable and clean energy source and 2) therein lies a real competitor to the oil industry. This is not to mention it also could open the door to (more…)