In The Beautiful Hudson Valley, A Community Called Green Acres Is In The Mist Of Building The Future.

Green Acres

The community is located in New Paltz, New York, a scenic and charming college town situated 85 miles north of New York City.

HVCE (Hudson Valley Clean Energy) , Bolder Architecture and Greenhill Contracting partnered to develop Green Acres as the first zero energy (ZEH) community in the United States and possibly the world. Finally, a trio of companies not just talking the talk, but actually walking the walk.

With several homes already completed and occupied, Green Acres is setting the standard for home building in the 21st Century. Through the use of combined state of the art technology, each home has the capacity to generate enough renewable energy to offset its annual energy needs.

The first resident of Green Acres tracked the daily performance of his 3,000 sq.ft. home. By the end of the first full year of occupancy, the home over-produced 1,733 kWh of electricity. Outstanding!

Some of the technology used to achieve net zero energy use :

• Solar (photovoltaic) Panels
• Geothermal Heating and Cooling
• Super Insulation & High-Efficiency Windows
• Heat Recovery Ventilation
• ICF (insulated concrete forms) – from foundation to roof

All homes are LEEDs certified for homes and contain energy star appliances.

VIDEO:

Green Acres is the place to be – eco-living is the life for me – (If you’re a Boomer, sorry for that tune rolling around in your head right now)…as the green future unfolds.

4 Times As Efficient and Lasts Over 20 Times Longer

Sometimes called the electronic light bulb, the induction lamp offers high efficiency and a very long life because it operates without an electrode nor a filament. At the center of the lamp is the induction coil powered by an electronic unit at the base of the lamp. This coil produces a magnetic field in the lamp that ultimately produces light. This coil is sometimes referred to as an energy-coupling antenna. Since the induction lamp has no filament to burn out, so the lamp does not fail catastrophically as do incandescent bulbs. As the phosphors in the glass housing age, the induction lamp simply dims. (more…)

Green Rebates To Coincide With Earth Day

The U.S. Congress appropriated $300 million nationwide to support state rebate programs for residential ENERGY STAR appliance products (those that represent improvements in efficiency compared to the majority of products on the market). (more…)

On Christmas Eve, an expectant Colorado mom went into cardiac arrest during labor and died, along with her baby. But miraculously, both managed to revive.

New Year’s Resolution!

Just thought I’d share
my New Year’s resolutions
with you…

I will respond to all e-mail
(except chain letters)
in a timely manner.

I will learn to cook something
both low-fat AND delicious.

I will cease and desist
any and all bad habits
for an entire year.
(or at least until January 2nd)

I will do laundry on a regular basis
before it becomes
a possible fire hazard.

I will pick one place
to put my keys and the remote
so that I don’t spend half my life
running around like an idiot,
looking for them.

I will seek true enlightenment
and the meaning of life.
(while occasionally
remembering to floss.)

And my #1 resolution
is to always appreciate
great people like you.

Happy New Year ©

Explore the potential impacts of climate change on our planet Earth and learn about solutions for adaptation and mitigation, in the context of the United Nation’s Climate Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen. Plus you get a
chance to see what all of words have been trying to communicate or as the old adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words!”

… As the green world turns!

Here is a wonderful way for you to see, learn and experience some of the latest in home technologies.

The Tour features ENERGY STAR® products, eco-friendly construction methods and innovative technologies to demonstrate to thousands of consumers how to integrate energy efficient products into their homes. High performance, low maintenance building materials, home systems, and appliances will be showcased. (more…)