GreenBuildingAdvisor.com's Green Architects' Lounge

Green Architects' Lounge - How to Choose the Right Mechanical System

With any house, there are so many variables that influence the decision to choose one particular mechanical system over another; climate, home size, cost, local availability and cost of fuels and materials, and the life style and preferences of the...

Green Architects' Lounge - Solar PV - Part 2

Enter the Dollar! Now it's time to start figuring out just how much these solar sytems will cost. Moreover, we'll find out how to calculate your return on your investment. Then Phil takes us out with a great song called...

Green Architects' Lounge - Solar PV - Part 1

The thing about photovoltaic(PV) Generation of electricity directly from sunlight. A photovoltaic cell has no moving parts; electrons are energized by sunlight and result in current flow. solar (or PVPhotovoltaics. Generation of electricity directly from sunlight. A photovoltaic (PV) cell...

Green Architects' Lounge - Guest Allison Bailes

Chris and Phil have a nice chat with energy auditing guru, Allison Bailes, As a Green Building Advisor and the man behind the Energy Vanguard, Allison knows his stuff. Together they discuss the new Energy StarLabeling system sponsored by the...

Green Architects' Lounge - Guest John Straube

The Lounge welcomes John Straube for a drink and chat about the latest news in Building Science. The drink ends up being of the caffeinated variety (due to the early temporal placement of the recording within the day) and the...

Green Architects' Lounge - Guest James Howard Kunstler

Some see the glass as half full, others see it as half empty. Jim tells you what the %$#@! is in the glass, how it got there, and what SHOULD be in the glass instead. Join Chris and Phil as...

Green Architects' Lounge - Designed to Built, Part 2

It's one thing to design a house, and it's another entirely to turn that design into a physical reality. In this episode, Chris and Phil kick back with an autumn cocktail and talk about the process of bringing on a...

Green Architects' Lounge - Designed to Built, Part 1

It's one thing to design a house, and it's another entirely to turn that design into a physical reality. In this episode, Chris and Phil kick back with an autumn cocktail and talk about the process of bringing on a...

Green Architects’ Lounge - Guest Martin Holladay, Part 2

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Green Architects' Lounge - Guest Martin Holladay, Part 1

You know him, you love him, (or at least his articles) it's Martin Holladay. He was in the neighborhood, so he stopped by to chat with Chris and Phil for this episode of the Green Architects' Lounge. This is your...

Green Architects Lounge - Net Zero Homes, Part 3

Phil and Chris finally get to talk about one of their favorite topics. Net ZeroProducing as much energy on an annual basis as one consumes on site, usually with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or small-scale wind turbines. Calculating...

Green Architects' Lounge - Net Zero Homes, Part 2

Phil and Chris finally get to talk about one of their favorite topics. Net ZeroProducing as much energy on an annual basis as one consumes on site, usually with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or small-scale wind turbines. Calculating...

Green Architects' Lounge - Net Zero Homes, Part 1

Phil and Chris finally get to talk about one of their favorite topics. Net ZeroProducing as much energy on an annual basis as one consumes on site, usually with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or small-scale wind turbines. Calculating...

Green Architects' Lounge - Passive House - Part 3

You've probably heard about 'Passive House' (or 'Passivhaus'). And like Phil and Chris, you can feel the buzz in the air from it within the green housing community. It's a building certification that is focused completely and only on reducing...

Green Architects' Lounge - Passive House - Part 2

You've probably heard about 'Passive House' (or 'Passivhaus'). And like Phil and Chris, you can feel the buzz in the air from it within the green housing community. It's a building certification that is focused completely and only on reducing...

Green Architects' Lounge - Passive House - Part 1

You've probably heard about 'Passive HouseA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist,...

Green Architects' Lounge - Home Energy Monitoring - Part 3

In the final part of this episode we talk about the cost of some of these home energy monitoring systems, and what the future holds for this budding industry. Phil share Hot Zigg! (a good idea) (or so he thinks)...

Green Architects' Lounge - Home Energy Monitoring - Part 2

In this part of the episode, Chris, Phil, and Peter discuss the different types of home energy monitoring systems and what you should expect from each.

Green Architects' Lounge - Home Energy Monitoring - Part 1

Peter Troast of Energy Circle stops by to share a drink with Phil and Chris and share his knowledge on Home Energy Monitoring Systems. In Part 1, Chris shares a 'Pomini' cocktail recipe and Peter explains what energy monitoring is,...

Green Architects' Lounge - Ground Source Heat Pumps - Part 3

I sent an email out to Jeff Gagnon and Jim Godbout and asked them five basic questions about ground source heat pumpHeating and cooling system in which specialized refrigerant fluid in a sealed system is alternately evaporated and condensed, changing...

Green Architects' Lounge - Ground Source Heat Pumps - Part 2

In part one of this episode from the Green Architects' Lounge, we only scratched the surface. Now it's time to really dig in and decide if a ground source heat pumpHeating and cooling system in which specialized refrigerant fluid in...

Green Architects' Lounge - Ground Source Heat Pumps - Part 1

If you've done any amount of research on ground source heat pumps, chances are likely that you've heard from those who have said that you'd be insane to consider this as a viable system for your house, AND you've heard...

Green Architects' Lounge - Biomass Boilers - Part 3

In Part 3, Chris, Phil, and Pat wrap up their discussion on BiomassOrganic waste that can be converted to usable forms of energy such as heat or electricity, or crops grown specifically for that purpose. Boilers with a chat about...

Green Architects' Lounge - Biomass Boilers - Part 2

In Part 2, Phil Chris and Pat continue their discussion on gasification Log boilers and introduce Pellet boilers to our listeners.

Green Architects' Lounge - Biomass Boilers - Part 1

With over 20,0000 barrels of crude oil spilling into the gulf of Mexico every day as a result of the BP Deep Horizon disaster, there has never been a more important time to explore and advance the use of renewable...

Green Architects' Lounge - Deep Energy Retrofits - Part 3

This is the last part of the Green Architects' Lounge three-part series on deep energy retrofits. In this episode, Phil and I are basically wrapping up the segment. We discuss the importance of sizing your new HVAC system to the...

Green Architects' Lounge - Deep Energy Retrofit - Part 2

This is part two of the Green Architects' Lounge three-part series on Deep Energy Retrofits. In this episode, Phil and I discuss what we feel is the most crucial part of a DER, the exterior building envelope. There is no...

Green Architects' Lounge - Deep Energy Retrofits - Part 1

Deep Energy Retrofits - Part 1: Our Nation is full of an existing housing stock in desperate need of improvement. There is scarcely a greener thing to do than to assign our collective architectural skills to the task of improving...

Green Architects Lounge -- Solar Thermal

Passive Solar Design

Green Architects' Lounge - Air Barriers

Maine architects Chris Briley and Phil Kaplan look at air barriers — one of “The Big Three” topics (along with insulation and windows) of green construction. They also share the recipe for their Cocktail of the Week: the Simple Charm.