Save-the-Date
~Final Mini-B Open House at Phinney Neighborhood Center~
Come by for a last visit before the Mini-B relocates to Clearwater Commons.
Plans are in the works for a “Mini-C”, come and learn more.
Sunday, November 6th, 1-4pm. Hope to see you there.
Energy drain from TV Cable Set-Top Boxes
Low hanging fruit? See NY Times article this past Sunday
There are opportunities aplenty for saving energy on the home front. Take this for example.. Cable TV set-top boxes number 160 million in the US, consuming $3 billion dollars of energy per year, more than the entire state of Maryland. Why are they not more efficient? Cable companies say customers will not tolerate the time it takes to reboot the system once the system has been shut down or put to sleep.
When asked why the equipment has not been designed for low energy consumption when not in use, The answer: Nobody asked us to use less.
Incredible?…..check it out at the following link.
www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/us/26cable.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=energy%20TV%20boxes&st=cse
Joe Giampietro
Cleveland SmartHome – Passive House
Passive House Enthusiasts!
Great article in today’s Seattle times about the Cleveland SmartHome – a Passive House. You can check it out at the link below.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/mobile/?type=story&id=2015341741
Joe Giampietro, Architect
Certified Passive House Consultant
Green Home Tour at PNA
>> >> Joe G
Mini-B on a warm day
I get this question regularly since the Mini-B is so well insulated. Well….?
What would you do now, in the house you live in today?
Open the windows? Mini-B has windows! Amazing! And it works! I tried it out this week with temperatures in the 70′s. I open the two side windows downstairs and the loft window….and….. The inside temp was lower than the outside temp since the thermal mass kept the house cool from the night. Another option is to turn off the heat recovery wheel in the ERV and ventilate without recovering the heat, sort of like opening the windows but now you have filtered air coming in.
Pretty simple….and that’s the plan with Passive House.
Joe Giampietro
