Image by allspice1

This week went by fairly quickly, even with the triple digit temperatures that we had here in Southern California. Luckily I was able to get a short mid-week break from the heat when we took our kids to a beautiful green park by the coast. Amazingly enough there was a 40+ degree difference in temperature.

Hopefully you enjoyed your week too! Now before you head out for the weekend, here are a few green stories I wanted to share with you in my ‘Weekly Greens’. As usual, there were many interesting, informative posts this week so this is just a small sampling of those:

1 – Please Leave Your Pets at Home in Hot Weather: Since it’s been so hot recently, I figured this would be a good post to share. Pets should not be left in the car under any circumstances. It gets way too hot. If you feel the need to take your pet with you, then really bring them with you, don’t leave them in the car.

Image by Rhea C.

2 – 10 Just-in-Case Items That Should Be Stowed In Every Vehicle: There is no “good time” to break down when you are driving. However, if you are prepared in case of an emergency, it could make a bad situation a little bit better. Do you have these items in your emergency kit?

3 – Best and Worst US Cities for Water Quality: Using and tossing away plastic water bottles is not the way to go. However, if you are going to invest in a good reusable water bottle, you might want to be knowledgeable on the quality of your city’s water first. (Of course, you can always use a filter either way.)

Image by Tambako

4 – U.K. Office Workers ‘Addicted’ to Paper: I think this can be said of most offices, whether you are in the U.K. or not. People have become so used to “proofreading” their documents by printing them first, re-printing, making copies for their co-workers or their big presentation, etc. Most of that paper ends up wasted.

5 – 22 Uses for Lemon Peels: By now, I’m sure you know I’m not fond of chemical cleaners. So this type of article is great for me. Besides, a fresh citrus scent in your home instead of a toxic chemical one, makes for a much nicer cleaning experience.

Image by the trial

6 – New Solar System Discovered: This was a pretty cool. Apparently this new solar system has at least five planets in it and the lineup of the planets is similar to our own solar system.

7 – Eco-living Tips: Reuse Your Plastic Bags: You’d think this one would be a no-brainer, but often it’s not. If you already have plastic bags around, use them, re-use them and use them again. Make the most out of what you have. Pretty simple, actually.

Last, but definitely not least, when you are planning your Labor Day festivities or End of the Summer parties, make you sure factor in these green Summer party saving tips. There you have it….have a wonderful weekend and stay green!

Image by dorena-wm

Sorry I’m little late on my ‘Weekly Greens’ edition for this week. I spent the last few days visiting with out-of-town family. It was very nice to catch up and enjoy some quality time with them.

Since I’m back now, let’s get caught up on everything from eco inventions to car-sharing tips to a ‘Weekend without Oil‘ to turning landfills into filling stations and more:

1. 15 Crafts Using Recycled Materials: These are simple but great projects for the weekend (or any day really). Especially if you have kids, this is a great way to teach them about recycling and that just because something is used once, doesn’t mean it can’t be used again for something “new”.

Image by knitsteel

2. Green Lite for Energy Conservation: This one is a current entry in GE’s Ecomagination Challenge. Did you know the average home can waste up to 3/4 of its power on phantom power loads? This particular invention, Green Lite, is designed to dramatically reduce those loads and thus cut down power use, waste and greenhouse gases.

3. Finding & Using A Car Sharing Service Near You: Car-sharing is a great solution for those people who only need a car every now and again. Why make payments on a car you rarely use? Why have a car of your own if you don’t need or use it that often? Car-sharing solves the needs for periodic car use.

Image by JoeBehrSoCal

4. Turning Landfills into Filling Stations: Back to the Future, here we come! Being able to turn landfill trash into fuel is a creative re-use of something we’ve already relegated to be “unusable”. Ideally, we can move away from our oil dependence, but until then I personally think something like this could be a smart use of quite a bit of landfill waste.

Image via Greenopolis

5. U.S. EPA Targets Cancerous Dyes, Toxic Detergent Chemicals: It’s good to see action being taken to remove harmful chemicals from products we use every day. It’s just a drop in the bucket, but every step makes a difference.

6. First Zero Energy School About To Be In Session: If you missed my Monday post, you should definitely check it out here. Richardsville Elementary in Kentucky is soon to be the Nation’s first net-zero energy school!

Image courtesy of SCBArchitects.com

Since there is only about a month left in Summer, I figured I’d end this week’s ‘Weekly Greens’ with a look at a few of California’s Hidden National Park Gems. If you haven’t had a chance to get away for a vacation, a weekend get-away or even a nice day trip, now is the time. Get outside and enjoy nature!

On that note, since you are already into your weekend, don’t forget to spend some time outdoors. Get some fresh air, get some sun, lay on the green grass and watch the clouds for a bit, go for a nice walk/hike, etc. Whatever you do, just get outdoors. You’ve earned it!  (But, if you can, please try to do it without oil because this weekend is a “Weekend Without Oil“. Learn 11 simple ways you can help reduce our dependence on oil.)

Earlier this year I shared the good news that Richardsville Elementary School was working towards becoming the first net-zero energy public school. As you can imagine, that is quite an undertaking and will be quite an accomplishment when it opens. Well…..as good news would have it, construction is nearing completion and Richardsville Elementary is on target to be open by the end of August!

As principal architect on this project, Kenny Stanfield AIA and LEED® AP (Accredited Professional), described it:

“For our team, the goal of achieving a net zero school was simply the next step – to go from a proven, design operating facility (Plano) that requires only 28 kBtus of energy per square foot annually to a facility that needs 18 kBtus to operate.”

The design for this net zero energy school was even awarded the Green Design Concept Winner 2008 Green Education Design Showcase.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with the term “net zero building”, it basically describes a structure that generates as much (or more) energy than it needs to operate. It does that through renewable energy resources such as wind and solar.  This doesn’t mean it isn’t connected to the electric grid, but it does mean the building itself generates more energy than it consumes.

Besides the fact that it completely generates its own energy, Richardsville Elementary is a relatively “typical” school in that it has classrooms, a gymnasium, cafeteria, library, etc. Another difference though is that it was designed and built as a tool to educate students on the value of energy conservation, solar, water conservation, recycling and more.

Let’s take a look at some of the features that take Richardsville Elementary up to the next level in educational building standards.

First there is the design layout of the school property:

As you can see, it includes a full array of solar panels on the main building as well as the covered drop-off/pick-up area in the parking lot. Renewable materials were used during construction whenever possible and ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) were used as a green construction measure to provide smart insulation. Additionally the building was laid out in a north-south site orientation in order to increase solar output and naturally conserve energy.

As you can tell from this picture of the front entrance, the building has a clerestory spine running down the middle of the building. This was designed to allow for maximum natural daylight and minimal lighting costs. The windows themselves are made from Nanogel® filled sandwich panel glass to provide a nice aesthetic for the building without lowering energy efficiency.

This photo shows the rear of the school building, with the media center on the second floor and a covered outdoor classroom below it. The stair towers to the left and right are encased by windows and decorated by sunshades at each level to minimize heat/glare.

The south facing facade (classrooms) clearly shows the use of daylighting as well as the incorporation of sunshade devices in the design and practicality of the building.

The new gymnasium floor was made mostly from bamboo with the dark hardwood sections salvaged from the old gymnasium. Acoustical wall panels were added to give the room optimum acoustics. You can also see a bit of the clerestory daylighting in place here as well.

With regard to the kitchen area, Energy Star rated equipment was used and combi-ovens were chosen as a healthier option to traditional fryers and skillets. So not only will the cafeteria be energy-efficient, it will be able to provide healthier food choices to the students as well.

In terms of overall construction costs, the building and site itself ran about $12,160,000 with the solar/Photovoltaic costs adding an additional $2,753,124. Bringing the total construction costs to a little under $15 million. As the building is 77,466 sq ft, that breaks down to approximately $193 per sq ft.

One note though, as this is a net zero building, the project was able to get a federal bloc grant through the Kentucky Dept of Energy for 50% of the solar costs.

If you are interested, you can follow some of the final construction via the Warren County Public Schools’ webcam.

A special thank you to Kenny Stanfield from Sherman-Carter-Barnhart for providing me with photos and additional information on this great accomplishment of the first net-zero energy school – Richardsville Elementary in Warren County, Kentucky. For more information on Sherman-Carter-Barnhart’s other green projects, you can check out their website.

Congratulations to all involved! Building the first net zero energy school is definitely a historical moment and hopefully there will be many more schools following suit. I can’t wait to hear more about Richardsville Elementary once school is in session.