Energy and Housing


Book Description




Positive Energy Homes


Book Description

Positive energy homes enable people to live healthy and comfortable lives with energy left over to share. Creating a house you love that produces surplus energy is surprisingly easy with a thorough understanding of how buildings work and careful attention to detail in construction. The Passive House standard, with its well-proven track record, forms the basis for creating positive energy homes. This book explores the Passive House ‘fabric first’ approach, as well as the science and practicalities of effective ventilation strategies, smart options for heating and cooling, daylight harvesting, and efficient lighting and appliances. Positive Energy Homes provides home owners world-wide, architects and builders with an understanding of the principles and technical details of building these houses.




Energy Efficient Affordable Housing


Book Description

This book provides the first comparative assessment of the energy-efficiency retrofit programs in the social housing sector of Canadian cities, focusing on program efficiency and effectiveness. The analytical framework explores key policy instruments - regulatory, fiscal and institutional - in relation to major results achieved. The approach is interdisciplinary, supported by rich empirical data from case studies, observations and interviews. The book explores important strategies for the provision of green and affordable housing, while addressing climate change imperatives and resilience issues. This is of great interest to researchers, policy makers, city leaders, professionals and students. Its value added contribution to scholarship is complemented by practical relevance for social housing organisations in countries with a small residual housing sector. It offers valuable lessons for the design, planning and implementation of energy retrofit programs in North America and beyond.




Warm House Cool House


Book Description

This book does more than just explain the benefits of low-energy dwellings (lower power bills and more comfortable surroundings) and how average Australians can achieve them. It inspires and encourages the reader with examples of beautiful and comfortable homes that are energy-efficient and immensely livable. Illustrated throughout with photos, sketches and plans (including a colour section), all the examples are Australian from all our different climatic zones.




Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing


Book Description

Blueprint for Green Affordable Housing is a guide for housing developers, advocates, public agency staff, and the financial community that offers specific guidance on incorporating green building strategies into the design, construction, and operation of affordable housing developments. A completely revised and expanded second edition of the groundbreaking 1999 publication, this new book focuses on topics of specific relevance to affordable housing including: how green building adds value to affordable housing the integrated design process best practices in green design for affordable housing green operations and maintenance innovative funding and finance emerging programs, partnerships, and policies Edited by national green affordable housing expert Walker Wells and featuring a foreword by Matt Petersen, president and chief executive officer of Global Green USA, the book presents 12 case studies of model developments and projects, including rental, home ownership, special needs, senior, self-help, and co-housing from around the United States. Each case study describes the unique green features of the development, discusses how they were successfully incorporated, considers the project's financing and savings associated with the green measures, and outlines lessons learned. Blueprint for Green Affordable Housing is the first book of its kind to present information regarding green building that is specifically tailored to the affordable housing development community.




Energy Efficiency in Housing Management


Book Description

The embedding of energy efficiency in the management of individual housing organisations is crucial for the realization of current ambitious energy efficiency policies. This issue is examined for the first time in this book through an analysis of selected case studies in new 'green' buildings, as well as in the retrofitting of existing housing, maintenance and budgeting. The links between policy ambitions, practice and housing management institutions are given particular attention. Thus the book is primarily concerned with how ambitions about energy efficiency are carried forward in investment decisions at the housing estate level. Technical and financial issues relevant for this are also addressed. The editors combine a wealth of experience in comparative research on housing policy and housing management with a strong academic background in housing studies and economics. The book aims to be internationally comparative including a range of countries. A chapter will be devoted to each of the following countries:- Sweden; Denmark; Germany; the Netherlands; England; France; Switzerland; Austria; Czech Republic; Slovenia; Canada. The book will appeal to a large audience of students and academics who are concerned with housing issues, urban policy and politics as well as to those engaged in research in energy efficiency policies in the built environment.




Energy Efficiency in Housing Management


Book Description

The embedding of energy efficiency in the management of individual housing organisations is crucial for the realization of current ambitious energy efficiency policies. This issue is examined for the first time in this book through an analysis of selected case studies in new ‘green’ buildings, as well as in the retrofitting of existing housing, maintenance and budgeting. The links between policy ambitions, practice and housing management institutions are given particular attention. Thus the book is primarily concerned with how ambitions about energy efficiency are carried forward in investment decisions at the housing estate level. Technical and financial issues relevant for this are also addressed. The editors combine a wealth of experience in comparative research on housing policy and housing management with a strong academic background in housing studies and economics. The book aims to be internationally comparative including a range of countries. A chapter will be devoted to each of the following countries:- Sweden; Denmark; Germany; the Netherlands; England; France; Switzerland; Austria; Czech Republic; Slovenia; Canada. The book will appeal to a large audience of students and academics who are concerned with housing issues, urban policy and politics as well as to those engaged in research in energy efficiency policies in the built environment.




Housing 2.0


Book Description

Home is the ultimate consumer product. It has to be. We spend nearly 70 percent of our lives in our homes. Which leads to the "why" forHousing 2.0: Home is where life happens. Moreover, housing is one our nation's largest industries with a profound impact on our national economy. However, five crises are historically converging on the industry causing exponentially increasing pain. Housing 2.0 is about connecting the dots by identifying four market-ready innovations that will effectively mitigate these crises. In essence, it is a guide how to prepare for the inevitable disruption looming ahead.And it all begins by shifting the housing industry to a user experience optimization business model. Housing 2.0 uniquely serves this transitionwith an actionable framework for consistently delivering homes that meet and exceed homebuyer expectations. It includes:? 19 strategies for optimizing 5 key user experiences? 150+ proven user experience best practices? 400+ pages of meticulously organized content? 360+ citations supporting key findings and recommendations? Hundreds of charts, graphs, and illustrations? Eight thought leaders essays providing expert insights in key principlesAdapting the Housing 2.0 framework provides an opportunity to build homes with substantially greater user value at significantly lower cost.This finding is supported by detailed tabulations throughout the book and empirical case studies in the final chapter. But one warning. Housing 2.0 is a lot to take in all at once. Do not be overwhelmed by all of the exciting opportunities provided to optimize how we build communities and individual homes. Instead, every housing organization should be inspired to start getting on their own optimization path. One wherethey customize the comprehensive Housing 2.0 framework for their regional constraints and business constraints, and then start applying it to actual projects. Towards that end, all housing professionals are invited to join Housing 2.0 Workshops and Action Groups provided by Green Builder Media and to start their own journey to user experience leadership. Housing 2.0 is about homes where life happens better.







Revolutionary Power


Book Description

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, completely upending the energy grid of the small island. The nearly year-long power outage that followed vividly shows how the new climate reality intersects with race and access to energy. The island is home to brown and black US citizens who lack the political power of those living in the continental US. As the world continues to warm and storms like Maria become more commonplace, it is critical that we rethink our current energy system to enable reliable, locally produced, and locally controlled energy without replicating the current structures of power and control. In Revolutionary Power, Shalanda Baker arms those made most vulnerable by our current energy system with the tools they need to remake the system in the service of their humanity. She argues that people of color, poor people, and indigenous people must engage in the creation of the new energy system in order to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system. Revolutionary Power is a playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention. Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind in our current system and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. She draws from her experience as an energy-justice advocate, a lawyer, and a queer woman of color to inspire activists working to build our new energy system. Climate change will force us to rethink the way we generate and distribute energy and regulate the system. But how much are we willing to change the system? This unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system, and thus, an opportunity to transform society. Revolutionary Power shows us how.