Welcome to the Green Building Concepts Newsletter, a periodic electronic newsletter.

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Index

Products, Technology, Programs, and Key Announcements

• Green Architecture Resources Abound in Print and Web
• The Making of Media- QuicktimeVR Tools
• Selecting Plastic Sheeting
• Super Efficient HVACR System

Green Architecture Resources Abound in Print and Web
There are thousands of resources on the internet on green building. Some fine catalogs of the sites can be found at:

• The School of Architecture, State University of New York at Buffalo
  
• The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In the print media several journals present sound construction advice.

This Old House
Not a 100% energy efficient guide, but its articles do provide sufficient information on new appliance trends, do-it-yourself projects, and helpful tips. [Editor's Note: as requested by This Old House Ventures, both todayshomeowner.com and thisoldhouse.org have been retired. The above link reflects the current site redirect.]

Home Energy Magazine
The industry standard tome for the energy efficient expert. It covers single and multi-family housing. The journal comes out bimonthly for your mind's pleasure.

E-Magazine
A broad topic magazine for the environmental community. Periodically it provides homeowner style articles.

The Making Of Media - QuicktimeVR Tools
In the past I've wanted to produce web based virtual reality (VR) photography, but file size and tool selection had been a hindrance. As QuickTime VR reaches version 2.0.1 for MacOS, toolmakers have made two products to take the many images shot for panorama and stitch them into a single scene. Nodester ($169) from Panimation uses a work-flow process from selecting the photographs and camera lens combination, automatically producing the stitching, allowing final user modifications, and ending with the final photographic plate. [Editor's Note: Panimation was aquired by VRToolBox]

Using an off-the-shelf tripod and rented 15 mm super-wide-angle lens I attempted using the 1.0 version of the software. My scenes involved unforgiving (no special tripod head or leveling platform) close quarter environments (a small home). At the final step of the work process, you have the option to choose several codec's for the image and set maximum and minimum magnifications along with starting parameters. I have not used the Apple Computer QuickTime VR developer's kit that allows linking multiple VR images as a walk-around combination of scenes, but every image from Nodester worked superbly, with little input from my part. All I had to do was supply the digital photographs (I used PhotoCD), and the program did the rest of the manipulation. You can see the results at my web home at greenconcepts.com.

Another tool from Live Picture may become a standard on the internet. Live Picture's RealVR defines VR Photography with VRML, allowing faster loading, viewing and manipulation than the QuickTime VR model. The product called PhotoVista ($99) uses a similar workflow as Nodester, but only allows you to save the final image in a limited number of compression formats. If you need small VR files, PhotoVista minimized file size with equal stitching quality as Nodester. One needs to install the RealVR plug-in to view your photos and the product does not allow authoring of clickable hot spots like Nodester. With the easy to use tools anyone can make walkaround photographs for under $200.

Selecting Plastic Sheeting
The popular plastic sheeting found in home centers has multiple uses from vapor barriers, outdoor covers, ground covers, and shade. The product comes in several thickness and colors. For indoor applications a clear or black 1 mil thickness sheet works fine for use in protecting floors from paint splatter or other immediate needs. 4 mil thickness product is typically used for vapor barriers, that portion behind the wall separating the living area and wall insulation. For additional tear resistance 6 mil thickness sheeting is needed. One specific application is used on top of a crawlspace floor to protect from moisture penetration and radon gas emissions. For outdoor uses the ever present blue colored sheeting is common as a weather barrier. My experience with the blue tarpaulins is they fail if left in the sun for extended periods of time (3-5 weeks). For prolonged sun exposure, use the black colored 6 mil product that can stay in the sun for years without breakdown.

Super Efficient HVACR
System Manufacturers have made much progress on heating and cooling equipment. When using natural gas or heating oil, the most efficient furnace gets a 90% to 95% fuel utilization rating, extracting the majority of energy. Electric appliances are judged on the appliance efficiency and on the electrical generation station efficiency, where the utilization factor is somewhere between 30% to 50% of the source fuel. An electric heater that may be 80% efficient in reality is at most 40% real source efficient (80% x %50%). The goal for ultra efficient electrical products would be to generate the electricity and process the unutilized heat for other needs. The York Triathlon heat pump uses natural gas to power a small engine that turns a generator and the once waste heat is used for space conditioning.

Heat pumps use an engineered system to grab heat and cooling from the environment bringing total efficiencies over 100% to 120%. The added efficiency comes from absorbing heat from the outdoor air in heating mode and extracting heat from indoors in cooling mode. If in the market for new HVACR plant for a home, the Triathlon is the peak of efficiency and energy conservation. [Editor's Note: The Triatlon series is presently on hold, but will return soon]

All other brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are hereby acknowledged.