Louisiana-based Aquaponic Modular Production Systems, an urban agriculture development company, just announced the debut of a project — the first aeroponic farm in New Orleans.  The Tower Garden is hosted by Hollygrove Farm and Market to showcase an innovative, fast, and eco-friendly way to grow fresh produce for the community.

The design is a closed-loop system that uses nutrient-enriched water, not soil, to grow food.  The recirculating farm has no water runoff and is expected to yield upwards of 40 pounds of greens per week, according to a statement by AMPS.

AMPS says The Tower Garden can “efficiently capture and repurpose waste, recycle water to reduce consumption, and grow food virtually anywhere – indoors or outside and in oddly shaped spaces.“  It’s made with food-safe plastic suitable for outdoor use and allows 44 plants to grow in five square feet.

[+] More about Aquaponic Modular Production Systems.

Credits: AMPS. 

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This is the Tiburon Bay House, a stunning LEED Platinum home owned by Helene Marsh in the San Francisco Bay area.  It was designed by Butler Armsden Architects and built by McDonald Construction & Development, Inc., the same company behind a couple other high-profile LEED Platinum homes — the Margarido House and the Hillside House.  Tiburon Bay House replaces a 1,500 square-foot home that was deconstructed by hand with 95% of the material going to reuse or recycling.

Tiburon Bay House has some deep green elements.  For example, there’s a 5 kW solar photovoltaic system that provides 80% of electrical needs and a solar hot water system that provides 100% of the domestic hot water needs.

Beyond the solar panels, this place was designed with the mechanical functions in the core stairway area in order to preserve unencumbered exterior views.  The bedroom and living areas, as pictured, all feature stunning water and bridge views. Also, the orientation of the home, together with the overhangs, optimize natural heating, cooling, and daylighting.

Tiburon Bay House was built with a combination of recycled steel, LVL, timberstrand, FSC-certified wood, and OSB.  The foundation has a minimum of 30% fly ash and recycled aggregate.

Otherwise, the LEED Platinum home earned 114 points and has rainwater harvesting (for toilets and the washing machine), graywater collection (for irrigation), high-efficiency irrigation, a permeable hardscape, Energy Star appliances, LED and fluorescent lighting, smart house automation, zero-VOC paints, and in-floor hydronic heating, etc.

[+] More about the LEED Platinum Tiburon Bay House.

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In addition to the Minibox, Oregon-based Ideabox is readying a new prefab in collaboration with IKEA Portland for the Portland Home & Garden Show slotted for February 22-26, 2012. Called “Aktiv,” the home is a new design centered around IKEA products, such as their kitchens, lights, furniture, and other materials. The intent is a cost effective home with great open spaces, soaring vaulted ceilings, and clean modern lines.

The exterior features a combination of fiber-cement siding, corrugated metal, and a standing-seam metal roof.  The interior will have a Kohler Persuade dual-flush toilet, an Energy fridge, and an IKEA package that includes Tundra maple flooring, Pax wardrobes, and Abstrakt cabinets, etc.

The name Aktiv, as you may imagine, is Swedish for active. The term captures what IKEA and Ideabox intend to do together in this home — “bring all the fun and design of Ideabox houses together with all the function, design, and personality of IKEA,” according to an email from Jim Russell, president of Ideabox.

In case you’re wondering about the price, Aktiv is expected to sell for $86,525, as equipped, although Ideabox will have some kind of introductory pricing at the Portland Home & Garden show of $79,500.  We’ll follow up with more detail and actual photos of the home soon.

[+] More about the Aktiv by Ideabox prefab in Portland.

Credits: Ideabox.

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This is The New American Home — a project built every year in conjunction with the NAHB’s International Builders’ Show — in Orlando, Florida.  The 4,000 square-foot home collected eight green building certifications, including LEED Platinum and NAHB Emerald, and is expected to consume 52% less energy than a standard home of similar size.  Plus, a 4.0 kW solar array provides about 18% of annual energy needs.

For the record, TNAH received or qualified for NAHB Emerald, LEED-H Platinum, Energy Star, Indoor airPlus, Florida Green Building Coalition Platinum, Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Designation, Florida Water Star Gold, and the DOE’s Builders Challenge.

In many respects, TNAH was built for energy efficiency.  The blower door test measured 0.35 air changes per hour at a negative pressure of 50 Pascals — solidly in Passive House territory for this one measurement.  To minimize air leakage, spray foam was used on the underside of the roof deck and around penetrations and framing.

Elsewise, TNAH has heavily insulated ICF exterior walls, low-e coated and argon-filled windows, an Energy Star roof covering, an 18 SEER air-source heat pump system, sealed ductwork, a solar hot water system, Energy Star appliances, and LED and CFL lighting.

TNAH is completely geeked out with an energy management system to shift energy usage to off-peak periods, full home automation and control by smartphone or tablet, motorized exterior solar screens and interior privacy shades, a home security system with mobile control, and a central vacuum system that vents debris to the outside.

The New American Home was designed by Architecture by Phil Kean, LLC and built by Phil Kean Designs, Inc.  At 4,181 square feet, it’s one of the smallest TNAH projects in many years and could very well be the greenest.  The home has six bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a gallery and bar, a lanai and pool, and a three-car garage.

[+] More photos of the construction and final home from the IBS 2012 Flickr set.

Credits: James F. Wilson; Timberlake Cabinetry (exterior yard photo only). 

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Reader Randall Otulakowski walks around town in Toronto scavenging for gems thrown away by others in the community.  He then takes that stuff to his 747 square-foot home and forms it into furniture and art — like the lath pieces here.  Randall told me in an email he’s been getting good feedback on his reclaimed art made with hollow core doors and a lath patchwork.  I think the feedback is right on; these are rich and full of statement.

If you like what Randall’s making, check out 747 Square Feet.

Credits: Randall Otulakowski.

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Today, part three in a water-wise bathroom project that I’m blogging is live on HouseLogic.  If you’re just catching up, I have an old 1958 bathroom that I’m remodeling while incorporating new WaterSense fixtures.  The whole process is shared and documented in partnership with HouseLogic; plus, with each article each week, HouseLogic is offering commenters a chance to win $100 (check their rules).

In part three, I talk about installing the toilet, vanity, sink, and lighting fixture, and I also share some tips for shopping online for new materials.  Needless to say, I had a rough patch of shopping and paid a little more for it in the end.  But the bathroom is coming along nicely.  Follow the entire series here:

[+] Article 1: Water-Wise Bathroom Redo on HouseLogic.
[+] Article 2: Water-Wise Bath with a Tight Footprint
[+] Article 3: Water-Wise Bath with Install Tips (new $100 contest)

Disclosure: this water-saving bath remodel has been paid for in part by HouseLogic; however, all opinions are my own and all products have been selected on my own.

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Green Button is a voluntary program that launched in September 2011 by the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The Office believes easy access to data, and data that is available in standardized formats, will spur the private sector to develop applications and devices that empower consumers to monitor and control their usage — a radical change from the status quo where most consumers receive an aggregated bill for monthly usage weeks later.  United States Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra imagines possible innovations that range from allowing remotely controlled air conditioners to smart phone apps that make customized conservation recommendations based on individual use patterns.

The Green Button initiative was inspired in part by the success of the Blue Button initiative, a Veteran’s Administration effort to allow vet’s direct access to their health records.

There are some early signs that Green Button-based programs have the potential to make a deep impact.  In a recent three month contest among SDG&E customers called Biggest Energy Saver, one San Diego woman was able to conserve 46.5% of her typical usage.  The contest centered around a social gaming program that made use of participant’s energy use data.  Standardized and accessible data available via the Green Button could make more of these programs possible.

Along with the promise of innovation, however, comes privacy concerns.

Consumers may not want third party developers to have access to their energy use.  PG&E, one of the pioneering utilities to adopt the Green Button standard, takes the position that consumers will decide which applications and companies have access to their energy usage data. PG&E will not give third parties access to the data. Instead, the utility now requires consumers to download their usage file and then upload it to an application or company.

Credit: Green Button, the proposed logo. 

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• It’s too easy being green.
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• Philips to cut LED prices soon.
• Greenwashing dominos.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for updates, article summaries, newsworthy links, and other site news. Also, check out the latest green jobs in our list.

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Oregon-based Ideabox has been on the prefab scene doing their thing in the Pacific Northwest for a long time now.  I’ve mentioned several of their homes and look forward to sharing a few newsworthy articles here in the next couple months.  As a preview, I thought I’d share a new design of the company — the Minibox.  It’s a 200 square-foot tiny house with a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom/living area.  It’ll have IKEA cabinets and fixtures, energy-efficient appliances, and Energy Star windows.  More soon …

[+] Visit Ideabox for Hip Green MiniBox prefabs.

Credits: Ideabox.

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Xero Flor is a lightweight green roof and system originally developed in Germany. A version was first supplied to Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant by Xero Flor America LLC, the exclusive manufacturer and distributor here in the states, and now the company’s announcing Cradle to Cradle Silver for the technology.

The company’s pre-vegetated green roof mats install above a custom base for a green roof that’s “naturally resistant to weed encroachment, wind uplift, and surface erosion,” according to Xero Flor America.

The mats are supplied by regional farms and used with recycled-content products to help purchasers reap LEED credits if desired.

Xero Flor has been used in private homes across the country, including in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Utah, and Washington, to name a few locations.

[+] More about lightweight Xero Flor green roofs.

Credits: Xero Flor America LLC.

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