Tag Archives: energy efficient house

Green Building Products

Green Building Supply

There’s no doubt that the sun is very powerful indeed – we’ve been using it for the drying of clothes and cooking of food for years. However, in recent years, new technology has allowed us to really harness the power of the sun and use it for the generation of domestic and non-domestic power. Although the sun is around 150 million kilometres away from the earth and just a small fraction of its energy actually reaches the earth, this amount alone is enough to meet all of the world’s power needs many times over.

Rebates and Government Grants

To encourage the use of solar power, there are a variety of government grants available, depending on your country of residence, to help you install solar power systems. Solar panels are not difficult to maintain and with the correct care, can last you a lifetime. Following the initial installation phase, you may look forward to receiving a healthy reduction in your energy costs in the years to come. Photovoltaic panels are usually installed to supply energy back to your local grid system. The energy you use during the hours of sunlight is deducted from that which you produce and the surplus fed into the grid and credited to your account.

Range of Green Building Products

Green Products Image Grey Water Filter

Grey Water Filter

The range of products now readily available in the market has grown tremendously in recent years but it will require a little extra research to find those that suit your project. A typical shopping list of green building products will include:

  • solar panels or components
  • photovoltaic panels
  • sun control shade systems
  • non-toxic building materials
  • smart-power meters
  • cabinet coatings and laminates without formaldehydes
  • low energy light fittings,
  • laundry and grey water recycling system
  • low odour eco-friendly oils and paints
  • eco-friendly termite control
  • rainwater tanks
Green Products Image Rainwater Tank

Rain Water Tank

Green architects specialising in energy efficient building design or simply offering green home plans, should be able to provide you with a list of green building supply companies offering a range of products suitable for installation into their building design. There are many websites offering green building products to cater for your needs.

Switch to Renewable Energy and Save Money

Across the globe, millions of homes and businesses are making plans to switch to renewable energy sources, such as solar panels and solar hot water systems. In doing so, they can harness the planet’s natural resources, reduce their dependence on expensive and depleting fossil fuels and save on running costs for their homes and businesses. In particular, solar energy is becoming a very popular option for the powering of homes and wind power is gaining in popularity for commercial or remote area sites where the wind is strong.

To meet this significant increase in worldwide demand, green building supply companies are proliferating – resulting in a larger selection of green building products, sustainable materials and environmentally friendly options. The majority of manufacturers or agents selling these products will be able to advise you on the best choice for your project, according to your budget and preferences. Your architect should also be able to advise you about green building certification once you have completed your building project.

Eco-Development Website

Image eco compound

Eco-compound Using Green Building Products

If you are looking for a green building supply company – take a look online, visit the many websites available and compare the choices, the range, guarantees offered and prices. Refer to this eco-development website for a suggested list of suppliers and products used in an award-winning eco-compound created for two families in Western Australia.

Ask For Recommendations

Ask for referrals: if you know someone who has recently undertaken a successful green project, for example installing photovoltaic panels or a solar hot water system, ask them who they used. With a little research, you could soon be on your way to reducing your carbon footprint and making a real difference to our planet by joining the worldwide trend to using green building supply products. In addition to restricting use of  toxic substances indoors, with attention to your outdoor landscape you can create a healthy eco-system for birds and frogs.

Image Green Building Products Eco System

Healthy Eco-System

For more information on energy efficient architecture and how to build a green building, check out the green home building books and dvds available in the solar-e shop.
The more you know about the principles of low energy building design, the more appreciative you will be of the design process. We highly recommend the user-friendly green building design guide “Low Energy Buildings in Australia”.

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AuSES Conference Best Papers: Solar Thermal

We have prepared list of solar-e.com’s own selection of ranked candidates for the best Solar Thermal papers presented at the ‘Solar 2010’ Conference: Policies and Strategies (including the Economics of solar energy, diversity of derived forms of solar energy, electricity grids and data collection)

The analysis and understanding the of more obscure fields of solar energy related technology and policy developments is obviously another critical step forward to applying more solar energy in our economy. this section will hopefully expand as more papers are delivered in the future.

AuSES Committee – Best Papers at AuSES Solar 2010 as judged by the AuSES panel

Student Prizes – Wal Read Memorial Prizes
Post Graduates Prizes
BILBAO, Jose “PV-Thermal Water Systems as a Retrofit for Near Zero Energy Homes”
Winner $1500 AUD
BAMBROOK, Shelley “Experimental PVT Air System for Dwellings”
Highly Commended $1000 AUD
LHENDUP, Tshewang “Simulation of a Ground-coupled Heat Pump Combined with Solar Collectors”
Commended $250 AUD
ELLISTON, Ben “Grid parity: A potential misleading concept?”
Commended $250 AUD

Undergraduates Prizes
BRAZIER, Thomas “Dependence of installed cost of a 1.5 kW rooftop PV system on module efficiency”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD
BOEREMA, Nicholas “Economics of constraints on wind farms – SA”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD
O’BRIEN, Paul “Exergetic analysis of a steam-flashing thermal storage system”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD

SOLAR THERMAL

A comment by Garry Baverstock, director of  solar-e.com is included

1.  Management of Dish Concentrator Off-Axis Reflections
G. Burgess, P. Scott, J. Preston and K. Lovegrove

Comment: Large scale thermal has great potential throughout the world and synergistic with other forms of fossil fuel generated power stations such as coal and large scale oil and gas.  These researchers have large credibility as does their university.

2.Modelling of a Direct Contact Two Immiscible Phase Molten Salt System for High Temperature Solar Thermal Storage
Shane Sheoran, Martin Belusko, Frank Bruno, Wasim Saman
Comment: Salt storage is an important part of the future viability of solar thermal plants as coal become replaced.

3. Solar Thermal Storage and Steam Programs at the CSIRO National Solar Energy Centre
R McNaughton, R Benito, GJ Duffy, JH Edwards, JS Kim, W Stein
Comment: Production of steam at night and cloudy days is imperative for a solar thermal system and this research will assist in creative solutions in the future.

4.Development of a High Flux Solar Furnace Facility at CSIRO for Australian Research and Industry
James T. Hinkley1, Robbie K. McNaughton1, Andreas Neumann1
Comment: This is visionary work s we start to apply high tech solar thermal energy to industry as Climate Change may make it an imperative if other avenues of GHGs do not work in the short time we have available.

5.Exergetic analysis of a steam-flashing thermal storage system
Paul T. O’Brien1 and John Pye2
Comment: Good to see mechanical engineers thinking out of the square.

DO YOU WISH TO BUY ANY OF THESE PAPERS?

A message from AuSES
People who were not delegates at Solar 2010 (or AuSES members) who would like to access this resource they can apply for access for an annual fee of $140 (ex GST). Please go to AuSES website.

Solar-e.com invites you to leave comments at the end of this article.

Experts who disagree with our rating and choices we invite you to make comment and if enough substance is shown we will reserve the right to change the ranking at anytime or keep the ranking the same.

AuSES Conference Best Papers: Wind Power

We have prepared list of solar-e.com’s own selection of ranked candidates for the best Wind Power papers presented at the

‘Solar 2010’ Conference: Policies and Strategies (including the Economics of solar energy, diversity of derived forms of solar energy, electricity grids and data collection)

The analysis and understanding the of more obscure fields of solar energy related technology and policy developments is obviously another critical step forward to applying more solar energy in our economy. this section will hopefully expand as more papers are delivered in the future.

Student Prizes – Wal Read Memorial Prizes
Post Graduates Prizes
BILBAO, Jose “PV-Thermal Water Systems as a Retrofit for Near Zero Energy Homes”
Winner   $1500 AUD
BAMBROOK, Shelley  ” Experimental PVT Air System for Dwellings”
Highly Commended $1000 AUD
LHENDUP, Tshewang  “Simulation of a Ground-coupled Heat Pump Combined with Solar Collectors”
Commended $250 AUD
ELLISTON, Ben  “Grid parity: A potential misleading concept?”
Commended $250 AUD

Undergraduates Prizes
BRAZIER, Thomas  “Dependence of installed cost of a 1.5 kW rooftop PV system on module efficiency”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD
BOEREMA, Nicholas  “Economics of constraints on wind farms – SA”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD
O’BRIEN, Paul “Exergetic analysis of a steam-flashing thermal storage system”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD

Wind Power : Solar-e.com Director Garry Baverstock’s personal selection of the Best Papers

At the conference the papers were presented under a number of category headings such as Built Environment, Wind Power, Photovoltaics, Environmental Benefits, Solar Thermal and Economics. Following is our selection of the worthwhile papers and a ranking based on relevance to world situation on Climate Change, the impact on the increased use of solar energy and the quality of the research as presented in the paper.
The best papers, in our opinion, have been listed. This is our opinion, but we are interested in what the solar experts think and any comments are welcome. If we have overlooked a paper or you disagree with our assessment please feel free to offer your opinion. If bona fide it will be published.

WIND POWER

Image of windmills old and new

A comment by Garry Baverstock, A.M. follows each heading.

1. Impacts of Distributed Wind Generation on Distribution Networks

N. K. Roy, H. R. Pota, M. A. Mahmud, and M. J. Hossain

Comment: Wind power needs this technical analysis for it to find its rightful place in the renewable energy mix in Australia.

2. The Economics of Transmission Constraints on Wind Farms – some evidence from South Australia

Nicholas Boerema1, Iain MacGill2

Comment: Good feed back about the effectiveness of wind farms in South Australia

A message from AuSES
People who were not delegates at Solar 2010 (or AuSES members) who would like to access this resource they can apply for access for an annual fee of $140 (ex GST). Please go to AuSES website.

Solar-e.com invites you to leave comments at the end of this article.

Experts who disagree with our rating and choices we invite you to make comment and if enough substance is shown we will reserve the right to change the ranking at anytime or keep the ranking the same.

solar-e.com related links:

http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/30/green-economics
http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/24/ethical-investment
http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/30/employment-opportunities
http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/30/wave-power
http://www.solartec.iinet.net.au/solare/innovation/strategiesindevelopingproducts.htm

 

AuSES Conference Best Papers: Built Environment

We have prepared list of solar-e.com’s own selection of ranked candidates for the best Built Environment papers presented at the

‘Solar 2010’ Conference: Policies and Strategies (including the Economics of solar energy, diversity of derived forms of solar energy, electricity grids and data collection)

The analysis and understanding the of more obscure fields of solar energy related technology and policy developments is obviously another critical step forward to applying more solar energy in our economy. this section will hopefully expand as more papers are delivered in the future.

AuSES Committee – Best Papers at AuSES Solar 2010 as judged by the AuSES panel

Student Prizes – Wal Read Memorial Prizes
Post Graduates Prizes
BILBAO, Jose “PV-Thermal Water Systems as a Retrofit for Near Zero Energy Homes”
Winner $1500 AUD
BAMBROOK, Shelley “Experimental PVT Air System for Dwellings”
Highly Commended $1000 AUD
LHENDUP, Tshewang “Simulation of a Ground-coupled Heat Pump Combined with Solar Collectors”
Commended $250 AUD
ELLISTON, Ben “Grid parity: A potential misleading concept?”
Commended $250 AUD

Undergraduates Prizes
BRAZIER, Thomas “Dependence of installed cost of a 1.5 kW rooftop PV system on module efficiency”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD
BOEREMA, Nicholas “Economics of constraints on wind farms – SA”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD
O’BRIEN, Paul “Exergetic analysis of a steam-flashing thermal storage system”
Joint Winner $1,000 AUD

Built Environment: Solar-e.com Director Garry Baverstock’s personal selection of the Best Papers

At the conference the papers were presented under a number of category headings such as Built Environment, Wind Power, Photovoltaics, Environmental Benefits, Solar Thermal and Economics. Following is our selection of the worthwhile papers and a ranking based on relevance to world situation on Climate Change, the impact on the increased use of solar energy and the quality of the research as presented in the paper.
image of apple on booksThe best papers, in our opinion, have been listed. This is our opinion, but we are interested in what the solar experts think and any comments are welcome. If we have overlooked a paper or you disagree with our assessment please feel free to offer your opinion. If bona fide it will be published.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

A comment by Garry Baverstock, A.M. follows each heading.

1. A Method for Practical Zero Carbon Refurbishments: A Residential Case Study

John Shiel1,2, Dr Steffen Lehmann3, Dr Jamie MacKee1

Comment: This is a complex issue and needs to be ‘fully understood with a price on carbon near to implementation, throughout the developed world.

2. PVT Water Systems as a viable Retrofitting for near Zero Energy Homes in Sydney Climate

J. Bilbao*, A.B. Sproul

Comment: This work is prize winning for the student and has great vision to the most pressing issue in our built environment, retrofitting our 7.5 million homes already built.

3. Mandatory Disclosure of House Energy Rating in the Australian Capital Territory

Trevor Lee

Comment: Lee’s work shows clearly the way forward in making home-owners more conscious of energy efficiency and the use of passive active solar strategies in their homes and achieve higher resale prices which is consistently possible with an energy efficient house.

4. A model for integrating passive elements into building ventilation and air-conditioning

Wasim Y. Saman1; Martin Belusko; Alemu Tiruneh

Comment: We need better simulation modelling that includes all passive elements and particularly natural ventilation in the built environment.

5. Performance comparisons of sky window spectral selective and high emittance radiant cooling systems under varying atmospheric conditions.

Dr Angus Gentle, Prof Geoff Smith

Comment: It is good to see highly qualified physicists getting involved in such a practical application with enormous benefits for low energy cooling systems in buildings in the future.

6. Gas Booster Solar Water Heaters: Queensland Case Studies of Installation Practices on New Homes

Wendy Miller, Raymond Miller
Comment: This is just the type of feedback that government and industry needs to know about installation practices when building an energy efficient house.

7. Experimental PVT Air System for Residential Dwellings

S. Bambrook, A. Sproul, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy
Comment: This paper described evaluation of combining synergistic objectives of winter semi active heating as well as improving the efficiency of grid connected domestic systems. Great potential in the future retrofitting of houses in cool temperate climates.

8. An Indirect Evaporative Cooler for Supplying Air Near the Dew Point

Frank Bruno
Comment:Indirect evaporative cooling is about to become mainstream in commercial building and domestic use.
9. Low Cost, building Integrated CPV Using Standard Solar Panels

Dr Alonso Marquez, Ideasol Australia Pty Ltd
Comment: Cost is such an important issue and this paper has a practical application
10. The Development of a large Building Integrated Solar Collector for Pool Heating

TN Anderson M Duke, JK Carson, R Kunnemeyer and B Smith
Comment: Integrated systems in architecture are predicted to increase in popularity over the next 20 – 30 years.

11. Fast Thermal modelling Using Micro-Cap

GA Parnis, AB Sproul
Comment: Quicker thermal prediction tools are needed for designers

12. Photovoltaic Panels+Air Conditioners+Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms+A win-win situation

Christian Perfumo, JK Ward, and J Braslavsky
Comment: Combining the waste heat from photovoltaics provides some interesting possibilities over the coming decades

13. Simulation of a Ground –coupled Heat Pump Combined with Solar Collectors

Tshewang Lhendup, Lu Aye and RJ Fuller
Comment: There will be an explosion in innovation of combining systems once a carbon price is set worldwide

DO YOU WISH TO BUY ANY OF THESE PAPERS?

A message from AuSES
People who were not delegates at Solar 2010 (or AuSES members) who would like to access this resource they can apply for access for an annual fee of $140 (ex GST). Please go to AuSES website.

Solar-e.com invites you to leave comments at the end of this article.

Experts who disagree with our rating and choices we invite you to make comment and if enough substance is shown we will reserve the right to change the ranking at anytime or keep the ranking the same.

http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/30/green-economics
http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/24/ethical-investment
http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/30/employment-opportunities
http://solar-e.com/knowledge/2009/11/30/wave-power
http://www.solartec.iinet.net.au/solare/innovation/strategiesindevelopingproducts.htm