It's been a long time in the making for a certified, four-star rated, green community in Northeast Tennessee to begin to see light at the end of the tunnel. Developer Cory Lewis started the project in 2006, and is now beginning to finish up infrastructure in the first phase with intentions of breaking ground on the first home in the community late this year. "We've experienced a lot of obstacles with this project, some expected, some unexpected, and others self-inflicted, but we've rolled with the punches on it, and our plans have transformed to overcome problems. Nobody said that developing green is easy, but it's just what we should be doing," says Lewis. Carolina Cove is now a private community with eight lots in phase one, eight more in phase two, and twelve more in the final phase. "We never lost sight of our overall vision of this community - especially the green aspects. The low-impact development, the features and amenities that encourage folks to be outside, and the signature style have all always been at the forefront," explains Lewis. The style is "rustic craftsman." Lewis has coined the term after slowly starting to fuse the new with the old on projects while always keeping things traditional and timeless. "We feel that what people, including my wife and myself want is a modest size and priced home that has a smaller carbon footprint, is less invasive, but has all of the amenities and technological features of a large, half million dollar property. So, those are our intentions at Carolina Cove. The homes will pack a punch with a lot of amenities for the money." Home prices will start at around $200,000 and run up to just over $400,000, but according to Lewis the homes aren't the only part of the community that boast some big features for the money. Carolina Cove welcomes homeowners with a private, gated entrance and a large waterfall made from boulders found on-site. There is a walking trail throughout the property that runs roadside before dipping over into the green space at the rear of the community. The walking loop is approximately a mile. There are a couple of different native-landscaped, sitting areas for gathering with family or neighbors to take in the sunset and beautiful Boone Lake views. The community features a cookout area for homeowners, along with a stone fire pit in the cul de sac. "The entire community is certified green for its development, it's a certified wildlife habitat, all homes will be certified green, and we hope that the folks that choose to make Carolina Cove home will live green," Lewis adds. Carolina Cove is located in Johnson City, Tennessee, and there is a ribbon-cutting and cookout planned for the opening of the community late this year.
-Anne Goepel, Living Green Magazine
Check out the video of coverage of the commuity under construction from CBS by clicking HERE
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
What's Eating Up All That Electricity?
Ever wonder where the biggest chunk of your utility bill comes from? It actually comes from your appliances. Surprisingly, the refrigerator is a huge chunk of utility bills. It's the chief energy guzzling appliance in your home, consuming a whopping 13.7% of house-hold energy, over 1000 Kilowatts of electricity a year, and nearly five times the electricity of a color TV - often nearly as much as a clothes dryer, freezer, and television combined - according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Luckily, newer Energy Star certified models will save you a bundle on utility costs. We often shut off the lights and turn down the heating and air conditioning to save energy, meanwhile, huge amounts of energy are escaping from the refrigerator door as we scour for a midnight snack.
But we are not the only ones to blame, as our out-of-date refrigerators are just as guilty. In fact, according to Energy Star, refrigerators from before 1990 use enough extra energy in a year (over a current Energy Star-rated model) to light a house for four months! Efficiency has been improved with better insulation, more precise temperature and defrost gauges, and more efficient compressors. And improvements have been continuous - models today realize nearly 40% savings in energy use over refrigerators in 2001.
What if you don't want to rush out and buy a new refrigerator? If you just bought a new refrigerator or weren’t planning on buying one anytime soon, I found a few simple steps from reliable sources that can reduce the energy consumption of your existing refrigerator:
• GET RID OF THAT SECOND AND RARELY USED ENERGY HOG LIVING IN THE BASEMENT OR GARAGE!
• Keep your refrigerator at a distance from heat sources such as the oven, dishwasher and direct sunlight so it isn’t working extra harder to maintain a cooling temperature.
• There should be ample space between your refrigerator and the wall or cabinetry behind it so that air can circulate around the condenser coils. And, make sure the coils remain clean so the compressor doesn’t have to work harder.
• Make sure the door seal is tight.
• Try not to keep the door open for extended periods of time.
• Defrost the freezer. Freezer build-up more than ¼ inch can affect the freezer’s efficiency.
• Keep the refrigerator temperature at 37 – 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer at 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
I also found out about an odd suggestion that some of the more daring readers may want to try out. Be sure and let me know how this works. The suggestion is to fill as much empty space in the refrigerator with containers of water. It's supposed to reduce the amount of cold air drop every time the refrigerator is opened. Good luck on that one...
Anyway, where should I get my new refrigerator? Buying an energy efficient refrigerator doesn’t need to be a complicated task. But, given the savings in energy and cost for the modest premium in purchase price, it should be a relative no-brainer. According to Energy Star, the life cycle air pollution reduction of an Energy Star refrigerator is 1,434 lbs of CO2 or equal to .13 cars removed from the road. Annual life cycle cost savings is $72. With this said, buying a refrigerator that can help reduce energy consumption in your home is a good and green choice for your budget and for the environment.
All of the above is magnified when you consider commercial grade appliances and refrigeration units. The statistics on the improvements to those is equally (or exceedingly) staggering. And, don't forget to recycle (or properly displose of) your old refrigerators and appliances. Visit EnergyStar.com to find out where refrigerators can be recycled, or call your local city/county waste management office.
But we are not the only ones to blame, as our out-of-date refrigerators are just as guilty. In fact, according to Energy Star, refrigerators from before 1990 use enough extra energy in a year (over a current Energy Star-rated model) to light a house for four months! Efficiency has been improved with better insulation, more precise temperature and defrost gauges, and more efficient compressors. And improvements have been continuous - models today realize nearly 40% savings in energy use over refrigerators in 2001.
What if you don't want to rush out and buy a new refrigerator? If you just bought a new refrigerator or weren’t planning on buying one anytime soon, I found a few simple steps from reliable sources that can reduce the energy consumption of your existing refrigerator:
• GET RID OF THAT SECOND AND RARELY USED ENERGY HOG LIVING IN THE BASEMENT OR GARAGE!
• Keep your refrigerator at a distance from heat sources such as the oven, dishwasher and direct sunlight so it isn’t working extra harder to maintain a cooling temperature.
• There should be ample space between your refrigerator and the wall or cabinetry behind it so that air can circulate around the condenser coils. And, make sure the coils remain clean so the compressor doesn’t have to work harder.
• Make sure the door seal is tight.
• Try not to keep the door open for extended periods of time.
• Defrost the freezer. Freezer build-up more than ¼ inch can affect the freezer’s efficiency.
• Keep the refrigerator temperature at 37 – 40 degrees Fahrenheit and the freezer at 5 degrees Fahrenheit.
I also found out about an odd suggestion that some of the more daring readers may want to try out. Be sure and let me know how this works. The suggestion is to fill as much empty space in the refrigerator with containers of water. It's supposed to reduce the amount of cold air drop every time the refrigerator is opened. Good luck on that one...
Anyway, where should I get my new refrigerator? Buying an energy efficient refrigerator doesn’t need to be a complicated task. But, given the savings in energy and cost for the modest premium in purchase price, it should be a relative no-brainer. According to Energy Star, the life cycle air pollution reduction of an Energy Star refrigerator is 1,434 lbs of CO2 or equal to .13 cars removed from the road. Annual life cycle cost savings is $72. With this said, buying a refrigerator that can help reduce energy consumption in your home is a good and green choice for your budget and for the environment.
All of the above is magnified when you consider commercial grade appliances and refrigeration units. The statistics on the improvements to those is equally (or exceedingly) staggering. And, don't forget to recycle (or properly displose of) your old refrigerators and appliances. Visit EnergyStar.com to find out where refrigerators can be recycled, or call your local city/county waste management office.
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