Articles on green building by Ted Owens

The Pros & Cons of Straw Bale Wall Construction In Green Building

How To Mount Photovoltaic Panels To A Corrugated Metal Roof
A method of mounting PV brackets to a metal roof

Product Review About Using a Diaphragm Pump for a
Rainwater Cistern In A Straw Bale Home

Earth Plaster For Straw Bale Homes
One of the most enjoyable natural materials to work with is earth plaster

Building Straw Bale Walls
The framing is complete and it is now time to stack the straw bales

Installing Electrical Wiring In Straw Bale Walls

Placing Windows In Straw Bale and Green Homes
For proper ventilation, it is essential to have both high and low windows

Looking At Design, Part 1: Natural Materials
The advantages and aesthetcis of green building design

 

Articles about green building and straw bale homes These stories were written by green designer and filmmaker Ted Owens for Treehugger.com as part of a series on the design and construction of the straw bale home featured on BuildingWithAwareness.com

Building Green: Energy Efficiency and Aesthetics From The Same Materials

The natural efficiency of solar energy, and two simple ways to take advantage of it.

Build the home only as large as is necessary. A small home means more attention and money can be spent on the details.

Sailboat design as an analogy to house design

Design decisions that you make on paper for your green home will determine the impact it has on the environment.

Interior walls are made of adobe bricks, which are nothing more than mud that has been poured into a form and then dried in the sun.

Advantages of straw bale for the exterior walls.

Thermal mass walls and floors help to heat and cool the home

Straw bale walls can either support the roof directly (load bearing) or the roof can be supported by a post-and-beam structure

Building a small workshop with walls of adobe and straw/clay

Adobe work is very rewarding and the structure slowly rises from the earth in its finished form

PV (photovoltaic) panels are generating all the electricity we need

Eliminating Phantom loads when using photovoltaic panels