• How to Market: Green's Other Virtues

    The "green" that sells eco-friendly, energy-efficient houses isn't necessarily the kind that can save the earth. It could be the kind that your customers want to keep in their wallets.

     
  • Getting with the Program

    Baltimore Sun columnist Kevin Cowherd spoke for a lot of people when he wrote of his newly installed programmable thermostat: "We're afraid to touch [it]." His rant came shortly after he replaced his old mercury-filled manual unit, which had three settings -- heat, cool, and off -- and that he...

     
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    Trends: A Brighter Future

    A new light is about to break on the horizon of residential illumination: light emitting diodes, or LEDs. LEDs have been used for years in indicator, electronic readout, and signage applications, as well as in the theater industry. More recently, LEDs are increasingly used as architectural accents...

     
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    Construction Products Review: Insulation

    When it comes to green building products, insulation stands out as a natural fit. After all, one of the main tenets of green building is increasing energy efficiency, and long before being green was in vogue, that's always been insulation's primary purpose. Now, with the rush toward all things...

     
  • Greener Pastures

    Imagine Homes doesn't build houses like they once were built. But this doesn't mean the company is forsaking the traditional home construction ideals of care and craftsmanship. It just means Imagine is building homes with an eye toward site sensitivity, energy and water efficiency, and indoor air...

     
  • Exterior Products Review: Reclaimed Lumber

    Even with surging interest in green building and sustainability, new construction and renovation projects continue to deplete vast quantities of resources. Remodeling, in particular, is a double-edged sword--the new house consumes materials, the demolition of the old structure generates debris. You...

     
  • Construction Products Review: Sun Block

    When San Dimas, Calif.-based North American Residential Communities began installing radiant barrier sheathing in its homes, the builder's managers noticed a difference in their workers' break-time habits. Employees used to eat their lunch in the shade of the homes they were building, but now they...