Greenhouse Solar Plan

Wood has an aesthetic beauty and ambience unequalled by any other material and has unique qualities that only nature can provide. Homeowners increasingly appreciate the environmental benefits and the design potential afforded by wood. Celebrity architects constantly endorse wooden windows over other alternatives for cutting edge designs.

~ Timber is environmentally friendly ~

Every country is urged to support sustainable development and when this refers to window and door products we can safely say that the only material available that meets this criterion for their manufacture is timber, unlike all other extracted or mined materials. According to ENGOs, (environmental government organisations) The WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and Greenpeace, wood is by far the best environmental choice for windows as it

is a totally renewable resource. With forests representing the single most important stabilising feature in the world s land mass, an international organisation, The Forest Stewardship Council requires its members to ensure that forests are replenished at least as much as they are harvested. As trees become older their ability to absorb CO2 reduces significantly and that is why these trees can be harvested and replaced by young ones.

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Passive solar is a method of using the energy from the sun to heat a home. It is extremely popular because the process is free once a passive solar home is created.

Passive solar can be used to heat a home in colder areas, but you have to go into it with reasonable expectations. While the cold climate is a hurdle, the real issue is going to be the length of time the sun beats down upon your property. If your home receives only four or five hours of direct sunlight a day, forget it. You will never produce enough energy to keep the home warm for sufficient periods of time.

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Boomers are on the move. In their quest for a more comfortable retirement, they are looking for economical ways to build homes and cut expenses once they ve moved in. Many are turning to energy-efficient, green homes.

According to the government of Australia, green homes reduce the need for expensive heating and cooling appliances/equipment; reduce appliance running costs and therefore energy bills; [and] reduce energy related greenhouse gas emissions.

With the issue of global warming at the forefront of daily news reports, people have become more conscious of the effects the population is having on the planet. In turn, more people are coming up with creative ways to build energy-efficient homes. Some methods Passive Solar, Strawbale, Earthbag, and

Berm are becoming more well-known, and materials used are readily available and not very expensive. Bob Vila, host of Bob Vila s Home Again television show, sums it up this way:

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The sun is a very powerful source of energy which powers natural cycles on earth like wind, water flow and plant growth.. Solar power is the technology of obtaining energy from the sun. There are three approaches to gain maximum benefit of solar energy in our buildings.

Passive Solar

Passive solar technologies convert sunlight into usable heat without the assistance of other energy sources. Passive solar architecture is a design approach which seeks to:

- maximise solar gains in the building (through orientation such as a south-facing site, layout, glazing etc)
- avoid the loss of heat from the building through high quality insulation
- ensure a high degree of comfort by using controlled ventilation and daylighting

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As we move further into the 21st century the impact of climate change is becoming more noticeable to the general public and more serious in its impacts on our way of life. Climate change is a result of our contempt for our Natural Capital and the resultant unbridled demand for energy. This demand is maintained by our limited awareness and understanding of the consequences of our increasing demands on these limited resources.

We are facing our second industrial revolution - abundant people but limited resources. A smart capitalist always reinvests in his capital. Letting it run down through overuse, caused by ignorance of the importance of the capital resource to a successful business, is a myopic view

of the symbiotic relationship between the capital resource and profitability. This is a recipe for disaster for any economic capital model - and this is what is happening in our relationship to Natural Capital. The result is disastrous climate change and the consequences are only just beginning to impact. Our recent sweltering summers and available scientific data illustrate what is in store, so the quest for workable solutions is urgent.

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