Your Questions About Sustainable Energy For All

Donna asks…

Any suggestions for building an eco-friendly house?

I am planning to build a house (about 1400 square feet) that will hopefully be mostly off the power grid. What sorts of non-toxic building materials and (or) viable forms of sustainable energy generating sources for heating, cooling, and lighting a house can you recommend? I already have a cabin in the woods with kerosene lanterns, a fire place, and a wood burning stove.
Why is that ‘incredible’?

admin answers:

I think it’s incredible that you’re going to build a green home!

My main suggestion is to do your research before beginning.

Rather than listing off a bunch of suggestions, I think it would serve you better to give you a list of resources that you could use as you’re researching ways to make your new home green.

1. Dwell home–the website of the magazine of the same name, which focuses a great deal on green design. Http://www.dwell.com

2. HGTV–the website of Home and Garden Television. This year, they started an annual Green Home Giveaway. You can go to their website and read all about the finishes and materials that they used to make the home earth-friendly. Http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/green_home_2008/article/0,,HGTV_30916_5816498,00.html

3. I will also refer you to a particular post on my own blog, Addicted 2 Decorating. The post is about the new Chamber of Commerce building in my city, which is the first green Chamber of Commerce building in the United States. There are several great ideas you can incorporate into your new home. Http://blog.addicted2decorating.com/2008/06/momentous-occasion-in-my-city.html

Linda asks…

What Major should I pursue if I want to work with Green Technology?

I want to make new, more efficient, solar panels and develop green or sustainable energy sources in the future. In addition to that, I hope to make it more applicable for commercial use, such as designing a unit based for airplanes. I figure that might require an aeronautics engineering degree, but what degree would you guys recommend for studying green energy technology? Any colleges too? Not just community colleges. THANKS GUYYYYSSS

admin answers:

Engineering, but avoid “Environmental Engineering.”
Go for one of the traditional Engineering disciplines. For solar (photovoltaic) this would be Electrical Engineering or Electronics Engineering Technology.

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