Green buildings

I've put together some Ikea furniture in my time, but nothing close to an entire house. I'm pretty confident I could make it through Ikea and Ideabox's Aktiv house with minimal cursing, though.

Fortunately for prospective home owners, the Aktiv doesn't arrive in a massive pile of flat-pack cardboard boxes. It's delivered in a couple of chunks by semi.

The house is a joint-effort between Ikea and Ideabox. The companies' designers integrated Ikea kitchen cabinets, appliances, flooring, bathroom appointments, and built-in closet systems into the prefab one-bedroom home. … Read more

Apple's massive North Carolina data center will be powered by the nation's largest end-user-owned solar array, the company revealed today in a report on its environmental footprint.

The facility, which is being constructed in Maiden, N.C., has been awarded LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the company said in its report.

"We know of no other data center of comparable size that has achieved this level of LEED certification," the company said in its report. "Our goal is to run the Maiden facility with high percentage renewable energy mix." … Read more

Ever suspect your apartment building's heating was poorly managed because you needed to open the windows in winter? Now New York City residents can prove it with data.

Columbia University yesterday released results from a mapping project that shows, block by block, how much energy buildings consume. Providing the data in a visual format makes it easier to locate buildings that are good candidates for efficiency improvements or potentially on-site energy production.

Buildings represent about two thirds of the energy used in New York City, which is a much higher percentage than other parts of the country where transportation … Read more

Think factory-built homes, and you might immediately imagine design that is wholly uninspired. But Simpatico Homes builds prefabricated homes that were inspired by Joseph Eichler, known for bringing mid-century modern architecture to California communities.

The modular homes are not only stylish, but sustainable and energy-wise too. And because they're prefabricated, they don't take as long to put together. SmartPlanet's Sumi Das takes a tour of a prototype home in Emeryville, Calif. Watch the video to see just how fast they can "set" (install) a house.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with the headline "… Read more

To home builder Kevin Casey's way of thinking, you shouldn't have to venture over the river and through the woods to get to grandmother's house. You should only have to walk across the back yard.

New Avenue Homes founder Kevin Casey is rethinking how we live by focusing on multi-generational living, where grandparents, parents, and kids share one piece of land with two homes on it. His company builds eco-friendly backyard cottages that are meant for the grandparents. SmartPlanet visits Casey on one of his construction projects in Orinda, Calif.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with … Read more

Marvell Semiconductor is trying to get in on the ground floor of the smart home.

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, the company announced a chipset that can add wireless networking to home appliances and LED light fixtures. The gear is designed to make it relatively cheap for manufacturers to make connected versions of common goods, such as thermostats and dishwashers.

A smart home that lets people remotely monitor and control appliances and electronics is likely to be a theme at CES this year as it was last year.

One of the technical challenges with making household items network-aware is … Read more

RavenBrick is developing a window that knows when it's hot enough for shade.

The Denver-based company has been working on a window coating that creates a heat-blocking tint triggered by the outdoor temperature. The company is in the process of raising $3 million in venture capital with plans to build a factory that will start operating in about a year, according to co-founder and President Wil McCarthy.

One of the trends in building design is to use large windows to bring in daylight, which creates a pleasing workspace and lowers the need for artificial lighting. One of the challenges … Read more

When it comes to sizing up how efficient a building is, a lot of data and analytical software can be quicker than people.

Retroficiency is one of many startups developing software tools for making commercial buildings more energy-efficient. The Boston-based company today announced that it has raised $3.32 million in a series A round of funding from Point Judith Capital to build up its software and sales. It also acquired Clean Energy Solutions, the commercial efficiency operation of renewable energy project developer Nexamp.

Commercial real estate is a large consumer, and often waster, of energy. The return on investment … Read more

Talk about walking the walk when it comes to solar energy.

Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) manufacturer Amonix has built a factory and office space that uses solar panels as the sole power source, the company announced Wednesday.

The 214,000 square-foot facility uses eight of the company's MegaModule CPV solar systems, to serve the entire power need for the production plant and some connected office space. The system supplies "100 percent of the North Las Vegas facility's energy needs," according to Amonix.

Of course, it should be noted that this plant is located in Nevada, an area … Read more