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Electric Vehicles NOW In Austin Texas

Betty Saenz — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 21:55:53 +0000

Did you know that if you want to, you can drive an all electric vehicle now? Why wait for automakers to manufacture new cars that are all electric? Why wait to do your part for cleaner air and to help stop Global Warming? I first met some brilliant people doing this at the 2009 Renewable Energy Fair in Fredericksburg, Texas – Revolt Custom Electric Vehicles. Revolt Custom Electric Vehicles can take an ordinary car and turn it into a clean, all electric vehicle capable of running at highway speeds and needing no dirty oil changes. I drive a Prius Hybrid, and, although it is close, I’d rather drive an all electric. Most electric utility companies have a clean energy option where the electricity you purchase was generated through clean, renewable sources like wind or solar. PEC or Perdernales Electric Co-op does as well as Austin Energy.

On this year’s 2010 Texas Solar Energy Society and Austin Energy Green Building produced Cool House Tour in Austin, Texas my favorite 2 homes were a Habitat For Humanity house in Devonshire Village because it was affordable and another at 11402-B Ptarmigan Cove in North Austin. The Ptarmigan home not only had a full rooftop solar array for electricity, solar thermal for hot water that makes their home a net zero home but they also generate enough solar energy to run their electric car, a 2002 Saturn SL that has been converted from gasoline to electric by Austin’s Revolt Custom Electric Vehicles. Net zero means the home generates as much or more energy than it uses- the epitome of energy efficiency! There are also many plug in sites besides the plug in you would create at your own home for your electric vehicle or EV. The new La Quinta Inn at 1010 E. Whitestone Blvd. in Cedar Park has many plug in parking spaces among other green features.

Revolt serves the EV or Electric Vehicle community or anyone wanting to explore electric vehicles. Revolt Custom Electric Vehicles is located here in Austin, Texas. Call them at (512) 366-8196 or visit their website at RevoltCustomElectric.com

The old first-generation Honda Insight Hybrids were very aerodynamic, lightweight and had an EPA fuel efficiency rating of 70 mpg and was rated ultra low emissions or super low emissions. All electric is 0 mpg and no emissions because it does not even use gasoline but is all electric. The First Generation Honda Insight below that I photographed in Cedar Park, Texas bears a Peak Oil sticker. The Peak Oil movement helps Americans think about the peak and then decline of oil that may be on the horizon. Wouldn’t it be nice to be emission free and never have to buy gasoline or oil?

1st Generation Insight with Peak Oil stickerFirst Generation Honda Insight

Lessons in Thermal Mass and Great Insulation

Betty Saenz — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 10:12:58 +0000

I think it is easier for one to learn a lesson by actually feeling it, experiencing it with their own body and mind. Such is the case with thermal mass. I first learned about thermal mass in the Texas Hill Country near Austin, Texas. I believe it was at Lyndon Baines Johnson’s boyhood home in Johnson City, Texas. It was a very hot Texas Summer day, temperatures were maybe in the high 90′s or so. The old historic home was made of hand hewn large rectangular native stone. I entered the home and felt pleasantly cool. It was amazing! It must have been in the 70′s in there on this hot Summer day. Those massive natural stones did the job! They created thermal mass to even out the temperature extremes.

Now, in 2010, my husband does not understand the benefits of thermal mass or excellent insulation. No matter how much I talked to him he just did not get it. Words just don’t mean as much as experiencing it. So one weekend, when we were out in Buda, Texas previewing a community, I took him to see a home built with foam insulation. This particular builder always leaves the large HVAC closet open at the top to the attic. You can walk in the closet and look up to see the foam insulation under the roof decking in the attic, so hence, you are in the attic. My husband has been in our typical Texas home’s attic and felt the extreme temperature difference. In the Summer, going up in your typical Texas attic is like walking into a sauna set on highest heat. You start perspiring profusely immediately upon entry. Your air-conditioning duct work has to struggle to deliver cold air through that heat! My husband was totally amazed at the coolness of this attic space. Here it was, a hot summer day in the afternoon and that closet and hence the attic was in the 70 degree range. This is why in homes built like this, the attic is considered conditioned space.

Do you have similar experiences? If not, I’d love to help you in your GREEN education. Sometimes it is better to experience it than just read about it. I’d love to show you some homes with thermal mass and or great insulation. I know of homes we can see that are of Passive Solar design and made of SIP construction – Structurally Insulated Panels. This building design concept of thermal mass protects against the huge temperature swings. Thermal mass is part of Passive Solar design. I also know homes in the Austin area made of ICF construction - Insulated Concrete Forms. ICF combines thermal mass with insulation. It is concrete mixed with recycled polystyrene. I even know of an old historic Texas German settler home currently for sale made of the old fashioned but well working native stone blocks or high-mass masonry walls. I’d love to help you buy your own energy efficient home. Call me, Betty Saenz GREEN REALTOR at (512) 785-5050 or e-mail Betty Saenz

Renewable Energy Roundup Coming Soon

Betty Saenz — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:32:02 +0000

Our beloved annual Renewable Energy Roundup and Green Living Fair is coming up soon. Put on by the Texas Solar Energy Society, the Fair is now in it’s 11th year and coming to historic and fun Fredericksburg, Texas September 24th through September 26th, 2010. I go every year and am never there enough time. There is always so much to see, do and learn for people of all ages. Children 12 and under are FREE. Tickets are $10.00 to $12.00 and available at the gate. There are so many booths set up to learn about so much. There are food vendors, talks about any green living topic you can imagine and all at a very reasonable entry fee.

This years talks include information on small wind systems, saving water, rainwater collection, city gardening, aquaponics, wild plants, compressed earth block building, Net Zero homes, Geothermal Systems, organic farming and ranching, solar cars, solar cooking, photovoltaic systems, greenwashing and more!! There are natural cooking demos and I guarantee you will learn a lot about many topics. I hope to see you there!! I’ll probably wear my TOFGA, Texas Organic Farmers and Gardeners t shirt I got at the fair last year when I joined that great organization. There is usually a ride share set up to share rides to the fair from the Austin Texas Metro Area. I am looking at all the talks now and having a hard time deciding which day to go, I think I will go to all three!!!

Moving Towards Sustainability: Two Tiny Home Concepts

Betty Saenz — Sun, 23 May 2010 00:10:43 +0000

Pre-Built

Brad Kittel believes in living sustainably, in a way that protects the earth for future generations. He also believes we need to live in homes that do not offgas like the mainstream homes being built today. He offers his Tiny Texas Houses to downsize your carbon footprint for about $38,000. to just under $100,000. A Tiny Texas house buyer will need to pay for moving their Tiny Texas House to their lot. Tiny Texas Houses are built in Luling, Texas of 99% recycled materials as well as energy efficient features such as sprayed in isonyne foam.

Pre-Fabricated

Another concept of a similar vein is Specht Harpman’s (Austin, Texas and New York) ZeroHouse™ . The ZeroHouse™ is a prefabricated home that can be easily shipped and quickly erected. ZeroHouse™ operates completely off-the-grid as a net-zero home. Per the architects’ web site, there is no need for any external utility or waste disposal connections. This is because the ZeroHouse uses rainwater collection and solar panels, triple paned windows and a composting waste system. These tiny modern looking homes run about $350,000. and offer 650 square feet with 250 square feet in outdoor covered deck areas.

Tiny or McMansion?

The concepts in Tiny Texas Houses and ZeroHouse™ is the exact opposite of the huge McMansions that have such a large footprint. One article I read on AlterNet.org entitled “Big Houses Are Not Green: America’s McMansion Problem” stated that in Austin, Texas 235 homes were built in a single year that were 5,000 square feet or more. 41 of the 235 homes had between 8,000 and 29,000 square feet. Compared to the rest of the world, the United States is the world champion in the huge sizes of homes.

Greening Austin Homes 1house at a time

Betty Saenz — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:26:18 +0000

How do you help those in need and help the environment at the same time? 1house at a time is a great organization that helps Austin, Texas homeowners in need avoid foreclosure on their homes by lowering their utility and food bills. High utility bills often represent a family’s second highest expense. Homes chosen for projects receive energy efficiency upgrades and other projects to save money and help our Earth. This month’s project happens March 13TH from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Projects include removing the old refrigerator, washer and dryer and replacing then with energy efficient units. A rain gutter system with gutter guards will be installed as well as a rainwater collection cistern. A garden will be installed to help provide healthy food at low cost.

Texas Metal Cisterns and Green Zone Home are helping in this month’s event.

Texas Metal Cisterns in business since 2000 can be reached at (512) 565-0875

Green Zone Home, 8868 Research Boulevard
Austin, TX 78758 (512) 467-0005 Green Zone Home provides home energy consultations.

1 house at a time is a project of A Nurtured World

Won’t you consider helping a family in need by volunteering 4 hours of your time? If you are not able to personally help at the site could you help with a donation?

Learn more about retrofitting your home, rainwater collection and GREEN Austin Homes

Avoid VOC’s in Your Texas Organic Home

Betty Saenz — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:35:45 +0000

What are VOCs and what can we do to avoid having them in our homes? VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds, and no, this is not the type of “good” organic we want in our Texas Organic Home. VOCs are pollutants in our homes and can effect the indoor air quality of our homes. The resulting poor indoor air quality can have both short and long term ill health effects. For some great information on VOCs, just visit the United States government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website and look at the web page on Indoor Air Quality. Since VOCs are emitted by building materials, furnishings and paints as well as other materials in our homes, I am concentrating on these two in this blog. One of the best ways to avoid VOC’s is in the construction or even remodeling process.

There are green cabinet makers who follow green woodworking practices for example that are aware of the problems VOCs can cause in indoor air quality. Among these are Jeff Mitzel at Green Award Custom Woodworking at 5710 E. MLK in Austin, TX (512) 323-6633. Jeff and the other craftsmen at Green Award Custom Woodworking care about our earth and the indoor air quallity in your home enough to use materials that do not off gas in your indoor living environment. They also work by a zero waste policy. Waste ply materials are recycled by local artists, teachers and art therapists as well as in other woodworking projects at the Austin,TX shop. Using locally milled woods, new green products as well as reclaimed woods, the wood shop uses over 70 green raw materials in the creation of millwork and cabinetry. Green Award is also Austin, Texas’ oldest continually running cabinet and millwork shop.

Austin Green Holiday Social

Betty Saenz — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:31:17 +0000

The Second Annual Austin Green Holiday Social is being held Tuesday, December 15th, 2009, 6:00 -10:00 pm at the beautiful and organic Barr Mansion. Tickets are $22.00 in advance by credit card or PayPal on-line and $30.00 at the door. The event is co-hosted by Net Impact Austin, Public Citizen, Design-Build-Live, the Austin Eco-Network, Eco Series, Texas Green Network and the Sierra Club. The Barr Mansion at 10463 Sprinkle Road, Austin, TX 78754 is a showcase for sustainability being the first USDA certified organic events facility in the United States. The Barr Mansion grounds are a NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat. Music for the event will be world fusion by Nelson Saga. The Barr Mansion will be providing organic food for the event. There will also be Theo organic chocolates, New Belgium beer as well as various wines and teas. Guests are bringing canned food items for families in need. There will be a raffle benefiting Mobile Loaves and Fishes.

Pet Friendly Dog Bakery in Georgetown

Rachelle — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:36:41 +0000

I just love Tail Waggins Dog Bakery in Georgetown; my two mini schnauzers, Phatti Patti and Baby Girl, love it too.

It’s where I get fresh baked dog treats with fun names like Snicker Doodles, Cream Cheese Danishes and Monkeynut Blossoms. I personally have never tried them but my 17 year old son has and according to him they are good. If begging dogs is a way of rating the taste – they must be the best!

My minis also get groomed at Tail Waggins Dog Bakery by Kenny – we have standing 6 week appointments and I don’t stress about leaving my girls in his care. He does an awesome job.

I’ve taken classes for dog obedience, learned a ton about raw food diets for dogs, what’s really in dog food (Don’t ask unless you REALLY want to know), what table foods dogs can and can’t eat and made friends with the ladies that run the store. They care about my dogs and are willing to listen to my dog stories – no matter how corny they may be.

If you are looking for a dog bakery try Tail Waggins Dog Bakery in Georgetown – Your dog will be glad you did!