Posts by — Rainbowsmiles

Gas and electricity prices are expected to surge by 15 per cent in 2011, says a report in the Daly Mail newspaper.

The initial rises – up to five per cent later this month – will be followed by double-digit increases towards the end of the year.

Despite the fall in the oil price after the killing of Al Quaeda boss Bin Laden, continued instability in the Middle East and North Africa, the Japanese nuclear catastrophe and surging demand from the booming economies of China and India are all playing in to price rises.  A weak and ineffectual regulator is also partly to blame. (more…)

Self-sufficient eco-luxury

At the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, the hubbub of 21st century noise recedes as smoothly as the Lexus hybrid SUV which carries visitors to their rooms, a collection of cottages nestling along redwood-lined cliffs overlooking the Pacific.

A half-day’s drive from Los Angeles, this is the face of high-end green luxury. The Travelgood web site reports on the hotel has been there for two decades, and mentions its next big change — a $1.8m project to take the whole complex completely off grid. (more…)

Not cheap, and not pretty

Here’s another idea for disconnecting from the mains electricity grid – not cheap to buy, but cheap to run on a pint of diesel per hour. It’s the WhisperGen off-grid heat and DC power generator sold by Volpower NZ Ltd, Auckland, distributor of Volvo Penta marine and industrial engines. The company shot to notice last year when, after a five-year product trial, it won a $300 million contract to supply British electricity and gas giant Powergen with 80,000 domestic AC units over the next four years. These will be installed in British homes as replacements for conventional hot-water boilers, running on natural gas to generate AC power and hot water. But natural gas is running out and rising in price.
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Dunster: he’s already there

Q: What is a zero carbon home? A: One which emits no carbon.
If you live off-grid then you are likely to be living a zero-carbon life. If you are trying to find a way to reduce your carbon, think about making yourself “off-grid ready,” i.e. having all you need to go off-grid if you had to.

Western governments plan to make all new homes zero carbon by 2016 which means they will be bringing tax breaks in and changing zoning/planning policy to encourage it .

Architect Bill Dunster recently showed off his own home in Hamton for Best Life magazine. Here are five steps you can take to reach the goal long before 2016. (more…)

James and his pod

This time next year you could be ordering cardboad accomodation from MyHab. A product design student from the UK won a design prize sponsored by steel company Corus for an inspired temporary habitat to be used at music festivals. James Dunlop who completed a three year ‘Creative Product Design’ Course intends to sell the pods for $120 each and is testing them at a number of festivals this year. My.Hab consists of two recycled plastic components which hold in place a weather treated cardboard skin.” (more…)

City wuss in Burnt Lake

In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, downtown living is about the best most of us can do. Small dwellings, no auto; walk or cycle round the area. But what happens when city dwellers want to get their dose of countryside at weekends?

When weekenders arrive from the city it can often spell doom for the local rural community and the local environment, but not all weekend home owners are eager to embrace modern conveniences and make their places into suburbs. A group of cottages in Canada provide a model for other off-grid second homes to follow. (more…)

Destroyed by fire

A diesel powered Houseboat on the river Lee near London was gutted by fire last night, the third attack by arsonists on this stretch of river in the past few months.
Last year, a houseboat yards from the same site was completely destroyed by what was thought to be a suspicious fire.
A second houseboat was gutted overnight while moored on the River Lee at Nazeing several months ago. (more…)