Sustainable North

ASK A BUILDER
By CCHRC Staff
The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.
Q: What are my options for eco-friendly decking?
In today’s market, the selection of decking materials is vast and can be overwhelming.
Other than wood or [...]

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ASK A BUILDER
By CCHRC Staff
The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.
Q: What is the relationship between boilers and combustion air?
Any appliance that expels air must have its own air supply or one appliance could be drawing air through [...]

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ASK A BUILDER
By CCHRC Staff
The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.
Q: I had an energy rating performed on my home, and it said my house does not have enough ventilation air for acceptable indoor [...]

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Ask A Builder
By CCHRC Staff
The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.
Q: I am going to dig up my foundation this summer so I can put on outside foam insulation.
Do I need to clean off [...]

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By CCHRC Staff home life.

ASK A BUILDER

Q: Is there anything I need to be cautious about when plugging in my automobile?Q: I’ve seen that there are now roof shingles that are solar panels.While a wide range of solar technologies work in Alaska and other cold climates, photovoltaic roof shingles are still too new and [...]

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From npr.org on Monday, June 8, 2009:
Susan Carpenter breaks California state plumbing code three times a week. Her accomplice is her washing machine. Rinse water from washing machines usually goes into the sewer — so what if you could recycle it? That’s what Carpenter does, using it to water plants at her Southern California home.
“The [...]

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BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner April 29th, 2009, Section A3
Alaska’s energy resources amount to more than the oil and gas that have so much transformed the state during the past 40 years. One largely untapped resource is wind power. Large-scale operations, such as a growing [...]

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BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner April 23rd, 2009, Section A3
“Was I to believe him in earnest in his intention to penetrate to the centre of this massive globe? Had I been listening to the mad speculations of a lunatic, or to the scientific conclusions of [...]

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BY Adam Wasch, Energy Outreach Consultant for CCHRC and UAF CES
Energy Focus: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner April 16th, 2009, Section A3
Boilers today offer a wide range of customized options to maximize efficiency. If your boiler has an old pilot light that stays lit all the time, you’re probably a good candidate for a replacement boiler or, [...]

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From the New York Times on Saturday, February 14, 2009:
Wind turbines typically spin from tall towers on hills and plains. But in these green times, some companies hope smaller turbines will soon rise above a more domestic spot: homes and garages.

An Energy Ball turbine.  Adam Bird for The New York Times

The rooftop turbines send the [...]

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