Housing

Why we should promote solar water heaters more

France is promoting via aggressive feed-in tariffs the expansion of solar photovoltaic. I believe this is quite a good thing even if our electricity is 90 percent low carbon. (80 percent nuclear and ten percent hydro) Indeed, we will soon need additional capacity for both heat pumps and electric vehicles. However I believe the French (and other) …

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Could Wall Street pay for your home renovation ?

I know it since my Master’s Thesis : insulating buildings and installing efficient renewable energies heaters is one of the most important ways to cut our fossil fuels consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. Meanwhile,according to a report published by Ernst & Young investing in energy efficiency is in vogue as required investments are lower and …

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Aerogel now sold as an insulating material

For my 750th post here I would like to announce something that was close to my heart since my first article on that topic : aerogel – a fantastic material – is now sold to the general public for insulation purposes. It is abbsolutely stunning  as it is up to eight times more efficient that …

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The triple crisis : why we need green jobs

I believe we are beginning this decade with a triple crisis as our economies are crumbling, our climate is warming and our energy supplies are getting scarcer. This assessment of our situation seems pessimistic but it couldn’t be more accurate as it is based on the +700 articles I published here over the past three years. …

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Green economy: 90,000 new green jobs in France

Here is my latest post for CleanTechies : According to a new report [Fr] from the ADEME ( the French Environment and Energy Management Agency ) 90,000 jobs have been created in the French green growth sectors between 2006 and 2008. These jobs have been created mostly in energy conservation and the development of renewable …

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The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan

The United Kingdom may soon become a climate change model for Europe and other developed nations as it plans to cut by 34 percent its greenhouse gases emissions by 2020 from 1990 levels. Yes, over a third less, this is exactly what the IPCC has been advocating in 2007. These brilliant goals will be reached …

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The Grenelle could create up to 600,000 jobs

Les Echos [Fr], the French leading financial newspaper brought my attention to a study published by the Boston Consulting Group stating that the Grenelle de l’environnement could create up to 600,000 jobs in France in the very next years. The majority of the job creations are due to occur in the building sector as up …

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Retrofitting the Empire State Building

What happens when organizations like the Clinton Foundation and the Rocky Mountain Institute work together ? Answer: they retrofit the Empire State Building. This will cut by the energy consumption by 40 percent. Built during the 1930s to create thousands of jobs and answer the economic crisis, its $20 million retrofit will occur as we …

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A zero-interest rate loan for housing renovation

For my 500th post on this blog, I would like to bring you good news. The decision taken last week within the Grenelle de l’Environnement is a huge leap forward towards sustainability of housing. Indeed, the French government will launch in April an eco loan of up to 30,000 €  ($37,600) with no interest rate …

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Home insulation gets the attention it deserves

I have been advocating for three years now the thermal insulation of buildings as one of the best ways to decrease our global fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gases emissions. This week, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States plan to insulate millions of buildings. These operations will be financed by the local governments …

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