Earlier this month I visited Greensburg, Kan., and toured a few of its many green buildings. It was a great trip, and you can see more photos from my visit in this Greensburg photo gallery.

Background. Greensburg is the rural Midwestern town that was struck by an EF5 tornado on May 4, 2007. The storm was 1.7 miles wide — it killed 11 people and destroyed most of the town.

After the storm, the people of Greensburg made a commitment to rebuilding the town as a model green community. That effort is already well underway, and you can even watch its progress on TV. A Greensburg TV series on the Planet Green network is following the progress of rebuilding. The third season begins filming soon.

My visit.  Mother Earth News is based in Topeka, Kan., so Greensburg is relatively close to where we’re located — about a 4 hour drive — but this was my first visit to the town. I took a walking tour guided by volunteers from Greensburg Greentown, a community-based nonprofit devoted to helping Greensburg build green.

So what does Greensburg look like these days? Well, there’s still a lot of evidence of the storm, even more than two years out. As our tour guides explained, Greensburg used to be locally known for its trees, but now most of the trees are gone. You can see from one end of town to the other — the view is wide open. Most of the storm debris is gone, too, but there are still remnants of many buildings — a wall here, some steps there. But already many homes and buildings have been rebuilt, and many more are under construction.

There are nine different buildings on the walking tour of Greensburg (some you can go into, and others are just visible from the street). While there are many green features to see, I was struck by one recurring theme: concrete. Many of the buildings are being built with insulated concrete form walls (ICFs). In fact, ICF construction makes a lot of sense for Greensburg. Not only does it provide excellent insulation, the buildings are also structurally strong, and therefore very resistant to storm damage. From a green standpoint, one of the disadvantages of concrete is that it takes a lot of energy to produce. But in Greensburg, there are always more opportunities to go green — in this case by recycling concrete debris from the storm. The Silo Eco-Home in Greensburg is made of precast concrete, and 35 percent of that concrete is recycled from local storm debris.

Another noticeable fact about Greensburg: There are renewable energy systems everywhere, especially on the new city buildings. The arts center has wind turbines, city hall has building-integrated solar panels, and many buildings have renewable energy systems that are not readily visible from the street, including rooftop solar panels and underground geothermal heating and cooling systems.

If you want to visit.  For anyone who’s interested in renewable energy or green building, Greensburg is a great place to visit. You can simply walk up and down Main Street and see numerous examples of eco-friendly building in action, and even more green buildings are planned for the future. One exciting project is the Chain of EcoHomes being planned by Greensburg Greentown. This project is designed to help visitors understand the green options available to homeowners.

If you’re in the area, don’t miss the chance to stop by and check out what’s happening, and be sure to check in with Greensburg Greentown for more information about tours. You can also download their self-guided tour booklet for much more information about the green features of individual buildings.

This is more of a “downdate” than an update, but I thought you’d like to know what happened. We suffered a thrilling daylight burglary on Friday morning, October 9. OK, it wasn’t all that thrilling — we left Kinetic for breakfast at 9, came back at 10, and the door was open with the lock broken off. “Golly,” I said to my secretary, although not in those words, “I wonder if anything’s missing.”

Not much, actually: two laptop computers, two briefcases, and one external hard drive. It doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Well it was bad, because Friday is Backup Day, in which we back up our laptops with each other, and back them both up with a hard drive we keep at a secret location 10 miles from the shop ... except during work hours on Fridays when I watch that backup drive like a hawk and add the week’s work to its archives ... except during mealtimes, when we leave our work at the office.

So we were backed up solid, ready to restore from any computer crash, even ready to recover from any burglary, any fire less than 10 miles long (hey, we’re in the Oregon woods, we’ve seen worse) and most natural catastrophes, provided any of this didn’t happen on Friday between 9 and 10 a.m. (breakfast) or 1 and 2 p.m. (lunch). As you would guess, a whole lot of MAX data is (was) in electronic form, such as all MAX’s test results to date, and all the new body part drawings.

I’ve spent the last week looking for a silver lining to this cloud, and indeed I’ve found one: Now we get to work with a clean slate. For example, the “new” body (other than the roof) was designed over two years ago, and all the parts painstakingly rendered, ready for manufacturing. I’ve learned a bit more about automobile aerodynamics since then, but it was too much work to change the drawings if I didn’t have to. Now I have to. I may have even learned a thing or two about testing since MAX hit the road. Now I have to run those tests over again. And since I absolutely hate doing the same work over again the same way, I’m dang near guaranteed to do it better the second time.

Mind you, I’m not yet ready to send the burglars a thank you note. But chances are MAX will be slightly improved by this ordeal. And me? I’ll probably be slightly improved too, since I won’t be squandering my evenings in pool halls and movie theaters any more. I’ll be slaving away in my garret, drafting new MAX drawings on my replacement computer — the one handcuffed to my wrist, of course.

Browse previous MAX Updates.

Check out the 100-mpg Car page for all things MAX.

Cheerful, albeit exhausted solar decathletes are headed home this week after 21 days of excitement on the National Mall.

For the second decathlon in a row, Team Germany took first place, impressing judges and peers with their SurPLUShome, which used the maximum building dimensions acceptable by competition standards. In addition to first place overall, Team Germany was  recognized for excellence in the Architecture, Lighting Design, Comfort Zone, and Hot Water contests.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took second place with Gable Home, a small home intended to pay tribute to its cultural roots while integrating advanced solar technology.

Team California’s Refract House took third with its innovative design and excellence in Architecture, Communications, Engineering and Market Viability contests.

Check out the video below to see Team Germany’s reaction when the Solar Decathlon 2009 winners are announced.

To get the whole story on this year's Solar Decathlon, take a look at these previous updates.

It's Almost Time for the 2009 Solar Decathlon
The Houses Leave Home
The Little House from a Big Town

On Oct. 16, the overall winner of the Solar Decathlon 2009 will be announced, along with the teams taking second and third place. In the meantime, each home is being evaluated during the DOE’s 10 contests, while teams keep an eye on the scoreboard.

Currently in eighth place, is Team ZEROW, whose head of communications, Allison Elliot, took a few moments from the chaos to share her enthusiasm about ZEROW HOUSE, and the opportunity to show it to the public.

“The last few days on the Mall have been wonderful,” Elliot says. “We have been open for public tours for two days now. Today alone we had over 2,020 visitors. The public has been excited by the cost of our house ($140,000) and has loved the beauty of the interior.”

This beautiful little home comes from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Its style is inspired by Project Row Houses in Houston’s Third Ward District, and is designed to fill a need in the community for affordable housing.  

ZEROW HOUSE’s unique features, emphasized on its team’s website, include the following:

Light Core: a space which can extend the indoor living area onto the deck, because Houston’s outdoor climate is pleasant for much of the year.

Wet Core: an 8-foot-by-10-foot space containing all of the home’s plumbing, electrical and solar systems.

Material Selection: building materials “affordable, sustainable and replicable” for Houston residents.

Photovoltaics: an on-the-grid solar system producing 4.2 kW with the goal of being affordable and accessible to local homeowners.

Solar Hot Water System: solar thermal collectors angled at 30 degrees to effectively absorb and retain heat.

Green Wall: a front porch wall planted with star jasmine, coral honeysuckle and tangerine cross vine.

Shade Structure: a shade for the light core and porch made of powder-coated steel.

According to Elliot, more than 100 students have put time and energy into ZEROW HOUSE since its inception, and that hard work was rewarded when the team took first place for hot water and second for architecture and market viability.

While Team ZEROW is thrilled with the success of their house, Rice News writer Jessica Stark quotes the decathletes’ enthusiasm about returning the little house to its big hometown in her article “Rice's unconventional house making waves — and energy — at Solar Decathlon.”

“Our house is a little different from the others out on the National Mall,” said Roque Sanchez, a Rice graduate student. “But that’s because we built ours for Houston. It still looks awesome out here between the Capitol and Washington Monument, but we’re excited to bring it back home and hope it will be a big winner.” 

Disassembly will begin on Oct. 19, just three days after the winner (Team California is currently in the lead) is announced. In the meantime, Elliot, Sanchez and their teammates are residing in a long-term stay hotel in the evenings and guiding tours during the day for visitors who, Elliot says, are delighted with the simplest aspects of ZEROW HOUSE.

"Everyone has loved the clothesline," she says. "You would be amazed by the number of people who stop to take a picture of it."

About a month ago, my wife and I were enticed by a sale ad to visit our local Sherwin Williams store. We were about to embark on another room remodel and we needed paint.

We had bought Sherwin Williams’ Harmony low-VOC paint — aka “green” paint that doesn’t have harmful volatile organic compounds in it — a couple times before and had great experiences with it. The color and spread were great, but perhaps best of all, it was actually fun to paint with because we didn’t get headaches or have to open every window in the house to ventilate like did when we last painted a few years before. Sure, we weren’t thrilled at the higher cost of this paint when we bought it, but the old saying “you get what you pay for” rang true when the rubber hit the road, or in this case, when the paint hit the walls. 

This time, though, we’d find the best of both worlds. Looking at the sale prices on the low- and no-VOC paint compared to the regular options, I did a double take. Per gallon, the Harmony paint was a few cents cheaper. Really? Really.

If memory serves, the last time I bought the Harmony paint it was about $9 more per gallon than the conventional options (exactly how much more varies throughout the year and from region to region). But today the entire Harmony line was on sale. It was our lucky day. As if we had discovered some pricing mistake that was going to be corrected at any second, we quickly told the salesclerk which colors we needed and bought four gallons. The next day, I actually went back to get more for a down-the-road room redo. 

Such sales typically happen at least once or twice a year. So if you can wait for the right time and plan accordingly, it is possible to find low-voc paint at a comparable — or even lower — price than the regular stuff. Here are two more general tips: 

• Sign up for the promotional e-mails from paint companies who make green paints because every so often they’ll put these paints on sale and/or send you general coupons.
• Buy the paint when it’s on sale, add specific color later: For no additional charge, some stores will let you add the specific color tint whenever you’re ready. So don’t let a color debate between you and your significant other stop you from getting the paint when it’s on sale.

So what about you? Have you used low- or no-VOC paint before? Did you notice a difference in the color quality or ease of application from regular paint? Do you have a favorite brand? How much did you pay for that green paint? Got any tips to find smoking deals? Please share your stories by posting a comment below.

Learn More about Low VOC Paint, More

Stick with Safe Paint

How to Choose Paint

Make Safe, Natural Paint

Green Rookie: Adding Color With Low-VOC Paint

A Paint Primer

10 Best Non-VOC, Low-Toxic Interior Paints

In my last blog post on landing a job in renewable energy, I discussed the importance of obtaining training, especially hands-on training, to those interested in pursuing a career in solar electricity, wind energy, passive solar design, home energy efficiency and green building.

Remember, too, that you can learn a lot from a good book. In recent years, there’s been an outpouring of good books on the subject. I’ve spent the last decade writing on the subject to help fill the void.  If you’re interested in solar electricity, check out my newest book, Power from the Sun. If you are interested in small wind, check out Power from the Wind. If you are interested in green building or natural building, I’ve written a bunch on those subjects, too. But enough shameless self-promotion.

My second advice was to get a move on. In other words, get going, as there are many people just like you who are pursuing the same dream.  Get your training now.

But what else can you do?

Another important step toward finding employment is to get out and meet the professionals in the industry. Call for a brief appointment to talk with the owners of local renewable energy companies—installers, manufacturers, consultants, or whatever aspect you are interested in.

Remember, however, these are busy folks. Sometimes very busy. Try to make an appointment for a brief visit at their office. Don’t propose sitting down over a cup of coffee that you’ll buy—as many people do to me. (They want me to drive a half hour to meet them, chat for an hour over coffee, then drive home for a lousy cup of coffee!) Your $2 dollar cup of coffee won’t make up for the $100 to $200 we lose just getting to know with you.

So, call, ask for five minutes at their office at a time that’s convenient for them so you can introduce yourself. Bring an updated resume that lists the courses you’ve taken, especially installation courses. Bring a cup of coffee and a doughnut or a potted plant, perhaps.

Come well dressed and well groomed. Lead with a smile and a friendly hand shake. Don’t be pushy. Let the person know you are interested in a job and what your qualifications are. Point out your practical experience.

Remember, too, it’s not enough to say you’ve been interested in this field for 20 years. So have a million others. And, more important, why didn’t you get into the field 20 years ago like the guy or gal you’re talking too?

Long-standing interest always amuses me. Many of us have been in this field for a very long time, fighting crucial battles, earning next to nothing … we have the battle scars to prove it. And now all of a sudden, here you are, claiming this long-standing interest. It not only amuses me, it’s a bit irksome. I don’t know how others feel, but my guess is that it irks them a bit, too.

So, simply let your prospective employer know your profound interest in the field, what classes you’ve taken, what certificates you have obtained, and what hands-on training you’ve had.

And here’s a radical idea: If he or she says they’re not hiring right now, but maybe a few months, tell him or her you’d be interested in working as an unpaid intern for a month or two—if you can afford the time.

“I’ll work for nothing” demonstrates a profound interest. You’ll surely get noticed.  If the prospective employer agrees, you’ll learn a lot, too. If you work hard and appear to be a great employee, you may land a job at the end of your internship.

Besides meeting face-to-face with prospective employers, start attending national conferences on renewable energy like the American Solar Energy Society’s annual meeting. If you are interested in small wind, attend the small wind conference in Steven’s Point, Wisconsin in June each year.

More important, be sure to attend meetings of local renewable energy or green building groups, and be sure to attend their conferences. Shake hands, get to know the folks … you never know what might happen. You can easily locate renewable energy groups online. Check out your state chapter of the American Solar Energy Society as a starter. They’re listed on the ASES web site.  In my next blog, I’ll discuss the importance of certificates. Until then, happy job hunting.

The new MAX body is getting a new nose. Cardboard and computers are working hand in hand on this aspect of the design. Don’t worry, the finished nose won't look like this, we’re just seeing how small an air inlet we can get away with.

For drag reduction, the less air that goes through the car, the better. Properly guided, air that goes around, over and even below the car can have relatively low air resistance, but air that goes through will always be a big drag, to coin a phrase. If you assume that all the air that goes through a radiator is converted to drag, you won't be far wrong. If you go back to Update No. 16, you can see that MAX’s radiator opening is substantial — a full square foot of MAX’s frontal area. Is that enough area to be worth messing with?

Dynamic pressure (shown by the letter ‘q’ in the aerodynamics biz, for reasons shrouded in mystery) is the pressure of air in motion. For horseback calculation of car performance you can use q = 1 pound at 20 mph. Dynamic pressure (q) increases at the square of airspeed (if you double your speed, you hit twice as many air molecules and you hit them each twice as hard, etc.) so q at 40 mph (20 mph x 2) is 4 pounds per square foot (2 squared). At 60 mph (20 mph x 3) q is 9 pounds per square foot (3 squared). I’ll spare you the math, but it takes 1.5 horsepower to exert 9 pounds of force at 60 mph. If we could reduce the size of the radiator opening to one-third of a square foot (as shown in the photo), MAX’s “cooling drag” would only be 3 pounds, would only take one-half horsepower to overcome, and would save us one full horsepower at 60 miles an hour.

Testing will show how little air MAX needs for cooling, but my guess is not very much. While Kinetic Vehicles encourages even our high performance customers to build their cars with four cylinder engines, we have a few who have put Chevy V-8s in cars that look just like MAX — same nose and everything — and they cool just fine. Still, one test is worth a thousand guesses, all it takes is some cardboard zip-tied to the grill and a keen eye on the temperature gauge, and when we’re done we can recycle the cardboard!

Photo by Jack McCornack

Browse previous MAX Updates.

Check out the 100-mpg Car page for all things MAX.

Using compact-fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) is an easy way to save energy and money at home. These energy-efficient bulbs use much less electricity than an incandescent light bulb. (For a quick and fun overview of the benefits of CFLs vs. incandescents, check out the Common Craft video below.)

Over the last few years, CFLs have become much cheaper and easier to find. However, some people are concerned about the small amount of mercury in CFLs. Others are more interested in using LEDs — another type of energy-efficient light bulb. (Background information on both LEDs and CFLs is available on the Energy Star website, including this fact sheet on mercury and CFLs.)

We’d like to hear what type of light bulbs you’re using at home. Are you using CFLs, and why or why not? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

In the process of making connections with students and faculty involved in this year’s Solar Decathlon, I’ve become acquainted with several notably intelligent people, many of whom are younger than I. They answer my questions with enthusiastic forecasts, not just for their own success in the upcoming competition, but for a future that will benefit from what they have learned, whether or not they win a trophy.

But that enthusiasm has a slight blur around the edges. Sleep deprivation. Assembly starts at midnight, tonight. And it’s probably safe to assume that shops in D.C. providing caffeine in any form will be doing well for the next three weeks. While students, advisors and volunteers are gearing up for the clock to strike 12, we’ll take a look at what they’ve gone through the past few days, just to make it all possible.

For many of the solar-powered houses entered in this year’s competition, the journey from home to the National Mall is not a short one. It’s a complex process requiring students and advisors to disassemble the fruit of two years’ labor, load it onto trucks, and send it down the road, just hoping it will arrive in D.C. in one piece.

Chris Werner, team leader for Cornell University’s Solar Decathlon team describes the process of preparing the Silo House for departure on Sept. 28.

“Every door must be secured,” Werner says. “Every tank must be drained.  Ducts are demounted for travel.  PV's, evacuated tubes, and structural steel are demounted and packaged.  All windows and openings will be covered with travel-grade shrink wrap.  Most appliances will be removed.  Every item that could potentially shift, fall, or break will be wrapped and secured in place.”

Not only can the houses be damaged in transit, the trucks tend to experience problems on the highway.

Associate Professor at Santa Clara University, Timothy Hight recalls the misfortune of 2007.

“… we were delayed twice by broken axles on our trailer, and arrived on the mall about 2 and ½ days late.”

This year, Team California’s Refract House made it successfully to D.C. on time, despite minor complications on the journey.

“We had to wait a few extra days for our most fragile module as it was stuck in the Atlanta rains,” Project Manager Allison Kopf says.

And things don’t get any easier once the trucks successfully reach D.C. Dean of Boston Architectural College, Jeff Stein, discusses the potentially overwhelming experience of figuring out what to do with Team Boston’s Curio House until it’s time to unload it at midnight on Oct. 1.

“…this is the first time we have done something like this, and through our truckers, we have only just learned that the city of Washington, D.C. will only allow wide-load trucks into the city limits between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.,” Stein says. “So now we are making calls to see where we can put these trucks inside the city for nine hours or so.”

Having survived the heart-stopping experience of riding through D.C. traffic, I can only imagine being surrounded by wide-load trucks carrying house components, but University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Construction Manager, Joseph Rice, casually sums it up by saying of the Meltwater House that it’s “…slightly nerve racking to see a 7,200-pound roof section swaying in the breeze.”

Check out this time-lapse video of Cornell University constructing and then disassembling the Silo House.  You may want to keep the volume down if you don’t enjoy the sounds of construction in fast-forward.