Trick or Lead?

 To celebrate Halloween, we’re giving away one lead per member! Just send an email, stating which lead you’d like to receive, and we’ll send it to you! And you don’t even have to dress up!

This offer is good only until November 2^nd. Limit one lead per GBT member.

Insulated Concrete Forms, Other Measures, Make Home Disaster Resistant
It was only a coincidence that the Windsor, Colo., tornado struck the same day - May 22, 2008 - that ground was broken on a local custom home builder's entry in the local Parade of Homes. In their fourth year of building a parade home to benefit children's charities, builder Doug Collins and his team had decided months earlier to use insulated concrete forms. That, in conjunction with many other hazard mitigation measures, will result in a structure that should stand up well in future tornadoes and other disasters. Continue...  View Topic

Energy Star Appliances May Not All Be Efficient, Audit Finds
The Energy Department has concluded in an internal audit that it does not properly track whether manufacturers that give their appliances an Energy Star label have met the required specifications for energy efficiency. Continue...  View Topic

Study: Affordable Green Homes Pay for Themselves
Specifically, the study evaluated 27 affordable housing developments (containing a total of 1,640 homes) that have been built in accordance with the criteria, which establish standards similar to LEED. Researchers found that while building to green specifications costs an extra $4.52 per square foot, or $4,524 per house, on average, the lifetime energy and water savings from such upgrades amounts to $5.43 per square foot, or $4,851 per house. In other words, green has ROI (Return on Investment). The eco-friendly projects in the study were estimated to have a 17% internal rate of return, with green building costs typically recouped within eight years. Continue...  View Topic

ICF Forum 
Sufficient HVAC size in ICF house
Leave ICF Uncovered through the winter
ICF geopolymer pour

SIP Forum
New Member Here with a Unique Problem
SIP 6 in vs 8 in panels
Paying panel deposit soon, need advice.

Radiant Heating Forum
Installing tubing before interior walls are up
Passive design / radiant heat questions
Geothermal with Radiant Cooling-will this work??

Geothermal Heat Pump Forum
Should I pay extra for grout?
Need Advice for replacing Premier WaterFurnace 
Prepping for GSHP

Solar and Wind
Solar heating heat pump hot water cylinder
I want to go off grid....but... 
Storage control 

Windows/Doors and Interior/Exterior Finish
Metal Siding As Rainscreen without Furring Strips
Hardibacker as Siding
Alternative roof decking

Appliances, Lighting and Kitchen/Bath Fixtures
Dimmable CFL's
Phillips LED Lights at Home Depot - Anyone used them?
On Demand Hotwater and Recirculation?  

Green/Energy-Efficient Design and Planning
We need some design help and feedback...
Your opinions welcomed - Best HRV for cold climate
Insulate ceiling in passive solar shed roof design?

Green/Energy-Efficient Building and Construction
Icynene foam in furred (concreted) basement walls
Recently finished double stud house.
Cellulose? or other method for an old home

General Forum
Heat recovery from clothes dryer & bath fans
Need suggestion for green carpeting
HRV vent cover?