green undressed
The science of environmentally sustainable design - in a way we can all understand it.
MOST RECENT POSTS
green undressed: Healthy homes: Plants are a lifeline
dear design expert: How to heat your home… without burning through cash
australian style: Eco living on a grand scale
design everyday: Want a happy home? Invest in design
green undressed: Energy efficiency basics: building an eco home
dear design expert: Shipping goods? Beware condensation
green undressed: Water recycling: How to recycle blackwater
australian style: Room to breathe
design everyday: Hot trend: Bring the outside in!
dear design expert: How do I… Start composting at home?
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Healthy homes: Plants are a lifelinePlants could hold the secret to a simple, easy, cheap and fail-safe way to improve your home’s health. |
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Energy efficiency basics: building an eco homePassive solar design, grey water recycling, solar panels, bio pools and light bulbs. Knowing where to start when you’re designing an energy-efficient home – or making eco changes to your property – can be tough. |
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Water recycling: How to recycle blackwaterIt sounds nasty and it sounds out of the question, but it’s not. There are systems out there that make it possible to clean and re-use the sewage generated from your home. |
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Water recycling: the lowdown on greywater systemsDid you know you could save thousands of litres of water every year by getting to grips with greywater? |
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Green outdoors: Bio pools and how they workWe love our swimming pools in Australia. In the summer months, they’re pretty much an essential. |
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Green windows: What is WERS?Choosing energy efficient windows for your home can mean the difference between sweating it out indoors or getting the right amount of heat in – and out. |
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Protect your home from bushfires: Part 2To ensure your home is safe in a bushfire prone area, look at your building design, know your bushfire plan and commit yourself to ongoing maintenance! |
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Protect your home from bushfires: Part 1Making a home safe in a bushfire prone area starts with the basics: creating a defendable space and removing excess vegetation. |
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Green Cities Conference 2012 – Rating Tool Revolution: Part 2The future of energy and water efficiency ratings for green buildings will see current rating tools merge into one according to a leading panel of sustainability experts from the Green Cities 2012 conference. |
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Green renovating – an expert’s tips, part 5Vertical ventilation is the key to cooling your home without having to use electricity argues solar consultant and architect, Derek Wrigley. |
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Green renovating – an expert’s tips, part 4Locating building materials so that they absorb, store and release heat in all the right places is a aspect of designing an energy efficient home. |
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Green renovating – an expert’s tips, part 3Free heat? Now that’s worth having. Here’s a simple tip on making the most of wasted sunshine to help make your home more energy efficient. |
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Green renovating – an expert’s tips, part 2With a moving source of heat energy a seasonally adjustable sun shade device combined with small eaves, makes far more sense than fixed eaves, argues architect and solar consultant Derek Wrigley. |
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Green renovating – an expert’s tips, part 1Do you want to sacrifice glamour for comfort? In a new six-part series we share the top tips from architect and solar consultant Derek Wrigley on putting comfort first. |
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Painting roof white saves energy and cools buildingsNew research by a leading Australian university has revealed that painting your roof white can reduce heat by about 30°C. |
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Speed date a sustainable designerHundreds of homeowners will be hooking up with leading architects and building designers for the annual ‘Speed Date a Sustainable Designer’ event this weekend. |
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Green light: LED lighting more energy efficientCommonly used to light up gadgets and everyday household appliances since the 1960s, LED lights are now outshining fluorescent and incandescent bulbs as the best alternative for energy-efficient lighting. |
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Green building: the zero carbon homeBuilding an affordable house with zero carbon emissions is now a reality for everyday Australian families thanks to the latest CSIRO project. |
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Green Undressed: Top Stories for 2011, see you in 2012!Lighthome recaps the most interesting and most viewed stories and podcasts in our Green Undressed stories this year. |
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Green prefab wallsA reader asked: “Is there a company in Australia that manufacturers prefabricated wall systems in industrial hemp that could be used in conjunction with steel framing?” |
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Sustainable Building - The Vertical ForestShould we be expanding vertically in urban areas rather than spreading out in urban sprawl? |
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Green Undressed: Green Roofing - Steel vs TilesHow do I choose between tiles or steel for my roof? |
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Green Undressed: Green CementGreening the concrete jungle just came a step closer with an eco-friendly alternative to traditional concrete. |
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Green flooring: How green is linoleum flooring?In our search to find the greenest flooring material possible, we look at linoleum, a flooring choice making a comeback. |
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Green flooring: How green is hardwood flooring?In our search to find the greenest flooring material possible, we check out hardwood’s credentials. |
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Green flooring: How green is bamboo flooring?In our search to find the greenest flooring material possible, we see how bamboo stacks up. |
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Green flooring: How green is rubber flooring?We’re looking at the most sustainable flooring options on the market. This week we’re checking out rubber’s green credentials. |
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Green products reviewed: green flooringIn our search to find the greenest flooring material possible, we’re looking at the most sustainable flooring options on the market. |
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Green building explained: Are you in hot water?Hot water is one of the biggest energy guzzlers in the home. Here are two ways to use hot water smarter |
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Green building: Have you thought about the future?If you’re taking a green approach to building your home, you won’t just be thinking about the environment, but also about the community, future generations and your quality of life. |
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Green building explained: How green is your roof?Green roofs vs rooftop garden: While typical rooftop gardens are primarily an aesthetic feature of a buildings ‘roofscape’ the green roof embodies proven sustainable concepts. |
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Green lighting: Make the switch to LEDs.Save money and the environment by making the switch to a more efficient type of lighting: LEDs. |
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Green lighting: Make the switch to CFL.We take a look at how you can save money and the environment by making the switch to more efficient types of lighting. |
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Green lighting: Why you need to make the switch.We take a look at energy efficient lighting and why all households should make the switch. |
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Green building: The science behind solar panels.We take a look at the science behind one of the most talked-about alternative energy sources in the world today. |
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Green building explained: Building with reconstituted limestone blocks.We delve into R-values in response to a reader’s question about using reconstituted lime blocks. |
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Sustainable Building: The 10 Star ChallengeDesigners are stepping up to the challenge of designing a 10 star home. |
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Green kitchens: How green is stainless steel?In our last green kitchen post, we take a look at just how green stainless steel is to use to deck out a sustainable kitchen, and find out what materials Sydney couple Vanessa and Dan Winter have selected to use in their green kitchen. |
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Green kitchen: How green is bamboo?Want to get the most sustainable kitchen possible but don’t know what products to use? Over the past two weeks we’ve followed Sydney couple Vanessa and Dan Winter on their search for the greenest possible kitchen. This week, we take a look at how well bamboo stacks up. |
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Green kitchens: How green is plywood?Last week we introduced you to Vanessa and Dan Winter, a Sydney couple on a search to find the most sustainable materials for their new kitchen. This week, we’re taking a look at how well plywood stacks up. |
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Sustainable Building: How to get a green kitchen“How do I design a kitchen that uses sustainable materials?” From plywood to bamboo to stainless steel, we’ll research just how green these materials are to help you can create a green kitchen of your own. |
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Sustainable Building: What’s green about pre-fabricated huts?When you’re thinking green, smaller is often better. |
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Sustainable Building: What makes an 8 star home?While a 6 star energy rating is good, we look at what it took to build this 8 star home. |
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Sustainable Building: How to fix the weakest linkGlazing has a very big impact on the energy efficiency of a home. But what do you do if you've got too much facing the wrong way? |
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Sustainable Building: Design demoHow a design duo is using their own urban infill project to explore green building and an urban farm. |
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Sustainable Building: Why double brick is nuts in PerthChallenging convention in the double-brick market of Perth. |