Friday, April 26, 2013 at 06:24PM color in architecture and marketing
Infographic by WebpageFX
color, psychology in design tips Friday, April 12, 2013 at 10:57AM Design can and should be simple.
design, simple design in creative reuse, design tips Thursday, March 28, 2013 at 05:51PM 
Personal wireless lighting. Light you can control from your smart device. When it comes to wireless lights, hue is about as smart as it gets.
To get started, just download the free app to your smart phone or tablet. … you can use the app to control your wireless bulbs.
The LED technology inside every hue wireless LED bulb is a little bit special. That’s because it can display different tones of white light – from warm yellow white to vibrant blue white. Of course, it can also recreate any color in the spectrum. Naturally.
And they couldn’t be easier to install. Just pick the lights or lamps you want to give the hue makeover and screw the wireless bulbs in. Then turn the light switch on, so there’s electricity running to the bulb, and you’re all done. It really is that simple.
PAINT WITH LIGHT
You already know that hue can recreate any color. You just need the palette to paint with, right? So what better place to start than your own photos? Use the app to capture the colors from any photo and then recreate them in your room. Simply drag the pointer to a color in your photo and the hue bulb will change to that color straight away.
A RECIPE FOR EVERY TASTE
Okay, so hue can light your room in a million different ways. But it can also help you focus, give you an energy boost or help you relax. Now that’s some clever science. And it’s something we’ve crammed into a very useful tool we call Light Recipes.
To use the Light Recipes, just select the option in the app and then choose one of the four recipes – Relax, Concentrate, Energize and Reading. There’s a sliding bar to change the brightness, so you’re always the one in remote control of your lights.
WELCOME HOME
Working late? Or maybe you’re out for the night. No problem. Simply turn your wireless lights on or off remotely. That way you can make it look like you’re home, even when you’re not.
Better still, you can set your lights to come on at a set time. Perfect if you’re away on holiday but you want people to think you’re still in. Or maybe just before you arrive home from work. That way you’ll never come back to a dark house again.
THE BRAINS OF THE OPERATION
The hue bridge is where all the clever stuff happens. It’s the ‘bridge’ between your bulbs and your smart phone app. And it can link up to 50 bulbs at a time.
To connect your bridge, first power up the bridge and then connect it to the back of your wireless router, using the network cables provided.
LED, hue, lighting in cool new products Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 05:15PM A tight envelope may exacerbate indoor air quality problems, so what should you watch for?
By Fernando Pages Ruiz
Tightening a home’s building envelope can result in significant energy savings, but it can also choke off the air exchanged through the building shell, potentially contributing to the buildup of indoor air pollutants.
Improving IAQ requires a systems approach…The prescriptive directions of Indoor airPLUS focus on seven general categories: moisture control, radon mitigation, pest management, HVAC best practices with whole house ventilation, proper combustion venting, specifying building materials with reduced chemical off-gassing potential, and home commissioning… a balance between proper ventilation and source control.
In-The-Field Advice
The EPA’s Indoor airPLUS best practices include the following, as detailed in the EPA brochure “Step Up to Indoor airPLUS.”
• Build in added mold and moisture protection with water-managed roofs, walls, and foundations. “Features include continuous drainage planes, proper flashing and air sealing, damp-proof foundation walls, capillary breaks, drain tile, and proper grading.”
• Prevent pests by fully sealing, caulking, or screening likely entry points. Combining physical barriers with proper pest management techniques may reduce pesticide use.
• Employ “best-practice design and installation of ducts and equipment to minimize condensation problems, whole-house and spot ventilation to help dilute and exhaust indoor pollutants, and air filtration to remove airborne particulates.”
• Provide radon-resistant construction in potentially high-radon areas, “including gravel and plastic sheeting below slabs, fully sealed and caulked foundation penetrations, plastic vent pipe running from below slab through the roof, and an attic receptacle for easily adding an electric powered fan to the vent pipe if needed.”
• Reduce potential exposure to combustion gases by “installing direct- or power-vented gas- and oil-fired equipment, properly vented fireplaces, garages fully sealed from living spaces and equipped with an exhaust fan, and carbon monoxide alarms in each sleeping area.”
• Reduce sources of pollutants by selecting materials that minimize risk of moisture damage and have reduced chemical content, and ventilate a home prior to occupancy.
For more information, visit epa.gov/iaplus01/pdfs/builder_brochure.pdf.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 at 05:10PM Seven Affordable Construction Tips
Seven secrets for building sustainable homes on a budget.
By Jennifer Goodman
In the affordable housing sector, energy efficiency isn’t an add-on luxury—it’s a necessity that helps to keep the cost of homeownership within reach of low-income families, who spend 17 percent of their income on utility bills, says Matt Clark of Habitat for Humanity International. In comparison, middle-income families pay about 4 percent.
“Green building makes complete and utter sense for us,” he says.
Building pros in the affordable and for-profit sector gathered last week at the 2012 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo to pick up sustainable construction knowledge from the nonprofit, which builds 66,500 houses each year in the U.S. and abroad. Mike Haigh of the Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity (HFH) provided these tips:
—Build small to keep costs down. Dallas Area HFH houses average 1,262 square feet, almost 700 square feet less than the national average.
—Don’t rely on technology to combat a problem that can be fixed with good design, such as blasting the air conditioning in a room with too much southern exposure.
—Place the HVAC system and hot water heater in a centrally located space to keep duct runs and piping short and eliminate air leakage. Dallas Area HFH places the hot water heater within 15 feet of all fixtures and specs duct runs of no more than 10 to 15 feet. “That way the air handler doesn’t have to work so hard to push air over a shorter distance,” Haigh said.
—Provide natural light whenever possible, especially in small, enclosed spaces. Find a way to squeeze a window into every room.
—Spec 36-inch-wide doorways and 42-inch-wide hallways for future aging-in-place needs. “That way it’s not a costly expense to figure out ways to make the house accessible,” he said.
—Rely on advanced framing techniques such as 24 inches o.c. framing, two-stud corners, ladder blocking, and engineered trusses to save money on lumber and maximize structural integrity. Haigh noted that “this takes a little extra time on the front end, but you save money on the construction and the buyer saves money on operating costs.”
—Tightly seal the entire building envelope, including an encapsulated attic, careful flashing, and premium energy-efficient windows.
By considering a few simple, inexpensive techniques builders can add to the energy and resource efficiency of their projects, Haigh concluded. “Call it what you want—common sense, feng shui, or building science,” he said. “In the long run it leads to a much better product.”