Resources We Love – Solar Shingles

As someone who believes that the exterior appearance of a home is as important as the interior, and who also believes that whatever we can do to be more energy efficient is a good thing, here are solar panels that are as attractive as the homes they’re serving.

Whether you call them solar shingles, photovoltaic shingles, or building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs), they’re solar cells designed to look like conventional asphalt shingles but they contain thin film photovoltaic cells to harness the sun’s power.

Because they’re so discrete in their appearance, they blend into the appearance of conventional roofing materials for a seamless look.

Are these asphalt or solar roof shingles?

To designers, architects, and homeowners alike, it’s an amazing breakthrough in the solar energy market, and especially useful if the esthetics of a house matters to you.

There are many companies in the market who have introduced solar shingles, and even one who offers solar roof tiles that conform to the curved shape of clay roof tiles.

These curved solar panels are from SRS Energy.

 A Google search for “solar roof shingles” brings up many vendors. Here are just a few of them in no particular order of preference:

Premier Power:http://www.premierpower.com/solar_energy_residential/roof_solar_tile.php

OkSolar

http://www.oksolar.com/roof/

Uni-Solar

http://www.uni-solar.com/

SRS Energy

http://www.srsenergy.com/

Note: This article originally appeared on my "Resources We Love" blog site but since President Obama talked about it in his State of the Union address, I thought it relevant enough to post here too.

This article in no way endorses either the companies herein or the products they offer. It’s merely intended to point you in this direction.

Resources We Love - The Murphy Bed

The adage “Necessity is the mother of invention” holds absolutely true with the Murphy bed.

The original "Murphy Door Bed"

In the early 20^th century, William Murphy lived with his wife in a small, one room apartment in San Francisco, and their bed took up most of the floor space. Wanting to entertain guests, but not wanting the bed to be the main attraction, he invented what is now simply known as “The Murphy Bed,” a bed that pivoted on the doorjamb of a dressing closet, and then lowered into a sleeping position. In 1916 he was granted a patent and The Murphy Wall Bed Company began production. The rest (forgive the pun), as they say, is history. The company is still in business and is one of the oldest furniture manufacturers in America.

Murphy beds are an immediate go-to solution for decorating small apartments, guest bedrooms, college dorms, or any room where floor space is at a premium and there’s a need for multiple functions within the area.

The Murphy Bed concept is no longer limited to having a bed fold out of a closet. Bookcases that incorporate a fold down bed are becoming increasingly popular, as well as wall units that convert from a dining or work table to a practical, if not luxurious, sleeping space.

The design of the Murphy Bed has come a long way since its inception.

A Google search for “murphy bed” will show you thousands of sites for how to incorporate this clever idea into a design solution. The Murphy Bed Company is the original resource to find this solution. California Closets is another maker of  “wall bed” solutions, while Flying Beds' European resource leans to a more modern approach with clever shelving solutions in their designs. If you want to build your own wall bed solution, you can buy just the mechanism and be limited only by your own imagination. 

The Murphy Bed is truly a Resource We Love, and one we couldn’t do without!

This article is for informational purposes only and in no way endorses specific manufacturers of the products shown herein.

Photos courtesy of The Murphy Bed, California Closets, and Flying Beds.

Resources We Love - Lyptus Lumber

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT "LYPTUS LUMBER?" YOU SHOULD!

The lyptus tree is a natural hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus urophylla andis a species that thrives in the warm climate of Brazil as well as other South American countries. Its fast growth in this warm climate permits harvesting in just 14 to 16 years as opposed to 50 to 70 years in colder regions. Lyptus forests produce 30 times the volume of lumber per hectare per year when compared to an unmanaged temperate forest. 

Plantations are a mosaic of eucalyptus and native tropical forests which were previously agricultural and grazing lands. More than a third of these plantations are managed as permanent native forest dedicated to environmental protection and are certified to Brazil’s national sustainable forestry standard.

Mills that transform the trees into building products use virtually every portion of the log, and then the residuals are used as bio-energy for the kiln drying operations.

Characteristics and Benefits

Lyptus lumber’s properties are comparable to hard maple, and with a straight, even grain it rivals cherry and mahogany in its appearance.

Trees are manually pruned during their growing years, so logs are more uniform and have fewer knots resulting in a high conversion rate of logs to clear lumber.

Lyptus lumber has good working qualities:

- It’s well suited for a variety of interior applications, including flooring, cabinets, and laminates.

- It has good machining and turning properties.

- It holds glues and fasteners well, and sands to a smooth, semi-polished surface.

- It absorbs both oil and water based finishes and stains evenly.

Additional useful information about Lyptus Lumber can be found here: http://www.lyptus.com/

Vendors that sell Lyptus lumber and products made from it can be found with a Google search.

And now you know about Lyptus lumber.


Photos courtesy of Lyptus.com's web site.

Eddie Bauer and Airstream Collaborate

Ever wish you could just walk out the front door, turn the key,and travel to parts unknown for an indefinite period of time?

Eddie Bauer and Airstream will soon make this wish a reality: they’ve collaborated to bring you a new experience in road travel: the Eddie Bauer Airstream.

This 25’ Aistream trailer comes complete with a queen-size bed made up with an Eddie Bauer goose down duvet, pillows, and throw, maple and soapstone laminated surfaces throughout, and stain-resistant Sunbrella upholstery on the interior. It even has an oversized hatch for loading and unloading things you want to have on this adventure, like a bike and a kayak. 

The Eddie Bauer Airstream will unveil at the Sundance Film Festival later in January, and be available to purchase in February. At an MSRP of $73,702, it’s not for just any traveler, but for someone who wants the adventure of the open road but not leave behind all the comforts of home.

Of course, you’ll also need the appropriate vehicle to tow it, but that’s another story.

This is definitely a RESOURCE WE LOVE, or maybe it's just the fantasy of it. But in any case, it's worth dreaming about...

Specs and details are available to view here: http://www.airstream.com/products/travel-trailers/eddie-bauer-airstream.html 

RESOURCES WE LOVE - New Posts

Okay, so some of my followers haven't been to the new blog site that I created specifically for my Resources We Love posts.

To make it easy, here are the two blogs that were posted this week:

Solar Shingles

Eddie Bauer and Airstream Collaborate

Be sure to sign up so you'll be notified whenever a new posting appears. You'll be glad you did, 'cause you never know when or where you'll see just that thing you were looking for, and perhaps didn't even know you were looking for, like a cool Airstream!