Environmentally Sustainable Design - The Greeny Flat Experience

Jan 3, 2016: PHEV Goes Camping

Over the last few weeks I’ve been writing about our new Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) which was the logical next step in journey towards a fossil-fuel-free lifestyle. Clearly a PHEV is not fossil-fuel-free as it uses petrol to run the Hybrid drive system but, for our close-to-home trips, the Plug-in feature allows us to […]

Dec 27, 2015: Electric Driving Less Than Half The Cost of Petrol

In last week’s Newsletter I wrote about our first week with our new Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV).

Cintia’s Thoughts About The PHEV

One regular reader commented that they would like to hear what ‘The Boss’ thinks of it, so I asked her to pen a few words…

What do i think about […]

Dec 20, 2015: Our First Week With an Electric Vehicle

In last week’s Newsletter I wrote about bringing home our new Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). In that article I outlined the reasons why we chose ‘the world’s first plug-in hybrid SUV’ for our own electric vehicle (EV).

This week I will briefly describe how we feel about it and what we have […]

Dec 13, 2015: Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is.

This whole Greeny Flat thing started with the idea that we have to learn how to live without fossil fuels. By designing, building, living in and monitoring the Greeny Flat we’ve been able to prove that it is relatively easy to inexpensive to create a house that makes more energy than it uses. In fact, […]

Nov 29, 2015: Walking for Climate Action and Driving Electric Vehicles

What to we want? CLIMATE JUSTICE. When do we want it? NOW!

On the eve of the United Nations Climate Summit, people around the world are marching today to send a message to the delegates in Paris that we expect them to take strong action for a transition to renewable energy, clean air, […]

Nov 15, 2015: Battery Storage Options

In last week’s Newsletter I wrote about the approaching battery storage revolution and whether or not we are likely to see a big percentage of homeowners go ‘off-the-grid’. Personally I think this is unlikely but it will depend on how electricity companies adapt to the fundamental changes that solar + storage are bringing to the […]

Oct 8, 2015: The Big Disconnect?

Will the battery storage revolution take us all off the grid?

Since I wrote about Tesla’s announcement of the release of its battery storage system called the ‘Powerwall‘ back in our May 3rd Newsletter I’ve had countless people ask me what I think about battery storage for solar power systems and how soon […]

Nov 11, 2015: 7,377,870,064 Elephants in the Room

image courtesy of troopytracks.com

In our June 28th Newsletter article I wrote that I was glad Pope Francis had spoken out against climate change but disappointed that he hadn’t said anything about population growth. This prompted a surprising and troubling response from a very dear friend of mine who came close to accusing […]

Oct 25, 2015: Pros and Cons of Granny Flats

Hello again and thank you very much to all the readers who sent congratulatory messages following our Green Globe Award announcement last week. So far the award hasn’t led to anything too exciting but you’ll be the first to know if and when that changes. Meanwhile we keep plugging away.

This week I’ll be presenting […]

Sep 27, 2015: Build Tight, Vent Right

I got a nice email this week from the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) thanking us for participating in Sustainable House Day (which they organised).

‘A big thank you to everyone who turned out for Sustainable House Day on September 13! It was a wonderful day with over 15,000 visitors at the 150 homes and gardens. […]

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