Category Archives: Renewables and Energy

Solar Panels from China Could Face Tariffs

Posted on March 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

The U.S. Commerce Department plans to slap import tariffs on Chinese-made solar cells in a trade dispute that has strained relations between the two countries and divided the American solar power industry.

The tariffs, proposed Tuesday, follow complaints that the Chinese government has given its solar companies an unfair advantage in the international race to dominate the industry, supplying low-cost loans and land for new factories.

Those factories have swamped the global market with cheap solar cells, slashing the price by 60 percent last year and driving competitors out of business. Three U.S. solar companies, including Fremont’s Solyndra, plunged into bankruptcy in 2011.

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Houses Built from Hemp – Hempcrete

Posted on March 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

Two eco-friendly houses are rising from the ground in suburban Melbourne built from a plant normally associated with 1960s hippie heaven: hemp.

In an Australian-mainland first, the walls of the semi-detached homes in trendy inner-city Northcote will be made from the cannabis-based building product Hempcrete, pioneered by a Queensland company for its carbon-neutral properties.

The eight-star green rated homes are the inspiration of two medical practitioners, a father and daughter team who will live side by side with their three generations in the one construction

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Big Budget Renovations Come With Added Risk

Posted on March 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Renovating used to be relatively simple. If the house was getting cramped, you would tack on another room, if the apartment kitchen was a bit dated, you might give it a lick of paint or maybe some new cupboard doors. Not these days.

Contact the appraisers at www.socalappraisalserv.com to help you determine if your renovation will add the value you are seeking.

Today nothing escapes the eyes of the renovator. Egged on by television shows and the high price of moving, they seem to think everything about a house or an apartment needs to change: ripping out walls, moving kitchens, putting in attic storage, opening up the back to add more light. Nothing, it seems, is off limits. Even fixtures, fittings and building materials now have to be top-notch. Just think of what gets a mention in a real estate advertisement: European appliances, specific types of timber floorboards or a computer-controlled lighting system.