This house is beyond cool. Those in Southern California should swing by the California Science Center in downtown Los Angeles to tour a solar home nonpareil.

Known as the CHIP house, for “Compact, Hyper-Insulated Prototype Solar House,” the home was designed and built by students of the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). (more…)

When it comes to sheer number of solar installations, Arizona comes in third among states, following California and New Jersey.

Until last December, Arizona’s incentive programs were among the best in the nation, with public utilities offering generous per-watt rebates in addition to a state rebate. (more…)

Referred to by one website as “an industry thought leader,” Carl Seville is known for making some important (though perhaps controversial) remarks. In a recent blog, Seville suggested that advertising for green products should be banned.

“These products — solar modules, geothermal equipment, spray foam insulation, high-performance windows, bamboo floors — can all be effective parts of a green building,” wrote Seville, “but none of them will add much to the project if not integrated properly. Maybe it’s time to ban advertising for green building products — they did it with cigarettes, didn’t they?” (more…)