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PETALING JAYA: Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd is striving to create more green awareness with the opening of its RM4mil state-of-the-art Econation Centre in Section 16 here.

Managing director Jeff Lee said the centre would act as a platfom to showcase the idea of sustainable living and the latest green technologies to the Malaysian community and industries.

“It will be a centre that facilitates continuous improvements to the venture of eco and comprehensive solutions through research, creative innovations, education, commercial strategies and professional discussions,” he said.

Set to showcase the company’s various forms of green solutions, the 6,000-sq-ft centre was revived from a 40-year-old bungalow that has been refurbished and technically designed to interact with natural elements such as sunlight, water, air and earth.

Going green: (From left) Panasonic Malaysia Sdn Bhd executive director Ng Chee Keong, chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Jeff Lee and deputy managing director Kazuteru Tomachi at the company’s Econation Centre .

The centre is capable of generating a surplus of 24MW energy per annum after taking into consideration forecast energy consumption.

It features 40kW peak solar modules fitted on a double-roof structure, a 50 cu m rain-water harvesting system, energy-efficient and indoor air-conditioning, quality purification and landscaping as well as reduction of heat reflections.

Admission is free. The centre is opened to the public on Friday and Saturday, while it will be opened to invited guest and businesses on Monday to Thursday.

Lee said the Government’s initiative and legislation to promote Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) system under the Renewable Energy Act was very important.

“We need to collaborate a lot with the authorities and if we can ride the wave until the situation matures, it will reach a tipping point and we can monetise the opportunities from the FiT system,” he said.

Panasonic Malaysia eco solutions department head Tan Chee Hon said the company was in the midst of planning to build green homes called Panahome, with a flagship centre to be built in Bangsar.

“As a certified service provider, we have received warm response from customers and have secured a huge project and is in the midst of completing a 2MW solar farm in Pontian for a client and solar projects for a few condominiums.

“We also have 10 to 12 confirmed clients who want to install solar panels for their own residential use,” he said.

On its RM1.9bil solar manufacturing company in Kulim, Kedah, Tan said Panasonic Malaysia was currently fitting its equipment in the plant and was on track to begin production early next year.

Houses are expensive to build, but you might be able to cut some of the cost by following a few tips. Here are just a few tips you might want to consider when you start to plan your new home.

1. Use trusses over stick-built roof framing. This will save you money on labor and materials. Simple enough concept. Besides, trusses offer other advantages as well, such as that they are usually stronger, and less expensive than stick-built. So less expensive and higher quality!

2. Have an open floor plan. Having an open floor plan, you minimize hallways and maximize borrowed space from room to room, which makes the house look and feel bigger. It also helps in reducing the necessary size of your home. It could also makes your resale value soar; people want open houses with space, especially if that space is perceived, and they do not have to pay as much for it.

3. Landscape for savings. If you place your landscaping consciously, you will save money all year long. Place deciduous trees for summer shade and winter sun, and place windows in your house to allow airflow, so breezes can flow through your house, saving on cooling bills. Use your landscaping to save on energy, and make sure you recoup the cost of landscaping through the energy savings it can provide.

4. Use quality windows. If you don’t cut costs here, you will save in the long run. Quality windows reduce air infiltration and improve insulation, which means you save money each month on utilities. Also, your house will be much more comfortable to live in, and you will enjoy it a lot more.

5. Choose maintenance-free materials. This saves you money, especially if you get reduced- maintenance mechanical systems. Time equals money, and, if you save time by not having as much maintenance, you make money

6. Choose brick, cultured stone, stucco, vinyl, or aluminum siding. This will reduce your painting expenses now and in the future, making you more money! It also looks nice and can increase your resale value.

7. Use skylights and windows. If you can utilize natural light well, you will save a lot in lighting costs, so place windows carefully, and use skylights in places such as bathrooms and master closets. You will enjoy the natural sunlight all year long.

These are just a few things to help you in your planning. As always, talk to your builder and have them help you with suggestions on making your home-building experience a profitable and enjoyable one. There are so many new techniques to save you money and help the environment, whether you are building traditional or “green.” Don’t feel you have to get all your planning done in one meeting with your builder. These things can be a simple, but a long process. Your builder will define their process and assist you in gathering information to aid in your decision process. Let this be a fun project, and enjoy it.

Information for this article was taken from www.homebuildingremodeling.com. For ALL Your Real Estate and Building needs or questions, call Debbie at (830) 833-4249 / (713)818-69658 or debbie@vallonerealestate.net

by Wilfred Pilo, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on August 2, 2012, Thursday

PICTURESQUE: MBKS building surrounded by greenery and flowers.

Kuching South City Council (MBKS) is spending RM3.6 million per year to ensure the city stays beautiful in terms of landscaping.

James Chan, mayor of Kuching City South revealed this recently.

“Planting trees and plants is not easy but flowers can make your day. I wish we had four seasons. To ensure we have breathtaking landscape, we will continuously make a difference to the surroundings to make Kuching worthy to be called a garden city,” he enthused.

The government has a vision for a green belt in the city but Chan believes people appreciate colours more than green foliage. With that in mind he encouraged his staff to plant both flowering plants and trees.

As a garden city, Kuching’s landscape should be vibrant and Chan made the Canna Lily Kuching City South’s official flower for planting beside major roads.

APPEALING: Bougainvillea are always a refreshing sight.

The mayor describes the exotic plant indigenous to South America as having eye-catching flowers and large green foliage.

“These tropical plants are suited to our weather and when they bloom, the vibrant colour strikes the eyes. The flowers are popular with visitors especially tourists.”

Chan also likes the Bourgainvilla which tends to bloom during dry weather, producing a profusion of colours.

He and the council secretary give ideas to their horticulturist on what trees and plants would colour-coordinate the landscape.

SHADY: Angsana trees provide welcome shade to motorists.

“The type of plants they sow depends on the area and location in the city so it will match with its ambience,” Chan revealed.

His other favourite flowering plants for the city’s landscape are the kopsia, hibiscus and spider lily.

They have planted 24 species of shrubs, eight species of ground cover, 13 palm trees and 45 types of trees.

It is a credit to the green thumbs of MBKS that their flowering plants are highly sought by botanical pilferers.

As of June this year, the total number of dead, missing and vandalised plants is 1,629 – almost equal last year’s loss (1,722).

SEASONAL: Tecoma trees bloom during certain times of the year to bring an air of enchantment to the city.

Kudos to the green fingers of MBKS for their landscaping effort though.

Under the helm of Chan, much of the city within 61 square kilometres had been transformed.

It was just a matter of time for him to sit down with his team of landscapers to strategise a plan.

“When I first took over the office, the landscape was at it lowest point and I received comments from the government and friends from the private sector,” he said.

Their comments spur the new mayor to do something and after three years, much of the landscape, especially shrubs and hedges along major roads in the city, had transformed.

One tough challenge faced in transforming the landscape was along the city’s green belt where trees were brittle and their roots had a tendency to crack up road surfaces.

Some trees that had provided shade for 20 to 30 years had to go to make way for infrastructure development and ensure safety for motorists.

Chan revealed that they fell over 500 mature trees along the green belt before replacing them with some 10,000 to 20,000 trees and shrubs.

The council was given a helping hand from the private sector especially developers who backed up its ideas as the beautiful landscape added value to properties in housing estates.

Chan revealed that some species of trees not indigenous to the state were brought over from other countries with similar climate and weather conditions.

Local indigenous wild trees or plants tend to have small flowers and cannot grow in the city’s secondary soil.

“I try planting Kapor Kruin and some other timber species but was unsuccessful. Lately the Tecoma trees the council planted 10 years ago blossomed and become the talk of folks in the city,” he pointed out.

Chan wants to plant local fruit trees to get the younger people to be familiar with them.

Finally to ensure eco-balance with nature, the council wisely refrained from planting in the city centre trees that would attract birds in order to avoid having to deal with their droppings.

Whatever the council does, it wants to ensure that the 91 plus hectares of land to be cultivated with trees and plants produce scenic landscape worthy for the capital to be called a garden city.

BURST OF PURPLE: Bougainvillea is a favourite shrub that blossoms during the dry season.

NATIONAL FLOWER: An orange hibiscus flower that brightens up the garden city.

EYE-CATCHING: Yellow Canna Lily streaked with orange.

CLOSE-UP: Delicate flowers of the Tecoma tree.

ATTRACTIVE IN PINK: MBKS’ official flower, the Canna Lily has been promoted by the mayor to visitors and tourists.

WHITE VERSION: Tecoma species with white flowers.

– Next Entry

It’s been a doozy of a wildfire season (Colorado’s most destructive ever), leaving homeowners wondering what safety measures they can put in place to stave off flames in the event of a fire in their own neighborhood.

Landscaping, it turns out, can be an important measure in wildfire protection.

But fire-wise landscaping isn’t just something for those dwelling on remote Western hilltops. Brush, grass and forest fires occur nearly everywhere in the United States, says the National Fire Protection Association. Here’s how your landscaping can help keep you safe.

Create “defensible” space

Most homes that burn during a wildfire are ignited by embers landing on the roof, gutters, and on decks and porches. So your first point of action should be creating a defensible space, a buffer zone around your home, to reduce sources of fuel.

Start by keeping the first 3 to 5 feet around your home free of all flammable materials and vegetation: plants, shrubs, trees and grasses, as well as bark and other organic mulches should all be eliminated (a neat perimeter of rock mulch or a rock garden can be a beautiful thing). Maintenance is also important:

• Clear leaves, pine needles and other debris from roofs, gutters and eaves
• Cut back tree branches that overhang the roof
• Clear debris from under decks, porches and other structures

Moving farther from the house, you might consider adding hardscaping — driveways, patios, walkways, gravel paths, etc. These features add visual interest, but they also maintain a break between vegetation and your home in the event of a fire. Some additional tasks to consider in the first 100 feet surrounding your home:

• Thin out trees and shrubs (particularly evergreens) within 30 feet
• Trim low tree branches so they’re a minimum of 6 feet off the ground
• Mow lawn regularly and dispose of clippings and other debris promptly
• Move woodpiles to a space at least 30 feet from your home

Use fire-resistant plants

…your first point of action should be creating a defensible space, a buffer zone.

– Pauline Hammerbeck, Editor at the Allstate Blog

Populating your landscape with plants that are resistant to fire can also be an important tactic. Look for low-growing plants that have thick leaves (a sign that they hold water), extensive root systems and the ability to withstand drought.

This isn’t as limiting as it sounds. Commonly used hostas, butterfly bushes and roses are all good choices. And there are plenty of fire-resistant plant lists to give you ideas on what to pick.

Where and how you plant can also have a dramatic effect on fire behavior. The plants nearest your home should be smaller and more widely spaced than those farther away.

Be sure to use a variety of plant types, which reduces disease and keeps the landscape healthy and green. Plant in small clusters — create a garden island, for instance, by surrounding a group of plantings with a rock perimeter — and use rock mulch to conserve moisture.

Maintain accessible water sources

Wildfires present a special challenge to local fire departments, so it’s in your interest to be able to access or maintain an emergency water supply — particularly if you’re in a remote location.

At a minimum, keep 100 feet of garden hose attached to a spigot (if your water comes from a well, consider an emergency generator to operate the pump during a power failure). But better protection can come from the installation of a small pond, cistern or, if budget allows, a swimming pool.

Good planning and a bit of elbow grease have a big hand in wildfire safety. In a year with record heat and drought, looking over your landscape with a firefighter’s eye can offer significant peace of mind.

Related:

• Are You Properly Insured for Your Real Estate?
• The Ins and Outs of Homeowner’s Insurance
• Tips for Fire Safety in Your Home

Guest blogger Pauline Hammerbeck is an editor for the Allstate Blog, which helps people prepare for the unpredictability of life.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

Click to view original post.

TAMPA – Tampa-based entrepreneur, John Wink, of Novel Ideas, has nationally launched a new, green product in landscape design, EcoBorder. EcoBorder is manufactured in the USA and molded from recycled tire rubber.

Wink spent over 15 years in the landscaping industry before joining Merrill Lynch and advancing to a position as a VP Investment Wholesaler in Tampa.

Wink created and launched EcoBorder out of his garage in 2009. Though this product hit the market three years ago, it now is available in retail stores throughout North America.

In its short lifetime, EcoBorder has already reused over 200,000 tires and is projected to recycle another four million pounds this year. “Automobile tires can take over 100 years to decompose in a landfill,” says Wink. “Our recycling process gives old tires a new function while providing a simple-to-install solution that looks fantastic in any yard. We are dedicated to doing our part to help preserve the planet and make our world a little more beautiful.”

The products are also currently available in four colors online at .
 

Tampa, Fla.-based entrepreneur John Wink, of Novel Ideas, has announced the national launch of EcoBorder, an environmentally friendly landscape product.

Manufactured in the United States and molded from recycled tire rubber, this landscape edging was invented in 15-year landscape Wink’s garage, after his position with Merrill Lynch ended about the time of the 2008 stock market crash. With 15 years of experience in landscaping, he invented EcoBorder out of his garage in 2009.

In its short lifetime, EcoBorder has already reused more than 200,000 tires and is projected to recycle another 4 million pounds this year. “Automobile tires can take more than 100 years to decompose in a landfill,” said John Wink on the idea behind EcoBorder. “Our recycling process gives old tires a new function while providing asimple-to-install solution that looks fantastic in any yard. We are dedicated to doing our part to help preserve the planet and make our world a little more beautiful.”

With no professional installation or laborious digging required, a homeowner can now achieve a stone border look in a matter of minutes, he said.

A partnership of casual West Coast design, sophisticated style and indoor-outdoor expansiveness has created a spectacular Sunset Magazine 2012 “Idea House” in Healdsburg.

Open for public tours on weekends starting Aug. 3 through Sept. 9, the “Idea House” epitomizes Sunset’s design aesthetic, said Kitty Morgan, Sunset’s editor-in-chief.

“It’s modern, it’s all green construction with minimal waste, it’s family-friendly, it’s got the indoor-outdoor feel,”  said Morgan, speaking Thursday at a press screening at the ‘Idea House.’ “All of that is in the DNA of Sunset.”

Tours will leave from the Sonoma County Park and Ride at Healdsburg and Grant avenues starting at 10 a.m. The home, which is still under construction, was delivered as a prefab from Blu Homes’ Vallejo factory to a northern Healdsburg hillside.

The 3,000-square-foot home, with a 480-square-foot guest house, reflects “the Sunset lifestyle,” Morgan said. Set on a sloped, three-quarters-acre lot, it will be featured in the magazine’s October issue.

“It’s not a ‘stark-atect’ that’s just a status-symbol house,” Morgan said. “It’s a highly liveable home — very polished, very sophisticated, yet casual — an attainable style for our readers.”

Other pluses the magazine sees with prefabs, Morgan said, are more affordable costs and quicker construction turnaround.

Also, she said the quality of construction in prefabs has increased dramatically from earlier versions seven or eight years ago.

“We had a prefab built at our magazine site in Menlo Park for our ‘Idea House’ in 2005,” Morgan said. “But this now is not even ‘Prefab 2.0’ — it’s more like going from ‘2.0 to 4.0.'”

Healdsburg developer Rosemary Wardell partnered with Sunset and Blu Homes to build the “Idea House” using the “Breezehouse” prefab model. She said she has not yet put it on the market, but has already fielded two interested buyers.

“It’s appraised for $2.65 million,” said Wardell, adding that special concrete work was added in the foundation of the “Idea House.” “It’s all habitat land.”

Wardell is also building another Blu Homes prefab next door — that one having already been sold, she said. Interest has been keen and enthusiastic for the homes, she added.

“A man drove up in a Mercedes the other day, and I was on my bike, and we were talking, and he said to me, ‘That is the most beautiful home I’ve ever seen,'” Wardell said of the “Idea House.”

“And he hadn’t yet even been inside,” she added with a smile.

Wardell and her husband, both avid bicyclists, moved to Healdsburg in March because they were seeking a more relaxed lifestyle where they could do a lot of cycling, she said.

“We moved here to retire, but we aren’t really retiring,” she said.

Healdsburg already has two Blu Homes prefabs in place — a “Breezehouse” built by the Cooper family and another private home. Breezehouse is the top of the line model of the Blu Homes prefabs and costs about $550,000, not including the land or the site work and utilities connections.

Including the guest house, the “Idea House” has five bedrooms — some of which could be converted to offices — and five baths. There is radiant heat throughout — standard in the Blu Homes prefabs — and high ceilings and huge windows for good ventilation and air circulation.

“We make good use of passive cooling and natural light,” said Dana Smith, a Blu Homes spokeswoman. Sharon Portnoy, a Mill Valley interior designer, did the staging for the Healdsburg “Idea House” as well as designing many of the custom built-ins, such as a wine rack, fireplace and storage units.

Many of the accent items inside the home and on the decks were selected and supplied by HabitatDesign.com, which also worked on the landscaping plans.

Blu Homes bought the designs from the original Bay Area prefab designer and architect Michelle Kaufmann, who now works for Google. Sunset’s original 2005 prefab, which was designed by Kaufmann, now is located in Walnut Creek, Smith said.

Featured Listings

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190 Via Lerida, Greenbrae; Listed at $1,295,000; 4 Bed, 3 Bath; 2,702 sq. ft.

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By DOUG WILSON
Herald-Whig Senior Writer

HANNIBAL, Mo. — A memorial for Hannibal native Jake Beckley, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, will get a facelift, but some previous plans have been rejected as too expensive.

Andy Dorian, director of the Hannibal Parks and Recreation Department, said officials are “tossing around multiple ideas” and hope to have a fitting memorial in place by next year.

“I have budgeted $30,000 for the monument, plus the improvement of the landscaping in the area of the monument,” Dorian said.

“It’s more of a landscaping project than the design of a specific memorial.”

Although previous plans were never put out for bids, Dorian said the cost would have been far higher than the $30,000 limit he has set for the project. A plaque dedicated to Beckley already exists. Dorian said his staff just plans to dress up the area.

The memorial is located along Main Street not far from the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum. A sidewalk project in that area will need to be completed before additional landscaping or upgrades move forward, Dorian said.

Beckley was born in Hannibal on Aug. 4, 1867, and he died June 25, 1918, in Kansas City, Mo. He played for the Pittsburgh Allegheneys, Pittsburgh Burghers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals in a career that spanned 19 years. He had a .309 lifetime batting average, accumulating 2,930 hits and 1,578 runs batted in. Beckley was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971.

Hannibal officials hope the memorial will be one additional site that attracts tourist attention in the downtown area.

 

— dwilson@whig.com/221-3372

 

Posted: Friday, July 27, 2012 8:49 am

Ideas revisited for N. Union

By Alfred V. Eade
Special to the Olean Times Herald

Olean Times Herald

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Sunday’s Olean Times Herald included a front-page article on the city administration’s desire to improve North Union Street, and asking the public’s input.

In October 2010, I wrote a Readers’ Turn to Write column concerning my ideas for North Union. I refer to those ideas again as a basis of consideration for other viewpoints regarding this very important project for our city.

Most importantly, we need to convert North Union Street from a street into a boulevard — someplace pleasant where people will want to shop, dine or just stroll.

To that end, we should:

® Remove all parking meters from North Union and those areas of West State Street not absolutely essential to merchants there. This proposal is admittedly controversial, but consider: Ellicottville entertains 20,000 people on a weekend — and not a meter in sight in the entire village.

The “welcoming” gesture to out-of-towners means a lot as far as our image as a friendly city is concerned. Many areas of North Union (and some on West State) where meters are in place are almost always devoid of parked cars. How many cars do we see parked on the lower end of North Union?

The meters are unsightly and, considering the cost of the meters, their repair and upkeep and the salary of those involved in collecting the money from them, there is not much left to justify them.

North Union Street merchants can and should provide off-street parking for their employees so they do not take up valuable customer parking space.

® Remove the existing light poles and replace them either with Colonial- or Victorian-style poles and lights. The current poles and lights do nothing to enhance the visual ambiance of the street.

® Remove on both sides of the street the “eyebrows” on North Union and the small sidewalk block next to the curb. Construct a new curb of granite next to the remaining two blocks. This does two things: It will make the street wider and, more importantly, it will constrict the sidewalk, which will produce a more dynamic and energetic flow to the people who use it.

I have had two occasions to observe this phenomenon while visiting larger cities and communities that have smaller walks and yet accommodate thousands of people (in one case 5,000 per hour).

® To create and enhance the “boulevard” effect, put raised median islands down the center of North Union. To quote an article concerning this: “Raised medians provide pedestrian refuge, reduce the scale of the street and with added landscaping make the public space more beautiful. (They) also channelize left-turn lanes and create a unique visual identity to the corridor. Raised medians help reduce conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles by allowing pedestrians to cross only one direction of traffic at a time.”

There are many other advantages to doing this but are too numerous to write here.

There are other considerations that need to be addressed if we do this (snow removal being one), but no negative ones that couldn’t be overcome.

And to that end, we should employ a firm that specializes in “streetscape design.” It would be well worth it if we are serious about revitalizing our main business district. There are outstanding national firms that do this and it would be worth the cost.

There are funds out there available for “main street” projects. We may have to bear some of the costs but isn’t it worth it?

(Mr. Eade lives in Olean.)

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Friday, July 27, 2012 8:49 am.

Are you unhappy with your home’s interior design? If so, you may be the victim of a bad color scheme. It’s no secret that color can either make or break a design, but, luckily, neither is finding out how to choose the perfect color palette for you.

When the color’s right, it can:

— Enhance feelings of health and well-being

— Modify perceived temperature — make your space feel warmer or cooler

— Transform perceived space — make your space feel larger, or more cozy and intimate

— Illuminate dark areas

— Create mystery and romance in dull areas

— Energize static areas

But it has to be the right color for you. Color, and the psychology of color, is a big design trend, says Barbara Jacobs, principal of Barbara Jacobs Color Design.

“But generalizations — green is relaxing, blue is soothing, red is energizing — only apply when certain hues are used,” she says. “A sharp, electric green definitely would not be relaxing; a deep blue-green might feel cold instead of soothing. The wrong red used in an entire room might create the sensation of entrapment rather than energy.”

Before planning color in your personal environment, make a short questionnaire and poll yourself and your family. Your answers are 50 percent of the project because your color choices depend on them for direction, Jacobs says. She gives clients a very long questionnaire with hundreds of questions, but you can start with these five. The answers will lead you to your new color scheme.

1. Where is the room?

2. How many windows are there and which direction(s) do they face?

3. Is there landscaping outside that will have an effect on the colors in the room?

4. Who will use the room, and what will they do there? Is it private or community space?

5. Will it be a sociable and active place, or a peaceful place? How do I want it to feel?

(For thousands of other ideas visit www.hgtv.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)