Ditch the word consumer and just get behind the people doing stuff….We are all still pioneers.–Britta Riley on TED TV

The following video offers a twofer: First, it explains a method for growing your own food garden in small spaces, even inside apartments. Building window farms is the method used to create these vertical gardens. (I wrote about vertical gardens from another angle in a previous post.) Second, the video redefines the word “consumer” as well as redefines how business should and could work.

When you watch the video, you might find a few more categories in which this video could be placed. So watch the video and get some food for thought. Pun intended.

Britta Riley describes herself as an innovation culture hacker, social entrepreneur and artist who is working “to open up new markets that I think people and nature need now…. [Her] current company, Windowfarms.org was named one of the top 100 businesses to watch in 2010 by Entrepreneur Magazine. Windowfarms makes vertical hydroponic platforms for food growing in city windows in conjunction with an online citizen science web platform with over 16,000 community members worldwide.”

Previously, I wrote about the Phytopod as an example of vertical gardening and an upcoming post will discuss another version, window farms. That post will be about how social media is playing a part in perfecting a particular type of vertical gardening as well as redefining the word “consumer.” In the meantime, you can learn more about vertical gardening at an upcoming talk at the next Laguna Beach Garden Club talk.

Even the narrowest of spots can host a lush garden with careful planning and adaptable plants. Find out how this is done at the next general meeting of the Laguna Beach Garden Club on Friday, December 09. Landscape Designer and “Horticulture” Magazine Contributing Editor Rebecca Sweet talks about ’skinny space’ solutions and the gardening techniques that can reduce the visual impact of unattractive landscape features. Ms. Sweet is the co-author of the best selling book “Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Large and Small Spaces“, blogs on www.gossipinthegarden.com, and contributes to many popular garden magazines such as “Horticulture“, “Women’s Day Gardening“, “Fine Gardening” and “The American Gardener“.–Laguna Beach Information Center

Here are the details in a nutshell:

What: Vertical Gardening for Large and Small Spaces

When: Friday, December 9, 2011; 9:30 am

Where: Presbyterian Church (Tankersley Fellowship Hall), 415 Forest Avenue. Laguna Beach (corner of Forest and 2nd Street)

Cost: Free to first-time visitors

Graphic courtesy Susan Morrison/Rebecca Sweet

If you are planning on installing a solar panel system for your home, some things that you will need to keep in mind are in the following checklist.

This checklist for installing a photovoltaic (PV) system was written by energy consultant, Rik DeGunther, and can be found in his book, Solar Power Your Home for Dummies.

1. Perform an energy audit and take conservation steps.

2. Determine the utility rate structure you’ll qualify for after the equipment is in place.

3. Review the physical installation options. (For example, roof conditions, size and shading.)

4. Decide how much to invest and how to finance it. (Be sure to check for federal, state and local incentives.)

5. Locate contractors and go out for formal bids.

6. Choose the best contractor and write the contract.

7. Wait for equipment to arrive (it’s rarely stock), approvals from building permits, subsidies, tax break and so on.

8. Allow for installation and inspections by the county and utility company.

9. Wait for the utility to put in a new meter and connect to the grid.

10. Get a tutorial on how to operate your system.

11. Submit any paperwork to utilities, states, and so on for final rebate payment.

12. Change your household habits to optimize system payback. (For example: If you’re on a tiered rate structure, or TOU rate structure, you probably need to change some of your consumptions habits in order to capitalize on the system.)

13. Maintain and repair the system.

Note: These steps might seem like a lot to take on, but your utility company or a qualified installer can handle many of these steps for you. In addition, reading the book will break down each step.

Additional information on solar energy that you might find helpful: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for Your Home by Dan Ramsey and David Hughes

Up first, the advantages of including batteries with a grid-tie solar power installation:

• When power from the utility company is down, a grid-tie system without a battery does not provide the energy needed to power your home. So, in this case, you have the solar panels installed, but still no working lights, heat, stove, etc. Addition of batteries can solve this. Therefore, if you live in an area that tends to have many power outages or that tends to have outages that last a long time, battery backup is particularly helpful.
• If your comfort level in dealing with power loss during an outage is low, batteries use is appealing.
• If you have health or business equipment in your home that you cannot live without for even a short time, then some type of backup connection (such as batteries) might be essential.

Now, the disadvantages of including batteries with a grid-tie solar power installation:

• Batteries cost. You can set up your solar panel installation to replace 100% of your energy needs or just power a few appliances. Batteries will add an additional cost to your solar panel installation that is proportional to the size of your home and the amount of energy that you want to provide to your home via solar energy. This could be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars.
• A system with batteries requires additional controls and safety devises. This will further add to the cost.
• Batteries require maintenance and replacement costs.
• A system with batteries involves a more complex setup.
• Battery use involves some additional level of danger.
• Systems with batteries are 2%-4% less efficient.

This information should help you decide if using batteries with a grid-tie solar panel installation is an efficient option for your particular situation.

Photo Courtesy DC Battery Specialists

Incentives through the City of Irvine for solar installation will end on November 18th. Sullivan Solar Power is holding a free luncheon program at Irvine’s City Hall this Saturday, August 27 that will cover how to take advantage of this program for little to zero upfront costs. The talk will also cover how to make use of California state rebates and federal tax credits. Since these Irvine incentives end on November 18th, time is of the essence. Additional information is available at IrvineSolarProgram.org or 1-800-SULLIVAN.

WHAT: Irvine Solar Program Luncheon

WHEN: Saturday, August 27th, 11 am

WHERE: Irvine City Hall, 1 Civic Center Plaza, Irvine CA

To qualify for a rebate, all purchase invoices or receipts must be dated between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2010. All rebate items must be purchased and installed prior to submitting an application for a rebate. Qualifying rebate applications must be postmarked no later than December 31, 2010 to be eligible.–The Gas Company

Following is The Gas Company’s green rebate list. In addition to the time requirements listed in the above quote, additional requirements exist. So click on the following links for additional requirement information as well as product information.

• Clothes Washer–$35
• Dishwasher–$30
• Low-Flow Showerhead–$15 rebate on Evolve^TM ShowerStart^TM Roadrunner showerhead
• Furnace–$200
• Insulation--$0.15 per square foot on qualified attic or wall insulation
• Natural Gas Storage Water Heaters–$30
• Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater–$200
• Also, see Solar Water Heating Incentives (California Solar Initiative-Thermal) for homes and businesses.

Note: Multifamily-unit and business rebates are also available.

For additional information on local green rebates:

• Southern California Edison Green Rebates for Home and Apartment Owners
• Irvine’s Environmental Programs page

And from The Gas Company:

• Instant and Mail-in rebates
• Financing for your energy-efficient appliance upgrades
• Home Energy Efficiency Survey: An online assessment of your home’s energy use

And for Federal tax credit information, see the Energy Star page.

325 Tangelo #324, Irvine (Orange Tree)

92618 Median Selling Price

• June 2010: $605,500 (up 89.2% y-o-y)
• May 2010: $628,500 (up 44.5% y-o-y)
• April 2010: $690,500 (up 29.4% y-o-y)
  For comparison: According to Redfin, the April median selling price for this ZIP was $615,000 or $315 per square foot.
• March 2010: $602,500 (up 28.26% y-o-y)

20 Small Grove, Irvine (Portola Springs)

92618 Number of Sales

• June 2010: 140 (up 775.0% y-o-y)
• May 2010: 76 (up 300.0% y-o-y)
• April 2010: 25 (up 92.3% y-o-y)
• March 2010: 35 (up 483.33% y-o-y)

Note: The photos are of the least expensive ($208,800–a short sale) and the most expensive ($1,799,000) homes that are currently on the market in this ZIP code.

Source unless otherwise noted: DataQuick

Here are some quotes from a post in a recent John Burns Consulting newsletter. They provide some food for thought when deciding if housing prices are going up, down, or sideways:

When forced to answer the question, we [John Burns Consulting] say that most home prices are reverting to 2003 prices - some areas have overcorrected and some have not fully corrected. While that covers our butt nationally, we know the truth is much different depending on what submarket or pool of homes you are talking about.

…

If you read the newspapers, you would think prices are appreciating, whether it is the Case Shiller price index or median resale prices - the two price measures that used to be the most reliable measures…

According to CS, prices are up 6% in LA (includes Orange Co.) and 11% in San Diego since March of 2009. According to the median price, prices are up 12% in LA, 17% in Orange County, 12% in Riverside and 18% in San Diego since April of 2009. Neither is correct if you are talking about most homes in those markets.

…

According to a [Realtor Survey of Existing Home Prices] survey, prices only recently started appreciating in Orange County, and they are still trending down very slightly in the rest of Southern California.

…

To understand home prices (and all else housing-related for that matter), you need to look at everything. If you are making a decision based on headline data or a regression to the mean, you are taking a lot of risk.

Click on the link to see the rest of this John Burns Consulting newsletter.

Downs [of the Brookings Institute] expects big changes because of the recession, such as homes being built smaller and being less affordable. He also expects a switch from the more conservative spending and fewer government restrictions of the Reagan and Bush eras to the more liberal government spending and tighter government regulations that the Obama administration has already started to enforce.–”Brookings fellow: Recession is not over yet,” Jacksonville Business Journal

We are about to have new legislation that is aimed at preventing the housing and financial market crashes that we recently experienced from occurring again. Opinions differ on where or not this new legislation adequately addresses these problems while at the same time not unnecessarily stifling financial institutions ability to lend.

Back in February at an Urban Land Institute event, Anthony Downs of the Brookings Institute identified the following as issues that the new financial legislation should address but probably would not due to “political backlash.” When reviewing this new legislation, keeping this points in mind can help you decide how successful lawmakers were in their attempt at reform.

Here are the points that Downs thought were necessary for successful reform of the financial institutions:

• Break up the largest U.S. banks that control much of the nation’s money
• Require that financial institutions have adequate reserves
• Reorganizing securities
• Require that mortgage bankers conform to stricter rules
• Ensure international cooperation on financial regulations

What do you think? Does the new legislation go too far or not far enough in addressing the problems that lead to our current financial difficulties?

Note: For one analysis with some pros and cons, see “The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill is a Valuable Step Forward” Douglas J. Elliott, Brookings Institute.

Photo Courtesy Brookings Institute

The age of suburbanization and growing homeownership is over. The outer suburbs will have the least expensive housing but the cost in time and money of long commutes will eliminate any savings. Many who live there will do so not by choice but by necessity.

Recently, I came across another report that also predicts a gloomy outcome for the U.S. suburbs. This Brookings report (The Suburbanization of Poverty: Trends in Metropolitan America, 2000 to 2008) states:

By 2008, suburbs were home to the largest and fastest-growing poor population in the country. Between 2000 and 2008, suburbs in the country’s largest metro areas saw their poor population grow by 25 percent-almost five times faster than primary cities and well ahead of the growth seen in smaller metro areas and non-metropolitan communities. As a result, by 2008 large suburbs were home to 1.5 million more poor than their primary cities and housed almost one-third of the nation’s poor overall.

These reports raises the question: Are the suburbs, or at least some of the U.S. suburbs, destined to be the new inner cities?

Photo Courtesy Scorpions and Centaurs’