November 8, 2011 – Vol.16 No.34

INNOVATION TO CUT ELECTRIC VEHICLE COSTS. 
by Bruce Mulliken, Green Energy News

Oil has a long and promising future.

Some of you probably didn’t want to hear that.

According to an in-depth story in the New York Times, new discoveries and new methods of extracting oil are opening up a new chapter: Oil could last another 60 years. New discoveries off the West Coast of Africa and its jigsaw puzzle mate, the East Coast of South America, as well as the soon to be ice-free Arctic as well as waters off Cuba and in the Mediterranean all will add to the global supply. Further, the expansion of squeezing oil from sand is creating a long term supply.

The article mentions only in passing the effect continued guzzling will have on the planet.

There’s no reason to disbelieve the findings of this story.

Will governments of the world make laws that slow the consumption of all this newly accessible oil? Some may try. But don’t count on it.

The only way to stop this inundation is to find a way to make clean alternatives such as electric vehicles far cheaper. That’s a message to EV car companies: Innovate, innovate, innovate to cut costs.

KleenSpeed Technologies, of California, is building an electric vehicle prototype that could potentially be a step in that direction. KleenSpeed calls it KAR. I’ll let words from the company explain:

“The KAR concept is based on a complete rolling platform designed and engineered by KleenSpeed which will be fitted with a variety of alternative body modules.

“The KAR Platform is under development now and the first prototype version of the body module is now being modified at KleenSpeed to drop on to the KAR Platform prototype.

“In keeping with the core values of the KleenSpeed brand, our first production EV will emphasize the driving enthusiast’s perspective. It will be fast, provide crisp and sporty handling, and be really fun to drive. The KleenSpeed KAR VX-1 will also be a real world viable 2-passenger electric vehicle that sets new benchmarks in value, efficiency, performance and EV technology.

“The VX-1 is the first in a series of EVs based on the KAR Platform technologies. A 4-passenger sedan will be developed next, followed by other body configurations …. All offering the KleenSpeed EV experience.

KAR Platform Details

KAR ESS

“The KAR ESS is the heart of the KAR Platform. The scalable ESS will feature thermal control and a self-contained enclosure with modular battery packs to allow for simple size and power variations. The largest version will provide 40 kWh of energy and deliver sports car performance and a real-world range of 120 -140 miles.

KAR PLATFORM

“The KAR PLATFORM incorporates a unitized controller/motor/drivetrain package mounted via rear subframe. The low profile ESS mounts under the floor of all body styles to provide a low center of gravity for responsive handling. Steering and front suspension are also incorporated into a modular subframe design. All three main subassemblies will be joined by a lightweight platform perimeter frame to comprise a complete rolling chassis.

KAR VEHICLE INTEGRATION

“The KAR Platform is intended to accept a variety of body units to create a full line of E vehicles : a 2 passenger coupe, a 4 passenger sedan, a utility vehicle with a compact pick-up bed, a panel van and a mini SUV are all possible options sharing the common platform. This modular design concept considerably reduces costs to market a full range of vehicle types suited to niche markets.”

The platform will weigh a maximum of 1450 lbs. With a body about 2600 lbs. A 134 hp, 100 kW electric motor will drive the rear wheels.

The approach is actually a return to the past when all cars were made on a body and frame , or chassis, platform that truck companies still use.

The company’s other products include the Eiata, a kit to convert Mazda Miatas to electric drive, a selection of e-bikes and e-scooters, and an electric kart.

Links:

KleenSpeed Technologies
http://www.kleenspeed.com

How serious is the problem really? Let’s say that the home you live in, your rental property, or the property you bought as a “fix and flip” goes down in value. Well, if you weren’t planning to sell right away, would it matter? Hang on until the market comes back. Historically, in the bigger picture, a real estate market will always come back.

Of course, this sounds really simplistic. Don’t sell. Wouldn’t it be nice if everything was that simple? Maybe it really is, though, if you’ve followed the Tax Loopholes Strategies for making sure you have enough cash for your debt a lot of people forget that when the emotions run high.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the real estate market really started crashing in Phoenix. In 1995, my partner was working with a new tax client. She was a real estate broker in Phoenix. The Phoenix market was recovering well by that time. But, the broker said she’d never own real estate investment property again. She said she’d lost a ton of money in the downturn.

Her story, as it unfolded, was that she owned a number of single family residences that were rented for a positive cash flow. The market turned down and suddenly she was upside down on some of the houses. She panicked and sold all of them. In some cases, she actually needed to come up with money to close the deal.

The part that I didn’t understand was why she felt the need to sell. The properties had a positive cash flow. By selling, she locked in the loss. At that point, someone bought the properties and waited out the downturn to take advantage of the upswing. Why couldn’t she have done the same thing?

She was afraid that the market would get worse. She was afraid that her tenants might move out, and even though there are generally more renters when a market turns down, she was afraid she couldn’t get more tenants. Basically, she was afraid and made an emotional decision.

The market has been running hot in many areas and actually over-heated in other markets.

Strategy #2: Run your investments like a business

I’m going to talk about some strategies that are worst case only. Remember that real estate is nothing more than a product. If you’re good at a business and know how to thoroughly research a product and its market, you can sell toasters or you can sell a house. It’s all the same.

Of course, not too many people rent toasters and toasters don’t appreciate, and that’s why real estate is such an easy business for so many people to jump into. That’s also why there are so many catastrophic failures. It’s too easy to make money in real estate if the market is going hot, even if the investor does everything wrong. They have forgotten (or never knew) the fundamentals of business.

One of the fundamentals of business is to look for a way to create more value in what you’re selling. Remember if you’re renting a property, lease optioning it, doing a rent to own, or straight out selling–regardless of what you’re doing, you’re selling something. And, if no one is buying (or renting), ask yourself why? Is there a way to add more value by making it more desirable for the buyer/renter?

Some ideas might include changing the property–adding additional features that no one else has or making more favorable terms for a potential buyer.

One more comment on the people who say the end is coming for real estate. In a lot of cases, the doomsayers who happen to have money as well, are people who’ve gotten lucky. They’re now afraid that they can never recreate that wealth, and so they’re just plain afraid of everything. They realize, at some level, they had nothing to do with the wealth they’ve gotten, and so they’re afraid they will lose it.

Having strong business skills means you have the ability to look at any market in any climate and figure out what to do next without panicking.

Strategy #3: Keep your eyes on the real goal.

No matter what type of business or investments you have, you need to have fundamental skills. That’s what Strategy #2 was all about.

One of the biggest benefits of investing in real estate is all the great tax loopholes that you get. And, you’ll get those loopholes no matter what happens with the market. Of course, I don’t want you to do anything just for the write-offs. You have to make money, too. At least in the long run.

Are you sure you’re getting all the tax loopholes for your investments? How about your business structures? Are they set up correctly, and are you operating them in the best way possible?

And, probably the biggest problem facing real estate investors, are you accounting for your real estate correctly? If you don’t do the accounting right, you’re going to miss the tax write offs.

Remember, you can make money in real estate regardless of which way the market goes. The key is to have good business skills first.

A brilliant mockumentary about miraculous migration of “The Majestic Plastic Bag” narrated by Jeremy Irons. It was produced by Heal The Bay as promo in support of California bill AB 1998 to help put an end plastic pollution.

(c.1900-c.1930) The Craftsman Style was the dominant style for smaller houses built throughout the country during the period from

about 1905 until the early 1920s. It originated in southern California and most landmark examples are concentrated there. Like vernacular examples of the contemporaneous Prairie style, it quickly spread throughout the country through pattern books and popular magazines. The style rapidly faded from favor after the mid-1920s; few were built after 1930.

Craftsman houses were inspired primarily by the work of two California brothers – Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene – who practiced together in Pasadena from 1893 to 1914. From about 1903 they began to design simple Craftsman-type bungalows; by 1909 they had designed and executed several exceptional landmark examples that have been called the “ultimate bungalows.” Several influences – the English Arts and Crafts movement, an interest in oriental wooden architecture, and their early training in the manual arts – appear to have led

the Greenes to design and build these intricately detailed buildings. These and similar residences were given extensive publicity in such magazines as the Western Architect, The Architect, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Architectural Record, Country Life in America, and Ladies’ Home Journal, thus familiarizing the rest of the nation with the style. As a result, a flood of pattern books appeared, offering plans for Craftsman bungalows; some even offered completely pre-cut packages

of lumber and detailing to be assembled by local labor. Through these pre-cut examples, the one-story Craftsman house quickly became the most popular and fashionable smaller house in the country. High-style interpretations are rare, except in California where the have been called the Western Stick style. One-story vernacular examples are often called simply bungalows or the Bungaloid style. (Excerpt taken from A Field Guide to American Houses by Virginia and Lee McAlester.)

Cottage Style Craftsman – Typically a one-story building with a compact rectangular plan; a centralized main entrance consisting of a partial-width porch and flanked by windows; a symmetrical facade; a side-gabled low-pitched roof; horizontal wood siding (occasionally stucco); and Craftsman stylistic details (exposed rafter tails, wide window and door casings, triangular knee brace supports, etc.).

The Bungalow – The typical bungalow is a one-story house with low pitched broad gables. A lower gable usually covers an open or screened porch and a larger gable covers the main portion of the house. In larger bungalows the gable is steeper, with interesting cross gable or dormers. Rafters, ridge beams and purlins extend beyond the wall and roof. Chimneys are of rubble, cobblestone or rough-faced brick. Porch pedestals are often battered. Wood shingles and/or horizontal wood boards are the favorite exterior finish although many also use stucco or brick. Exposed structural members and trim work usually are painted but the shingles are left in a natural state or treated with earth-tone stains (although many of these shingles have since been painted). The wood windows are either sash or casement with many lights or single panes of glass. Shingled porch railings often terminate with a flared base. The bungalow, like other simple but functional houses, was subject to variations such as the California, the Swiss, the Colonial, Tudor and others according to locale and fashions of the time. (excerpt taken from Identifying American Architecture: A Pictorial Guide to Styles and Terms, 1600–1945 by John J.G. Blumenson.

Clipped-Gabled (or Hip on Gable) Craftsman – A Craftsman building covered by a gabled roof which has had its gable point “clipped off.” The roof can be front, side or cross-gabled. Typically this type of Craftsman is a one-story building. Sometimes the clipped-gabled roof will have gabled, hipped or eyebrow dormers.

Aeroplane Craftsman – A Craftsman building with a set-back second-story and wide overhanging eaves giving the impression of airplane wings. Can have a front, side or cross-gabled roof.

Eclectic Influenced Craftsman – A Craftsman building influenced by other cultures, other styles, the region it was designed in, by the preferences of its architect or builder, by the preferences of its owner and/or by the fashions of the time. Craftsman bungalows were subject to variations such as the Oriental, the Swiss, the Colonial and Tudor, among others.

Multi-Family Craftsman – A Craftsman building designed with separate complete living spaces to accommodate more than one household. A multi-family Craftsman building could be a duplex, multiplex or bungalow court. Bungalow courts tend to be in a “U” shape around a central courtyard. Often the short side of the “U” shape has a two-story, or substantial residential building that is either where the owner/manager lives, or could be a duplex.

Transitional – A building which appears to be “transitioning” from the Victorian-era into the Craftsman-era in design and materials. Typically, this type of building still retains its strong vertical emphasis on the façade, and Victorian-era design elements such as bay windows, long skinny windows and decorative knee brackets and rafters. What differentiates this type of residence from a Victorian-era residence is its Craftsmanesque features such as stonework on porch pedestals, more square windows, surrounded by wide casings, sometimes a hipped roof with a squat dormer at the façade side of the roof, and foundations and rafter tails under the roof line.

Unlike wind and solar, geothermal’s power source never varies.

Bob Brown, vice president of engineering with equipment maker Water­Furnace, says, “The ground’s there all the time. It’s great for heating and it’s great for cooling. All I’ve got to do is bury a plastic pipe, put fluid in and, lo and behold, I’ve got a great system.”

How Geothermal Happens
* In the ground: A water-filled, closed loop of 1-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe ferries heat between the earth and the house. Pipes descend 4- to 6-inch-diameter vertical wells–the number and depth depend on the house’s site and size–before ganging together in a header and bringing lukewarm water in through the basement walls. Drillers backfill each hole with bentonite grout (or new enhanced grouts, engineered with fly ash) to maximize thermal conductivity.

* In the house: Pumps cycle water through the pipe loop to the heart of the system: the geothermal unit, which acts as furnace and air conditioner. This machine uses refrigerant and the temperate water from the underground pipes to heat or cool air. The air is then circulated through standard ductwork. With a device called a desuperheater, the unit uses excess heat to warm up domestic hot water at no added cost. The results feel the same as those from any standard forced-air HVAC system.

The Flow

Air in the ducts (1), refrigerant in the geothermal unit (2), and water in pipes (3) flow past each other like interlocking gears. Water brought from underground transfers heat to the refrigerant, or absorbs heat from it, depending on the season. Like an air conditioner, the unit compresses or expands the refrigerant to raise or lower its temperature. Finally, the refrigerant, now heated to 180 F or chilled to 40 F, fills condenser/evaporator coils. Air in the ducts blows across the coils to be cooled or warmed, then flows through the house.

The Supplies
* The bit: This mud-drilling bit grinds soft earth and funnels it back into hollow, 20-foot drill-shank sections. Corkscrew auger bits, in contrast, pound through solid rock. A new mud bit spinning at 1000 rpm, pushing downward with between 300 and 500 pounds of pressure, is good for five 150-foot holes.

* The pipe: Water-filled HDPE pipes absorb heat through their walls. This sawed-off cross-section shows two pipes fused in a butt joint made by pressing the molten edges together at over 500 F. The joint, stronger than the walls of the pipe itself, resists rust, rot and leaks for a purported 200-year life span.

* The unit: A combined furnace and air conditioner, the geothermal unit manages all-season climate control from the basement. Using the same principles as a refrigerator, which removes heat from food, this machine and the buried pipe remove heat from the earth or from the house. Wired to a 50-amp circuit, it works without venting, combustion or risk of carbon-monoxide poisoning.

Vertical coils (1) fuel a system by using less total HDPE pipe than horizontal coils (2), in which loops of pipe fill shallow trenches exposed to constant heat just below the frost line. In pond systems (3), a blanket of water insulates coils anchored on racks. Hard ground can inhibit deep digging, stopping Colorado installers like Jim Lynch from doing simple vertical work: “Texas, Nebraska–that’s some easy drilling down there,” Lynch says. His clients receive options 2 and 3. If an existing system gets a geothermal upgrade, it may operate as geothermal 90 percent of the time, while the old boiler or furnace fires up only on the coldest days of the year. The payback period on retrofits averages 12 to 15 years; on new installations, it can get as low as three to six.

Money Saved
A typical 2000-square-foot home in Commack, N.Y., was recently retrofitted with a geothermal system. Tax credits, the inefficiency of the existing system and a low-interest loan combined to create immediate savings. The monthly payment is now $24 lower than the old monthly HVAC expense.

Installation cost: $30,000 — $11,000 (tax credit) = $19,000
Annual costs: $3945 (old system) — $2076 (geo) = $1869 saved
Payback period: $19,000 / $1869 = 10.17 years
Monthly fuel costs for old system: $329
Monthly geothermal costs: $173 (power) + $132 (loan) = $305

Geothermal Misconceptions
1. It’s a geyser. Hot springs and other steamy subterranean liquids are not related to residential geothermal. Those are unusual local seismic circumstances. Home systems work everywhere.

2. The water table is in the way. Installers drill straight through it. On Long Island, where the water table is just a few feet below the surface, saturated sand makes for some of the best drilling and most efficient heat transfer possible.

3. It generates electricity. Industrial-scale geothermal power plants can generate electricity. Home systems don’t–but they do save electricity (or fuel) by replacing conventional home heating and cooling with more efficient equipment.

Read more: The Guide to Home Geothermal Energy – Popular Mechanics

Alright guys we are back online here at GreenRealEstateSD.com. We took a little hiatus these last couple week due to some other projects going on but we are back baby! Looking towards 2012 we have some cool new ideas and themes we are going to look into, like a bi monthly Green evaluation by Dr. Green, getting up to date of new green technologies and home retro fits and touching base with Green leaders to see what is new. As always we are your source for anything Green in Real Estate.

They made up 62 percent of total sales during the first half of year, the bulk of residential transactions. All five San Diegoregions broken down by DataQuick saw decreases in median price. For sales, the sole area that saw an increase was East County (2.6 percent.) Prices rose in 22 of 93 ZIP codesduring the first half.

Prices: The East County area experienced the steepest drop among the subregions. The median price for a single family home resale in that subregion was $300,000 during this year’s first half, falling 6.3 percent from the same time period last year. Among the areas that pulled down East County’s median price were Rancho San Diego (-13.3 percent); Santee (-10.6 percent) and Spring Valley (-8.6 percent.) North County’s coastal neighborhoods saw the smallest fall in prices, mainly due to gains in Carmel Valley (5.9 percent), Carlsbad SE (3.3 percent) and Carlsbad SW (4.5 percent.)

Sales: They fell the most in South County ZIP codes (-14.5 percent,) largely due to areas such as Nestor (-32.3 percent) and Imperial Beach (-39.1 percent.) The hot spot was East County, the only subregion that saw a gain in single family resale, at 2.6 percent. The top contributors to that increase included El Cajon (92109) and El Cajon (92020).

Condos

They made up about 31 percent of the San Diego housing sales during the first half of the year. Drops in sales and price were seen across the county. The lone bright spot was South County median prices, which rose to $179,000 from $176,250, or 1.6 percent, when comparing this year’s first half to last year’s.

Prices: They fell the most in East County, with values dropping -15.7 percent in El Cajon (92021), La Mesa/Grossmont (-15 percent) and Spring Valley (-12 percent.) The only submarket that posted a gain was South County, at 1.6 percent. The top areas that pulled up median values included Imperial Beach (30 percent) and National City (35.7 percent.)

Sales: Overall, they were down 10.9 percent when comparing the first-halves of 2011 and 2010. North County inland areas, such as west Vista, northern Escondido and Peñasquitos were among the cold areas, with drops as high as 38.5 percent. Central San Diego, which includes downtown, had the smallest decrease at 8.2 percent, thanks to areas such as Tierrasanta, where sales went up 31.6 percent, and Mission Beach/Pacific Beach, up 28.8 percent.

New homes

They comprise the smallest share of combined San Diego sales, at 7 percent during the first half. Total sales in this category declined 19.7 percent when comparing first halves for 2010 and 2011, with drops seen in all regions. Price changes mixed.

Prices: North County’s coastal housing saw the largest decline, falling 8.4 percent. Median price drops in North Oceanside, an area where sales were cut by more than half, contributed largely to that. Prices were up in two subregions: South County (7.7 percent) and North County inland (5.8 percent.)

Sales: The largest half-year percentage drop was in East County: falling 43.6 percent mainly from declines in El Cajon (92109) and Santee. North County coastal areas fell 2.2 percent, the smallest drop among the subregions; Carmel Valley was a hot sales area.

This was from the Union Tribune

The Craftsman plans offered the average American family a house that was a home, based on the bedrock virtues of beauty, simplicity, utility and organic harmony. Stickley believed that the “nesting instinct” was “the most deep seated impulse” of humankind. Stickley designed at least 241 plans for Craftsman homes. There are several time periods that different craftsman styles are noted for:

The Experimental period is 1900-1903

The First Mission period, 1904-1907

The Mature period, 1909-1915

The Final Mission period, 1916 

Each of these time periods reflect different style renderings accordingly. We see alot of these homes with built in window seating, china cabinets, box beam ceilings, chunkier massive art nouveau influence, leaded glass, very arts and crafts. Many of the homes seen today exemplify heavy use of woods and architectural detail. The majority have a boxed effect and focus around a fireplace or inglenook. I have seen a great use of mission and art nouveau influence on the properties we observe in the Northwest. You might want to do a google search under “defining a craftsman style” and see what else you can learn as well as see different period examples. Hope this helps. Please visit the website below for more in depth information into Gustav Stickley and his original plans for Craftsman homes. You will see it was part of a marketing ploy to sell the whole package ie; furniture, accessories, and home as a larger luxurious product.

A great website I found has pre drawn plans for people that would like to build a craftsman home check it out: CLICK HERE