GREEN INSPIRATION HOME
Living Room
The Living Room is located to get light from the South, East and West, and to share views with the Kitchen, Dining and Foyer so that one can literally look out into nature from every direction. Windows onto the Entry Porch allow someone in the Living Room or working in the kitchen to have a clear view of anyone approaching the front door.
This kind of “commanding view,” when combined with a sense of refuge and protection, offering by the Living Room’s cozy seating, lets our subconscious relax and enjoy the moment. An energy efficient fireplace, the modern version of a traditional hearth, further adds to the sense of comfort in the room.
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Our bodies evolved in sunlight. Daylight changes in color throughout the day, from warm morning light, to cooler and brighter mid day light, back to warm evening light. Exposure to those shifting color temperatures defines our circadian rhythms, which in turn regulate our sleep cycles, our weight, and our health. We see technology adapting to recognize this, with phones that change to a warmer screen color in the evening to help prepare people for sleep.
Nora Lighting’s 2” Iolite recessed LED luminaires are equipped with “comfort dim” technology, so that it is “color tunable” from a bright sunny 3100K, to a dimmed glow at 2,000K, which is more like candlelight. This allows the interior lighting to go through the same color shifts as the light outdoors, supporting healthy circadian function and healthy sleep.
The lights also have a color rendering index of 90+ which means they will not distort your perception of color. 90% of all lighting is required to be efficient for Zero Energy Ready Certification. 100% of the lighting in this home uses super efficient LED light sources. Efficient LED Lighting reduces energy use and heat generation associated with lighting. LED’s also have an extremely long life, approximately 50 times longer than a typical incandescent, 20-25 times longer than a typical halogen, and 8-10 times longer than a typical CFL. Depending on how many hours a day the lights are used, a homeowner may only have to change an LED every 11-18 years.
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The wild untamed design of the Finley Chandelier consists of varying layers of bleached rattan that create wonderful billowy shadow play and a soft glow in the Living Room. The natural materials and form, and the play of light and shadow are biophilic elements that subconsciously remind us of walking through a wood with dappled light, or gathering by a campfire in the evening. Efficient LED lighting conserves energy.
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A crackling fire is deeply associated with comfort and warmth in the human psyche. People are hard wired to love fireplaces, even on the gulf coast, where warmth is rarely in short supply. However, wood-burning fireplaces are an extremely inefficient way to heat your home. Fireplace drafts can pull the warm air up the chimney, causing other rooms to be cooler, and your heater to work harder to maintain constant temperatures throughout the house. Also, fireplaces do not burn as cleanly as EPA-certified wood heaters, creating 20 times the amount of air pollution. For these reasons, Indoor air Plus does not allow open fireplaces inside the home, and has strict requirements for efficient combustion and ventilation.
The Inspiration Home delivers the comfort and biophilic amenity of a fireplace within a healthy and energy efficient indoor environment by using a highly efficient, sealed, and vented gas fireplace as a focal point of the Living Room, and an open fire pit on the Porch. The fireplace surround is made locally of cast concrete, to reduce the environmental impacts associated with transporting a heavy stone surround.
