The final post in our series of advice columns for sustainability-focused site Inhabitat.com features tips from “eco designer” Zem Joaquin.

No one better epitomizes smart, healthy and stylish green living than Ecofabulous founder and cradle-to-cradle green designer Zem Joaquin. This eco jetsetter and green girl about town is well known for her phenomenal green parties, her insightful analysis of green products over on her site Ecofabulous, and her ability to make eco-friendly lifestyle choices feel glamorous and fun. We recently sat down with Zem to find out more about her gorgeous green home in the beautiful hills of Marin County, CA, and get her personal tips and tricks on how to make your home cleaner, greener and healthier through the power of smart design. Read on to find out about Zem’s secret tips for a green home, including – believe it or not – foot pedals on sinks!

She shares her advice for minimizing water waste, keeping your indoor air clean, using earth-friendly flooring alternatives and more. Read the full piece at Inhabitat.

The latest in our series of advice posts at Inhabitat focusing on green living, energy efficiency and the like features our own Christine Marvin. She’s sharing a detailed look at the window replacement process an how it can make your home more energy efficient. From the article’s introduction:

…one of the most important elements to maintaining a green home: windows! Windows aren’t just a portal to the outside world — they can improve the comfort of your home, the interior light and ambiance, the ventilation, and above all, they can dramatically increase your energy savings. Joining us this week is Marvin Windows expert Christine Marvin, who is among the fourth generation to work for the family-owned and sustainably operated made-to-order window and door company. Christine provides us with a wealth of knowledge, giving us her top 5 considerations for transforming our homes with new windows.

Her tips:

1. Consider All Factors: Climate, Energy, Design & Style
   The number one consideration is going to be window performance. Standards for performance often come listed on a manufacturer’s label, where makers list performance data that can arm you with the information you need to make intelligent comparisons between products and manufacturers depending on your needs and location.
2. Know Your Climate – Where You Live Impacts What You Should Buy
   The next question you might ask is, “How do I know which energy considerations are suitable for me?” The region in which you live plays a crucial role in deciding which window is the right product for you. In particular regions, certain glazing options are better than others in maximizing comfort and energy efficiency.
3. Understand the Label – Performance Rating Information
   Currently, there are a few prime gauges of performance that can be found on your window’s labels. Every label highlights the various characteristics and performance factors of your window, such as whether or not a window is dual-pane or has a specific U-factor. Generally these labels will come in three flavors…
4. Make Sure Your Windows Are Under Warranty
   Window replacements are very much a part of this long-term investment, so you should be certain that you are installing a product that is of the highest quality and value – this can often be signaled by the type of warranty your manufacturer offers.
5. Look for a Company With Values That Match Your Own
   If you take all the tips above into consideration,it’s easy to see that picking the right company to source your windows from is just as important as the windows themselves. Look for a company with heritage, a proven track record, and a commitment to bringing you the best products and services.

Be sure to read the full article for more detail on each of these tips, which are likely to help make the window shopping process a bit easier.

As we’ve mentioned, we’re sponsoring a nice series of posts at Inhabitat focusing on green living, energy efficiency and the like. The most recent in that series features an interview with energy efficiency expert David Johnston. With the advice he offers, the article claims you could reduce your energy consumption by up to 50 percent.

Cutting back on your energy usage is one of the best ways to bring down your electricity bill. But did you know that making simple changes to not just your wattage consumption but the way your home retains and expels air can dramatically transform the way you experience your spaces and use electricity? Joining us this week to share 5 Tips on how we can better green our homes is green visionary and sustainable pioneer David Johnston who focuses on easy changes you can make with your appliances, air exchange, insulation and even windows that will pave the way to dramatic savings. Undoubtedly an expert on all things energy, David shares his over 30 years of experience and gives us a snapshot of some of the best ways we can reduce our energy consumption by up to 50%!

Read the full post here for some great tips.

As we mentioned last week, Marvin is sponsoring a series of post at Inhabitat full of great green-living and remodeling tips from a variety of experts on specific niches within the broad world of “green.” The newest post in the series features an interview with our friend Sarah Susanka, who shared some great tips on remodeling a home with an eye toward making it more livable and efficient.

While conjuring up comfort in the home seems like a basic principle, it’s a far more complex process for architect & remodeling guru Sarah Susanka, who believes that comfort can significantly influence the sustainability of your personal abode. With her mantra of “build better, not bigger,” Susanka promotes quality over quantity when remodeling a home. Through transforming your living space into a more beautiful and comfortable environment, Susanka says that any home’s occupants will automatically take better care of their space in a more sustainable way. We sat down with Susanka to get the low-down on how to do more with less when revamping your space.

Read the full interview here.