Apr 30 2008 11:32AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (2) |

I just saw a TV commercial with Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich sitting together discussing how we need to work together to solve our environmental problems.  The message is good, but one thing kind of bothered me.  Speaker Pelosi said “We need cleaner forms of energy and we need them fast”.  In itself, this isn’t a bad thing, but it reinforces a big problem we have in our country – an unwillingness to conserve.  While we sit around waiting for some magical, pollution free energy source, no one is doing much about reducing the amount of energy we use. 

California, through careful conservation has managed to keep their per capita energy usage st...Read More

Apr 30 2008 7:58AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

As homes become more and more efficient, we need to look for new frontiers in energy and resource conservation. One of the next ones on the horizon is water heating. We have many great options for heating water efficiently including tankless heaters, super high efficiency tank units, geothermal, and solar. They all have their pros and cons, depending on the particular project. 

One thing that they all have in common is that none of them are effective when connected to a poorly designed hot water distribution system. I have heard stories of homeowners replacing their old tank water heater with a new tankless unit, only to be upset that the hot water didn’t arrive at their faucet instantly, and incorrectly blaming it on the new heater. The tankless heater was working perfectly, heating water only when needed, but the problem arises when that nice hot water needs...Read More

Apr 28 2008 10:20AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Not the Dracula type, the household ones we all have. Vampires are all the little (and some big) electronics that are always in the on position. Just look around your house at night and you will see all the little lights that are on – clocks, cable TV boxes, DVD players, stereos, TV’s charges, appliances, and the list goes on. 

While houses have become more efficient over the years, the extra electrical load has offset most if not all of the energy savings from efficiency. Manufacturers are currently redesigning chargers for cell phones and other devices to cut down on their standby power usage when not charging, which is a start. Unplugging many of these when not in use helps to cut down on electricity usage. Using a power strip that you can turn off is a low tech way to accomplish this. It is possible to use remote control switching to turn off selected...Read More

Apr 16 2008 1:24PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

Green building is here, you better get used to it. And figure out how to do it. Green building is on its way to being the standard way to build. It will take some time – 10-15 years or more, but I firmly believe that it will become our standard. We have no choice. Energy costs are increasing, our health is declining and green building will help with both of those problems.

Apr 9 2008 7:06AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Green by Design, not by Device — is another great phrase that I can't take credit for. A good friend of mine and a great green architect from Austin, TX, Peter Pfeiffer came up with that one. It is a kindler, gentler, way of saying no "lipstick on a pig".  It also succinctly describes how we must build green. From the start — designing right from the start solves a multitude of problems. If you start with a bad design it will be costly and challenging to make it green.

Apr 4 2008 3:44PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (4) |

Yep, I said it. Green is right. If you don’t build green, you are doing at least some of your work wrong. Not all of it, but certainly some of it. If you are building everything the right way, then you are probably building green, or very close. I am totally over the nay-sayers who don’t believe that you can seal a crawlspace or build a house very tight. They need to get in line or go sell used cars.

Apr 2 2008 10:03AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Here I am, diligently cranking out these curmudgeonly missives, and I have only gotten one lousy comment (Thank you, Jane). What do I have to do to get someone to pay attention? I am reminded of an old Saturday Night Live skit where Buck Henry had a call in show, but no one called. So he started bringing up outrageous subjects such as “killing puppies” and “no toilets for the blind”, and still, no one called. Please don’t make me resort to something quite so rash. This is green building we are talking about - only the hottest subject in the industry right now – what is it going to take to get you people excited? Maybe I should start talking about the pros and cons of Phillips vs. slotted screws.

Mar 21 2008 8:55AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

...Read More

Mar 21 2008 8:54AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

I can’t take credit for this line, it comes from Mark LaLiberte, a leader in building science.  The fact that it isn’t original doesn’t make it any less valuable.  Over the years, lots of remodelers talk about building “to the code”, as though they had a choice.  If you don’t build “to the code” you are breaking the law.  This is critically important in the case of the energy code.  Most states have excellent energy codes that require contractors to build and renovate high performance homes.  The problem is that most of those codes are not enforced.  This allows us to create poorly performing buildings that waste energy and increase costs for the owners for years to come.  Understand your energy code, then build better than it.  We shouldn’t be proud of our D- work.  Go for an A+!

Mar 21 2008 8:53AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

For many contractors, making the change to green can be challenging.  There is so much to learn, changes in materials, procedures, and often it requires doing things that are completely different than you are used to.  I have seen talented, experienced professionals walk away from green remodeling because the energy to make the change was just too great.  Their problem is that they think they have to do everything at once, but they are wrong – you can go green in steps. In fact, you pretty much have to do it in steps.  Trying to do everything at once is like drinking from a firehose – you will die before you quench your thirst.  Learn about green, figure out what changes you can manageably handle on your first project, make those changes your standards, adding more on future projects.  Try the drinking fountain instead of the fire hose, it’s easier and more satisfying.

Mar 13 2008 1:46PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |

That is what you get when you do green remodeling in the wrong order. The right order is making sure you are remodeling green from the beginning – air sealing and insulation, moisture control, and high quality HVAC systems for starters BEFORE you select the pretty “green” materials like bamboo floors, recycled tile and the like. If your project is leaky and inefficient, wasting energy and water, and is not durable, then no matter how many green materials you install, it will never be a green home, it will just be a pig that you put lipstick on.

While there are some materials that are really toxic and dangerous, they are really few and far between. Most available building materials can fit into a green renovation project, provided the project is truly green, and they are used properly.

...Read More

Mar 13 2008 1:46PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Parts of the country are seeing truly historic drought conditions. Water supplies are dwindling in the south, yet truly effective conservation measures are avoided like the plague. In Georgia they actually relaxed water restrictions on the same day a court decision came down denying the city of Atlanta the rights to water from the only significant lake in the area. Great governing! One local county just started requiring the replacement of inefficient plumbing fixtures with low flow units when homes are sold. This is a good start, but will barely scratch the surface of the problem.

In most of the country, the generation of electricity requires the use of fresh water. One study determined that 39% of our fresh water is used for power plants. So one of the best long term solutions to water shortages is to use less electricity. That means making homes more efficient and us...Read More

Mar 13 2008 1:43PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |

Building Science, that is. Building science is the concept of the “house as a system” – every part of a house affects the other to make a complete, efficient, and well operating machine. For too long contractors have not taken a hard look at all the systems in a house and how they relate to one another. The framers do their thing, the HVAC sub does his (or hers), then the insulators to theirs, the house gets finished, and when its done, the owner complains of drafts, hot spots, humidity, mold, and, eventually, rotting siding and windows. Homes are incredibly complicated structures that need to be looked at very carefully to make sure they operate properly. We need to keep water out, heat in (or out, depending on the season), dehumidify when it is humid, keep the moisture in when it is dry, and, generally, make sure that the house is detailed correctly for local...Read More