Energy Trust of Oregon’s EPS Helps You Get the Best MPG in a New Home

April 14, 2010 – 11:14 am

Looking for a new home, but want to know how much energy it will use over its lifetime? If you’re in Oregon, you may be in luck. Energy Trust of Oregon, a nonprofit established to help Oregonians invest in renewable and energy efficiency, has created the Energy Performance Score (EPS) for new homes. Energy Trust suggests EPS is an MPG (miles per gallon) rating for the home. EPS, a voluntary labeling program, was established to help buyers of new homes understand how much energy a new home will use and how much the home will contribute to carbon emissions.

enh tp eps certificate pg1 Energy Trust of Oregon’s EPS Helps You Get the Best MPG in a New Home

The goal of the EPS label, according to Energy Trust, is to quantify a home’s energy efficiency, it’s utility costs and environmental impact. The program also helps to document a house’s and identify it’s carbon footprint by purchasing renewable energy from utilities or other carbon offsets. EPS may be assessed for new homes, including those receiving certification from Earth Advantage, Energy Star, the USGBC’s LEED for Homes or other energy efficiency certifications, the organization says.

illust energyguide label Energy Trust of Oregon’s EPS Helps You Get the Best MPG in a New HomeEnergy Trust’s labeling system jumbo-sizes the EnergyGuide label found on many major appliances. The EnergyGuide label is required on many major appliances and shows consumers how much energy the product will use annually. The label places the appliance’s consumption on a scale relative to similar appliances and tells whether the appliance will use less or more energy than other like appliances and whether it will cost you more or less to use than other choices.

EPS basically takes all the available energy consumption information related to the home, including the energy used by its appliances, its size, heating and cooling systems, lighting, windows and doors, and insulation. And shows how many millions of BTUs (British Thermal Units) the home will use throughout the year. The usage of BTUs allows the system to show both how much electricity and how much gas the home should use on an annual basis. The system also measures the carbon emissions related to the home’s energy usage. Lower scores on both mean the house is more efficient.

Since EPS considers the size of the home, it differs from some other home-energy rating systems, like Passive House, which rewards larger homes because they can have more energy saving measures purely because of their size. EPS however, considers that smaller homes often use less energy overall when compared to larger homes. This means even without more efficient appliances, a smaller home may use less energy than a larger house.

EPS now is being used on for new homes in Oregon and is being piloted on existing homes in Washington states. Both Oregon and Washington are considering mandatory new home energy labeling programs. EPS coincides with the DOE’s goal of establishing a voluntary energy-efficient home rating standard. Such a standard could allow lenders to provide preferred financing options for energy-efficient homes.

Other organizations, including some utilities also are taking steps to help consumers reduce their use of energy, like Minnesota Power’s Pyramid of CONSERVATION.

By Chris10Meehan | Posted in Building Industry News, Green Building, Housing News | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

8 Ways to Keep Your Home Renovations Green

April 13, 2010 – 6:15 am

If you are planning a home renovation project, you are likely concerned with keeping costs down. While many people think that “green” renovation practices are expensive, the truth is that many green practices are just as easy on your wallet as they are on the environment.

house 8 Ways to Keep Your Home Renovations Green

1. Before you begin your renovations, hire a licensed inspector to make sure no asbestos, lead paint, or other hazardous materials are present in areas you plan to renovate. Asbestos dust, toxic molds, lead-based paints, etc. can become airborne during renovations and can cause health problems and environmental issues. You can find a licensed firm in your local Yellow Pages.

2. Recycle lumber, metal, glass, and other “debris”. Consult a construction materials exchange in your area, which can be located through the Yellow Pages or at the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Home Guide. It should be noted that recycling materials that contain asbestos or lead paint is prohibited, so any contaminated debris should be kept separate from materials you want to recycle.

3. Purchase renovation materials in reusable containers. Some retailers will ship or sell you the materials you need wrapped in blankets or stacked on wooden pallets, and may reimburse a portion of the purchase price to you when you return the packing materials.

4. Donate any surplus or unneeded materials to local charities, or to individuals through Craigslist or FreeCycle. Items that are often in demand include copper, lumber, or masonry. Local school districts may also be in need of these materials, either for their own renovations, for classroom projects, or for extracurricular activities.

5. Think about the sun, and then plan your renovations accordingly. If you are looking to cut energy costs, place windows and/or sunlights in the renovated area thoughtfully in order to help reduce heating or cooling costs. Boost those energy savings (and your project’s environmental friendliness) by installing soy-based foam insulation.

6. Replace old appliances and water fixtures with Energy Star items. Energy Star items are rated by the U.S. Government, and include washing machines, dryers, electronics, faucets, showerheads, and many other household items.

7. Buy local. Whether you are purchasing wallpaper, lumber, or anything in between, common renovation items and materials that are bought locally can reduce your project’s carbon footprint, as you have to drive a shorter distance to pick up the items. And if the items are also locally made, that also means that the cost of transporting the items to the store was low, also reducing a project’s impact on the environment.

8. Build to LEED specifications, espescially if you are remodeling with an intent to sell. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, is a voluntary, consensus-based standard to support and certify successful green building design, construction and operations. Depending on your exact situation, LEED projects may qualify you for tax credits and other incentives.

By TuckerSCummings | Posted in Green Building | Comments (0)

Greywater: Legal Liability or Untapped Resource?

March 23, 2010 – 1:40 pm

You know how things are in the West.
greywater 300x147 Greywater: Legal Liability or Untapped Resource?

People are a little more independent, a little more likely to take things into their own hands…

And conditions are a lot more arid, which makes people a lot more concerned about squeezing the last drop of utility out of every – you guessed it – last drop.

No wonder greywater controversies are starting to percolate.

Greywater refers to water that’s been used in a household’s sinks, showers, dishwashers, washing machines – anything but toilets.

It’s estimated that greywater makes up 50-80% of the thousands and thousands of gallons of residential wastewater we send to water treatment facilities every year.

And some say that’s a damn shame, because greywater can still be useful for landscape irrigation.

Greywater advocates say restrictive plumbing codes are the only thing holding up more widespread use of greywater.

So they advise people to just do it on their own.  Do-it-yourself systems are frequently referred to as “bootleg.”

Steve Bilson, the founder of ReWater Systems, has installed hundreds of legal greywater systems (costing about $7,000 each) and was a consultant to the development of California’s greywater legislation.  Yet the WaterCheckBiz website quoted him as saying, “The code is so overbuilt that I’m beginning to think it’s better to just have everyone do it bootleg.”

Groups like the Greywater Guerillas emerged, to help residents learn how to install their own greywater systems and bypass the permit process.  The group has now changed its name to “Greywater Action,” (find them at www.greywateraction.org ) to better reflect their broad-based approach to building a sustainable water culture and infrastructure.

Advocates like Art Ludwig, of Oasis Design, maintain that greywater is the perfect poster child for a more environmentally friendly approach to building and regulation.

No one is exactly sure how many bootleg greywater systems are currently operating in the U.S.  For residential systems, the legal consequences seem to be minimal, but some say a less muddled regulations could lead to clearer water all around.

The benefits of greywater are clear:

  • Reduce use of fresh water
  • Reduce the strain on treatment plants or septic systems
  • Reduced use of energy and chemicals
  • Better treatment
  • Groundwater recharge
  • Better use of nutrients.

But where it gets a little murky is the issue of human waste.  Authorities tend to approach greywater systems as if they were septic systems, while advocates claim such controls aren’t necessary.

There are signs that attitudes might be changing.  A bill was recently introduced in the Wisconsin state legislature which would simplify and ease restrictions on residential greywater use.  In addition, the US Green Building Council and the City of Santa Barbara have already endorsed greywater standards, so it just might be the wave of the future.

Learn more about greywater at the Oasis Design Greywater Information Central web site, www.greywater.net/.

By ddresden | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Put Your Home On an Energy Diet With the Pyramid Of Conservation

March 23, 2010 – 8:14 am

Minnesota Power has developed a great info-graphic for home energy conservation, called The Pyramid of CONSERVATION. Its like the food pyramid but instead of helping you eat healthy, it shows you how to put your home on an energy diet!

pyramid550 Put Your Home On an Energy Diet With the Pyramid Of Conservation

The ten-level pyramid is read from the bottom up, with easiest and least expensive means of energy conservation in the home as the pyramid’s  base. As you read up the pyramid’s levels, the steps become more complex and expensive. Topping the list is installing alternative energy on your home.

Homeowners wanting to reduce their energy consumption should start at the bottom level, and move up the pyramid until they’ve reached a level of energy reduction that they’re satisfied with. Each pyramid level links to information about how to take each action.

The first three steps include learning about your energy usage and taking simple steps to reduce your use, including turning things off when not in use and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Depending on where you live and what you’ve already done, you may want to alter how you achieve the goals. And some of the information that the pyramid links to is Minnesota-specific.

The ten steps are:

1. Understanding (Home energy audit)

Learn online about home energy audits. You can do a basic one yourself like Energy Star’s Home Energy Saver, or hire a home energy auditor to check your house. Make sure the auditor is certified (BPI and RESNET are two certifying firms) and ask for references. Audit are often subsidized by local utilities or governments. An auditor can help you identify priority retrofits in your home to maximize your home’s energy efficiency.

2. Low-cost No-Cost

This is the simple, oft-forgot, money-saving message: Turn it off! Simply turn off the lights when you’re not using them. Unplug transformers and chargers when not in use (as long as their plugged in, they’re eating the juice). Power-strip it. Put TV’s, computers, stereo equipment and other devices on power strips and turn the strip off when connected devices aren’t in use. These simple steps can make a big difference on your electric bill.

3. Lighting

Get rid of those old, energy-hungry incandescent bulbs and replace them with CFLs or LEDs. These newer bulbs sip on energy compared to incandescents. And older fluorescent fixtures use more energy than new ones.

4. Air sealing

Tightening your home’s envelop by ais-sealing it can help you save up 20% of your heating and cooling costs, according to Energy Star. Sealing and insulating your home’s envelope or shell of your home, including outer walls, ceilings, windows, doors and floors can greatly improve energy efficiency in a home.

5. Appliances

Since Energy Star came into effect in 1992 many former energy-hungry appliances have been made much more efficient. For instance, the pea green fridge from the 70’s you still have, well a new Energy Star fridge could save you about $200 a year in energy costs alone.

6. Insulation and Ventilation

Check to make sure your home is properly insulated. The Department of Energy offers  the ZIP-Code Insulation Program to help you determine what type of insulation you need for your home. Simply type in your ZIP-code and it will tell you how high an R-value your home needs to be most efficient.

7. Water Heating

Consider a drain water heat-recovery system can help recover heat otherwise lost to the sewers. And newer water heaters, like old fridges, are much more efficient. You can even buy super-efficient gas or electric water heaters or a on-demand (tankless) water heater, or you can install a solar water heater on your roof.

8. Heating and Cooling equipment

If your old furnace or boiler is outdated and groaning at night, replace it with a new, energy-efficient unit. This should be done after taking earlier steps, such as sealing and insulating. The other efficiencies gained might mean you can get away with a smaller, less-expensive system.

9. Windows

If you live in a home with old fashioned single-paned windows, you know how much heat passes through those panes. If you need new windows anyway, invest in new windows. The Efficient Windows Collaboration offers a window selection tool that will help you determine which windows are best for your location.

10. Renewable Options

Finally, we get to the most expensive and longest payback. Going renewable by installing a solar power system, microhydro or small wind turbine, costs the most. You might consider a renewable energy system for new construction where the grid doesn’t reach already.

By Chris10Meehan | Posted in Building Industry News, Housing News | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Do Building Appraisers Understand the Value of Green?

March 18, 2010 – 6:17 am

Appraiser 300x207 Do Building Appraisers Understand the Value of Green?If you think it’s not easy being green, try measuring it.

In fact, establishing the financial benefits of green building and making sure they’re accounted for in a building’s appraisal is one of the more significant challenges facing the industry today.

When appraisals for green construction don’t reflect the value of the technology used to build it, buyers and builders have a hard time getting the financing they need.

Real estate appraisers, along with consumers and lenders, have been identified as key target markets for green building marketing and education efforts.

Somehow, green builders need to make sure real estate appraisers recognize and articulate the cash value of what they do.

After all, green building elements like super- efficient heating and cooling systems will lower energy costs.  When a building is less expensive to run than others, and less likely to make employees sick, or any of the other green building benefits, it should be of greater value to potential owners.

In Seattle, for example, GreenWorks realty reports that green buildings sell 22% more quickly and for 8.5 % more per square foot than similar, traditional buildings.

But such facts aren’t always well known in the building community and, in areas where foreclosures are high and green building starts are low, they might not hold true.

Real estate professionals note that it’s not easy to establish a value for green buildings, when there aren’t many available for comparison.  In addition, procedures for evaluating construction costs in light of long-term benefits and operating costs aren’t exactly standardized.

But help may be on the way, from the Appraisal Institute (AI), a membership organization for professional real estate appraisers with more than 25,000 members and 91 chapters around the world.  AI instituted seminars in valuation of green residential and commercial buildings in 2008, and it seems they have significant expectations for the green building industry.

Following the 2008 kick-off of seminars on green building and property values, the Austin Business Journal quoted AI President Jim Amorin as saying, “The green building industry is expected to value between $19 billion and $38 billion by 2010.  It’s vital for appraisers and other industry professionals to understand the importance of this sector of the market going forward.”

The more progress that’s seen in the measuring of the green, the more progress we’re likely to see in building that way.

For more details, see the Austin Business Journal article (www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/06/23/daily41.html), the Appraisal Institute Web site (www.appraisalinstitute.org), CNNMoney (http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/10/real_estate/green_homes_redlight/index.htm?postversion=2010031004) .

By ddresden | Posted in Building Industry News, Green Building | Comments (0)