New green homes can be awe-inspiring, both for their groundbreaking designs and their show of techno-muscle. Those tubular daylights, state-of-the-art solar panels, sleek recycled flooring, dehumidifying HVAC systems, complex gray water reclamation systems, louvered light “shelves” and heat-reflecting metal roofs can leave the common homeowner gaping — and wishing.

The truth is most of us won’t be building a brand new green castle, at least not anytime soon — and perhaps there’s something to be said for the alternative; let’s call it “greening in place”.

Almost any home can become more energy friendly, and this “in fill” project can occupy a very important spot in the urban landscape: your own lot!

We asked Anna Rosemann, owner of Eco/Consulting US in Los Angeles, to give us her list of things to consider when retrofitting your own precious casa.

First on Anna’s list is the Home Performance Test, which is where she and many other consultants start when asked to evaluate a property.  (This is similar to the energy audit conducted by HERS (Home Energy Rating Systems) experts, commonly used in the building industry.)

To Anna, who started Eco/Consulting US in 2006 after working several years in real estate development, this initial assessment is the equivalent of considering one’s location when buying a home. Her mantra, “Home Performance Test, Home Performance Test, Home Performance Test”, is a take on the Realtor’s maxim “Location, Location, Location”.

The test looks at a home’s energy systems, the insulation and the building envelope to identify potential leaks and inefficiencies. Most likely the house is not performing nearly as well as it could, says Rosemann, because “for a long time we were building houses as fast as we could and no one was really paying attention to how they were being built.”

In about 90 percent of the existing homes she’s evaluated, the house is insufficiently insulated. Using infrared equipment to check the walls, Eco/Consulting contractors typically find a wall cavity devoid of insulation. “It’s insane and crazy how many walls we see with zero insulation,” Rosemann says. In these cases, the fix might be a relatively affordable injection of eco-friendly cellulose insulation. But there are many other nips and tucks to consider within any given home.

Here is Rosemann’s list of factors to consider when contemplating a retrofit:

• Use recycled material whenever available. Increasingly there are companies that reclaim excess or used building materials that have wide reuse potential, such as doors and windows.

• The caulking gun. Rosemann calls it “the most high tech tool of this century” – meaning it can do powerful work.

• An on-demand tank-less water heater can serve as a backup to the solar hot water system in the coldest months.

• Recycled jean insulation. (For more info on insulation get advice from the Department of Energy.)
  

• Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. The savings is real: CFLs have a much longer life than other bulbs, use less energy and produce less heat. Changing five of the most frequently used bulbs in your home can save you $100 per year on electric bills.

• Program your thermostat and when you are at home, keep the thermostat at 78 F or higher in the summer and 62 F or lower in the winter. Programmable thermostats allow you to program the systems to reduce output when they are not needed, like when no one is home during the day or at night when everyone is sleeping.

• Plug air leaks. This simple step can go a long way toward keeping your home at the temperature you desire, saving money on heating and air conditioning bills and more. Common leaks occur around windows, doors and other wall penetrations. Plugging those leaks with weather stripping and caulk can be a simple task for anyone.

• Tune up your heating and cooling (HVAC) system. Have a checkup for your HVAC system every two years to make sure it is running efficiently. Be sure to clean the filter monthly during times of peak usage; a dirty filter can significantly reduce the system’s efficiency.

• Choose ENERGY STAR® appliances. ENERGY STAR®-qualified products meet a high level of energy efficiency, which can translate into savings on electric bills. So when it’s time to replace that old refrigerator, microwave, clothes washer or other appliance, remember that even if an ENERGY STAR appliance costs more, you could reduce your energy bill by $50 yearly for each appliance. Also, check with your electric utility – some offer incentives for replacing old appliances with more efficient ones.

• Explore solar. Photovoltaics – solar power technology that uses solar cells or solar photovoltaic arrays to convert light from the sun directly into electricity or heat – are increasingly available for residential use. Solar power can be harnessed to create electricity for your home, to heat water, and to improve indoor lighting.

• Reduce water use. Inside, install faucet aerators – available for a few dollars at your local home supply store – and change to low-flow showerheads. Outside, landscape with native plants and minimize high-maintenance landscaping such as turf grass.

• Use low-VOC products. Switch to products that don’t give off volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. Low- or no-VOC products greatly improve your indoor air quality and protect your health. Look for low-VOC paints and cleaning products, or you can make your own cleaning products using simple household materials like baking soda, vinegar and borax.

Many clients call wanting to look into solar panels, says Roseman. These callers envision glittering arrays on the roof that will help them cool down their energy costs. But she asks them to tick through a list of ground-level, and often more affordable changes, first. “People are quick to say, I want to be green, I want to put solar panels on my house, and that’s not the first thing I advise people to look at,” she says.

Rosemann, who’s taken green building courses offered by the US Green Building Council and is certified by California’s Build It Green, suggests many other solutions, from planting trees to shade a home to adding a water filtration system to remove the need for plastic water bottles or water services. Her Brentwood-based company handles commercial as well as residential projects from assessment to recommendations through project execution.

Hiring a consultant is sort of a luxury, she says, like hiring a designer. “But if you don’t have the time to research it all. We already have the knowledge and can tell you where you need to go.”

(Photo credits: Eco/Consulting, new home at 1309 Main St., Venice, Calif.; Anna Rosemann.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Power bills got you down, and you can’t figure out what you’re doing wrong because you’re trying to do so much right?

The Alliance to Save Energy wants you to realize the most from your efforts to reduce electricity consumption, so they’ve released this checklist for you to consider as you try to trim those galloping electric bills:

1 – If the payoff from your home fleet of energy efficient products doesn’t seem to be reducing your electric bill, ask yourself is it the “dreaded Snackwell effect”? Are you gulping energy in the belief that your more efficient computer, TVs and refrigerator will curb the bill so significantly you no longer have to worry? This phenomenon, akin to dieters indulging on low-calorie foods (like Snackwells) because they estimate that they’re consuming fewer calories overall, could be giving you a false perception of the energy-tightening you’ve done.

2. Have you added big energy users – like a big screen TV that doesn’t carry the Energy Star seal – that are undermining your other energy efficiency actions?  Look at what you’re plugging in around the house.

3 – Have energy rates increased in your area? This could account for why your bill is static despite taking strong steps to cut back.

4 – Are you staying home more in this down economy? Watching movies at home, working from home. All these activities consume electricity.

And we might add…

5 – Keeping those TVs/VCR/DVRs on a power strip, which you turn off during the day, can reduce your household’s consumption of “phantom power”, that small, but cumulative trickle of energy that’s used by electronics that are plugged in, even though they’re not turned on.

For more tips on saving energy at home, see the Alliance’s list of ideas.   www.ase.org/consumers. The Alliance is a coalition of business, government, consumer and advocacy groups, founded in 1977.

Advertisement

Plenty of utopian alternative energy schemes remain out of reach right now due to economies of scale and slow-developing technology, but one California company is eager to convince the world its wares are ready for prime time.

WePOWER, LLC, whose products are planned for use in that green Times Square billboard we discussed not long ago, recently announced it can mass produce up to half a million wind turbines in the U.S. in a year.

In its full news release, the company doesn’t promise that it will actually deliver that many units in the next 12 months; it simply asserts that the capacity is there, should consumers be willing to buy that many, thanks to a “pultrusion” process that “involving pulling raw materials through a heated steel-forming die.” It goes on to boast that putting 500,000 of its turbines into use could, depending on wind speeds, power between 200,000 and a million homes per year.

The turbines in question are the PacWind model, a small-scale unit that, according to the company, has many advantages to more familiar turbine designs. According to WePOWER literature, the PacWind requires no maintenance, operates silently, and is so sensitive to wind — it “can capture and create energy from multi-directional winds as low as 3mph and survive wind speeds in excess of 147mph” — that it can be used almost anywhere, not just out on some West Texas plain.

Oh, and they’re pretty.

Company spokesman Joe Perello won’t release sales figures, but foresees rising demand — particularly from homeowners — “once the marketplace understands the versatility and feasibility” of the product. And, importantly, once they realize this isn’t just for millionaires bitten by the green bug: “Our base model Seahawk,” he reports, “is priced at about $5,500 and can be installed for under $2,000.”

“Of course,” he continues, “the cost is less when you account for state rebates, federal tax credits, the electricity you don’t have to buy and any carbon credits that can be sold.”

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

If you are sitting through an ice storm or watching frigid weather roll your way, the government has a new place to browse online — one hopes by a cozy fire.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) just launched a web site to help Americans discover inexpensive, easy-to-do-fixes, as well as learn long-term strategies for improving their home energy efficiency and lowering energy costs. The site includes financial information links, downloadable resources for consumers and an energy savers blog to share ideas and concerns with others.

With money tight and utility rates continuing to climb nationally, recently as much as 34 percent in some areas, a top concern for homeowners is whether or not they can pay their energy bills. The energysavers.gov site addresses these concerns by providing a toolbox of informational resources that encourage a “whole-building” design approach, where all the parts work together to optimize efficiency and save money.

“The Energy Savers site is a great first stop for personal actions that can make an immediate difference in your energy bill,” Doug Seiter of DOE’s Building Technologies Program said in a statement. “It includes several low-cost, no-cost tips like sealing windows or using a programmable thermostat; it guides folks through a self energy audit and suggests how to work with local providers to install better insulation, new windows and Energy Star appliances; and includes links to financial assistance to complete the package.”

Suggested tips for the home include:

• Turn down the thermostat by just one degree to reduce home heating costs by four percent, which typically saves between $30 and $60 a year, depending on the fuel being used to heat the home.
• Wash clothes in cold water to save your household up to $83 per year.
• Set your water heater to 120 degrees.
• Plug leaks or gaps around windows and doors with materials such as caulking, weather-stripping or foam sealants.
• Install proper insulation, especially in the attic and crawl spaces, to reduce household energy costs from $70 to $460 per year.
• Replace the four most used bulbs in your home with ENERGY STAR qualified compact fluorescent bulbs to save about $195 over the lifetime of the bulbs.

Public awareness of “phantom power” usage — the way electronic devices use energy even when they’re turned off — may be growing, but it’s likely that awareness isn’t having a huge effect on consumer behavior. After all, most people plug their computer and home entertainment equipment into power strips tucked under desks and behind cabinetry, where accessing it to unplug devices is inconvenient.

The new Conserve surge protector from Belkin presents a solution to that problem by adding a remote control to the equation. Users can still hide the power strip behind or underneath furniture, but everything plugged into its six remote-switched outlets can be powered down completely with the flip of a switch that fits nicely on a desk, beside a sofa, or attached to the wall beside a light switch.

Two outlets on the strip are not affected by the remote control, so devices that need to remain on all the time (video recording devices, for instance) will continue to receive power. The remote requires a battery, of course, and unfortunately it’s an odd-sized one (a 12-volt A23) that can’t be replaced with rechargeables you may have handy.

The Conserve’s packaging boasts that users can expect to save up to $50 a year on their electric bills when they use the strip — coincidentally or not, that’s how much the device costs.

Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Ryan Morton did not have a vision of a home he aspired to own until he saw the highly stylized, three-story, loft-style sustainable “green” home replete with bamboo floors, radiant heat, bathroom tiles made of recycled glass bottles, skylights and walls of glass.

“Until I saw this, I didn’t have an idea of a home I aspired to own,’’ Morton said of the house, the basis of the Museum of Science and Industry’s exhibit, Smart Home: Green + Wired, which is open in Chicago through Jan. 4, 2009. “This is it. It’s essentially zero maintenance.’’

Morton happens to know the 11-room house, including a master bed and bath, a child’s room, two baths and a powder room, inside and out. He is a tour guide. “It’s really a great job,’’ he said.

The house highlights ways—big and small—that people can make green living an all-important part of their lifestyle. Built to celebrate the museum’s 75th anniversary, the energy efficient house was designed by Michelle Kaufmann Designs, a leader in green design community, and built by All American Homes.

“In celebration of our 75th anniversary, we really wanted something forward-looking and something that went back to our roots,’’ said Jeff Buono, coordinator of temporary exhibits and events. “This is something that does both.’’

Don’t be fooled by its seemingly complicated designs and features, which include prefabricated modules, terra green ceramic floor tiles, bamboo floors, and ash wood, the house took only two months to build. Thanks to prefabrication, that is. But the cost to build the house is nothing to sniff at. Morton estimates it was about $500,000.

The cost was well worth the effort, according to one tourist, who mused: “It makes you want to build one yourself. It’s totally fascinating and beautiful.’’

People don’t always equate beauty with sustainable green living, but the Smart Home is the exception to every rule. The home is embraced by a garden, including a sustaining vegetable garden, rain gardens and other vegetation.

When it comes to the interior of the 2,500-square-foot house, a word that comes to mind is chic, a dramatic departure from the log cabin roots of the green movement.

Throughout the Smart Home, visitors can find the sleekest and most modern technology, including:

• The NuVo Multi-room Audio System with ceiling speakers (part of the Kevlar series)
  
• Thaw-Pak Radiant Floor systems, including system engineering, tubing manifolds and pump control station
• Toxic-free Yolo Color House interior paint
• Energy-efficient windows and motorized skylights; including a rooftop skylight that’s wired to detect a cool breeze and open automatically to reduce air conditioning use
• Interior doors and millwork created from recycled sawdust and responsibly harvested hardwoods
• Heating ventilation and air conditioning, which use narrower ducts than traditional forced air systems, making the air flow from vents faster, providing heat or air in less time
• Exterior wood siding; bamboo flooring; and metal stairs and wood stair treads

The slinky eco-manse also includes a home office, lounge, and mechanical room for laundry. The washer is an Energy Star GE frontload and the dryer is a GE frontload electric. Most of the products were provided through donations.

“The interior architecture, which is inviting, sophisticated and family-friendly, demonstrates the use of natural light, open spaces, energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and energy-efficient building components to maximize a healthy-living environment,” according to a press release.

Designers selected material—from the windows to the fixtures to the counters and floors—tells a powerful story of sustainable architecture and eco-friendly design.

Visitors become privy to how storm water runoff can be used for landscape irrigation; how toilets can be installed to use waste water from the shower and bath; how spray-in foam insulation can create a completely sealed building, which results in better air quality, a quieter home and great energy efficiency; and how recycled glass bottles can create fashionable bathroom tile.

Beyond these fashionable flourishes, the house harbors a practical side vital to its sustainable credentials. Evaluated by some of the toughest standards in the industry, it was found to be nearly twice as energy efficient as a comparably sized Energy Star-rated home, and nearly three times more efficient than a conventionally built Chicago bungalow.

The interior also includes esoteric eco-furnishings, including a sofa covered in fabric made from recycled t-shirts, an ash wood dining table made with wood from a fallen tree, an organic mohair rug with a backing made of recycled coffee bean backs, whimsical chandeliers that recycle old colored light bulbs and mid-century dining chairs found in a resale shop, Morton says.

The following is a brief description and interior of some of the rooms: