Mining Gold in Park City

Our area is about to jump up a few “green” notches with the December 11th open house celebration for Knox Housing Partnership’s 7 LEED Gold low-income homes in 5 Points. These are the first LEED Gold homes in the state and, I believe, the first LEED Gold low income housing in the US.
Mostly because my Energy Star Provider became a USGBC LEED for Homes Provider, I was privileged to be Green Rater for this project. LEED is the US Green Building Council’s program for energy efficient and sustainable home construction. KHP's construction project manager, Ken Block set the goals and Jason Estes from CAC provided the crew for the seven homes’ construction. It took a little bit of a push to get the USGBC program going but once we got past the Design Charrette (USGBC speak for planning meeting.) things went very well. I made regular site visits to verify that the LEED prerequisites were met and that the work quality for a Gold rating was accomplished. My roll was much more coach than cop and I found that the crew was very understanding and enthusiastic about the work we did.
A Green Rater’s roll is to provide an unbiased third party review of the construction process. Everything done is expected to be better quality work. From a builder’s point of view this might seem like a costly headache. In reality it was not. Nor is it significantly more expensive. These homes will appraise around $100,000. While we all know that material cost has become a moving target, the labor side was not much different. The gang at CAC is now much more aware and better trained to build homes to these standards so I expect the next group to be even better.
In the realm of subcontractors it helped that there was a Design Charrette and that they were all there. Some things, like caulking building penetrations, advanced framing techniques or sealed crawlspaces take some explaining both to builders and code officials. These systems stem from building science developed at places like ORNL and are more common in other parts of the US than here in ol’ East TN. Nevertheless, local builders will find that the techniques are not all that different from what they currently do, just more attention to detail.
Plan, pay attention to detail and be willing to give it a try and builders will find that LEED is a path to a new market.

"Too Tight" or not tight enough?

          As the heating season approaches and we face a 20% increase in energy cost, this is a good time to tighten up your home. There are many small things that you can do to improve your homes' efficiency. Infiltration is a term I use that refers to how drafty a home is, some call it a  "voluntary" air supply. Here are some simple ways to reduce air infiltration;

Windows and doors are a common source of temperature and energy loss depending on what type  you have. The newest, double pane, low emission, argon vinyl windows are very good. Be sure that they are clean and locked tight. They will leak if they aren't locked!

Older wood or metal frame systems are not as efficient and you need to be sure they are closed and latched firmly. Storm windows over double hung or sash weighted frames are likely to be a source of energy loss. Again make sure everything is clean and closes all the way. If you can see daylight you have a problem, often there is something stuck or out of line. Any of these window systems benefit from being exercised, raise and lower each one and look carefully to be sure they close all the way. Old fashion sash weighted windows leak around the pulley. There are caps available that snap over the hole and seal them up. Check the caulking on the storm windows for gaps and voids. 

Weather stripping on exterior doors is another source of "voluntary" air supply. The seals should be clean, flexible and contact the door all the way around.

Another common pathway for air leaking into or out of your home is utility penetrations. Inspect your outside walls for gaps around the electric, HVAC, cable TV and water services where they go through into your home. A bead of caulking or some closed cell spray foam will seal these up. Look for penetrations up through your floor from the basement or crawl-space, if you have one and down through the ceiling from the attic. Remember that attics and crawl-spaces are usually colder or hotter than your living space and you don't want that air in your house. The electrical wires, water lines and duct boot penetrations are generally a pathway for leaks and energy loss. Ceiling can lights that stick through the ceiling into your attic are notorious leakers.

It is important to understand that as you air seal you are reducing the amount of  "voluntary" air changes in your home. You are slowing down unwanted air infiltration and becoming more efficient. This effects the "V" or ventilation part of HVAC that is often neglected. We call it ACH (Air Changes per Hour) and the term refers to the amount of fresh air you get circulating in your living space. This is the "Too Tight" part. The idea is to control the air flow rather than get your air supply through energy robbing leaks. Once the house is tight you will want to install mechanical ventilation. This is a filtered source of fresh air that connects to your current system or can be a stand alone supply. It can be as simple as an air duct with a filter connected to your HVAC system's return or as sophisticated as an Energy Recovery Ventilator that operates on its own control sensor. Both are adequate for ACH, the ERV is more efficient.

Three "R's"

Renew, Reuse, Recycle.

       There is a terrific book called "Cradle to Cradle" published in 2002 that proposes methodology like the 3 r's and how the impact of what we do is usually much more than what we see around us. The Chamber in Knoxville has launched a Green movement to encourage its members to participate in the process. "Cradle to Cradle's" authors suggest that recycling is truly "down cycling" due to  the fact that materials usually degrade during their life cycle and do not rejoin upstream manufacturing at the same purity as the original material. (See: beer cans at Alcoa) We have talked for years about recycled beer cans going to Japan and coming back as Hondas, well not really. The high grade aluminum used for pistons and other stressed parts are not made of beer can grade alloys. 

       My point in all of this is that if we are to really have an impact on our manufacturing process and generally wasteful life style we will need to take a much closer look at how to close the loop. Annie Liebowitz's "The Story of Stuff" points out the fact that we degrade many aspects of our environment as we go through the life cycle of product manufacture, delivery and use. I applaud the Chamber's efforts to encourage the 3R's. I hope that we can dig deeper into the subject. So far our Green efforts have grazed the surface and the marketing claims touted from these positions are pretty hollow when you get down to brass tacks. I hope we can engender a culture that will take an honest and in depth look at our over-all way of doing things.

Duct demise

Yet another duct system that failed to pressure test! A very fine ~ 50 year old home in Knoxville is another example of the deplorable condition of our HVAC systems. This home fortunately has most of the ducts inside the conditioned space. Even so, the duct runs that were in the crawl-space were not particularly well insulated and leaking energy into the atmosphere.         There is consistency in the occurrence of poorly designed and installed HVAC systems in these older homes. I guess the issue is that they were never designed for central heat and air to begin with. Some systems are just worn out, many troubles are the result of compromise during installation. In any case there is a lot of work to be done to bring these homes up to current standards. I am thinking that the national energy loss through duct systems is far over the claimed 15%.

Recent Rater

Last Friday I rated two homes in Old Concord, a lovely colonial and a quasi-Craftsman. Both were double Energy Star, the colonial rated over 200! Both of these homes typify the challenge with energy savings in our existing homes inventory. The colonial is inefficient by design ( single pane, leaky windows and no insulation in walls or the frame floor ) or, as in the bungalow, losing energy through poor maintenance. I actually found a cat in the supply side of the HVAC! The potential for savings is huge and the investment is minimal compared to the value of the property. In both cases durability is part of the picture as bulk moisture and condensation are already destroying the buildings' structure.

The homeowner in this case is a good example of one of our failures as a service to the community. She is adamant in her desire to improve her energy consumption, but has had a hard time finding someone to do the work. Part of the problem is the attic and crawl-space environment where most of our energy loss occurs is a foreboding environment. Another issue is that there are several trades involved with energy loss. All the trades disrupt the integrity of a building envelope and few if any understand the consequences. Finally, the general public is pretty unaware of the problem, otherwise rater's and repairman's phones would be ringing off the hook. No demand no supply.

As demand for ratings increases the fulfilment part of this equation is a good business opportunity.

Is "Green" a Priority?

   Larisa Brass posed this question in her recent column. In my world her premise really begs the question - Why would Jane & John Q. Public spend their hard earned cash on a $500 rater fee? If the choice is between a rater plus the $1500 that will likely be needed to tighten up a home and say, a new leather couch, which way will they jump? Lately, it continues to be on the couch. So why pick Green instead? Energy savings is a good reason, carbon footprint works for some folks (though it appears to be a bit altruistic for E. Tenn.) how about indoor air quality? That's actually the best one though it is tough to put a number on the benefit. Folks seem to be distrustful of Green marketing campaigns and with good reason. Too many products haven't performed as advertised.

   Fuel cost has changed so fast I don't think people have had time to react, other than in disbelief. The more we pay for energy the less we will want to use, right? Well, maybe, but I think its more complex than that. TVA is going to inflict rate changes, gas won't go down, natural gas is going to be high this winter. The point of this is that, so far, pain in the wallet isn't driving home owners to energy raters in the area. The Energy Star Home Energy Rating System (H.E.R.S.) is a proven method to determine energy use in a home and a direct path to where savings can be found. This is not new, Home Energy magazine (a rater mag) is in its 25th year of discussion on how to build an efficient home. I lived off the grid for several years in the 70's. Still we are struggling with a thin market for raters in the valley.

    SO.....Do we think that the rise in energy cost will provide the momentum towards a busy rater/energy consultant market or will it be some other market shift in awareness that entices Jane & John on board with energy conservation?

Disruptive Technology

A recent article forwarded from my compatriot at TerraShares, John Atkins, gives hope to the belief that technology might help us get a handle on our energy consumption. Solar panel development company, Nanosolar, has just raised the bar on manufacturing solar thin film panels.Using "ink" and printing techniques they are able to better panel manufacturing speed significantly. It's a big difference and the kind of quantum change we need in the renewable inventory to reduce our fossil fuel consumption. There is no question that conservation, by itself, is not going to get us out of our energy bind. A recent TVA study shows that, with current renewable resources fully deployed, demand side load still requires better than 65% fossil fuels to meet projected demand. New and disruptive technology therefore is the target. If Lamar Alexander's  Manhattan Project grows any teeth we might just get a chance to brighten our children's future without burning the place down in the process.

TVA

It occurs to me that the distributors within the TVA footprint are soon to be the source of energy conservation for our region. TVA has done its homework in a very public way and will soon be presenting the valley with some options regarding demand load reduction. Distributors will get to choose their own path from the TVA recommendations. I hope that the utilities will want to test their customers' homes to establish the best path to energy efficiency for each case. In my experience each building is different and presents a different set of issues that only become obvious when the structure is pressure tested and thoroughly inspected by an accredited rater. This leads me to the idea of a Energy Star HERS score for residential housing created at the time of sale and published with MLS. Like the cars we buy and their fuel milage estimate our homes should come with an energy rating attached. As the utility rates rise I suspect the efficiency of a home will become more important to the home buyer. And rise they will...........

What's the Point?

Why bother to get a home rated? 

The most obvious reason is to save energy and as a result save on your utility bills. Most homes today are very leaky do to building penetrations by electric, plumbing and HVAC installations. The average home is loosing 15% of its energy through HVAC duct loss alone. A home can't be too tight and most are very leaky.

Another reason that is less obvious but is really more important is indoor air quality. The combination of leaky ducts, unsealed building utility penetrations and the fact that the ventilation systems are usually in your attic and/or your crawl-space means that your home is a breeding ground for mold. Many ventilation systems create an environment that, do to condensation, help mold grow inside your home. Moldy, leaky ventilation systems cause respiratory health problems. 

A tight, properly ventilated home will save on utility bills, add thermal comfort, provide clean fresh air and add value to your life.

Blower Door

What do raters do with a "Blower Door"? 

This is a diagnostic tool developed for raters to determine the total leakage of your home's envelope. (By envelope we mean the space you try to heat and cool or the conditioned space.) We want to know how much energy is lost through leaks from your conditioned space to the outside. The blower door is a fan that is precisely controlled to depressurise your home. This allows a rater to measure how leaky your home is and, by using visible smoke, find where the leaks are.

Duct blaster

What is a "Duct Blaster" and what is it for? 

The duct blaster is a tool we energy raters use to test your home's ventilation system for leaks. We can tell the total leakage as well as the leakage to the outside which is the kind that costs you money. If your system is leaking inside the home it may not be ventilating very well but at least the heating and cooling is still inside your home. It is the duct leaks in the attic or crawl-space that waste the energy. Essentially you are heating and cooling the outside and you might as well be throwing your money out the window. A rater can test for this and find the leaks.