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Posts Tagged ‘green building’

The South Gets its First Certified Passive House (Beats California to the Punch)

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Corey Saft Passive House green building photo

A rarity in the South. 204House, in Lafayette, Louisiana, was designed and built by architect Cory Saft to earn both Passivhaus and LEED Platinum certifications.

Although sustainable materials and energy efficient design have found their way into some post-Katrina residential rebuilds on the Gulf Coast, Louisiana isn’t otherwise known for leading the charge to greener home construction. And that puts the house built by architect Corey Saft at the forefront of green housing in the state.

The home, a 1,200-sq.-ft. three-bedroom, two-bath in the south-central town of Lafayette, is in fact an anomaly in Louisiana, mainly because Saft designed it to qualify not only for LEED Platinum certification but also certification by Passive House Institute US.

Saft, a professor of architecture at the University of Louisiana, told the Lafayette-based news daily The Advocate that the building’s energy-recovery ventilator – an UltimateAir RecoupAerator, with MERV 12 filters – will deliver exceptional air quality. The home’s overall airtightness and shell insulation, he adds, make it “a little bit of an experiment” for housing in the Louisiana climate.

Insulated and airtight
Called the 204House, the project features R-28 Icynene LD-R-50 walls and an R-55 Icynene LD-R-50 roof, with 2×6 and 2×8 advanced framing, Saft noted in an email to GBA. The exterior walls are wrapped in 1-inch polyisocyanurate, the roof in 2-inch polyiso. Siding consists of pre-painted fiber cement board and white standing seam metal panels. Saft said there is a 1-inch space between the siding and the polyiso to help “shade” the walls and prevent heat and moisture buildup.

R-21 extruded polystyrene (XPS) was used for the basement/crawlspace walls, and R-16.5 XPS under the slab. Saft also used SeriousWindows’ 501 series vinyl-frame windows, with SeriousGlass 8 double-pane glass.

The one renewable-energy component of the house is a 3.25-kW thin-film photovoltaic system by Houston-based WhirlwindSolar.

Go here to see the original:
The South Gets its First Certified Passive House (Beats California to the Punch)

USGBC Stands By Its LEED Challenge Decision

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

Breaking: USGBC Stands By Its LEED Challenge Decision

Welcome to our first afternoon edition of Green Building Law Update. 

No one is quite sure whether the challengers to the Northland Pines High School LEED certification have grounds for an appeal.  But I figured two statements by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) regarding the “appeal” warranted a special blog post.  First, Brendan Owens, USGBC’s vice president, was quoted yesterday in ENR regarding the LEED challenge controversy:  

“Brendan Owens, USGBC’s vice president of LEED technical development, says USGBC is using the challenge as a case study for the certification team, noting, ‘We can do continuous improvement and still have been right in the past.’”

I also received the following statement from Susan Dorn, USGBC General Counsel, regarding the recent “appeal” by the LEED challengers: 

“USGBC stands by its conclusion that the Northland Pines High School project and project team complied with all the requirements necessary to achieve LEED Gold certification.  In response to a complaint, USGBC followed its certification challenge policy, which requires a thorough and technically rigorous review of the project. Given the vociferous and confrontational nature of the complaint, we further asked for two additional and separate technical reports detailing the expert professional opinions of highly regarded independent consultants. Their findings agreed with ours.

Anyone who has actually been through a LEED certification review knows that it is a  dialogue between the project team and the reviewer. After reviewing the documentation submitted by a project team, the reviewer issues a request for more information in a “Preliminary Review”.  The project team responds to any reviewer comments and resubmits.   The reviewer then reassesses the project and issues a ‘Final Review’.

The process USGBC used to deal with this appeal was similar to our standard process but in addition to having the original submission and reviewing everything we normally review we also had the complaint document.  There were issues in the complaint document that were not (from our independent consultant’s point of view) adequately addressed by the 2007  submission so we asked for and received additional clarifying documentation from the project team.  This additional documentation answered all open questions and made it possible for USGBC and the independent consultants hired to provide their expert technical opinions to conclude that the project does in fact comply with LEED Gold requirements.

LEED’s intent, and USGBC’s mission, is about helping people learn about and understand how to design, build and operate better buildings.  Buildings are complex systems of systems and any of the 100,000 of decisions associated with design, construction and operation can always be second-guessed. We are confident that our due diligence has been more than sufficient to put these issues to rest, and we are moving forward to focus our efforts where they do the most good — advancing the market uptake of green buildings and communities that is at the heart of our work.”

As Stephen Del Percio has said, this has been a wild week for LEEDigation.  I have linked to some reactions from around the interwebs below.  Be sure to check them out if you have a moment.

Original Post by Chris Cheatham, Green Building Law

Earth Advantage Institute Makes Earth Day Predictions For Housing Ten Years From Now

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Living-green-solar-awning

Sean Penrith, executive director of the Earth Advantage Institute, a non-profit based in Portland that certifies green buildings, recently published a list of ten green building trends to watch in 2010.  It’s quite the interesting list, I think you’ll agree.  While you’re thinking about these trends, don’t forget to read up on Jerry Yudelson’s Top 10 Green Building Trends of 2010, as well.  The following is a synopsis of the trends discussed by the Earth Advantage Institute:

1. The smart grid and connected home. Smart grid aspects will be noticed in the home. Dashboards and energy monitoring technology will pick up as we start to see custom and web-based display panels that show real-time energy use, including appliance energy use.

2. Energy labeling for homes and office buildings. In Oregon and Washington, the Energy Performance Score is catching the attention of legislators. In addition, more accurate energy rating systems push for the need to put a sticker on homes, just like on cars.

3. Increased use of building information modeling (BIM) software. With software add-on tools, energy modeling, and an understanding of the embedded energy properties of materials and products, we’ll start to see an increasing use of BIM, especially with contractors.

4. Buy-in to green building by the financial community. Lenders and insurers now see the value of green. They realize that green home owners, for the most part, are more responsible, less likely to default, and more likely to maintain their property.

5. “Right-sizing” of homes. A larger home no longer provides the equity that it once did. With the possibility of rising interest rates, rising energy costs, and conservative home valuations, expect to see homes that are more modest in size.

6. Proliferation of eco-districts. Portland is on this trend right now, as pockets within cities develop to provide services and supplies within walking or biking distance. In an eco-district, there’s green space, green buildings, and walkability. These districts will show up in suburban areas, too.

7. Water conservation gains. While Europe already documents building water use in environmental labels, the WaterSense specification for homes was just finalized by the EPA in December 2009. Expect water conservation and efficiency to become more important as water is the essential resource in the next decade.

8. Carbon calculations of building materials and processes. With buildings contributing roughly half of the carbon emissions, industry leaders are looking for ways to document, measure, and reduce GHG emissions in materials and processes. If a cap and trade scheme is launched, expect this effort to heighten.

9. More net zero energy buildings. Net zero energy buildings generate more energy than is used over the course of a year. To do this, a project must combine energy efficiency and some aspect of on-site energy generation. It’s more cost-effective to build energy efficiency into a structure, and we’ll see more of these buildings as time goes on.

10. Continued demand for sustainable building education. With the slowdown in the construction industry, some are retooling and educating themselves about all aspects of green buildings and new green credentials. In addition, homeowner and homebuyer demand will create a market for professionals that understand sustainability.

[PDF] Top 10 Green Building Trends of 2010 by Earth Advantage Institute.

Original Post by Preston Koerner, Jetson on Green

Green Building Myth #5: Adding Solar is the Best Way to Green a Home

Sunday, April 4th, 2010

The last several weeks I’ve written about common myths of green building: that it has to cost more to build green, that green building is mostly about materials , that green products don’t work as well as conventional products, and that it’s hard to find green products .

Without question, solar-electric (photovoltaic, PV) or solar water heating panels are the most visible green feature of many environmentally responsible homes. Either roof-mounted or installed on separate racks, those solar panels are in full view, they’re unusual enough to be noteworthy, and they convey–almost shout–a commitment to the environment. And rest assured, I’m a huge fan of both photovoltaics and solar water heating. (My first two real jobs–in New Mexico and then Vermont back in the late ’70s and early ’80s–were for organizations advancing solar energy, and solar is still dear to my heart.)

But I strenuously resist the temptation of builders, remodelers, homeowners, and commercial building owners to green their buildings simply by slapping solar panels on the roof. Solar should be the icing on the cake–added after doing all the really important work of improving the energy performance of the building envelope and upgrading heating and cooling systems, appliances, and lighting with top-efficiency products.

These measures aren’t as visible, but they usually yield far greater energy savings, financial return, and environmental benefit than a comparable investment in solar. Homeowners wanting to green their existing homes should start by getting a comprehensive energy audit to identify–and prioritize–energy saving measures. Likely measures will include adding insulation, upgrading windows (perhaps with new, low-e storms), air-tightening, replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact-fluorescent lamps (CFLs), replacing older heating or cooling systems, and switching to more efficient appliances. To reduce water heating costs, start by reducing your use of hot water by installing water-conserving showerheads, clothes washers, and dishwashers. After these investments, if your budget permits, by all means add a solar water heating or solar-electric system.

Anyone thinking of building a new home should hire an architect or designer familiar with ultra-low-energy building practices, including passive solar design (a less noticeable but usually more cost-effective application of solar energy). If you do a really good job with all this and get your heating, cooling, and electrical loads low enough, you then might be able to satisfy all of those needs with solar–creating a “net-zero-energy” house.

The temptation to start with solar is strong, especially with the very attractive 30% federal tax credits that exist for solar systems (see “Tax Credits for Solar Energy Systems”). Such generous solar tax credits, I fear, will result in a whole lot of money going into solar systems that yield considerably less energy savings than would have been realized by putting that money into energy conservation. When solar systems–especially PV systems–are installed on inefficient houses, the percent savings and return on investment can be very low; if you’re spending that much money (and the rest of us tax payers are helping out by subsidizing the tax credit) you might as well get some boasting rights!

Yes, you should install solar water heating and solar-electric systems, but before you do that you should invest in the low-hanging fruit of energy conservation.

Original Post by Alex Wilson, Building Green

New Green Construction Code Is Unveiled

Sunday, March 28th, 2010

The International Code Council has released Public Version 1.0 of the International Green Construction Code, or IGCC, to regulate construction of new and existing commercial buildings.

The IGCC aims to significantly reduce energy usage and greenhouse gases.
It addresses site development and land use, including preservation of natural and material resources. Enforcement of the code will improve indoor air quality and support the use of energy-efficient appliances, renewable energy systems, water resource conservation, rainwater collection and distribution systems, and the recovery of used water (graywater).

The IGCC emphasizes building performance, including features such as a requirement for building-system-performance verification and building owner education to ensure the best energy-efficient practices. A key feature of the new code is a section devoted to “jurisdictional electives” that will allow customization of the code beyond its baseline provisions to address local priorities and conditions.

The IGCC initiative was launched in 2009 with cooperating sponsors the American Institute of Architects and ASTM International. The support of the AIA underscores its long-time leadership in the sustainability movement, including its 2030 Carbon Neutrality challenge, and its emphasis on the critical role of architects and designers in the life cycle of sustainable construction.

The engagement of ASTM ensures the IGCC will make use of certain voluntary consensus standards recognized by industry, code officials, and other stakeholders for their high-degree of technical quality, relevance and their suitability to contribute to more sustainable and environmentally improved buildings. Principals from the ICC, AIA and ASTM pointed out how the IGCC helps further the mission of their organizations and members.

“We talked to communities who indicate that their voluntary green-building programs reach only, but an important, 30 percent of the built environment,” Code Council CEO Richard P. Weiland said. “This means that there is a clear need for a regulatory tool to establish a baseline to help jurisdictions meet their sustainability goals.”
 
The work of the ICC/AIA/ASTM team in developing the IGCC is now joined with the
Standard developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, U.S. Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society. The IGCC will now reference the ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2009 for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as an alternative jurisdictional compliance option within the IGCC.

The first public version of the International Green Construction Code draft is now posted for comments through May 14.
Originally posted here:
New Green Construction Code Is Unveiled

USGBC’s Green Home Guide Beta

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Many of us are familiar with the LEED rating system from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which is a third party green building rating system for commercial and residential buildings. The LEED rating system has been adopted by the U.S. government and is used with all new construction and major renovation of federal buildings. LEED certifies buildings on a point based system in the areas of Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations & Linkages, Awareness & Education, Innovation in Design, and Regional Priority. Points are then added up to achieve Silver, Gold, or preferably Platinum certification. While mainly regarded as a tool for commercial building, there is also a LEED for Homes section that allows you to certify your home or neighborhood.

Recently, USGBC has launched a Green Home Guide. The site is an awesome resource for those of you looking to remodel or build a home in the near future. The site contains a myriad of resources for the casual and the serious green homemaker alike. The “Know How” section guides you through green building advice and educational articles to help you make better-informed decisions. They cover a diverse range of topics, and the content is growing everyday. With the rapid growth in the green building world, it’s a great resource if you need to get an idea of what’s out there.

  1. Remodel, Reuse, Renew and Restore with the RE-Store – Green Home Furnishings
  2. Green Materials for Eco Friendly Design – Sustainable Materials and Green Building Products
  3. Plyboo Bamboo Plywood and Durapalm Palm Tree Sustainable Flooring

My favorite part of the site is the “Ask a Pro” section, which allows you to connect to green building experts from around the country and get answers to questions. Perhaps you’ve been shopping around for a countertop, and you’re wondering which is more environmentally friendly. Or maybe you want to know what solar power options exist for those of us living in apartments or condos. The site has many LEED accredited professionals ready to answer your green building questions.

If you’re ready to have someone come in and do the work for you, there’s the “Find a Pro” section. This directory of green building LEED accredited professionals is your key to getting green-minded professionals working on your new home or remodel. They have everything from green cleaning services and interior designers to architects and electricians.

Although the site is still Beta, I feel like it has the potential to grow into a valuable resource for the eco-conscious homeowner. As green building has become more mainstream, it has made quality green building easier to access for the average person. The site is still growing, but I was satisfied with the information that I did find. Also, the ability to ask the pros questions has made it easier for me to feel secure with my decisions and has cut down some of the research time for my home projects. Remember, USGBC is just one of many sites out there to help you remodel your house in a green way. Use as many resources as possible to ensure that you come to a well-researched, unbiased conclusion. Hopefully USGBC’s Green Home Guide will provide you with a great start.

Original Post by The Chic Ecologist

Are Ground Source Heat Pumps (AKA Geothermal Systems) A Good Choice?

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

gba-heat-pump.jpg

Ground-Source Heat Pumps

Despite being highly efficient at turning kilowatt-hours of electricity into heat or chilled air, ground-source heat pumps have a significant drawback and usually aren’t the best heating system choice.

Posted on Feb 23 by Alex Wilson

The most common configuration of a ground-source heat pump has tubing laid in a horizontal trench–often as a series of coils.

For the past month, I’ve examined various home energy improvements for which one can earn a 30% federal tax credit. The last of these opportunities I’ll cover is ground-source heat pumps. A ground-source heat pump (GSHP) is also referred to as a “geothermal” heat pump, though I prefer the former terminology, to avoid confusion with true geothermal energy systems that rely on elevated temperatures deep underground from the Earth’s mantle. GSHPs are eligible for the 30% tax credit with no cap on the dollar amount that can be received. But this system may not be the best choice for home heating, and I’d like to offer some warnings about the potential for exaggerated claims and outright scams.

GSHPs are pretty amazing systems. Like all heat pumps, they extract heat from one place (in this case, underground) and deliver that heat–at a higher temperature–to your house. That may sound impossible, but it’s how your kitchen refrigerator works. In the summer, heat pumps can be reversed to remove heat from your house, providing air conditioning.

While electric resistance heat is 100% efficient at converting electricity into heat, a heat pump provides at least two to three units of energy for every one unit of energy consumed. This is often measured as the annual “coefficient of performance” or COP; a COP of 3.5 means an effective efficiency of 350%. (Note that if you consider the “source energy” that a power company uses to generate that electricity, the true efficiency numbers are significantly lower.)

In cold climates, a GSHP has higher efficiency than an air-source heat pump (which extracts heat from the outside air), because temperatures underground are considerably warmer in the winter than the outside air. Installing a GSHP involves digging a trench or series of wells into which tubing is embedded. Either refrigerant, water, or antifreeze solution is circulated through this tubing. Another version pulls groundwater from a well as the heat source (or heat sink), and then returns the water to the well.

To earn the 30% federal tax credit, a GSHP must be Energy Star listed. The Energy Star requirements vary by type and are currently as follows: a closed-loop GSHP has to have an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of at least 14.1 or a COP of at least 3.3; an open-loop GSHP must have an EER of at least 16.2 or a COP of at least 3.6; and a direct-exchange (DX) GSHP must have an EER of at least 15 or a COP of at least 3.5.

The reason I’m not a huge proponent of GSHPs is that they’re really expensive. Most of the expense is due to the cost of digging trenches and laying tubing. In addition, field experience shows that these systems often aren’t meeting performance expectations. Sometimes the annual COP turns out to be only slightly higher than 2.5.

Meanwhile, performance of air-source heat pumps–in particular, the ductless mini-split heat pumps that have been popularized by such companies as Mitsubishi, Sanyo, and Daikin–have been improving dramatically in recent years, especially at low temperatures.

In the past, air-source heat pumps only made sense in warmer climates, because the efficiency would drop dramatically at lower temperatures; at about 40°F, these systems would usually switch over to electric-resistance heating. New mini-split heat pumps, by comparison, especially “inverter” models, can function pretty well down to about 0°F. And they cost a whole lot less than GSHPs.

It is not unusual to hear about GSHPs in Vermont costing as much as $35,000 for typical homes. For the same investment, one could spend $30,000 reducing heating loads (insulating, air sealing, replacing windows, etc.) and install a state-of-the-art mini-split heat pump.

The 30% tax credit that’s available for GSHPs allows homeowners to recover some of that very high cost. Air-source heat pumps also earn the tax credit, but only up to $1,500 and only through the end of 2010 (while the GSHP tax credit isn’t scheduled to expire until the end of 2016).

Here’s my concern: Because GSHP dealers can show homeowners how much money they can get back from Uncle Sam (over $10,000 for that $35,000 system), they can make a pretty compelling argument. A few unscrupulous companies might also be tempted to inflate the price of the system–allowing you to earn an even higher tax credit–and then offer you a special rebate or pyramid-marketing inducement of some sort so that both you and the company benefit–at the expense of the rest of us taxpayers.

I don’t have a problem with subsidizing energy improvements through tax credits and other incentives, but if my tax dollars are being spent on these improvements I’d like to be sure that the money is spent wisely. I don’t believe a GSHP costing tens of thousands of dollars is nearly as cost-effective as combining energy conservation and a far less expensive mini-split air-source heat pump.

Original Post by Green Building Advisor

Update: Precedence Setting LEED CIRs Reconsidered

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

If you participate on building projects that are seeking LEED certification, this news may come as a relief to you.  According to Marian Keeler of Simon & Associates, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is reconsidering its decision to stop making Credit Interpretation Requests (CIRs) public.  

I have previously described a CIR as follows:  
 

“To achieve LEED certification, a project must achieve a certain number of credits.  But the requirements for each credit are often open to interpretation.  To resolve this uncertainty, a technical advisory board evaluates each CIR to determine whether or not a credit should be granted.  Historically, USGBC has published these credit  interpretations to inform other builders and designers in future projects.”

In June 2009, I reported that the USGBC had announced that, effective June 26, 2009, a CIR would only be applicable to the project that submitted it.  At the time, I suggested that “[w]ithout public CIRs, architects, engineers and contractors are going to have more trouble interpreting credits and determining strategies that will successfully achieve a LEED credit.”

It appears that the USGBC is now reconsidering its decision and plans to implement a new CIR system:

“USGBC is currently developing a new process by which any LEED stakeholder (whether part of a registered project team or not) may submit a request or highly technical inquiry directly to USGBC. Unlike Project CIRs that are only applicable to a specific project, these inquiries will be processed and issued by USGBC and will set precedent across all applicable LEED programs.  Fees and turn-around times associated with submitting these inquiries is to be determined. More information on this process will be made available in the coming weeks.”

I will reach out to the USGBC for further information.  Why do you think the USGBC is reconsidering?

Related Links:

Why Do Non-Public CIRs Mean LEEDigation? (GBLU)

CIRs and Precedence Policy (LEEDuser)

Original Post by Green Building Law Update

Communities should get together on heating, water and waste, says report – Energy Efficiency News

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Local communities should get together on heating, rainwater harvesting and waste disposal and reuse schemes, recommends the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) and the Zero Carbon Hub.

A new report on sustainable community infrastructure recognises that these options can offer energy security and considerable carbon and cost savings.

The UK-GBC is calling on local authorities to develop sustainability plans to identify opportunities for community schemes, such as using waste heat from a new power plant or industrial facility for residential housing.

And the time could be right. According to a survey carried out by UK-GBC, over 70% of the general public are in favour of community energy projects and 90% would like to see more use of rainwater for flushing toilets and watering gardens.

“It makes sense to join up delivery of infrastructure such as energy, water and waste at a community scale,” says Paul King, UK-GBC chief executive.

“There has been an assumption that consumers are instinctively against things like district heat or waste-to-energy plants, but our research suggests that is no longer the case.”

The public sector should lead by example, says the report, and be required to connect to existing or planned community heat networks where available and viable.

“Delivering sustainable community infrastructure, particularly district heating, is often still seen as expensive and high risk, which is why we need the public sector to play a key role in providing the anchor,” says King.

Marco Marijewycz of E.ON and contributor to the report says that the issues of affordable, sustainable and secure at the community level have been looked at in isolation for too long.

“Radical new ways of partnering need to be established bringing together energy companies and local authorities at the planning stage along with house-builders and developers,” he says.

The acid test, however, will be whether the UK-GBC’s recommendations are turned into viable community scale energy schemes, says director of the Zero Carbon Hub David Adams.

For further information:
www.ukgbc.org/site/taskgroups/info?id=12
www.zerocarbonhub.org/
www.eon-uk.com/

Original Post by Energy Efficiency

Speaker Proposals Wanted for Ecobuild America 2010

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Speaker Proposals Wanted for Ecobuild America 2010

February 9, 2010

Deadline Is March 15

 

Ecobuild America, sponsored by the National Institute of Building Sciences, educates design and construction professionals about how to improve the built environment. This unique conference and exhibit not only introduces new strategies and materials to create high-performance, sustainable structures, but also provides the technology to do it faster and more profitably.

Attendees include the entire project team from architects, engineers, owners and facility managers to contractors and specifiers who want to learn to better design, construct, specify and manage their projects to be sustainable and smart. Targeted training is available for commercial, institutional, government, industrial and residential architecture, engineering and construction professionals, as well as educators.

Ecobuild America is interested in receiving proposals for conference seminars or panel discussions that feature real-world, solutions-based case studies and/or management discussions. Speakers may submit proposals for presentations that fit within the four conference tracks:

  1. Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Information Technology
  2. Building Performance & Energy Efficiency
  3. Green Building & Sustainable Design
  4. Sustainable Sites & Infrastructure

If you are interested in speaking at Ecobuild America 2010, please complete an online submission form by March 15.

Accepted proposals will be notified by April 15. Any questions can be directed to Alyson Wentz, conference and marketing manager, at alyson.wentz@aecst.com or (267) 664-2059

View original post here:
Speaker Proposals Wanted for Ecobuild America 2010

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