For information on candidates Obama and McCain on all the issues go to OnTheIssues.org. For more reading go to the archives of eco structure magazine's website. The October 2008 issue has an article, "Green The Vote", that also explains the environmental platforms of both candidates.

Two of our projects are being featured here - both carefully built to save energy costs. Over the years we've received feedback from our clients and the numbers show that their energy usage has remained steady. There couldn't be a better time to make improvements of this type and start reaping the benefits now.

Kelli B. Grant at Smartmoney.com wrote an article recently on the subject.

Unique Features of the Design for Life Montgomery Program

1. One program with two optional standards of accessibility.

2. Voluntary: follows National Association of Homebuilder's
guidelines that support voluntary programs.

3. Targets new construction and renovation of existing homes*.

4. Successful informal partnership of county, building/business
community and advocates.

5. Administered by the County as part of the regular permitting
process, not a special process:

• A checkbox for review and certification is on the standard
application for permit.

• There are no additional permitting costs, beyond the
standard fees.

6. County Council Zoning Text Amendment provides by right the
use of setback areas for access as an element of the full
program.

See the Design For Life Montgomery webpage at www.montgomerycountymd.gov for more information.

AD: WHEN I BEGIN WITH A NEW CLIENT, I ALWAYS... ME: Am more interested in their personality, how it would be to work with them and if I think that we would get along. I like to see if they are open, receptive to new ideas, enthusiastic and decisive.

AD: MY BIGGEST DESIGN MISTAKE WAS...
ME: Working with the wrong clients, who wear you down with their indecisiveness and bad taste.

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nov. 20) The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) have partnered to create the first nationwide green residential remodeling guidelines for existing homes. The guidelines, comprised of best practices using a “whole-house” approach, will be supplemented by learning programs and print and electronic resources for building professionals and homeowners as part of the REGREEN program. A first draft of the guidelines was released that USGBC”s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo earlier this month in Chicago.

A draft of the guidelines is available for public comment. USGBC and ASID urge green design professionals in the industry to review the document at www.regreenprogram.org before the comment period closes on December 10, 2007. The final guidelines will be released next March at the ASID Conference on Design: INTERIORS 08, in New Orleans: www.asid.org/interiors.

We have the ability to effect major change through existing homes,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council. “Making our homes more energy efficient, resource friendly, healthier and safer for the families who live in them is something we can do now; and it is something that everyone deserves.”

Looking ahead, Web based offerings and instructor led seminars at regional home shows and expos will demonstrate tools and strategies to assist in green remodeling projects. The newly launched www.regreenprogram.org Web site will cover sustainable remodeling topics targeted to building professionals. Consumers will be directed to the USGBC’s consumer web site www.greenhomeguide.org for helpful tips and resources for green home renovation.

Awareness of earth-minded initiatives is increasing exponentially and the guidelines fulfill a need within the design industry and among consumers,” says Michael Alin, ASID Executive Director. “ASID has been and will continue to be committed to sustainable design. The Society has seen a surge in interest regarding green design across its membership, and partnering with USGBC to create these guidelines is a natural fit.”

About ASID
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is a community of people—designers, industry representatives, educators and students—committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people’s lives. Its more than 40,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. www.asid.org

About USGBC
USGBC is a nonprofit organization working to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated. USGBC envisions an environmentally responsible, healthy and prosperous built environment that improves the quality of life. Founded in 1993, the council now comprises more than 12,000 member organizations representing every sector of the building industry and a network of more than 72 local chapters, affiliates and organizing groups. USGBC offers a broad portfolio of LEED green building programs and services; professional education workshops; and the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo. For more information, visit www.usgbc.org. For information about green home building visit USGBC’s newly launched site: www.greenhomeguide.org.

*this news release can be viewed at the USGBC website.

In fact—we’ve given this a name (and applied for registration of our service mark)—we call it “the zero-net” addition.

In this example, the back wall of the existing house had leaky windows and no insulation—by building beyond it, with carefully detailed floors, walls, and roof—which lose very little heat in winter, and gain very little in summer—fuel use for air conditioning and heating did not increase, even though the floor area of the house was increased by nearly 15%.

In the case of a newer home—where the building envelope is more efficient to begin with, we will add solar collectors, and employ other active and passive strategies to “zero-out” the energy consumption of the new, added space.

Or, we may combine strategies—and actually reduce net energy consumption.

Before opening our offices careful thought was given to location, and we chose to locate very close to public transit. Our principal and our architectural designer both make use of the public transit in their commute every day and our clients often come to our offices by way of public transit as well.

When our principal arranged his lease of the space he planned several improvements. The space was overhauled with new green label carpet squares installed with a low VOC easy release adhesive. These carpet squares are easily replaced if worn or dirty. New low VOC paints and finishes were used throughout. T-5 electronic ballast lighting was installed throughout as well as a high efficiency heat pump with a programmable thermostat. We have taken advantage of the oddly old-fashioned yet industrial-like building by turning what might have been looked at as negatives into positives. The dirty skylight was cleaned and made into a showpiece which gives our conference room natural day lighting on all but the darkest days. Also installed in our conference room is our display shelving and conference table, made from reclaimed lumber. We also installed in our bathroom a new water conserving dual flush toilet.

In our office we make a practice of turning off our computer workstations every evening and we have incorporated a recycling program and made use of recycled paper products wherever possible.

Most importantly, our principal devotes 25% of his time to non-profit organizations that promote greenbuilding. He serves on several committees including the GBI (Greenbuilding Initiative), AIBD (American Institute of Building Design), and the local chapter of NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry). Also, as of this date several of our employees deep into training for the NARI Green Education Program.

No Cost:

• In the cooler months of the year open window shades for direct sunlight during the day

• And close drapes at night to keep heat from escaping.

• Lower the temperature in the home during the winter and raise in the summer.

• Lower water heater temperature to 120.

• Clean coils on refrigerator and air conditioning units.

• Circulate air with fans

• Make sure that radiators, registers and baseboards are clean and not blocked.

• Wash clothes in cold water, run with full load and air dry

• Turn off lights, computers, monitors and printers

• Unplug extra fridge

• Run dishwasher with full loads

Low Cost:

• Buy a programmable thermostat

• Mechanicals inspection and maintenance (clean coils, change filters)

• Replace old light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs

• Replace old appliances with Energy Star

• Weather strip/caulk windows and doors

• Get an annual tune-up for the heating system. Change filters monthly.

• Place an insulating blanket around your water heater and place insulating tape on pipes off tank for three feet.

• Aerators on faucets

• Low flow shower head

• Motion sensor on exterior flood light.

Hopefully, you will get some new ideas from reading these items. Maybe you are already doing some of these things and will be inspired to try something new from this list. A lot of the things on this list are easy to do and would make little difference in your lifestyle but would add up to a great impact on the environment.

*Thanks to Jim Conlon of Elysian Energy for this list that was a part of materials distributed at the Energy Audit seminar at the Greenbuilding Institute.

Culled from my notes, here are some of the points he made during the seminar:

The Green movement is gathering momentum, moving from the West coast to the East, moving from the North East to the South and from the Upper Mid-West to the South. Boulder, CO was the first city in the country to develop a green building code based on a point system (called Green Points) to add incentive to build in a sustainable and healthy way. In general, California, Washington and Oregon lead the green wave. The remodeling industry has jumped on board.

A primary problem in today’s building industry is that we are not effectively budgeting our resources and distributing them properly; consumption has overcome production. There are two major components to our lives that are changing: the weather and the population. People are more stable today than ever before; therefore, today’s projects will last longer and be exposed to environmental conditions that previously did not exist.

Current anticipations are based on the assumption that we will have plenty of cheap oil and a never ending supply of drinkable water. Water is in a sleeping crisis; Northern China and India are using fossil, or paleowater, which is groundwater that has remained in an aquifer for millennia. A lot of agriculture will not be sustainable, food production will decline significantly.

How do we engage in our culture? How do we shift our perspective?

What we lack is will. Crisis = opportunity. We can save ourselves.

Current conventional practices are creating a degenerating system. Common green building practices are doing “less bad” but are not wholly regenerative yet.

“Sustainability” is not the answer. “Flourishability” is. We need to begin to practice building techniques that are restorative and regenerative.

How good is good enough?

Common misconception: “It is too expensive to build green”.
Consider some of the environmental impacts of traditional construction:
-Traditional construction techniques use 30-40% of wood and materials, 25% of water, 20-30% of municipal waste stream and are responsible for 48% of greenhouse gas emissions.

-Indoor air pollution is one of the most serious environmental risks to human health according to the EPA, air in the home can be 10X worse than the air outside on the smoggiest day. If that doesn’t hit home how about this: 40% of kids today will develop some form of respiratory disease because of the chemicals in the home. Only 2 chemicals that meet the EPA monitors are more prevalent outside than inside.

Where do we go from here?

The earlier we think about “going green” the less it will cost not only in environmental impact but also in dollars and cents.

Architecture 2030 has issued the 2030 Challenge that requests the architecture and building community to adopt the following targets:

-All new buildings, developments and major renovations shall be designed to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 50% of the regional (or county) average for that building type.

-At a minimum, an equal amount of existing building area shall be renovated annually to meet a fossil fuel, GHG-emitting, energy consumption performance standard of 50% of the regional (or county) average for that building type.

-The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings shall be increased to:
60% in 2010
70% in 2015
80% in 2010
90% in 2025
Carbon-neutral in 2030 (using no fossil fuel GHG emitting energy to operate

These targets may be accomplished by implementing innovative sustainable design strategies, generating on-site renewable power and/or purchasing (20% maximum) renewable energy and/or certified renewable energy credits.

My overall impression of our environmental future after attending this seminar is that I heard some things I knew, but hadn’t internalized. I learned that the situation is already dire; we all have a responsibility to not only halt the damage that we continue to reap but also to reverse it. However, we certainly are not powerless; we have the ability to begin to restore and regenerate our environment to “flourishability”, one person, one project at a time.

An energy audit is an analysis of your home’s energy use; it’s a great idea for anyone who is considering a home remodel or other improvement. Factors that contribute to the way your home uses and conserves energy are the materials your home is built with, the design of the home itself, equipment and appliances that are used in your home and also the way you use that equipment. An energy auditor applies science to quantify a home’s metabolism and will run tests that will highlight the homes inefficiencies and will recommend cost-effective improvements.

The audit provides a home owner with information about their house regarding how all of the combined factors impact the environment and energy usage. It is prudent to be aware that the audit itself is not a direct improvement; there is no substitute for good design and craftsmanship. Simple solutions like buying new windows may not be the answer. Finally, caveat emptor; research your options when approaching an energy auditing firm.

The “usual suspects” of an inefficient home are the heating and cooling system, insulation, air exchange, water heating, lighting and appliances, your behavior and the size, design and craftsmanship of your home. Your auditor will begin inspecting your home visually. He or she will catalog the features of your home and measure it including the crawl spaces. If you opt for a more complete audit your auditor will complete pressured diagnostics such as the blower door test. Lastly, your auditor will use special software to model the features of your home and how they relate to energy efficiency.

To prepare for an energy audit you should have as much information as possible regarding how your house works as a system. Compile your utility bills for at least the last 12 months and gather all information about the components and materials of your home including owner’s manuals and warranties. Take some time to consider potential improvements to your home and be prepared to discuss that potential and to communicate effectively with your auditor your expectations of the audit.

An energy audit will vary in cost depending on several factors:

$200 will get you a general assessment (although not necessarily the pressure diagnostics). $300 - $450 is the ballpark for the blower door, duct blaster and infrared imaging tests. $500 or more is what it will cost to have the audit if your house is 2,000 square feet or more.

I hope that this overview is a good starting point for anyone who might be considering an energy audit for more information you can go to energy star's website. You can also find tips for sealing air leaks, which is a great first step to improving the energy efficiency of your home.

Much of this entry was culled from notes that I took at this seminar, so thanks again to Jim Conlon, much of my phrasing is owed to my direct copying of things that he said.