HOW MANY GREEN BUILDING PRINCIPLES ARE THERE?

By Carl Seville, GBA Advisor

(This column originally appeared at www.greenbuildingadvisor.com as an entry of Carl Seville’s blog, Green Building Curmudgeon. The link to this particular item is http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-curmudgeon/how-many-green-building-principles-are-there.)

Some say there are five key green building concepts, others say four, six, seven, eight, or even nine. When will we reach a consensus?

Lately I have been struggling with identifying the core concepts of green building and remodeling. For years I was comfortable with a list of four items: energy efficiency, durability, indoor environmental quality, and resource efficiency. Then I got an earful from my little unibrowed buddy, Michael Anschel, who pinpoints five core concepts: energy efficiency, water efficiency, resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and site and community impact. We had a spirited discussion about it, recorded for posterity, where I convinced him that he needed to include durability, based on my argument that too many professionals still have a long way to go toward making buildings durable.

Then Martin Holladay comes up with his “Green Homes Don’t Need to Be Durable” blog post, which he won’t let go of. Now I am really starting to question my own sanity and that of everyone else in the green building industry.

Let’s Try to Come Up with a Number

After a quick review of green building programs that I am familiar with, LEED for Homes has seven sections; the National Green Building Standard has six; Minnesota Green Star has five; and EarthCraft House has nine. Okay, now I am totally confused.

On top of this, I am currently working on a green building textbook with Abe Kruger, and we have come up with eight principles: energy efficiency, resource efficiency, durability, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, community impact, homeowner education and maintenance, and sustainable site development. I realize that in the end, everyone is heading in the same direction via slightly different routes. Demand is rising, both in the industry and among consumers, for a single green standard that everyone can follow. While I can see that happening eventually, I expect that it will take a long time for all the existing programs to distill themselves down to a single, consistent standard. In the meantime, we will have to work with what we have.

(Carl Seville, owner of Seville Consulting in the Metro Atlanta area, is a green builder, educator, and consultant on sustainability to the residential construction industry. After a 25-year career in the remodeling industry, he has dedicated himself to advancing residential green building and remodeling by consulting with, speaking to, writing for, and training industry professionals, and by certifying homes under the LEED, EarthCraft, NAHB, and Energy Star programs. Seville, a green remodeling consultant from Decatur, is among a group of 15 green building industry experts serving as advisors for www.GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, a new residential green building website launched by BuildingGreen, LLC. For more information about Seville, see www.sevilleconsulting.com.)

Add comment November 15th, 2009

GREEN OR WRONG

By Carl Seville
Build it green or build it wrong.

Yep, I said it. Green is right. If you don’t build green, you are doing at least some of your work wrong. Not all of it, but certainly some of it. If you are building everything the right way, then you are probably building green, or very close. I am totally over the nay-sayers who don’t believe that you can seal a crawlspace or build a house very tight.

I gave a presentation on Green Building last year in Michigan and there were two old-school builders who consistently argued with me, insisting that they could never do the things I was suggesting — all of which were fairly standard high performance building techniques. During this exchange, another builder stood up and asked the group if their business was slow. Almost the entire room raised their hands, agreeing that business was off. The builder said that he built green, did most of the things I was talking about, and he had a one year backlog of work. After hearing that, the two old codgers left the room and let me get back to my presentation. Unfortunately for them, they could not deal with the idea of so much change and had to move to the denial stage.

My sincere hope is that they are the minority in the industry. Practicing building professionals need to make the transition to green building sooner rather than later. If they don’t, they need consider getting out of the business. Maybe look at selling used cars.

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THE VALUE OF CLEAN AND GREEN

By Michael Purser
Rosebud Co.

There is little doubt that wood floors in residential houses are the most highly prized material ever put under our feet or furniture. Ask any realtor or look at any real estate advertising and it is clear that wood floors increase the value of a home and facilitate its sale. Simply put, this flooring material is an asset to have in your home.

At the same time, one of the most dreaded acts any homeowner may venture into is wood floor refinishing. Dusty, smelly, dirty, vapors, disruptive, displaced, and inconvenient are just a few choice words that come naturally when homeowners describe the process. They said it enough that some manufacturers actually listened and decided to offer some reasonable alternatives. The areas that they focused on were dust and noxious fumes. Because the majority of our work is in occupied houses or facilities where excessive dust and vapors are not tolerated, the Rosebud Co. invested in the equipment, training and materials to dramatically reduce these troublesome byproducts of wood floor refinishing.

Dust Containment

Let’s cut to the chase; wood dust is a known carcinogen. Whether you have constant exposure or, like a homeowner, have casual contact, you are better off avoiding it all together. It is also the source of complaints and problems that occur on most worksites. Using enhanced vacuum systems, we have reduced dust to the point it no longer is an issue on our worksites. We have chosen to go with a mobile system and our clients have been stunned at how clean our work is. We do not claim a 100% dustless operation and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. What we will give you is a clean, safe worksite.

Environmentally Responsible Finishes

For the last 10 years, Rosebud Co. has offered our clients the finest in waterborne polyurethanes. Tough, durable and more easily maintained than any other products, waterborne polyurethanes are the finishes of the future and they are available now. These environmentally responsible coatings rid the work site of noxious fumes and hazardous vapors. We also use stains with lower VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) that also improve the jobsite environment. With incredible fast drying and curing times, work can be completed quicker and floors can be back in service sooner.

Homeowners should never pay more unless they are getting more and in this case, you are getting a good return on your investment:
· Enhanced dust containment facilitates work in occupied and furnished homes.
· Removing dust eliminates the primary source of complaints & problems.
· Waterborne products offer superior durability, protection and are more easily maintained.
· Faster drying and curing times reduces the down time.
· By eliminating hazardous vapors and fumes, homeowners do not have to vacate while work is in progress.
· Waterborne finishes provide a healthier work environment and remove a highly flammable material from the work place.

For those with doubts, please visit the growing list of satisfied clients and their comments on our website.

(Since 1973, Michael Purser has been the owner of Rosebud Co. When people ask him how he ended up in the wood flooring business, he tells them he is a product of genetic engineering. His father, William B. Purser of Charlotte, N.C., started in the business in 1946. So, like his two brothers, he grew up around the trade. Originally from Charlotte, Michael grew up around the wood flooring trade and started his own company in Inman Park, one of Atlanta’s oldest inner city neighborhoods. These 100+ year old homes had been neglected and abused for decades and became the focal point of the rebirth of Atlanta’s old and original tree lined suburbs His interest in older homes prompted him to research and write about traditional methods and products used in refinishing wood floors over the ages. He has gone on to write articles, papers and make presentations for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Association for Preservation Technology, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation and other preservation groups. He has also become involved with contemporary wood floor products and materials and has written extensively for Fine Homebuilding and The Journal of Light Construction. He has continued to work in the preservation field and has pioneered Passive Refinishing®, a unique process that allows for the restoration of wood floors without sanding. More information is available about Michael and Rosebud Co. on the internet at www.rosebudfloors.com, or you may contact him directly at mpurser@rosebudfloors.com.)

Add comment June 6th, 2006

ENERGY EFFICIENT HOMES

By Jerome Quinn
SawHorse, Inc.

I recently saw a cartoon that pictured a woman pulling a giant stocking over her home. The caption indicated that the character was concerned with energy costs and thus had embarked on an extensive craft project - that of knitting a stocking that would cover her entire home. If only creating an energy efficient home were that simple.

With gas prices at the pump skyrocketing, many of our neighbors are looking for ways to make up for their gas-guzzling vehicles. What will be just as important this winter, however, is finding ways to make up for gas-guzzling houses.

The key to lower utility bills is an energy efficient home.

The most important element in creating an energy efficient home is ensuring that the home is properly sealed. Our homes should be as air-tight as possible. This means air is not escaping around doors and windows or through walls and ceilings. Proper sealing helps to heat and cool the home more efficiently and also contributes to maintaining the proper humidity of a home.

In addition to having an air-tight home that is most effectively heated and cooled is having the proper heating and cooling system. If a system is too large for the home, it will waste energy by changing the air temperature too quickly and then shutting off. Air conditioner efficiency is similar to the gas mileage in cars - the longer it runs at a constant speed without stopping and starting, the less energy it uses. (Think of the mileage you get on the highway as opposed to the in-town mileage.) You want your air conditioner to run for long periods of time; it will be more efficient than constantly starting and stopping.

When renovating a home, there are other things you can include, making your home more energy efficient.

Improperly sealed doors and windows should be resealed or replaced using proper flashing to reduce or eliminate indoor/outdoor air-flow. Also, there is now a spray foam insulation that provides a complete air seal and excellent insulation. Replacing current windows with low E, argon filled windows will reduce the amount of heat that comes in during the summer months. And, including dormer windows or skylights in your remodeling project will increase the amount of natural light, reducing the necessary amount of artificial (and electricity supplied) light.

Add comment March 23rd, 2006

TRANSFORMING HOUSING THROUGH GREEN REMODELING

By Carl Seville
Seville Consulting

Big Numbers:

According to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, there are over 120 Million homes more than 32 years old. $233 Billion is spent annually on remodeling work. Remodeling accounts for 40% of residential construction spending which is 2% of the US economy. In 2003 alone, over 800,000 room additions were constructed, most by professional remodeling contractors. Green remodeling provides long term benefits to homeowners, remodelers, local economies, and our environment. Every remodeling project that is not green is a missed opportunity with implications that will last through generations. Let’s assume that each of those 800,000 projects has an average life of 30 years before being remodeled again. If every project were remodeled green, each homeowner would experience 30 years of reduced energy bills, improved comfort, healthier air, and lower home maintenance costs. Every project that is not green deprives those homeowners, and the subsequent purchasers of their homes, of these benefits. That amounts to millions of years of individual homeowner benefits that are squandered.

What is green remodeling?

Green remodeling encompasses four main principals: Energy Efficiency, Healthy Indoor Air, Durability, and Resource Efficiency. These concepts, considered in relationship to the other, comprise what is known as Building Science. Building Science is the study of the “House as a System” in order to support each of the four principals of green remodeling. Significant time and energy has been spent on Building Science research in recent years, providing remodelers with practically endless amounts of valuable information they can use in making their projects green.

Why Green Remodeling?

Green remodeling is both a local and a global issue. There will always be more old homes than new homes. Older homes are typically inefficient and provide unhealthy indoor air. Inefficient homes require increased utility expenses. Utilities, being part of a global market, tend to direct money out of the local economy. If we were instead to invest money in making homes more efficient, that money would be spent locally, on labor and materials, redirecting that money to the local economy.

Another aspect of green remodeling, one that in many ways is more important than energy efficiency, is indoor health. The air inside most homes is less healthy than the air outside. Most people spend over 90% of their lives indoors. Ever-increasing allergies and asthma are a direct result of unhealthy indoor air. We are literally poisoning ourselves and our children by the way we build our houses. The knowledge is there to make homes healthier, and it is not rocket science. It is building science. Occupants of green homes continue to report that they are healthier and have reduced allergies and asthma. Green remodeling provides us with the ability to make almost any existing home a healthier place to live.

Why we must remodel green:

The remodeling industry is as large as new home construction in the US. New home builders are steadily embracing green construction practices, proving to homeowners that there is an alternative to unhealthy and inefficient houses. There will, however, always be more older homes than newer homes. Almost all of those homes can benefit from green remodeling. The remodeling industry has the opportunity, as well as the responsibility to improve our existing housing stock, allowing the residents to live healthier and more prosperous lives.

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Add comment February 13th, 2006