Columbia Green Builders Blog

This article from The State newspaper gives an overview of the SCE&G energy efficiency plan. The power/utility company met with many different groups for input in developing this plan, including the Green Building Council of Greater Columbia. We are pleased to see the utility company is taking these steps and will keep appraised of the plan as it develops and moves forward. See the article here:

SCE&G proposes energy savings - Business - The State

We got a question from a writer named Sara Novak who's writing a story for One Million Acts of Green with ideas for staying cool this Summer without turning your thermostat down. Green Building Council member and Immediate Past Chairman Mark Bostic of Square One Designs answered with this:

1. Q: How can fans help keep things cool? How should they be set up in the home? A: Fans are great and they keep you cool by moving around the air, but I think the top levels of technology would be the archaic ceiling fan or attic fan already in use. If I was looking for either one, I'd get an Energy Star model, so it would be the most efficient.

2. Q: Are there more efficient AC systems? A: Yes there are more efficient AC systems. The way you compare units for their cooling ability is by SEER. Higher the number, better the efficiency. The untold part of the story is the ductwork. If your ducts leak, all of the efficiency of your unit is essentially wasted. And the worst part is it's invisible, so you can't see it, and neither can your HVAC guy, no matter what he tells you. The only way to find out is to test it with the tools an energy rater uses. The test is much cheaper than the unit you're putting in, too.

3. Q: Do you have other ideas for reducing AC costs? A: While you're testing the ductwork, the same guy can test your bulding envelope. Now that you've got the air that leaks from the ductwork, you need to address the air that leaks from the house itself. Door and window penetrations, under the baseboards, out of the attic stair hole and through plumbing penetrations and can lights. Sealing these spots makes your home use less BTUHs of AC so the unit can be smaller and still work. As with ductwork you can't see it so the only way to know for sure is to test before and after.

I know this stuff might not be as interesting or cool as the public may want it to be, but believe me, take these steps and other like these, and instead of saving money by not being comfortable, you can save extraordinary amounts of electricity and maintain complete or even more comfort than before.

Mark Bostic, CGP
Square One Design Service
www.squareoneplans.com

- This is a portion of an article from the June 22 issue of Nation's Building News Online. See the full article here.

Although “green” is now very much in the nation’s vernacular, green builders should not assume that consumers are sold on sustainability, Suzanne Shelton, president and CEO of the Shelton Group, told the NAHB National Green Building Conference last month in Dallas.

Shelton said that prospective buyers of green homes are more concerned about what sustainable features will do to improve their lives than to save the planet, and at a time when the state of the economy is the leading concern, consumers are looking to save money on energy but also to avoid paying some of the higher prices they associate with green.

Education is key to motivating mainstream consumers to make sustainable choices, she said, and the trick is to provide information that doesn’t overwhelm them.

Armchair Environmentalists

Green builders need to know what they’re up against, and Shelton said that they can use data such as findings from her company’s surveys and focus groups to talk to customers about what they really care about.

For instance, one of her surveys found that 96% of the public doesn’t know that electricity is bad for the environment; two-thirds don’t know that electricity is generated by burning coal. A small majority correctly identifies coal-fired electrical generation as the leading cause of global warming; most think it’s traffic.

“Consumers know enough about green to get them through a cocktail party conversation,” Shelton said.

More than half of those surveyed agreed that it’s important to have a green house, but only about a third could name a green home feature.

“People say one thing and do another,” she said. “They are great armchair environmentalists, but not great at doing it themselves.”

While 49% of consumers say a company’s environmental policies are an important factor in making a decision to make a purchase, only 21% say they have actually bought a product this way and only 7% can name that product.

“There’s a fuzzy cloud around what’s green,” Shelton said, “and consumers are afraid of making the wrong decision. When they don’t know what to do, they do nothing.”

- This is a portion of an article from the June 22 issue of Nation's Building News Online. See the full article here.

Labels: construction, consumers, green, home, selling

This is a very popular question with a complicated answer. The situation depends on what the customer is looking for. First, you should determine what level of Green is right for you. The best way to do that is to figure out your goals in these six categories of Green.

- Lot Design – Do you want to purchase a lot that takes full advantage of Green aspects or is lot selection less of a priority?

- Resources – Are you interested in using only sustainable, recycled, and renewable materials that are designed in the most efficient way or do you prefer using only a few of these practices and products in the home you’ve selected?

- Energy – Do you want to use every possible method to make your home as energy efficient as possible, including the use of solar energy to generate energy, or would you rather use methods that give the best results for a smaller initial investment?

- Water – Do you want to reduce water usage, reuse water where possible, and capture rainwater for irrigation, or do you want to utilize low-flow fixtures and other economical choices, such as a centrally located water heater?

- Air Quality – How much of a priority are filter systems and low VOC (volatile organic compounds) which help reduce chemicals and allergens?

- Operation, Maintenance, Education – How involved would you like to be in the operation of your new home – are you looking for a home that is both economical and low-maintenance or are you looking to build a system that uses the best of technology and design to reduce your carbon footprint?

The next step is to determine the type of builder to use. Are you interested in a builder that has the education and experience to work directly with you to achieve the level of Green you desire or a builder who uses the Green label simply to charge more for a home by meeting only the basic, minimum requirements.

Paradime Construction, Inc. is set up to build Green as a standard but some minimum eco-friendly steps do cost more. For example, the Green verification process will add to the cost of the home. Energy efficient windows cost more than those of standard builders’ grade. These products and techniques do increase the price of turning a starter home into a Green Home.

The bottom line is that the cost really depends on the level of Green desired, in both the design and construction costs of your home. As a base guideline, a home that costs more than $250k would not see much of an increase to build to minimum Green standards. For a home in the lower price ranges, it may cost anywhere from $5k to $7k above the base price to bring it up to such standards. Obviously, the sky is the limit and there are many products on the market now that, while environmentally-friendly, can greatly increase the cost of Green Home construction. You can even add solar products and become much more energy-independent for the right price.

Paradime Construction, Inc. works with each of its clients to determine exactly which level of Green is both comfortable and cost-effective. The main goal is to have a home that performs better, uses today’s technology to balance the costs, and achieves the level of eco-impact our clients want.

- Submitted by Stan O'Brien of Paradime Construction, Inc.

Labels: construction, cost, green, home, value

I was reading the "10 Energy Efficency Tips" on our power company's website untill I got to number two:

"The best setting for your thermostat is 78. Each degree lower than that can significantly increase your cooling costs, especially in older homes with less thermal efficiency."

Had to stop right there. Geez what's wrong with this country anyway? Set my thermostat to 78 degrees? Why even have one? I don't know about you guys but if I set my thermostat to 78 degrees it would last until my wife got home then I'd be DEAD! This is Columbia not Texas! We don't have anything that even resembles dry heat. We've got the wet sticky kind...

They need to switch that tip to "crawl up in your attic and have a look at your ductwork, better yet have it tested." Do you know that 80% of homes have leaky ductwork? If it's over 10 years old it's not even sealed with mastic, just some old duct tape. Go feel around the joints and see if you can feel some leaks. I did. Man was that a surprise. Get some sealing mastic and get after it. Or you can call someone at the green council to test it, and fix it for you. Probably lots cheaper than all that money you're spending on your power bill.

That's the cool thing about green. You can build a new green home if you want, or you can green up the one you have. Energy isn't free anymore. It's not even cheap anymore. That said, there's no reason someone should suffer just to be able to pay the power bill. It's such a great feeling to realize that it's not me and my family wasting all that power, it's the house! And guess what guys, the house can be fixed!

- Submitted by Mark Bostic of Square One Design Service - www.squareoneplans.com

Labels: commentary, energy, green, savings, thermostat