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10 things I learned at the Green Building Professional Training

Earlier this Fall, I attended a two day "Certified Green Building Professional" training organized by BuildItGreen.  The training was sold out and the room was packed for those two long days.  I was expecting to see other architects, contractors and design professionals, but was surprised to also see real estate agents, mortgage brokers, material suppliers, cabinetmakers and many city officials from all over the Bay Area.  It is exciting to see the changes developing in our industry and the commitment to environmental issues coming from all sectors.  It will take a concerted effort by all of us to reverse global warming, but it is possible!

Many of the topics covered in the training, such as proper building siting, planning and drainage, passive solar heating and cooling, use of efficient framing, proper insulation, use of long lasting and renewable materials are well known to architects, who are trained in building science as well as design.  I won't go into those issues here (or I would need to write a whole book), but here is a list of 10 things I learned at the training:

1. The construction industry is the number one cause of climate change. 8% of greenhouse gases come just from our use of cement.
2. In our lifetime, we will have used 80% of the earth's resources.
3. Water conservation issues will become more and more critical in the future.  Saving water saves treatment chemicals as well as distribution, pumping, and heating energy. Carefully select plumbing fixtures, check for leaks, and minimize the use of lawns.
4. Building codes and Title 24 energy regulations are a minimum guide; strive to exceed their requirements, not just meet them.  Energy costs will continue to rise as our supplies dwindle and the costs of heating and cooling will become much more critical to the cost cycle analysis of buildings in the long term.
5. The R value ( a measure of the insulative properties of a component of a building) is reduced by 1/2 in steel stud framing because of the conduction properties of the metal.  Steel is a good material in terms of its' recyclability, but the insulation details are key.  Wood framing (especially if the wood is sustainably harvested according to the principles of the Forest Stewardship Council) is still an excellent material and choice for construction.
6. Soil is a living breathing organism; one teaspoon of compost has 1 billion organisms. These organisms are similar to the plankton in the oceans.  They are the foundation for a healthy site ecology. Value and protect your topsoil that has taken millions of years to be created.  Carefully plan projects to avoid a lot of cut and fill.  Do not stockpile topsoil more than 6 feet high or the organisms may die.
7. On average indoor air pollution is 2-5 times worse than outdoor air and yet the EPA tells us we spend 90% of our time indoors.  The indoor air quality issues around green building are critical for health and productivity. Be especially careful of carbon monoxide from gas appliances and cars.  A strong vent over a stove can actually create negative pressure pulling in dangerous gases from attached garages and other sources. Install carbon monoxide detectors which will alert you to a dangerous level in your home.  A continued low level of exposure is also dangerous though.  Look for a detector that meets UL2034 and CSA 6.19 that measures both of these dangers.
8. Building materials offgas (think of that new car smell...) and some of these gases are dangerous to our health.  Urea formaldehyde (often used in interior glues in cabinets, furniture, fabrics, curtains) is the main culprit.  It is a known carcinogen and mucous membrane irritant.  The gases are sweet smelling and tend to hang at low levels, so be especially careful when you have young children who like to play on the floor.  There are other options and glues available, it is a matter of asking the question of the manufacturer you are considering. The denser the material, the longer it takes to offgas.  Particleboard can take 3-5 years... Also try to avoid soft PVC (polyvinyl chloride) products, such as sheet vinyl (the beach ball smell).
9. Carpet, especially wall to wall, which cannot be removed for proper cleaning, should be avoided wherever possible.  Here is a scary bit of data - carpet can weigh 2-4 times more when removed from a project than when put in...Just think of all those particles stored that a vacuum cleaner and carpet cleaner cannot remove...Carpet is also a source of VOC's (volatile organic compounds) that are known health risks.  If you must have carpet, try to let it offgas for 30 days before installation, or buy recycled or natural wool carpet.  With wool, double check that insecticides have not been used for moth control on imports.
10. Regular maintenance of a home, checking for leaks, replacing filters, etc. is key to maintain a healthy environment and to protect your investment in the long term, thereby increasing the usable life of the project.

Buckminster Fuller once said "The best way to predict the future is to design it."  I would like to challenge all of us in the industry to be conscientious in thinking of the future in every step and in every detail of the design and construction process.

Pacifica here we come!

After many years of dreaming about building our own home (isn't that on every architect couple's life goal list?), years of searching the incredibly overpriced real estate market of the San Francisco Bay Area, and many more years of soul searching as to whether we'd actually commit to putting money on the table if we ever found something, we became the proud owners of a small infill residential lot in the Pacific Manor neighborhood of Pacifica this summer. 

We had narrowed our Bay Area search to Pacifica about four years ago as it impressed us with its landscape, incredible views of mountains and ocean, and a feeling of "going on vacation" every time we drove over the hill on Highway 1.  You could occasionally find a small residential piece of land for sale and the prices were reasonable. We visited many times, checking out the fog at different periods of the year, checking out the playgrounds with our children, speaking with as many parents as we could, visiting the shops,  the awesome bowling alley, restaurants and farmer's market.  People were very friendly and helpful - it seemed like a family oriented town. We discovered that the fog was not so bad.  There were definite pockets that experienced protected sunny weather, and in the areas where we were looking closer to the flatlands with a view of the ocean, the fog tended to stay above your head, so it was gray, but not miserable, cold and wet as it often is in higher up and in Daly City .  Sometimes we were even treated to a fabulous sunset under the fog!  This image was taken in August, notoriously the foggiest weather of the year.

Our lot, at 478 Monterey Road, appears to be the only vacant lot in the area, subdivided back in the 50's and later traded to the previous owner for a boat!  The lot is downslope, 60x100, south facing, with a creek in the rear and a lovely outlook to the hills and residential area around it.  The real estate flyer did not advertise an ocean view, but we immediately saw that if you placed the main floor level towards the high end of the site, you could get over the lower roofs and see the ocean!  Even with the downturn in the real estate market, we pinch ourselves often, and still consider ourselves very lucky.  We will have to wait a little while for the markets to pick up before we can start construction, but as architects, we want to really take our time and have fun with the design process in the meantime. 

We are happy to read in the Pacifica Tribune that so many residents are environmentally conscious, and aware of the need to protect not only scenic Pacifica, but also the larger planet.  We are committed to building a GREEN home, and will research and test new materials and construction methods in the process.  We will be participating in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program for new homes, as well as comparing it to the local Build It Green program.

As part of these programs, we hope to use local tradespeople and craftsmen, so if you and your business are committed to excellent service and share our environmental values, please contact us through this site, as we would like to organize a public forum and list to be able to share with others. 

Solar - do it with a friend (or a stranger)

In my first blog, I mentioned the idea of organizing a system to solicit neighborhood group pricing for goods or services, especially as a way of getting lower unit costs for solar system installations.  Little did I know that such a system already exists - founded here in San Francisco of course! We read about it in the Chronicle, which I think is doing a great job with green news, by the way, in an article by Paul Kilduff published October 11.  See article .

With the unlikely name of 1bog (for "one block off the grid"), it is a bargaining collective founded by Sylvia Ventura and her husband, Dan Barahona after they struggled through installing their own photovoltaic system.  They were doing tons of research trying to understand the different options and the technical aspects of these systems and determined to make that information available to others, setting up an informational website, www.solar4SF.org, to do so.

But then they realized the other major stumbling block stopping people from setting up these systems was financial - even with government subsidies the prices were too high.  So their next idea was to set up a bargaining collective - a way of helping many people deal collectively with solar vendors to elicit the best pricing and service. the system seems to be growing fast and has brokered a good number of systems already. Check out the collective's web site: www.1bog.org . Do it with someone you love - or just a friend - or someone you've never met.

October 2008 Solar Update

Our solar photovoltaic system has now been operational for just over one month.  SolarCity's electronic monitoring system went online on October 9 (the first green bar on the chart below) and after a few days of adjustment (the wireless router kept cutting out due to interference with other nearby electronic equipment), it has been very interesting to monitor the output of the system on a daily basis.  The low bar in the middle of the chart represents 2.47 kW generated on October 19, a day with thick fog all day.  The last two days represent rain on October 30 and 31.  The highest bar is on October 10th where 15.23 kW were generated.  Total for the month is 233.99kW.

Best news of all is a letter from PG&E that we received yesterday.  Our electric energy bill last year for October was $90.79.  This October, our total is a whopping $3.98!  With the solar lease cost of $29.00 per month, we have already saved almost $60, double our initial investment of $29.  And as our son, David (age 8) reminded us this morning, it's not just about the money, it's about the carbon offset.  We have saved 502 pounds of CO2 in just one month! 

We are encouraged to see the financial benefits play out as it makes it more attractive for other people to consider solar as well.  Together we can make a huge difference in slowing down (and hopefully reversing) global warming!