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Free money for Energy Upgrades for San Francisco Homes!

We just found out about a terrific program through SFEnvironment for energy upgrades to single family homes.  They have cobbled together grants from a federal stimulus bill, PG&E and other rebate sources to help put contractors to work and help homeowners improve their home’s performance. The catch is that the money has to be spent before June of 2012, and they are behind in getting the word out about the program.

The basic process is as follows:  You have your home audited for energy use by one of their approved contractors.  They will look at things such as your insulation, furnace, water heater, etc., do a blower door test to measure your air flow changes per hour as is (to see how leaky your house is now) and give you a list of suggested improvements.  The fees for this audit are partially paid by the program – you should be out of pocket no more than $100-200.   You then decide on the upgrades you want to do based on expected performance improvement as a percentage.  The contractor coordinates the paperwork with the city and based on the amount of energy use reduced, you can earn from $5500 for 15% reduction, up to $8000 for 40% reduction (typical in San Francisco is about 35%).  If you earn less than 120% of San Francisco’s median income, ($121,900 for a family of 4) then you can qualify for an additional $3000.  In the end many families who have participated have only been out of pocket a few hundred dollars.  They not only reduce their gas and electric bills, but also greatly improve the comfort of their homes.

Here is the website with more information. www.sfenvironment.org/SFHIP

We will embark on the process for our own home with David and Scott of Building Efficiency  performing our audit this Friday and we would be happy to share our experience as the project progresses.  Keep an eye on our blog for more information!

It's hard work to create a Passive House

One of the projects currently on Beausoleil’s drafting boards (i.e., on our computer screens) is a modest remodel of and addition to a typical 1950’s ranch house in San Carlos.  Besides creation of a master suite, a guest suite and a better relationship to the back yard, the owners desired to go well beyond normal practice in remodeling the building envelope. They wanted to approach, and possibly meet, the rigorous requirements of the Passive House Institute and reduce the building’s energy use by as much as 90%.

‘Passive House’ (Passiv Haus in German) is an idea that was formalized in recent years in Germany, though the basic concepts have been around at least since the 1973 energy crisis started people thinking about curbing energy use in buildings.  ‘Passive House’ is related to the broader concept of passive design in architecture, where the environmental comfort within buildings relies on local environmental forces, rather than utilizing complicated mechanical and electrical systems. In classic passive design, a building is designed to allow windows to admit solar heat in the winter, and to be shaded in the summer; occupants open windows for ventilation and cooling; heat is regulated through good insulation and air sealing; daily temperature cycling is smoothed by providing thermal mass within the building envelope. Space heating is minimized and people are expected to live with a bit of minor discomfort – putting on a sweater when the temperature swings a bit low, wearing shorts when its hot, getting up off the couch to adjust shades and windows – instead of cranking the thermostat.

The Passive House Institute standards require very heavy duty insulation (typically double to triple the insulation value most homes have), triple glazing on the windows, very tight air sealing, and (not so passive) ventilation using a heat recovery exchanger to retain the heat in air being exhausted. Very good detailing and supervision of construction is necessary to make these houses meet the standards, as it is very easy for air and heat to escape through a poorly conceived, or a poorly made, building shell. With excellent insulation and air control, most of the heat for the house can come from the building occupants and their electrical appliances. The need for air conditioning is eliminated.  With good natural lighting and photovoltaic panels on the roof generating power, very little energy input from outside is required.

Getting back to the project on our drafting board, the owners hired Allen Gilliland of OneSkyHomes, a Passive House Institute certified consultant and builder, to analyze the design of the house using the Passive House Planning Package and make recommendations. The PHPP is a software tool that comprehensively models the energy use of a building, including its skin, insulation, windows and doors, air sealing, ventilation, and mechanical systems.  Allen thought he had an easy task ahead of him, but it turns out that modifying an existing ranch house is a tougher challenge than designing a new house. 
The ranch house in question has typical 2x4 stud walls, and their thickness didn’t provide enough space even if high performance sprayed foam insulation was used.  Luckily, the owner wanted to remove the existing stucco wall finish and replace it, so amending the wall thickness was conceivable. 
Likewise the roof is framed with 2x4 rafters, and even though the attic provides a large space for insulation, the edges where the roof comes down to meet the walls are inconveniently slender. And, as it happened, the house’s roof had been replaced recently so the owners were naturally disinclined to rip the roofing off to add more insulation on top.

The other inconvenience is that the existing house is oriented to face east and west, just the opposite of ideal north-south orientation.  East and west glazing is hard to shade for summer cooling, and doesn’t face the warming sun of winter, so the project had a strike against it from the start. 

Triple glazing in our mild climate seemed silly to me (and to the window suppliers who laughed at the owner when he asked for triple glazed windows to be priced), but Allen explained that it wasn’t just energy control, it was comfort.  Triple glazing ensures that the interior surface of the glass stays within a comfortable temperature range – one doesn’t feel cold radiating out and therefore feels more comfortable.

Allen’s creative powers were challenged but he came up with several good alternative packages for balancing insulation value, cost, and constructablity.  We are looking at combinations of spray foam and densely packed cellulose insulation within framing spaces, extra layers of polystyrene foam on the outside of the shell, and taped plywood sheathing for air control. We are now awaiting pricing of these options before completing our construction drawings.  The owner is prepared for a certain amount of sticker shock (these improvements may not pay for themselves in a strictly economic sense for a long time), so we may end up with a very good but not certifiable Passive House design.

 

Up on the Roof

Much of the curb appeal of a house is up at the roof level. While we live within the space of a house, and enjoy its environmental comfort, its furnishings and its security, how we feel about the appearance of our houses depends a lot on whether the roof design appeals to us.  Terra Cotta tile, wood shingles, copper gutters; the modern appearance of a horizontal cantilever, the ancient look of a steep slate roof with gabled dormers; these elements probably do more to establish the character of our houses than anything else. It’s clear from our own experience that a stucco box with antique clay tile roof has a whole different feel than the same house with cheap composition shingles.

Roofs are where the action is.  And for the last thousand years, they have also been where the latest high tech gadgets are on display.  In 1100, the average house had a fireplace – meaning a stone or brick lined area in the middle of the floor – under a smoke hole in the roof.  Lots of smoke everywhere, and lots of drafts taking away the heat.  Then some bright mason thought of creating a shaft to guide the smoke up to the roof. Supporting that shaft required backing up the fireplace with a wall, which to their delight, was found to absorb and re-radiate the heat of the fire. 

 

 

 

 

 There followed a few hundred years of experimentation, and the result was the ‘modern’ fireplace with its three sided firebox, smoke chamber above, and tall chimney.  Smoke and drafts were controlled, heating improved. Soon every lord and knight had a fireplace or two, the fancier the chimney the better.

 

Chimney design became so important that some French Chateaus seem like exercises in chimney design, with the building thrown in as an extra.

 

 

In the 1700’s, founding father Ben Franklin got us thinking about electricity. He invented the lightning rod and thus started another fad. As before, this functional element was soon refined by the wealthy into a decorative symbol of their importance.  Any house without half a dozen many fingered rods was not only unsafe but uncool.  Weathervanes also became au courant, and were often combined with lightning rods. You could tell when the storm was coming and know that you were protected. 

 

 

By the1950’s, chimneys began to lose their appeal as central heating became common.  What was the new status symbol?  The TV antennae, soon replicated on every roof in America. 

A few decades later, and it's satellite dishes.  Meanwhile, the chimney is starting to disappear as designers specify high-performance direct vent fireplaces or choose to eliminate the anachronism entirely. Traditional fireplaces are, quite literally, like burning money from an energy efficiency point of view.

 

So what’s next?  As energy costs rise, and as environmental awareness grows, I think we will see a lot more solar panels and wind turbines on roofs; green roofs too.  We’ve already seen how celebrities, like Jay Leno, and high tech companies, like Adobe, use wind turbines as a status symbol.

So, power up, be the first on your block to spin, absorb, or grow your roof into celebrity status.  And who knows, you might just save the planet.

 

 

 

 

Now, chill out with the lyrics from Up on the Roof by Gerry Goffin and Carol King. You probably know the tune:

 

When this old world starts getting me down

And people are just too much for me to face

I climb way up to the top of the stairs

And all my cares just drift right in to space

 

On the roof it's peaceful as can be

And there the world below can't bother me

 

Let me tell you now

When I come home feelin' tired and beat

I go up where the air is fresh and sweet

I get away from the hustling crowds

And all that rat race noise down in the street

 

On the roof's the only place I know

Where you just have to wish to make it so

Oh, let's go

up on the roof….

Sustainable Solutions: don’t demolish, deconstruct!

Construction has begun on a Beausoleil Architects designed residential remodel with a new second story in Los Altos, California.  The project will feature sustainable design in many aspects of the construction, but what is most interesting so far at this stage has been the deconstruction.

While most remodeling projects include materials to be taken out of a home; old cabinets, sinks, flooring, wood framing, etc. , and generally a portion of these items are recycled  (Los Altos is a prime example of an ecologically conscious municipality requiring 50% of materials to be recycled), many items still end up in landfill.  Deconstruction, on the other hand, involves the literal reversal of the construction process by carefully pulling the house into its’ component parts: fixtures, lumber, masonry, etc. for direct reuse.  It is not only ecological, but economical.

In this particular case, the existing house, built in 1953 was due for some major upgrades.  The plumbing, electrical and heating systems needed replacing; there were single pane windows and little or no insulation in the walls and roof.  The floor plan was cut up with a lot of small rooms, and did not suit the needs of a modern family with children.  A few years ago, the home would have been simply demolished to its’ foundations and over 35 tons of material would have been added to the landfill.  The owner opted to look into deconstruction as an alternative and found that it made sense from a financial perspective as well.

Working with the General Contractor, Gerry Jensen of Millenium Enterprises., we obtained quotes for both options, demolition and deconstruction. The deconstruction process obviously takes longer as materials need to be carefully removed, sorted and documented.  The beauty of deconstruction though is that instead of simply paying to have unwanted materials removed, the owner obtains a tax credit for donating them for charitable purposes.  Working with the Reuse People in Oakland, who are incredibly experienced with the process, the first step involves a preliminary inventory and dollar value provided by an independent appraiser. The cost of this appraisal is borne by the Owner upfront, but their fee is also tax deductible.  In the case of this project, the cost for demolition was bid at $12,000; the cost of deconstruction at $17,000 with the additional cost of the appraisal at $3,000.  The final appraised value of the goods donated was $83,678.  Assuming a tax bracket of 30%, this will leave the owner with a donation credit of $25,103!  According to John Morrow of the ReUse People, this amount can be carried over for up to four years, which in most cases ensures a full deduction.  Deconstruction does indeed pay off!

So what does the deconstruction process look like?  Once the appraisal is done and the contract signed, the deconstruction contractor, Marcan Enterprise in our case, came to take away all the cabinetry, appliances, interior doors, plumbing and lighting fixtures.  I was really impressed with how neatly they had all the material sorted and organized on site.

   

The contractor then had to come in and do some abatement of hazardous materials that were found in old tile and sheetrock, for example.  Once the potentially hazardous materials were removed, it took approximately 1-1/2 weeks for Marcan to take apart the home, brick by brick, stud by stud.  Over 5800 lineal feet of wood framing alone was salvaged!

The only materials not salvaged were old asphalt roofing shingles, lumber under 6 feet in length (recycled instead), a small amount old rigid insulation, and single pane aluminum windows (no longer allowed for energy reasons).  Single pane wood casement and double hung windows are salvaged.

So what is done with all these donated materials?  Well, in Oakland at the ReUse People’s retail outlet at 9235 San Leandro Boulevard, anyone from the public is welcome to come by and purchase materials at an incredibly discounted price. (Check their website for additional operations and retail locations in southern California, Denver, Kansas City, Sacramento, and New Britain Connecticut.)  Who are their typical customers?  According to John Morrow, there are several categories:

• People who cannot afford to buy new
• People with income properties
• People looking to be especially environmentally conscious and reduce their carbon footprint
• People looking for authentic period pieces for their remodels
• Artists, including furniture makers, whose purchase of old lumber accounts for 25% of The ReUse People’s sales

 

When my husband and I remodeled our own 1920’s bungalow in the Westwood Park neighborhood of San Francisco some years ago, we purchased salvaged interior paneled doors, scrap marble slabs. A single pane wood window for our garage, and period glass doorknobs.  We saved a lot of money, but we also purchased items that were in keeping with the original design and craftsmanship of the home, so that the addition felt as though it had always belonged.

 

We encourage you to consider deconstruction for your remodeling project.  It is suitable for any scale project, from a small kitchen or bathroom remodel, to a large addition or tear down.  It is the right thing to do, both for the planet, and for your pocketbook!

 

Can green = cash? Part 2

It's been a busy few weeks, which hopefully is a sign that the economy is picking up! 

Part of our busyness has been getting this particular project in for permit, and having discussions with the owner, contractor, Title 24 consultant and window suppliers, to start to evaluate the potential "greening" of this home.  Now, many of you may think that "greening" means some strange design with plants on the roof, or perhaps covered in solar panels, perhaps using technology or materials that are not tried and tested, or subject to "green-washing" by manufacturers hoping to enter into the construction product market.   (How green is a countertop material that is manufactured sustainably, but comes all the way from Israel, for example?) Though these can certainly be analyzed and defined as green and be beautiful, most homeowners we come in contact with still prefer more traditional looking homes.   I wanted to start out by assuring you that this home is a very traditional French Mediterranean design with stucco walls and clay tile roof, found all over the Bay Area as well as in Europe, and its' construction materials are very traditional,  tried and true.

There are three basic requirements of a BuildItGreen Green Point Rated home that have to be met before you start to calculate any points. 

One: A2a Divert/Recycle demolition waste and construction material waste. 50% is required for the rating. 
The city in which the project is located already required 60%, so there is no additional cost required. Many municipalities in California have understood the importance of recycling/reuse and have developed their own standards. There are also companies such as The Reuse People, which will organize the demolition process for you to maximize the recycling effort and obtain tax credits for the homeowner,  which can sometimes offset all the costs of demolition, resulting in a net savings.

Two: J2. Design and Build Energy Efficient Homes - You must exceed California Title 24 requirements by at least 15%. 
This required a bit of research as the preliminary Title 24 calculations prepared and submitted for permit showed we were only 2% over Title 24.  Our consultant, Mark Madison of Energy Code Works told us that for our climate, we did not need to add extra insulation or do anything differently, we needed to take a closer look at the windows. Since for most of our projects the windows are chosen during construction by the owner and contractor in light of the overall budget, we do not have a particular manufacturer's specifications to plug into the calculations.  Mark is then forced to use a lower default value for the U-value (.58) and shading coefficients.  After getting quotes from several manufacturers for double glazed clad windows, we opted for low e glazing with a .32 U-factor (vs .43 for clear).  With a total window price of about $28,000, the clear glass would have saved about $2000, but the owners had planned to use low e so for now, there is still no additional cost incurred. Mark Madison revised the calculations, and we are now at 22.4% over Title 24, garnering 44 points, with no changes to the project design or budget!

Three: N1 Incorporate Green Point Checklist in Blueprints.  This should take about two hours of our time, to put in the list,and also add notes throughout the drawings and specifications.  Estimated cost $250.

We are currently filling out the Green Point Rated checklist and having some things priced, so this discussion will continue.  Stay tuned for part 3!

10 things from the GreenV Sustainable Center grand opening

The Greenv Sustainable Center  of South San Francisco just opened for business under its new name and new sponsorship, and I took the opportunity to visit their grand opening event last Saturday. Points of interest:

1. The GreenV Sustainable Center of South San Francisco is a mixed-use green marketplace. Housed under one roof are alternative vehicles, sustainable building components, green retail, education, and events for the public and private sectors to access. They are a dynamic community resource for local governments, green businesses, and the public to utilize. The Sustainable Center is a networking junction for people to co-op their skills and marketing to advance the growth of the new green market.

2. The Center is located just off of El Camino Real and across from the South San Francisco Recycling Center. It’s a short walk from Bart. For more info contact: Evan Herceg, Green Building Exchange, 1 Chestnut Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080. Tel. (650) 588-1113, eherceg@greenbuildingexchange.com

3. The ‘GreenV’ in the Center’s name is from its major sponsor. GreenV is the manufacturer of the Apex-Block, an environmentally correct and sustainable advanced ICF (insulated concrete form) wall system. Unlike many similar products, Apex-Blocks are made of cement and recycled polystyrene foam. They are formed into large 51 pound homogeneous recyclable blocks (think fewer, larger parts to put together) with interlocking surfaces and networked inner cavities for filling with reinforced concrete. They form a load-bearing, shear resistive grid and can even be used for retaining walls. The blocks can be sawn, routed out for electrical installations, fastened to, and plastered inside and out.

4. Apex-Block details:
Fire Resistant: Tested to 4 hours at 2000 degrees F, the Apex-Block system does not burn or develop smoke. Unlike steel, it does not soften or bend in extreme heat.
Energy Efficient: Apex-Blocks are impervious to continuous frost and cold cycles. With a lab tested thermal value of R-52, buildings constructed with Apex-Blocks use up to 50% less energy to heat, and up to 60% less energy to cool (compared to traditional wood framed structures).
Healthy Environment: The Apex-Block does not absorb or retain moisture, instead - sheds it. The ability to keep dry makes it resistant to mold and mildew. Apex-Blocks will not rot, even in the wettest of environments, and provides optimal vapor release by allowing the building to breathe.
Infestation Resistant:Apex-Blocks are made from materials that are inhospitable to insects and rodents. For more info, contact Rick Rios, GreenV, rrios@verdevinc.com, (650) 588-1113

5. Keynote speaker David Gottfried was quite inspirational, talking not only about his involvement in founding the USGBC and the World Green Building Council, but about his struggle to ‘green’ his own personal life.  It’s not ultimately about buildings and technology, but about our life as human animals on the planet. Read David’s book “Greed to Green”.

6. David was the founder and the first staff president of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC has been quoted as the leading global green building organization, having the greatest impact on climate change. In 1998 Gottfried invented and incubated the World Green Building Council, now with established and emerging green building councils in approximately 50 countries. Collectively, the world's green building councils have likely done more for climate change reduction than any organization. USGBC is considered the fastest growing non-profit in the world, now with almost 20,000 organizational members and 80 U.S. chapters.

7. One of the Center’s main functions is to host classes. They have a year-long commitment to working with the Solar Living Institute to house their classes on solar and renewable energy, alternative fuels and vehicles, gardening and permaculture, and so on. (707) 472-2450.

8. Fluid Stone finishes made from minerals, recycled aggregates and flexible, low VOC acrylic binders, were interesting.  Can be used on walls, floors, roof decks, driveways, decorative surfaces. Contact: (619) 491-0671 .

9. I also liked Liberty Valley Doors, Inc., (707) 795-8040. They have a line of beautiful doors made from recycled ‘rediscovered’ wood.

10. Freebies you missed if you didn’t make it to the party: 1.5 GPM Evolve ‘Gecko’ shower head; compact fluorescent lamp; California Poppy seeds; Green Zebra savings coupon book.

Green Home Guide Posting

We are pleased to announce that we have been selected as the Green Professional of the Week by the USGBC's Green Home Guide website.  Check out their site Green Home Guide to see our technical responses to questions regarding wind energy analysis, options for environmentally friendly entry doors as well as residential solar installation options and costing.  They seem to be a great source of practical technical information from professionals in the design and construction fields.  Let us know what you think.

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.