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Sep 08, 2008 -- The energy-efficient building movement
We in America have historically enjoyed cheap energy prices. Of course that's all reversed now. There's a lot of evidence to suggest that energy could be costly in the future. While people are clamoring about finding more supply, what we really need to do is reduce our demand for energy.
One way to do that is build efficient structures. Architects who focus on "green" building can create savings of about 30% to 50% for the end user.
One American city that knows all about energy costs is Houston. In the heart of oil country, they're requiring commercial builders to construct energy-efficient properties. They're also trying to put those same standards on residential builders. The pushback from the residential sector has been intense so far. Montgomery County in Maryland is one place that has already successfully established mandatory green building standards.
Clark applauds Houston's efforts and hopes the city extends the standards to new residential homes. This can make a huge difference in energy costs. It's not about whether you buy into the idea of global warming or not; the reality is we're spending a fortune on energy. Green building is not about the environment, it's about your wallet.
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There is a housing design that goes a few steps beyond the super-insulated house that is called the "Passive House". This design reduces energy consumption by 80%, compared to the average non-green house of the same size. The Passive House utilizes a combination of reducing losses via thick layers of efficient insulation, and maximizing solar gain through heat capture for space heating and hot water. I'm completely in agreement with Clark, we need to reduce our energy consumption, and the time to start is today. It's interesting that Clark mentions Maryland in his article. Maryland residents have seen their home energy prices increase by 70% in the past few years, mostly due to deregulation. There are hundreds of thousands of Maryland utility customers facing cutoff in April 2009 due to nonpayment of their utility bills. If Obama's Cap and Trade initiative becomes law, I predict we will see our home heating and electricity costs double in the next 4 years. This will occur nationwide. Our woes due to the high cost of energy have just begun. Some folks on low or fixed incomes will be left with the choice of buying groceries, or heating their home, but will be unable to do both.
home building
How do you select a builder that is compitant and trustworthy?
Energy savings
these energy savings and consumption figures can be accurately given now with a complete home energy rating.
energy savings
I'm waiting for a requirement for builders to put energy consumption figures on the houses they build: "Estimated heating/cooling costs for this dwelling at 76 degrees summer, 70 degrees winter internal temperatures) are $X.X per square foot."
We do it on dishwashers, cars and refrigerators, why not houses?
LEED
Cities like Chamblee and Doraville in Georgia are setting the trends for the government LEED building specifications. Others should follow as it is a marginal cost to be LEED certified.
