Reader Questions: Building green on a budget?
A reader asks for some advice,
We are building a retreat on 160 acres in Arkansas and desire to go all green. I see everyone saying that they want to get rid of the myth that building green costs too much, yet my research has me staggering at the costs to equip our many buildings with:solar, wind, water filters, softeners, hot water heaters, and so on.
I am becoming increasingly frustrated with my quest to go all green. Building green seems limited to large corporations and people loaded with money. I need input and help.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Thank you for your question! Let’s see what other readers suggest.
Previously: Green Buildings and the Bottom Line
Darryl D said,
August 1, 2007 @ 7:55 am
Here’s what I advise you consider when you design any new building or renovation: Look at the problem from two sides (The Demand Side and The Supply Side). I have assembled a toolkit for each side.
With each “toolkit” you can select an assortment of strategies which will work best for your particular site, budget, or the level greenness desired.
They are to be used as a kind of decision tree for avoiding design mistakes made at the outset. Considering not only how much each option will cost to build or install but also how much (financial and social) cost each option will avoid.
Demand Side Design Toolkit - designed to maximize energy and resource efficiency with features most appropriate to the building type and the particular site conditions.
1) Super-insulated walls and roofs
2) High performance glazings, window insulation, and south facing glazings
3) Radiant barriers
4) Airtight construction and sealed attics (always accompanied by intentional ventilation systems whether direct or with Energy Recovery Ventilators)
5) Air lock entry often doubling as a mud room
6) Interior thermal mass
7) Intentional daylighting with suntubes
8) Optimized overhangs
9) Clerestory windows
10) Light shelves
11) Natural ventilation by design
12) Efficient shower heads, toilets, appliances and lighting
13) Infloor radiant hydronic systems
14) Gray water systems and rainwater recovery
15) Energy efficient digital thermostats
16) Energy efficient landscaping with windbreaks and shade tree placement
17) Thermal destratification
18) Spray on ceramic insulation
19) Many others
Supply Side Toolkit - designed to provide green kilowatts, Btus, and horsepower from renewable non-carbon extracting sources
1) Solar Thermal- Hot Water and Process Heat
2) Passive Solar Gain- Direct Gain, Mass Wall, Isolated gain with attached Solarium/Greenhouse
3) Solar Electric (soon to be more competitive with coal fired electricity, with third generation thin film CIGS technology, see Nanosolar website at http://www.nanosolar.com/ThirdWaveSolarPower.htm)
4) Wind Generation - already competetive and investor backed
5) Hydro and Small Hydro- Individual or community systems
6) Ground Source Heat Pumps (uses earth as a heat source or heat sink)
7) Biofuels- look for genetic strains of organisms and cellulosic sources to create breakthroughs.
8) Purchasing Green Power/ Carbon Offsets- note! possibly some reason to be skeptical here.
Remember to always reduce the DEMAND for resources by doing everything practicable on the Demand Side of the equation BEFORE you do anything to determine your Supply Side options. i.e.- Extra money spent on insulating the building envelope will have the result of saving money on the size of the mechanical system and the energy needed to keep the building comfortable. The SUPPLY determination should always be in sync with the reduced DEMAND you intentionally create.
P.S. - I organized this into (by no means complete) lists of tools (design and feature options) in order to explore or debate individually any of these design tools in future blogs and I would welcome your participation, questions and comments.
Luis said,
August 30, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
Great post!
If the economics don’t work, recycling efforts won’t either.
As our little contribution to make this economics of recycling more appealing, http://LivePaths.com blogs about people and companies that make money selling recycled or reused items, provide green services or help us reduce our dependency on non renewable resources.
John Hofker said,
September 30, 2007 @ 8:14 am
Great question.
Try to remember that GreenBuilding is not about doing everything, …
it’s about doing something.
Most of the GB rating systems call for different levels of participation (such as silver, gold, platinum, diamond) rather than a “To GreenBuild or not to GreenBuild” approach. This is done partly to encourage everyone to participate at least a little bit.
Focus on what makes sense now and leave for later the things you can economically upgraded.
Energy generation and delivery systems are generally expensive solutions to install and operate.
Focus instead on reducing energy needs through insulation type, window selection, and building envelope which are relatively inexpensive initially but can be extremely expensive to upgrade later.
Also consider your environmental impact. Rainwater capture equipment may seem expensive unless you have a garden or lawn that requires a lot of water. Capture systems also make sense if you have storm water runoff or a lot of non- permeable surface area.
Finaly, consider the cost of operation as well as the price of installation. Focus on products that offer a three to five year return on investment.
Focus on what you can contribute now vs. what you can economically upgrade later.
Come see me soon at GreenBuildMarket.com. I have a lot of residential customers in the Arkansas area.
click here said,
October 8, 2007 @ 8:33 am
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Occasionally, you\’ll get stunned by the colossal supply of wooden greenhouse sources realizable….
Team Wicanders said,
October 9, 2007 @ 9:24 am
Hi there!
We’ve just launched a cool new blog about Cork Oak Floors and wanted you guys to take a look at it. Since you are experts in green building and sustainable design alternatives, we were hoping you’d be able to share some of your thoughts with us.
What would motivate an architect or interior designer to choose cork over hard wood or carpet? Do you have any comments about installation or maintenance? Do you think its health benefits are a good fit for hospitals, nursing homes and children’s centers?
Would appreciate comments from people how have first-hand experience with cork oak floors. http://www.WicandersCorkOakBlog.com.
Sincerely,
Team Wicanders
Heather said,
October 22, 2007 @ 8:40 am
Building green is expensive when you are talking about making a building zero energy, zero output, low input. At least it seems that way.
You are in essence building your own infrastructure. The cost of a power plant, water treatment, ect is all on you…
You can build green without these elements, but what you are talking about would be an extremely high level of Green… If we were talking LEED you would be talking Platinum…
Atlanta New Home said,
October 31, 2007 @ 10:42 am
Becoming “all green” is a difficult task but just keep up the good work and benefits will follow.
Jerry said,
November 16, 2007 @ 10:19 pm
give a serious consideration to tankless water heaters http://www.gotankless.com/
the savings are huge over the long term. there is a good selection on the market now and this will lower your energy cost.
weather for wind or solar energy said,
December 3, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
Your location will decide a lot of your choices for you. Green construction and sustainable living require using the resources immediately available. Most wind or solar installations will be for specific microclimates (hilltops for wind, sun exposure for cells, building location for efficiency) for your project.
Some regions are better than others. Arizona has better solar years than Arkansas, but every bit helps. Good luck!
charlotte, nc said,
December 5, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
you may want to think about talking to some local architecture students. they have a great understanding of green materials, and may be able to help you out to cut building costs.
John Hofker said,
December 14, 2007 @ 7:39 am
Opinion on using student architects.
I assume you are referring to architecture students as in college students.
Students are generally not licensed and that could get you into trouble, … big trouble.
Never discount the value of an experienced architect. Like any other profession, architecture takes years of experience, … not just education in the classroom.
My strong advise is to acknowledge and appreciate the wisdom of an experienced architect.
Good design from an experienced architect is probably the most important feature of any well built home.
John Hofker
Susan said,
December 14, 2007 @ 2:10 pm
I would definitely check out Building Green TV - they showcase the series on PBS I think.
Nichoel Farris, Eco Manufactured Home Designer, American Home Sales said,
January 22, 2008 @ 7:33 pm
GO PREFAB GREEN!
My name is Nichoel Farris. I have a small design-build business in Auburn. As a member of the USGreen Building Council, I felt an urgency to build amore stustainable and environmentally friendly GREEN HOME that would also remain affordable for the average family. And I am proud to announce our new ECO MANUFACTURED HOME has been built! The home is open for tour at our design center at : 1450 Grass Valley Hwy, Auburn CA 95603 Our Open House had Mayor Nesbit conducting the ribbon cutting and over 200 people in attendance! The Eco Home has received fantastic press including Sacramento Bee (2x), Wheatland Citizen, Flex Your Power, Good Day Sacramento, Channel 10 Sacramento, and other online articles.
The greenbuild features of our New EcoManufactured home are EPA Energy Star construction for energy efficiency, water conservation, renewable and eco materials, improved indoor air quality, reduced environmental impact, reduction of 4,500 lbs of greenhouse gasses every year, and also ‘High Design.’ They are important points to address because of the direct benefit to the homeowner with lower utility bills and a healthier indoor air environment. My focus while designing this house was to foster the natural harmony you should feel when you come home. High ceilings for the perception of ‘clean open space’, introducing abundant natural light to reduce the usage of lights during the day. Studies have show that increased natural light encourages healing, elevates moods and reduces tardiness. So we have lots glazing with clearstory windows, skylights, and solatubes. Also efficient engineering for the mechanical and ventilation systems. All this in addition to the current architectural trend of butler pantry, mud room, gourmet kitchen with eat-in center island, stainless steel appliances and more. This Eco Model Home underscores the notion that good architecture does not have to be expensive!
What some of the public doesn’t realize is there is this amazing world of off site technology in home building. There has been this misconception that factory built homes are substandard . Because in the past we had trailer homes. But now, people are gravitating towards having a home constructed in a factory, because its built in a controlled environment, using precision cutting. And we can achieve 50-75% less waste and cut down on Co2 emission. All the building facets and tradesmen are consolidate. The framer, electrician, cabinet maker, all come to one place and work together to build the home. This allows for high efficiency and to get the most out of construction materials. And the topical impact on the placement property is greatly reduced because you only have one, two, or three trucks delivering your home at almost 90% complete. In lieu of site building where there are constant deliveries, from multiple trucks. We also try to incorporate Green property improvements including passive solar placement, rainwater catchment systems, insulated foundations, flyash concrete, and more. When you chose an Eco Home from American Home Sales, you work with a staff designer to customize your house plan and then we can typically have your home built in about six weeks, depending on how many orders are in lead at the factory. And our integrated project team will take the entire process from start to final with an average project time of four to six months. Our buyers only make the critical choices and we take care of all the scheduling and paperwork.
Our Eco Home is the first in it’s industry and costs $88,000. But with our factory technology, we can build an Eco Home in almost any size and style, averaging $50-$70sqft. We are currently accepting orders for California and neighboring states. We are very proud of what we have accomplished, but will continue to research new developments in Green Building options and practices. Our Eco Home is the affordable path to a healthy, green lifestyle.
Nichoel Farris
American Home Sales
1450 Grass Valley Hwy
Auburn, CA 95603
530-885-4555
ecohomes@msn.com
granolamama said,
March 18, 2008 @ 2:40 pm
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Martin Bebow said,
April 3, 2008 @ 11:22 am
Darryl D. Thanks for the Demand/Supply toolkits. On the supply side I have an issue with the local utility company (Arizona Public Service) that they have yet to respond to me about. It seems to me that the utility companies (and especially APS) are uniquely situated to jumpstart the adoption of Solar electric power. APS is building a new power plant using solar panels. But why create another power plant when solar is ideally suited to distributed power generation? Why not use the rooftops in Arizona to create a widespread distributed solar collection system? I just read an article that California is doing just that by putting solar panels on company buildings. Why isn’t APS developing a solar/electric package for its customers that they can buy or lease? It seems to me that Arizona could become the Saudi Arabia of clean solar power that could be sold to other less sunny states. Maybe this should be a separate post if there is enough interest in the idea.
Janie Coffey said,
April 12, 2008 @ 9:56 am
Have you (I am sure you have) researched if there is a green building coalition in your state and reached out to green builders, designers? Often they know the best and most cost effective solutions and might have higher buying power with suppliers and installers. Also, going 100% green out of the box might be a huge task, but maybe you can plan on what MUST be done first and what can be added as you go…. Good luck!
Kassidy Lane said,
April 25, 2008 @ 4:08 am
My company Puget Paint and Drywall, Inc. offers a full list of both drywall and paint services using LEED certified materials exlusively. visit us at www.pugetpaintanddrywall.com for a free bid.
Joe B. said,
April 30, 2008 @ 2:25 pm
Here’s a fairly inexpensive green water conservation tip: Install a Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve under the sink farthest form your water heater and you will have instant hot water throughout your entire home. It’s a great way to save water that’s normally wasted down the drain while waiting for hot water. The savings in water and energy easily recoups the initial $179.95 purchase price! More impressive is the convenience of instant hot water!
The Hot Water Lobster uses no electricity and is pump free, so it creates no noise. It is made in the U.S.A., has a 10-year warranty, and can be easily installed in under 10 minutes.
Check it out at:
www.hotwaterlobster.com
Samuel said,
May 6, 2008 @ 7:13 am
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Ted Smith said,
July 4, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
Start small and incrementally do what you can do. Start at windows. They are the one thing everyone can do for a impact at low cost. more than 45% of the windows sold in this country currently do not meet the Energy Star requirements for the zone they are being installed in.With 30% of the energy we expend going for heating and cooling and 30% of ourenergy budget going to heating/cooling/lighting, we can make an impact here and the cost is not great to buy the most efficient windows for our given location.
There are many factors to consider and you can start here: SHGC, Visible Light Transmission, Daylighting and U-Values
Next, consider the structural system and the insulation system. The point is to start at the edges of the envelope and work inward towards deriving the most efficient envelope you can afford. As you work towards that goal, you can then move up the chain to more intensive technologies making you home more and more energy efficient and less impacting on the environment.
As we move forward, research and development, not really justified in the era of cheap energy will move forward with the arrival of higher prices and the cost of the more esoteric technologies will come down as a result. Everyone can start here and now with the first step.