Going "Green" and reducing my footprint

Some talk the talk.  I've decided to walk the walk.  My house is now at the point where the rubber meets the road on either "doing the next right thing" or saving a few bucks.  Having been a consultant to the EPA for the last 10 years if nothing else has at least dramatically increased my awareness of the environment and the long term impact certain things have on it.  The company I work for and the life I now lead put "doing the next right thing" high on my priority list.  In fact, my company even has a major contract with the US DoE supporting it's "Energy Star" program.  All of that has contributed to me deciding to build an "Energy Star" house, minimizing the overall impact my house will have on the environment in the long run.  I've done some research and found that it doesn't take an extraordinary effort to minimize your carbon footprint and do you part in saving the planet - just a few key decisions on materials and systems that I'll cover in this blog entry.

 1)  INSULATION  Most houses have traditionally used some variant of fiberglass insulation in the past.  A growing trend now is in the direction of "Spray Foam" insulation, which is what you see in the next few pictures.  I've just completed having the entire house blown with spray-foam and the process blew me away (pun fully intended!).  There were guys running around in head-to-toe white astronaut suits with full face masks and head gear making an incredible mess out of the place.  
This is one of the major Energy Star requirements and recommendations for several reasons: (a) Pound for Pound, the insulating capacity ("R-value") of the spray foam product far exceeds its fiberglass counterpart, so technically you use less and nothing is wasted (the overspray is removed and recycled into more sprayfoam) (b) when properly applied, the stuff seals up every little nook and cranny of the house that outside (hot or cold) air would otherwise come in thru if traditional insulation were used to create drafts and outside-air flow thru your house, and (c) It is a whole-house solution to insulation that, in the long run, substantially reduces the amount of energy required to heat and cool your house, year after year.
Yes, spray-foam is a more expensive insulation alternative to traditional fiberglass - my guess is about 40% more cost to insulate up front.  This is why most General Contract Builders resist using it - they are not concerned with anything but REDUCING the overall cost of construction and selling for the highest profit as fast as possible.  Few home buyers are savvy or picky enough to not buy a house that doesn't have spray-foam.  BUT in the long run, it not only makes your house "feel" warmer in winter and cooler in summer by eliminating drafts, it eventually puts money BACK into your pocket.  After about a 3 year pay-back period on the additional investment in sprayfoam, I should realize as much as a 40-50% reduction in energy bills to heat/cool for the rest of the time I live there.

THIS is why it is a MAJOR Energy Star component, it translates into a 40-50% reduction in natural resources used to generate the energy used to heat/cool your house.  After seeing it done, I'm telling you, this stuff is amazing and should be in every single house ever built from now on.   For more information and some FAQ's and A's on BioBased Spray foam, follow the following link:
http://www.biobased.net/homeowners/index.php .

2) WATER

If you're like an overwhelming majority of homeowners in the U.S., you probably have a hot water tank in your house somewhere.  What does a hot-water tank do? - - - It STORES hot water for your convenient use when you want a shave, shower, or whatever.  Since it STORES hot water, that means it is CONSTANTLY maintaining a fairly large supply of water.  That means the heating element in your hot water tank (gas or electric) is using energy around the clock (like when nobody's home), every day (even when you're away for 2 weeks at Grandma's house) to keep that water hot for you when you're ready to use it.  My new house will NOT have a hot water tank.  It will use an IID Gas "ON-DEMAND" Tankless water heating system.  This is very different than a tank, highly Energy Star compliant, and very energy efficient because it ONLY heats the water WHEN YOU NEED IT, it does NOT maintain a tankfull of hot water.  It also NEVER RUNS OUT of hot water because it is a continuous solution when in use, heating the water as it passes thru the unit, and it uses NO energy to heat hot water when you aren't using hot water.  That's huge.  Again, since you're using less energy in the long run with this system, it is considered very "Green".  Yes, a little more investment up front than a traditional tank, but a large return after the relatively short 1 year ROI on the additional cost.  http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12820

3)  WINDOWS and DOORS
Since this is turning into a  rather lengthy Blog Post, I'll shorten these final two discussions.  Windows are huge contributors to radiant heat in your house, so Energy Star requires windows that reduce the amount of ultra-violet light that comes in and heats your house through passive radiation.

In southern climates, it's very substantial.  High end UV reduction windows use Argon Gas as a filter between the insulated multi-paneled windows.  The next level down, which is still Energy Star compliant simply uses what's called "Low-E" glass, which is pre-treated in production of the glass to limit ultra-violet radiation.  That's what I have, along whith "Therma-Tru" insulated entrance doors - also Energy Star compliant.

4)  APPLIANCES
The final element in my Energy Star house considered were the appliances.  Ever noticed the "Energy Star" seal on some dishwashers, ovens, and ranges/cooktops?  I've decided to use a rather un-common but HIGHLY rated brand of Dishwasher and in-wall Oven, called "FISHER-PAYKEN".  These are near-commercial grade products, and the real saver here is what they call a "Dish Drawer", in lieu of a dishwasher.  It slides out like a drawer for easy loading/unloading, and is very quiet and uses a longer wash cycle to reduce the energy needed to wash the dishes.  The FP Oven is highly insulated and heats very evenly and is also Energy Star compliant.

The GREEN BONUS:  Even though most of these items are more costly than their less "Green" counterparts, the government provides substantial "Energy Star" rebates, refunds, and tax credits for using them, making the ROI's, payback periods, and additional costs even smaller!  In the long run, these are simply smart choices if you ask me that you won't normally find in most homes because of the Builder Cost equation. So far, I think they're very strategic choices that will put money back in my pocket in energy savings year after year.

Not all Angels have wings

It's July, we're in North Carolina, and that means it is SUNNY, HOT, and HUMID as hell.  If we're lucky, the heat and humidity crank up with low pressure and unleash some killer downpours with vicious lighting in the late afternoon to cool things down, but not for long.  It usually just adds to the humidity in the long run.  So with that in mind, I thought I'd post some well-deserved recognition photo's of the crews that have been working out in this furnace the last few weeks.  Things have been moving right along well and it's all mostly good news and status quo for this post, which in my book is GREAT.  This first photo is the lead guy of L&S Heating & Cooling's HVAC crew - they call him "Angel".  I doubt that's on his birth certificate, but it's what he answers to so it works for me.  Here he's pumping up the pressure in the A/C lines getting ready for the "Mechanical" inspection, which happened on Friday (7/8).  That inspection "mostly" passed, although there's always something you either don't know, forget, or has recently been changed.  The inspector was happy with the work but couldn't officially "Pass" the Mechanical because we never got a "Fireplace Permit".  Who'da known that this year, Durham County started requiring them (obviously just to generate an extra $57.00 of revenue per fireplace)?  I didn't, nor did my fireplace contractor, so off to City Hall I ran to get one.  Now we're ready for the all-important "Framing Inspection", which should happen next week.  That's a major milestone and kind of marks the mid-point of the job, and when most of the work moves from outside construction to inside finishing.

The two guys on the right are the leaders of "Johnson's Roofing" crew.  You wanna talk about some serious work? - try putting 60-square (that's about 180 bundles!) of shingles on a 12-12 slope roof (that's a 45 degree angle) all day long when it's sunny, and 97 degrees out!  That's what they do  pretty much every day, unless it rains alot - and I added "alot" because they'll work in a little rain, and it probably feels good at that point.  I think the end-result of the roof looks GREAT - as shown in the photo below.  And it was put to the test the day after they finished with a downpour of 2.5 inches of rain, and it stayed dry as a bone inside!  GREAT JOB guys, but I'm glad it's yours and not mine!  They're boss (Wayne), although not photo'd here deserved to be because he was an absolute HOOT!  Probably about mid-late 60s, a REAL Carolina boy, been roofing all his life, missing a finger or two, and I'll let you fill in the rest with your imagination.

So to sum it up, we finished up most of the exterior trim, which includes soffits, brick pockets, stone pockets, and all "shake" style siding, and then painted all the exterior trim in "Tavern Taupe" (the darker color of the siding) and some shade of beige (which was a change from the first tested lighter shade that Judy called "Chickenshit Yellow").  Then we were able to put the shingles on.  We successfully passed the electrical, plumbing, and soon-to-be-passed mechanical inspections and are now ready for the Framing inspection. 

The last major piece of exterior now in progress is the brick, which I think is moving along quite well.  Ever wonder why you see houses with Brick Fronts and siding on all three other sides?  It's probably obvious, that the answer is $$$$.  Most builders think they could sell the house easier if its $10-$15 Grand cheaper, and that's about the difference in cost of brick vs. siding.  But ask any builder what THEIR house is built with? ... they'll most likely answer with ALL Brick, or some form of masonry.  Above, you can see a picture of the rear of the house mostly bricked up and I love it!  It's kinda hard to see the color in this photo because the mortar is still wet and the sun angle is rough, but it's coming out even better than I'd hoped.  And the brick Mason's from "Raleigh Area Masonry" a.k.a. RAM look like they're working slowly when you watch them, but they are very methodical, exact and when the long-day is done, they've laid literally numerous tons of brick. Below you can see a picture of them at work - and making a huge mess, which is what mason's do, but they'll clean it up.  The mud from the rain doesn't help, but it's all part of the process. 

Next, I have the insulation queued up.  I'm going with 95% spray-foam insulation throughout the house, which is becoming more and more popular.  It really seals up all the gaps tight and adds significant efficiency to the heating and cooling.  If you do the math, the extra expense has about a 3-to-4 year ROI or payback period on the investment, but after that it's all savings in your pocket on energy bills and a "greener" footprint.  The other 5% I decided to go with R-19 insulation under the floors in the crawl and R-30 under the bonus room (over the garage) to stay within budget and reduce the overall insulation cost by about 20%, with little impact on the efficiency.  I also have my friend the "slabman" lined up to pour the garage floor around the same time, then it's on to sheetrock!  Stay tuned.