Why Your House Isn’t Energy Efficient

I ran into a friend the other day who is a home builder. He had been planning to build several homes that would be extra-green, both because he wants to help the environment, and because he figured buyers would want that. After much research he abandoned the extra-green approach because he was assured by people in the know that no one would pay extra for an extra-green home. Buyers look at the location, square footage, kitchens, and all the usual stuff. No one even asks about the energy efficiency or indoor air quality.

The next time you go to buy an existing home, ask the real estate agent about the energy costs over the prior year. The agent will look at you like you have a giant turd on your head. I know because I asked that question the last time I was looking at houses. The agent can rattle off the homeowner association fees, tell you the school district, and an impressive array of other details, but never the energy costs.

Suppose you want to build your own energy efficient home. I’m trying to do that right now. So I look on the Internet to get the best information I can get on green building techniques. My federal government has a website filled with what seems to be useful tips. But on closer inspection it is just a laundry list of options with no quantitative comparison of the costs or benefits.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=12980

All I learn about insulation from the site is that higher R-values are better, except when they are unnecessary. Other sites appear to be funded by manufacturers, so I don’t trust them.

I met with an engineer whose job is to calculate whether your new California house will meet the minimum energy efficiency standards required by the state. I asked about our choice of insulation. I wondered how much I should spend on cranking up the R-values. He told me the walls weren’t nearly as important as the windows, because windows are the weakest link. Okay, fine, so how do I get the best windows?

That’s not so easy. It looks as if the big name window manufacturers carry only windows of average to good energy efficiency while the super efficient windows are made by someone named Karl in his woodshed. And my builder doesn’t know Karl.

Your home isn’t green because you can’t get there from here. I blame the government. It shouldn’t be so hard to make energy efficiency information available in a useful form so buyers and builders can make informed choices.

[A reader provided this link, that looks pretty cool if it works: http://www.enertia.com/]

Comments

[Dan Roy]

Scott,
As suggested by mwgwc, geothermal heating is the shit.
I live in Sweden. It's darn cold here in the winters. I installed this system a few years back in a rather big home and have reduced my heating dramatically. I went from 40.000 kWh/year to barley 15.000. The system cost me about 10.000 USD upfront and I save about 4.000 USD/year. The system will last with it's current output for about 20 years. Go figure.
Plus, of course, it's "green" energy.

[Meredith]

You should really try building with insulating concrete forms. The advantages are too numerous to list. It is relatively simple to do and you can get all the information and support you might need here:

http://www.rewardwalls.com/

[tms]

Scott... you're engineer friend is only partly right. The windows are the weakest link typically, but if you have poorly built walls or ceilings/roof, better windows won't help a bit. I'd suggest talking to some people who know what they're doing in this arena. The only people I know personally are at http://www.construction-advantage.com. They look at all kinds of options that are environmentally-friendly, and they'll even take suggestions from you.

[bubba]

My house was built in Texas, in 2000. It was Energy Star certified, and the builder advertised this. He made a point of showing off the summer electric bills.

If I'd been willing to wait another 6 months, they'd have built me a new house with improved insulation in the roof. This was becoming standard.

But you live in a very moderate climate, where insulation simply isn't as cost-effective.

[Dave]

If you actually cared about energy efficiency, you wouldn't be building a new home.

What amount of insulation is going to make the slightest dent in the energy spent on building this house?

[mr_poopyhead]

the problem with so-called "green homes" like the enertia designs is that while the home itself my be carbon neutral, it promotes a very energy intensive lifestyle. just look at the lots on the website. anyone who lives there will certainly have to drive everywhere to do anything.

a green lifestyle won't happen without a huge shift in the way we live and work. designs like enertia don't change an unsustainable, energy-intensive lifestyle. it only makes is more palatable. in the long run, anyone who lives in that kind of "green home" isn't doing a whole lot for the environment.

i would hazard a guess that living in a regular home situtated in a well designed neighborhood that minimizes car use would be better off than an enertia home built in the ever-sprawling suburbs.

[Doug]

Scott,
This is what you want. http://www.buildinggreentv.com/
This guy builds his dream home as green as possible. It was a show on PBS.
He not only went green with straw bail walls and solar panels. He also went super healthy. He used nothing with nasty chemicals, all natural materials, etc.
Cool stuff, you have to love PBS!

[Harvey]

I think that this just proves that the cost of energy isn't high enough (yet) but I expect that to change. With the cost of gas approaching $4/gallon people are just starting to abandon their SUVs for more practical vehicles.

[Ibid]

R-value is an insulating measure created and defined by Owens-Corning. Thus O-C gets to define it as best for them so their stuff comes out best. Often it relies on 0% humidity, no wind, and other laboratory only conditions. If you can learn the K-value of a window or insulation you'll have a better idea of how well or poorly it conducts heat.
Alas, most people have a better understanding of R-value so it's much easier to get info on.

Look into SuperTherm multi-ceramic paint. It's $100/gal but a coat of paint has a 20-R value. I'm painting the underside of the living room and kitchen floors with it from the crawlspace since that seems to be my biggest heat loss during the winter.

You can get some nice triple pane Xeon filled windows but make sure they seal around them well. Anymore you'll lose more heat around the window than through the window.

[Gavin]

Hi Scott,
Great post, seems to me this shows a need for tougher enforced building regulations in America and Australia. Our current new building regulations have a choice of a water tank or other energy saving like solar water heating. Why not both? We need all the water we can get at the moment. Also you will find lots of good information at http://www.yourhome.gov.au/
Regards
Gavin

[Marc]

Maybe it's sometimes cold where I live, New Hampshire, but the house disclosures that you see when viewing houses often has the energy costs in them. The house we bought a few years ago listed both the propane gallons bought the past year and the electric use. Another we looked at had the oil and wood pellet usage. You still have to get some kind of idea on how the sellers live to do a real comparison, but it gives an idea.

[greg]

Scott,

You should build as much of the house as possible out of vacuum insulated walls. If it can keep your coffee hot or cold it can keep your house hot or cold.

I don't know if vacuum insulated walls exist or how much they would cost but you should look into it. To be *super* green you could recycle old thermoses and travel mugs. Everyone has a few they never use.

Greg

[SA]

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/ontv/grand-designs/

Channel 4 in the UK has a great tv programme about building your own house. Green issues often feature prominently.
Loads of useful info on this link.
SA

[Chris]

http://www.efficientwindows.org/

(via http://www.efficiencyvermont.com/)

[Alasdair]

Here in the UK there are endless TV programs about building homes. One of the more popular ones is "Grand Designs", where each episode follows an individual building a somehow different/special house. One thing comes into play in most of the episodes, and that's energy efficiency.

Tripple glazed windows, old-newspaper wall insulation, polystyrene blocks filled with concrete, underfloor heating, solar water heaters, underground heat exchangers - watching a season or two of Grand Designs really shows you what is available on the market.

So it *is* something people take into account when building their own home, especially if the induhvidual has clue.

However, it's something homebuilders certainly aren't interested in. Most homes built in the UK these days only meet the minimum requirements, and don't go that step further. As you said yourself, buyers don't seem too interested in energy efficiency.

The suppliers are out there, you just have to dig for them. Quite a few houses on Grand Designs had their tripple-glazed windows imported from Scandinavia. It's colder there, and energy costs more, so people do take it more seriously.

Perhaps when Oil reaches $200/barrel things will change!

[Clair]

Don't blame the government. What have they done for us recently? I started tracking my utilty costs back in 2001 and created a log of the results. During that time I increased the thickness of the insulation, insulated the basement windows in the winter (michigan), insulated the hot water pipes, caulked all the openings around the house, changed the thermostat to one that turns down in the evening and up in the morning and changed the light bulbs to the curly kind to what end? Included in the aformentioned log were the amount of gas and electricity used by month which advises me that my total energy used is slightly less then when I started. I do not know anybody in the oil business, so the cost has risen but not so bad to desire government help. Do not, I repeat do not rely on anyone in the government to help.

[steve]

check out fabricated concrete homes?

[Alex]

Further to an earlier comment, we do now, in England, have a requirement that all houses up for sale have both an energy efficiency survey and a carbon "footprint" assessment done and published with them. Provided the method for the surveys is accurate, it's actually pretty good: there's the current grading (out of a 100), plus a projected grading if a series of listed improvements were carried out. Homesellers - and my girlfriend is one of them - are now motivated to improve their houses efficiency before going on the market. And - best of all - comparative cash values are given, for the savings in energy that a house would give.

USA - catch up! ;-)

[Oli]

My house is over 500 years old, Theres not much I can do to make it energy efficient. Insulation is all well and good when your walls aren't made from wattle and daub. I quite like the idea of energy efficiency and definately think it is relevant to house buying, on the other hand though it has become intrinsicly linked to the Carbon Footprint Disaster from the green parties.

It is quite interesting to note theat Carbon Footprint led lobbying has increased the speed the rainforest is being burnt down (Not logged) to make way for 'Environmentally friendly fuels'

http://www.imapundit.com

[Warren Johnson]

Although my site (http://www.sustainablehomedesign.co.za) has many South African references, it also contains links and info about the main US sites around sustainable home design, and all the principles apply on the site apply to any country (climate changes things, but the principles are the same). Also, you need to look not only at energy efficiency (which is achieved through building design, materials, which appliances etc you use), but also the footprint of the building - if it's built out of something that is environmentally bad, you're not solving much either.

The US has some excellent sustainable and energy efficient organisations, architects, builders etc (probably beaten only by Germany and Sweden). It's far easier to build from scratch than retrofit, but US organisations like Built Green can help either way (Built Green is based in WA, but there are similar CA based organisations linked to the Green Building Council in USA, and the US Gov has sustainable standards in place called LEED that these organisations follow and expand upon).

[Robert]

Hi,
We may be better off in the uk, have a look at the centre for alternative technology based in Wales (www.cat.org.uk) and there are a number of very green houses being put up by building companies.

[AndyM]

These German pre-fabricated houses are very efficient, if you had one in California you're probably generate a surplus of energy. http://www.huf-haus.com/gb/intro.html

[Vijay]

I want to build a solar home, every damned thing in the house will be powered by solar energy even if it means I will have to build a giant swimming pool somewhere in the top of the house or run a windmill!

[mo]

This is bizarre. It is easy to find good building solutions.
Most of them are obvious. Don't build a McMansion first off. Then go with concrete and steel. Choose your energy source,gas, electric,solar,wind..on or off the grid. Choose the cheapest you can and then make sure all your equipment from stove to computers are energy efficient and compatible with your choice. Change all your light bulbs, use a solar oven to heat your water.

A completely concrete or stone home with 2-3 ft walls doesn't require the insulation a regular house does.
Heat loss comes from the roof...install a system that recirculates that heat for heating and cooling.
Look at your environment. Landscape for energy. Roofs should be covered with plants to control water.
Weatherproofing your foundation above code, weatherproofing your roof above code.
Use recirculating grey water to heat and cool your home through the floor.
Have fireplaces installed and get your wood from a certified sustainable forest grower.
Your plumbing should be split into sewage and grey water. Grey water can be reused for toilets and for watering that garden you have growing right? If you waste all your dishwasher water, shower, sink, washing machine water you have to pay. Recycle it by only using biodegradable soaps.
Turn everything off when you aren't using it. I mean actually unplugging everything.
Think about some simple things. Can you dry your clothes outside in the summer? Then do it and unplug the dryer. Do you really need a dishwasher? Would it actually kill anyone to handwash and then reuse the grey water?
If you must have a dishwasher do you need to run it every day?
Can you not wait and do your laundry on the weekends when usage is minimal?
It's not hard.
Here in my 100 year old farm house we have one light on 99% of the time. The rest go on and off when we enter and leave.
I do my laundry at night on Sunday. I hang dry my clothes when the weather permits. I have my own garden. It's nothing exciting..just potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, strawberries, raspberries, beets and corn. All of it can be stored for winter.
I unplug things when I go to bed. It's easy because everything is on one strip..just one plug to pull.
When I want or need something I get it free off of Craigs List. My new bathroom came free courtesy of Craigs List and a lot of hard work by us.
The insulation in the basement? Craigs List.
The newest thing in green insulation is spray foam by the way.Skip the pink insulation and have a guy come in and create a complete thermal break.
Heat sinks are another new energy saver. Those who have a glassed in porch already know how hot that room can get..think about what happens if you add a door to each room of the house that opens out into that space. You can circulate the heat from that area to the whole house just by opening or closing doors. In summer all the doors can be opened to create cross ventilation cooling the house.
Having a home with normal sized rooms, no more than two bathrooms and a sensible approach are really all you need.

If you want a perfect example Holmes on Homes is on HGTV and has a website that will give you directions on how to build a green home that is also mold resistant and fire resistant with a list of reputable contractors.
For those of us without a million dollars? Well we just need to do the little stuff. Invest in a can of spray foam to insulate around doors and windows..it's not the window that is causing drafts..it's the installation. all those gaps and crevices need to be insulated. You could buy the best windows ever made and if the installer is an idiot you will still have massive heat loss.
Turn off the lights!!! Have the right lightbulbs..do you REALLY need twenty two pot lights in the kitchen?
Turn the thermostat down. It should be 70 in the winter and if you have the gall to turn the AC on before it gets to 80 you deserve to pay. Open the windows before the AC.
If you live in a noisy area then plant shrubbery to block the noise. Get that damned concrete off the driveway and the patio. It absorbs heat like crazy in the summer and heats up your house. If you absolutely must have a driveway make it very short with gravel and shade it with trees and shrubs.
Are you still running the water while you brush your teeth?
Are you still washing your clothes in hot water?
Do you flush the toilet for every pee?
Are you buying bottled water when the tap water is perfectly good?
(I have an excuse,we are on a well and I wouldn't force a serial killer to drink our water)
Are you still letting rain water run off your gutters into the storm drain when you know a rain barrel can be had for almost nothing?
Are you still using your sink disposal instead of composting?
None of this costs that much. None takes that much time.
If you check out "It's not easy being green" another HGTV show from the UK you can learn how to install a roof mounted solar heat collector that will heat all your water. You don't need to buy solar panels to do it either, just some scrap copper will do.
A small windmill can provide the power to run all the appliances.
There are tons of web sites that will sell you the entire windmill kit with detailed installation assistance or you can go crazy and follow the instructions to build your own.
Everything you need to be green is on the web. It's why Google exists.
This is nothing new by the way. Our grandparents and their parents all knew these things because their lives depended on it. We aren't creating anything new we are all just getting back to where we were supposed to be before people went bonkers and bought a 4000sq ft home for two people and the cat.
And for those of you that just have to have a "master bedroom" with an ensuite? Are you kidding me? You can't walk fifteen feet to pee? Is your sex life so damn acrobatic you need a vaulted ceiling and a 30x30 ft room to do it? Get real. A 12x12 with the bathroom down the hall is good enough for all of us. A walk in closet? For all that crap you bought but will never look at again? How about a dresser a piece and one closet for things that require a hanger.
If you really want energy efficiency stop buying so much crap you need a warehouse to store it all.All that crap has to travel thousands of miles to reach your closet. Think of the gas costs when you buy something. Are you buying grapes from South Africa and pineapple from Guyana? Are you buying food out of season?
Why are you not shopping locally? Take a moment and read the signs over the produce. Why are you buying this food? Could you not find your local farmers market and buy fresh local produce once a week?
Think about how much jet fuel it takes to get those grapes from Africa to your store, now add in the gasoline for the truck that delivered them. Now think about who picked those grapes..do you think they got paid fair market wages? Why are you supporting a literal slavery?
Support your own country, your own farmers, invest in food security. The more you rely on foreign countries to supply your food the more at risk you become to a food shortage.
Look at what happened to Cuba in the 90's and now look at what they have done to ensure the safety of their food supply.
To be truly green means every aspect of your life needs to be examined not just your house.

[VA EEI LOAN]

You can get info on Energy Efficient Improvement loans at http://www.vareficenter.com

[Andi Newnham]

While you're on the subject, this made me chuckle:

http://www.bigmouthstrikesagain.com/archives/1511

[gozar]

There is a limited market for energy efficient homes because energy is too cheap.
When energy is truly expensive, then the market for energy saving engineering will burgeon.

You say, "But energy isn't cheap - my electric bill was outrageous last month." Yes, but not outrageous enough to send you in to a fit of caulking, window tinting and insulation increasing.

Think of it this way - if the only way to power your home was to run a generator that burns Johnny Walker Blue label, would you find ways to use less of it?

Why is energy too cheap? Like you Scott, I blame the government. Subsidies are keeping energy artificially cheap. What kind of subsidies? Well, a multi-trillion dollar war in the mid-east for starters. Also, environmental policies that hide the cost of burning fossil fuels or tax breaks for energy companies.

[Hologram]

Mainly it's because it's in it's early stages and everyone's still fumbling around to try to figure it out.

The little I know is that wall insulation wise, there's this great insta-foam stuff that's supposed to be really good and pretty cheap. As for windows, I don't know if anyone has manufactured this yet, but I would imagine that two panes of plexiglass separated by a vacuum would do the trick, while sealing the frame to the wall with that same insta-foam stuff.

[Alsadius]

And this is exactly why I always mock environmental activists. The demand for green products is there, but all the people who really care are too busy with political activism to actually do anything about it. Stop talking about how government can lead companies by the hand, and open an environmental consulting company. It's the same idea, except it'll actually work, you won't be forcing change on areas where it isn't appropriate, and you'll make money doing it.

[Brad K.]

Maureen McHugh wrote a novel, "China Mountain Zhang", about an 'organic' architect - Zhang considered the structure as a whole and the role it played in it's environment. The angle of the roof affected type, size, and placement of windows for best use of the structure.

When you are looking at super-windows, don't forget things like emergency exits, and cool spring breezes.

[jc]

scott, nice post only one complaint: "Other sites appear to be funded by manufacturers, so I don’t trust them."

at least in my experience, you CAN trust the manufacturer, not blind;y of course---but the best information is often derived from the manufactuer...i'm thinking datasheets and the like. i see the hyberbole in your comment, no worries.

[Jnny]

Columnist James Dulley is a good source for engineering questions on house efficiency. He actually tests stuff. http://www.dulley.com/

[Andy Coulter]

there's green and then there is green enough, let it go.

[Chandler]

That engineer happen to work for Johns Manville? They have enough people in charge of those stupid California rules to form an army.

I've worked with them in the past (doing web development for the Title-24 form under California roofing laws), so I've seen a lot of their data. You say you don't trust big manufacturer's sites, but I fully believe you can trust Johns Manville, at least more than you can trust the government.

[mwgwc]

Hey Scott I live in Canada, far enough north to have a temperature variance over the seasons of from -35 to +95. Feel free to email me if you have any questions. I'm in renovations, custom kitchens but I might be able to get you some information. I lived in Hawaii for about 20 years off and on so I know how little information, products etc. there are available there. Mostly all talk, eco this and that but nothing of substance. Up here its a necessity to be energy efficient, it's just too expensive not to be.

[chuck]

Tell your home builder friend to install a geothermal system to heating/cooling the house. The house will be warm in the winter and cool in the summer - without requiring a huge A/C system. A/C is the main reason the high electric bills, and brown-outs during the summer.

[chuck]

Think about how much money you spend buying a house. Now consider how much the heat & electricity cost in comparison.

For example, my apartment costs me $1200/month for the mortgage. The heat & electricity costs $52. So heat & power costs less than 5% of the cost of actually paying for the place I live.

If my electric bill goes up 25% that's $13 more dollars.
If my mortgage payment goes up 25% it goes up to $1500, that's $300 more dollars. If that happens I either have to get a new (better paying) job. Or move.

As a result I am not very concerned about the efficiency of my house.

The same way of thinking applies to cars. Buying a new car will cost $500 (or more) a month. Plus more for insurance, plus more for service & maintenance.

But while gas prices keep going up, the total cost (for me) to put gas in my car is less than $200 a month. So if gas goes up by 25% (which is likely) that's just another $50 I need to find. Which isn't a lot compared to the cost of buying, insuring and maintaining the car.

Obviously this can't go on indefinitely. Which is why some people (including me) are starting to look for more fuel efficient cars.

But house prices are still going up (at least in my neighbourhood), so I don't think the energy efficiency of a house is ever going to be a factor compared to the overall price of the house.

[(an) andrew from california]

I applaude you for trying.
Seriously.

There are a number of folks who preach it but don't live any different than folks like me (whom, if you must know, live like there is portal to an infinite dimension filled with petroleum and has a cosmic garbage disposal to which I have easy access through my hallway closet.)

[Jeffrey Fredrick]

What do you think of a switch from current corporate taxes to a revenue neutral tax on carbon emissions?

[aaron]

While expensive homes miles away from city centers have the option of being green an increasing percentage of the population will be living in large apartment blocks. I've never seen these promoted as environmentally friendly or conservative with water. Only the initial developer really has any control on those sorts of factors. This means that even if there where laws introduced that set the standard for new apartment complexes it would be 40 years before it would have an impact because the building would need to be rebuilt.

[Florin]

Scott,

I don't know what to say about your experience. My wife and I just signed a contract to buy a new home and, trust me, there are a lot of green options for our upgrades. Our builder is KBHOME (there, some free advertising, but they deserve it, because they seem nice and seem to have good products). Their main studio is in Pleasanton for our area, so that should be close to you.

We just had our first appointment to pick the upgrades this morning, so my memory is still fresh. We get to pick roof insulations, wall insulations (there was even an option for the garage walls!), carpets that can be 100% recycled, Energy Star appliances, etc. I even got a dual temperature control, so I don't need to heat/cool the whole house but only the floor that I want.

I would say, that's not bad at all, even by US standards ;-)

Of course all these options come at a cost, but I think, in the long run, they will pay off through a lower utility bill and increase the resell value of the home :-)

[Alan]

@Alaina

I was interested in your statement about "balloon construction" in reference to the Enertia designs. From what I see at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framing_%28construction%29#Balloon_framing

that term would not apply. The Enertia design is essentially a layered construction using _massive_ timbers horizontally built up, rather than the insubstantial methods of both 'balloon' framing and even conventional 'light frame' construction. Further the heavy timbers used are resistant to fire spread, unlike conventional light framing timbers.

In reference to their suitability for all types of climates, I would suggest that those interested in these very solid, energy efficient homes check out the already built examples, depicted at www.enertia.com and the testimonials from their owners. These houses have been built in very varied climates, all over the US.

[Matt]

My wife and I will be building a new home later this year. I looked into having a solar panel installed on the back roof. Found out it'll save me about 50 bucks a month in electricity and cost ten grand, installed. Wow, only 16.6 years to pay for itself! No thanks.

[Nic Darling]

I have a friend developing modern green affordable housing in Philly. He is documenting the entire process including quotes and research at http://www.100khouse.com There is some incredibly useful info there if you're looking to do the same.

One of the major problems with building green in the States is square footage. The first and most effective step to improving energy efficiency is reducing size. Americans are notoriously sensitive about such reductions. "How many square feet you got?" is a standard question and god help you if you don't have enough . . . loser.

[toes]

Scott,
You might be interested in contacting a columnist from the Minneapolis StarTribune. Jason Hammond has been blogging about his experience building a modern-style, green home here in the Twin Cities. He ran into many of the same challenges you did and he talked about them in some detail at http://ww3.startribune.com/blogs/newhouse/ He has been open and responsive to people's inquiries - you may find Jason and his builder to be great resources.

toes~

[Marc Mengel]

There's a subdivision just south of Fermilab which was built maybe 15 years ago (Bigelow homes) to be ultra-insulated, they heat the house with a heat-exchanger hooked up to the hot water heater. Near Chicago. It works great. They even guaranteed $400 to heat your house for 3 years.

They had to build in an unincorporated area, because to keep the house sufficiently insulated, they didn't want things like electrical outlets puncturing the outside walls, and that didn't meet building codes.

So maybe they sucked up all of the energy concious home-buyers and the other builders just kept doing it the same way...

[jeffw_00]

Go with Andersen Windows - they're well built, the company thoroughly back what they sell, and because they're all standard sizes, you can ALWAYS get replacement parts (i have done so on 15 year old windows). I'm not associated with the company, just an impressed engineer.

[Nathan]

Building science is an entire discipline of Engineering, because it is not a simple thing. Sealing up cracks is a good thing, unless its not. Small windows are good, except when they're not.

There are experts out there; if you want to build an extra-green house, I'd suggest you hire one.

[yasmara]

Our friends just wrote this book - might be interesting to you!

The Carbon-Free Home: http://www.amazon.com/Carbon-Free-Home-Remodeling-Projects-Fossil-Fuel/dp/1933392622/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210106805&sr=1-9

[Alaina]

Damn, I was going to recommend enertia, but someone beat me to it.

We were lucky enough to get to see one of these buildings. Not only is it green, it "feels" green, if you imagine that.

The only thing I would be weary about it balloon construction may not be allowed by the local fire authorities. Also, it seems like a better construction technique for warmer regions.

[D. Mented]

I agree; if there were more information out there, the average consumer would probably select the more efficient options, especially now that energy costs seem to have found the turbo rocket switch and taken off for mars.
People have been buying more energy efficient appliances since the efficiency rating is displayed on a sticker.
Say "Thank you Ralph Nader" for creating the consumer information movement - if you don't want all that information - don't read the label. If you do, it's now available.
Again, I say, if your house isn't green to start with, there are things you can do later. If you want to start with the most effective change, it's usually the windows. Then the space below your roof. Then the walls, then the floors. All these can be improved. It would be nice if all new homes were super-efficient, and if enough people start asking, this will be more and more available, but for now, if you want to go green, sometimes the best option for non-rich flks is to buy a bit of a fixer ( still liveable, with a good foundation and frame) and rebuild in phases, each as efficient as possible. You get the house you want, and the price is better than new - especially if you can do some of it yourself. This also has the advantage of re-using an existing object instead of buying new. One more green step.
D. Mented
(we're still doomed)

[James]

Most knuckle heads don't even set up a budget for themselves and spend more than they make (okay I exagerate)... But with that general concept in mind I don't see how anyone will ever use the energy costs information in house purchases. Most people I know didn't even take a look at the property tax or change in homeowners insurance costs.

In fact most people probably don't have good records of what their current energy costs. Here are some ideas for things that could be accounted for in the costs of a specific home (and you could go ahead and compare this to your existing residence).

===============

1. Space and water heating costs (gas, electric, solar, whatever) - specific to the property, it will vary a lot based on orientation, shade, insulation, air leakage, and even the size of the house.

2. Water, sewer and garbage rates (can easily change based on who provides the service, and if you live in certain "special" neighborhoods they may require you to have a sparkly green lawn in the summer which could change your actual usage quite a bit)

3. Distance between home and common destinations - grocery store, work, gym (hah!), ballpark (season ticket?), other places you go a lot (compare the mileage from the new location to existing location and factor in projected gas and maintenance cost changes based on your specific vehicle)

4. Cable (waste of money), telephone, internet costs - providers again may change based on your location and availability

5. Cell phone provider coverage at a given property - may need to change providers if you wish to use your phone at home, coverage information would be great to have

6. Property taxes - will the assessed value change a lot when you buy the house for it's newly inflated price?

7. Insurance - different structures and locations will affect your insurance costs for surezee.

8. Maintenance costs - depending on your roof, exterior finish, and other housing features, your maintenance costs could vary by a great deal. It would be great if there was a common estimating method that someone could apply for you to determine the recurring costs of maintenance on a given property.

===============

It would be great if all of this could be put together in some sort of online calculator that can make some estimates for you.

Also it would be great if the utility companies had to comply with FOIA laws and make the historical ownership costs for a given property available.

Of course it will depend a lot on who lives in the house and how they set the thermostats (for example). So the best scenario would be to have an analysis that gives a normalized reading so that you can make real comparisons between houses.

[AC]

Ya know what, Elver? This is one of the freedoms we enjoy here in the US of A, bitching at the government often and in full measure without having to worry about vanishing into the night. Most folks here in the good ole' US of A know how good we have it, hence the tremendous amount of charity work and donations that go out to people around the world. I know others do a lot as well so I am not trying to be arrogant about it.

Many US citizens know the USA is not perfect and many of us are well aware that we have it better than the majority of the world. However, our right to bitch about how things are going in our country is just that, our right. We will exercise it accordingly.

[rita mae]

Damn it, Scott!! Your first paragraph was almost exactly like the post I entered when you were on your kick about the house you were designing.

[Buyers look at the location, square footage, kitchens, and all the usual stuff. No one even asks about the energy efficiency or indoor air quality.]

Don't you remember me saying that? C'mon, Monkey Bone.

By the way, does anybody ever wonder where Bobby is? Have all your readers abandoned any hope for Bobby? Does anyone even remember Bobby? Help us out here, Scott. How's Bobby?

I took the morning off to babysit so my ex-Marine could go to a friend's funeral. He had promised he would babysit and then his friend died. He didn't want to mess up the kid's schedule, so he asked me to take off work. I figured, hell, I only have 18 days left. Let 'em fire me if they don't like it. They were waiting for me at 12:30 so I could wipe their collective noses and add paper to the copy machine. (Remember -- they don't know how to do that--they are accountants. BWAHAHAHAHA.)

Yes, Muppet, I will continue to post here after I retire. But I will have to be very very careful. We have a computer at home, but the ex-Marine is on it ALL the time. He is checking Fidelity and looking at our finances. I think he gets a woody doing that. Our computer is slower at home than it is here, and since my health issues, I am not as patient as I once was. If it takes too long for a site to come up, I just say to myself "F*&# it" and go watch Law & Order, or work on a crossword puzzle.

I wonder what the ex-Marine would do to me if he thought I said PENIS to all my friends on Scott's blog? He is sooooo proper. We are exact opposites. The kids still don't know how we ended up together. He wouldn't say "shit" if he stepped in it. Me on the other hand........

Geez. Must act like I am working. Later. And Scott, please, just once before I retire ---- tell me you love me?

Rita Mae

[Yeeples]

>It shouldn’t be so hard to make energy
>efficiency information available

It is widely available. You have simply chosen not to trust the manufacturers who put it out.

>I blame the government.

Ah yes, those trustworthy people. No chance for graft and corruption if the goverment repeats the tests at taxpayer expense, eh? We should have vast teams of Federal employees who buy every household item imaginable, test them, and publish results. Should cost, oh, $75 billion per year tops.

To provide information we already have. Two years later.

[Stephen W. Stanton]

You blame government?
Why?
What does government do well? (apart from military dominance)
Why would you expect more from government?

That would be like expecting your dog to build you a new garage.

Just sayin'.

If you want change, go make it happen. But home energy usage is hard to measure on an apples-to-apples basis. You need to build all sorts assumptions about home size, climate, interior temperature, home usage, curtains, carpets, interior layot, external shade / wind / etc.

Even building materials are not always installed the same way in one home vs. another.

You're asking for objective measures of efficiency on unbuild lego construction projects.

[Green Grant]

Yes, the situation is terrible regarding making good choices for our homes. Right now I'm trying to purchase a mattress that isn't soaked with cancer-causing chemicals (which is how they make them flame-resistant) and it's really, really difficult. There are a few companies out there that make mattresses with wool (which is naturally fire-resistant), but it is not easy to find a local showroom so you can try it out (there are only a handful in the entire country at this point). The "mainstream" companies all make products that are the worst for you because that's what's cheapest and easiest to do. It's really infuriating.

Anyway, check out my website (linked below) to find companies that are making an effort to bring us healthier products.

[tim]

Energy costs will only go up. Green energy will only go down as the technology improves. The rate it will go up or down is unknown. So figuring out how much it will save you next year is insignificant when considering how much it will save in 20 years. Even if you're not still in the same home, the next person who owns your home may factor your investment into savings into the cost of the home (which is partly why used Honda Civics have a higher resale value than other used cars of the same vintage).

I haven't read through all the comments, but maintenance also costs time and money and should be factored in. Solar panels need to be kept clean, and bludgeoned birds wiped off the windmills. There are parts exposed to the elements, and will be subject to corrosion.

To sum up, I don't think the right way to decide to go green should be based on simple cost comparisons. You don't think "cost" when you go to the supermarket, or else you'd be diving through the discount-nearly-expired bin. You don't think "cost" when you buy clothing, or else you'd be wearing flipflops and a tank top every day. I think the next step for our society to advance would be to quit thinking about energy usage and ecological footprint in more than just money tradeoffs, but as a statement about your holistic lifestyle. We're already moving somewhat in that direction with a media bias against "gas guzzlers", but wouldn't it be charming if the solar panels on your house and green roof gave it the same respect as a well-tuned sports car.

[Topochicho]

We bought our first house last year and went through the same thing. We got the same blank stares and reactions. Even once you find a builder that will offer some efficiency upgrades (very limited at best), you have to be there every day to make sure they are done correctly. We not only got an inspector, but we were on site every day taking pictures and emailing questionable items to the inspector, then we had to ride the foreman's butt to make sure he got them corrected before that part got sealed up and untouchable. Even when they have the options available they don't always know how to install them. Honestly if I had the money I would have gone with a custom home builder instead of a normal builder, because even ones like ours, that I would consider better than average, use outside crews to build their homes, and by the time those crews know how to do it correctly, that neighbor hood is finished and they reshuffle everyone.

[The Dude]

I was reading a blog on myspace a couple of weeks ago that detailed the bloggers efforts to build an energy efficient home himself. The users name is "Over Unity". I can't remember the specific date of the blog but it shouldn't be too hard to locate since he doesn't blog too terribly much.

[Incredipete]

Here in Kansas where the tornado took out the entire town of Greensburg, they're rebuilding the entire town "green" - check it out on the Discovery Channel, it's actually pretty neat.

[Max Kaehn]

Sounds like you have a basis for a new business venture: the one-stop-shopping site for finding all the information you need for green home building and renovation. If life hands you lemons, make lemonade and sell it.

[Curmudgeon]

Scott,

Not technically "green" but for a way to lower utility costs, check out: http://www.dougrye.com/

[Jennifer]

Geosolar is a new form of Passive Annual Heat Storage.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1985-01-01/Passive-Annual-Heat-Storage.aspx
Earth Shelter and you won't need to heat or cool your home. Add photo voltaic pannels for electricity.
http://www.daviscaves.com/index.shtml

Anyway, when I have the money that is my dream.

[GLK]

Windows are overpriced and not as big a deal as people would have you think. I live in the NE where winters are brutal. In two different houses I've had old single pane aluminum windows replaced by double pane, UV tinted, argon gas-filled, High R value, Vinyl framed windows. Although I like the way the windows look and perform, the truth is I can barely tell any difference in my heating bills or in relative comfort. An engineer once told me the vast majority of heat losses occur because heat rises and escapes via convection out the roof. This won't help someone living in California but in my neighborhood if you want to see if a home is energy efficient take a gander at people's rooftops a few days after a snow storm. The houses that still have a foot of snow sitting on their roofs are keeping the warmth inside where it belongs. The homes that have exposed roofs with icicles hanging off aren't doing so well. Bottom line (with regard to structure) concern yourself with the roof first, the walls second, and the windows/doors third.

[velkairiwyth]

Here in the UK it is a requirement since about February (I think) to have energy efficiency tests done on your house when you put it on the market.

Here is something you might be interested in though - you can get a round-house built. If you have a plot of land in a nice area - you can get them build pretty cheap - they look damn nice and are very efficient. Even better - its not uncommon to have a pool in your living room :p

The heating is under-floor in the centre of the house- the rooms come off the central living area - but you can probably get a regular house in the us for cheaper than just the plot of land here in the uk... *cries*

[Randy Sailer]

I think an early (if not first) step is finding an architect who is experienced with green buildings... They have been there, done that a lot already. We had an experienced architect for our house (with a good builder) and we received an energy star 5+ ranking without much compromise at all. Our house looks pretty standard (though very nice).

Energystar.gov has some good info.

Good luck!

[Patrick]

When we were window-shopping, we took time to figure out the best R-factors etc. given the orientation of the windows and the fact we live in Ottawa. My wife made some calculations using some software that was maybe found somewhere in a gov't of Canada website. Sorry this dosen't help much, but the main point I remember was that the optimal R-factor depended on how much heat you wanted to keep inside vs. how much solar heat you wanted to collect from your windows.

Anyways, we went for triple-pane argon-filled fiberglass windows for a south-facing converted sunroom.

[Stepho]

Just as a resource, this is an excellent architectural firm in Austin, TX who does specialize in green design. This probably won't help you a great deal, but might be a good resource.

http://www.barleypfeiffer.com/

Too true on builders and agents having no friggin clue though.

[Sheldon McGee]

I've have a similar complaint about air conditioners in Arizona. If you have a unit that isn't working right you call someone out and all they can say is you need to replace it because it's too old and the new one will save you money because it's so much more efficient. So there is this thing called a SEER and now the lowest you can install now is 13. Ten years ago it was 10 and so if your 10 year old unit needs parts good luck.

Okay, so my AC doesn't work and an AC contractor says I need a new unit. Big surprise. It's not like he looked at my single pane windows or in the roof to check how thick the insulation is or anything like that. But if you can't trust the AC guy, who can you trust?

Two years ago I started looking into a new unit because the ones on my house are 20 years old and always need something and on hot days they just couldn't keep up. I found out there are two kinds of refrigerants used nowadays, the old one that can't be manufactured someday soon and the newest one where the units cost significantly more. Guess which one I ended up getting? Guess which one almost everyone gets? Oh yeah, and it still can't keep up in the middle of the summer.

Don't get me started about how you can have a leak in the system and the AC guy will fill it with freon (it's not freon, I know but it's easier to say that than "coolant that is bad for the environment" or rxxx where the xxx is something I would have to look up and probably be wrong about). It's a closed system. If your unit needs freon every year something is wrong. Why isn't there a database of AC Units where they keep track to make sure people aren't just putting freon in a unit that is leaking? Oh, what, the licensed contractor should never put freon in a unit that's leaking . . that's right.

On top of all that AC stuff I wondered about replacing my windows with Dual Pane windows. Can't get any good info on whether it's worth it. What about those roof vents? Or an attic fan? It's 200 F in there in the summer so venting it has to be good right? Again, no good information.

I think the best investment would be into solar pannels that way it wouldn't matter how inefficient the AC is . . . free electricity!

Sheldon

[Adam]

My home isn't green because I chose a different color siding.

[Alan]

Hi Scott,

Conventional house design/materials are not sufficient. I'd suggest a different design of house altogether, try:

http://www.enertia.com/

(No, I don't work for them, but I do intend to buy one for myself some day.)

[RavenBlack]

Some green options that are really good:

1. straw bale walls with lime plaster. Can be load-bearing, more fire-resistant than ordinary brick walls (unexpectedly), long-lasting if put together right, incredibly highly insulating. http://www.strawbale.com/
Alternatively, underground is good.

2. solar heat pump. It's a solar water heater that doesn't have pipes full of water near the outside, so no risk of freezing and cracking, and I believe also more efficient than other solar water heating. http://www.quantumenergy.com.au/
With a little ingenuity in placement, this could also double as a bit of cooling for your house. Since the water heater is absorbing heat from its environment, circulating the air into your house would provide cooling (and circulating air to the outside instead when you don't want cooling).

3. There was something I saw somewhere about making windows out of old bottles, which made for light without a view, and high insulation value (effectively it's really wide double-glazing). If you don't want a view from your windows, this could be good.

[Cole Brodine]

Scott,

You should watch this video about a home build in New Jersey. It is a prototype house, which is highly energy efficient and supplies all of it's own power needs through solar power. They use excess solar power to make hydrogen (through a clean process) and then burn the hydrogen in a fuel cell when they don't have enough sunshine.

They haven't sacrificed any amenities either. There is a pool, big screen TV and hot tub.

Video is just over 7 minutes, and is definately worth a watch if you are interested in "going green" or "energy efficency"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEdQRVQtffw

[tim shepard]

Thanks for the gumball, "Darth Nader"!
He he he ehe ehehehee snork!

[Tom Purl]

I second the Passivhaus recommendation. One non-profit group in the US who's building passive houses is E-colab (http://www.e-colab.org/ecolab/ecolabHome.html). Check out that site if you need more information about building a truly energy-efficient home. I visited one of these houses in Urbana, Illinois and was very impressed.

[Alter S. Reiss]

I'd go on for a bit about the concept of "regulatory capture", but honestly, you'd do just as well to type the words into google, and read the first thing that comes up.

Long story short: People buy maybe two, three houses in their lifetime, for the most part. So they don't pay that much attention. The housing industry sells thousands of houses every day. So they wind up making sure the government's information and regulation works out best for their needs.

[Bill Harting]

Scott,

I think someone posted this earlier, but your No Cal bias is showing. If you are buying a house in a Northern state (like I just did in Michigan, yeah, I bought a house in Michigan) and if the house for sale doesn't have information available from the agent or the homeowner on energy costs for the last year or two, you just move on.

[Jshope]

Grow grass on your roof.
http://livingroofs.org/

[Shivering in Alaska]

We just bought windows from a local manufacturer, who builds windows for the extreme climate here in Alaska. If cost is not an option, perhaps you should look to the colder regions to get windows that are more effective that what would be manufactured locally.

[Joe]

About the realtor, when I bought my house in 2000, I not only asked about energy use, but my realtor DID know the information and provided documentation. So I guess I had a much better realtor than you did.

As for blaming .gov for the woeful state of green info, give me a break. Maybe they were too busy carrying out Bush's anti-black people agenda during Katrina to gather all this useful info?

I honestly don't see how its the .gov's responsibility to provide this info, nor to make us be more energy efficient.

[HL]

Why not just build one of these? http://www.avavasystems.com

[Leora]

Oops, I already missed putting the word 'penis' in my post today.
Sorry, Rita Mae.

[HALiverpool]

When I bought my house, in 1997, I asked how much it cost to heat it. Unfortunately, they either lied or kept the thermostat at 50 degrees.

-HAL

[Jennifer Simon]

Scott,
As an environmental lawyer, I focus my practice on assisting commercial developers to incorporate sustainable building elements into new developments and into existing structures. Many of the same principles apply to residential developments. You should contact someone at the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.com). They will be able to direct you to local architects, consultants, and designers who will be able to provide you with tons of information on greening your home and saving energy costs and usage. Alternatively, please feel free to contact me directly and I will be happy to send you a few references in your area.

Best,
Jennifer Simon, Esq.

[Guy]

Scott,

If you are really interested in energy efficient buildings you should check out the passive house standard:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_house

[Blank]

The real people to blame are the consumers, because they drive the market.

But you already knew that, because this blog post is supposed to affect the consumers' demands.

Good luck with that.

[Dennis]

At some point, consumer choices always come down to cost, since almost everyone has a budget. However, availability of options plays a big part. For example, look at all the packaging on stuff we buy. How much of this comes in huge amounts of plastic packaging and we are given no other choice? many grocery items we all buy give us no options other than a) buying the item in sucky non-ecological packaging or b) not buying the item. That's it! I, and some percentage of consumers, would be willing to pay some percentage extra for choices of recyclable or just plain less packaging, but there is no such choice.

About some posts regarding government above: yes, the government sucks at a lot of things, but often getting the government to mandate things, even that manufacturers need to provide better information about their products, is a good start.

[ND]

Does Karl's actual name happen to be Kruphnehdahpheweundikaniswalyniaphorgonopop, by any chance?

[Leora]

You need to check out the Passivhaus Intstitut in Germany. It's non-profit, so your concerns about impartiality should be less serious. They build so efficiently that you don't even need a heating system. Though they are keen on reasonably-sized houses, not the 5000-square-foot behemoths we like to build on this continent.

Here in Canada we got all excited about energy conservation thirty years ago and came up with R2000. We've done squat since, and nobody seems to have noticed, especially the government.

[Dave]

You’re a minor celebrity. Shouldn’t you enlist the help of Ed Begley Jr. for something like this?

[kman]

Go underground.

[Steven]

Blaming the government is like saying a lack of aspirin causes headaches.

Yes the government could provide more information, but until people really want it (and honestly until it is cheaper so that you will at least break even with your higher intial investment) you aren't going to see a huge rush on green homes. Remember the government can't rate products that don't exist.

Perhaps the best solution would be to create tax incentives that cover the gap between the intial cost and the return on investment. This seemed to work with hybrids.

[GJ]

I live in Montgomery County Maryland, and the county is attempting to mandate that developers make all new construction "green", which will cost developers an estimated $2k-$20k depending on the price of the home.

I have no idea what particular "green" elements would be in those costs, but it might be a place to start. I also have no idea if they've even made it public. But hey, this comment can't be any less useful than what you've got so far!

[Chuck Eames]

I took a college course in Prescott, AZ 4 years ago with the best teacher. He not only knew all that you are asking, he taught it and his workshop was actually building a house. We, classmates, built the most energy efficient house, with the help of government funding, and then sold it for a nice profit. He does this every year. I learned an amazing bunch of good info on correct and efficient house building.

[netjeff]

A utility company used a surprising technique to get customers to voluntarily reduce their electricity consumption, without even specifically asking. All they did was print on bills the average usage of homes on the customer's block. Although this data was anonymous, competitive instincts kicked in, and nearly everyone reduced their usage. Never heard exactly how much, but enough to be newsworthy.

[Rafael Cavalcanti]

So this is how you're saving the world today, huh? Ponting out an oversight by th government in energy efficiency. Clever :)

[Dave]

Japan - has energy efficient living spaces.
USA - has many large spacious energy wasting homes. 'the american dream - big house'
MIR Space station - home of very efficient living spaces.

It would have to be almost self contained, require little energy to run, and not leak energy through heat, air etc. probably some architects have solved it already, but it may be cost inefficient..

[Elver]

Estonia here. Ex-Soviet, European country. As long as I can remember, energy cost has always been a major aspect of buying/renting a new place. That was even before global warming became a problem.

And our gasoline has cost twice as much as yours for years and years already. We don't complain.

And our taxes are much higher than yours. We pay about 60% of our salaries as tax.

And technology designed and manufacture in Europe, like Sennheiser microphones for example, cost about $100 more in Europe. You pay $200 for EU tech goods that we pay about $300 for.

And you guys have better-looking cars. Ford Mustang and Dodge Charger are much more original, more radical, better looking than the horrible teardrop shapes we get in European cars.

Oh and U.S. cars cost about twice as much here as you'd pay there for one. Latest Mustang starts at $20k there, $40k here.

You know what? Fuck you, guys. Stop complaining. It's a shit-ton-lots worse here.

[Air Phloo]

We really need every house to actually have a readable energy meter measured in dollars. I think people would do anything in the world to become more energy efficient if they could actually see the money they were spending and the relationship it had to their actions. Instead, most people see their energy bill as more of a fixed cost.

So, I agree the government has the best position to help here.

[Slap D. Monkey]

Ask Al Gore how to build an energy efficient house. His Belle Meade mansion in Tennessee gobbles water, gas and electricity like they were going out of style.

[Jeff]

Home energy efficiency has been something of a backwater for a while; it's started to come back to the forefront as global warming and rising gas prices make it more noteworthy. Result is, a lot of developers are trying new things suddenly.

Sure, the government could go make a list of efficient-energy options and post it online. Then next month Karl could design a better window, and their list would be missing the best option. Give it a few more years?

[Alan]

Hi Scott,

Conventional house design/materials are not sufficient. I'd suggest a different design of house altogether, try:

http://www.enertia.com/

(No, I don't work for them, but I do intend to buy one for myself some day.)

[brione]

The US Green Building Council has the LEED Certification for Green Buildings and for professionals. That information can be found here:

http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

[D M]

What makes you think the government would actually want you to build green?

[Richard]

Take a class, get an engineering degree or two. Then you will be able to figure it out. If you ask the right questions you will get the right answers.

Read this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3540222928
This will explain it all. If you don't want to go thru the trouble my fee is $125 / hour!!

Richard - LEED AP, EIT

FYI - too much insulation can actually decrease thermal efficiency.

[Jim]

Scott,

Clearly you don't live in a cold climate. Perhaps no one questions A/C bills there but when temps can hit -40°F for a couple weeks straight we are very concerned about energy costs. May not be "green" but we are very aware about conserving heat.

[Daniel]

We're in Quebec, Canada and we're having a new house built very soon. It has been like pulling teeth with the contractor to depart from the "standard" options in a house to go to greener choices (at a premium cost to us). Researching on the internet has led to similar experiences to Scott's. My experience so far has been that not much has changed in the house building industry in the last 30 years. It's frustrating.

[spoilsport engineer]

The last couple of houses I've sold, I always had at least one buyer ask about energy costs. Since the next time I sell a house I expect energy prices will have gone up about 800% in constant dollars, I bet I'll get that question more. And they should ask. It's a big old house and it costs a bundle to heat.

I cut my yearly natural gass bill by 20% by putting double-pane glass in just half my windows. I'm definitely doing the rest this year. And it's more comfortable and less drafty, just like the ads say. I've now got a nightmare of a flush-mount fireplace hosing cold air into my family room that is my next target.

Square footage and location are easy to quantify. Green is not. How much of a premium is the seller charging for green? Will I make it up in cost savings? Compared to what, the other house that was a different square footage with a different kind of heater?

Green is a check-box, like oak floors or a remodeled kitchen. A house with green is better than a house without, but it isn't necessarily worth dollars at closing. I do green to save myself money while I'm in a house. Of course, I have lived in each house for twice the average 7-year tenancy.

[AC]

Most of us are not Al Gore who can suddenly decide we care about the environment and spend big bucks to be energy efficient.

I just hope I can feed my kids and have a dry place to sleep next year with the way prices are skyrocketing.

[Steve]

Hey Scott
Order your windows from here in Winnipeg, Canada. We have no choice but to build them energy efficient, otherwise we'd freeze to death in winter and cook in summer. Let me know and I can get you some resources from here. As well I know a builder who builds ultra efficient homes (he just built one for my sister).
http://winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/homes/newhomes/v-arkiv/story/4169355p-4753538c.html
http://www.loewen.com/
Steve

[Trish]

Contact Ed Begley, Jr. He'll be there in a flash advising you on the best way to save energy. Have you not seen his show, "Living With Ed?"

[Clever Dude]

I agree that it's abnormally difficult to find out basic information about building green. "Green" is the buzzword these days, but with little substance behind it unless you're prepared to really dig. Plus, you need an engineering degree to even understand the dynamics of most of it!

[hf79]

Was does anybody think that the government should be responible for what has been consumer taste. As energy cost go up more and more people will take the steps to increase thier efficiency the government just gets in the way and uasully make is harder for the consumer ot meet their demands. DO NOT MAKE THE GOVERNMENT SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS THEY SUCK AT IT.

[Anon]

In the UK it recently became mandatory to provide an energy performance certificate when selling your house.

http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk/consumer/17_Energy_Performance_Certificate.html

[Kanubi]

Here's someone who can tell you where to find the manufacturers: http://www.lauraseydel.com/ (Ted Turner's daughter)

Here's her house: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/03/19/8402358/index.htm

[Scott Sheppard]

Appliances such as refrigerators have stickers that clearly identify the expected cost for energy consumption. We could do the same for building materials. I live in Arizona where insulating the attic is the best return on one's investment.

[Royce]

Skip the windows. Put up LCD screens of an image recorded live by a camera mounted on the opposite side of the wall. Then you'll be all set when the ecology collapses and desertification sets in... just play back the old recordings of your yard when it was lush and green.

[DF]

Two years ago, my wife complained that the living room was always cold in the winter. I avoided stating the obvious, and told her that I would look into seeing what could be done to help keep the heat in. Last summer, I took a close look at the outside of our windows and found that the caulking was coming off, so I stripped it all off and recaulked it. I then went inside and took the trim off around the windows and used the expanding spray foam to insulate any cracks. This past winter, my wife still complained that it was cold in the living room, so I gave her the sarcastic answer that it was cold outside and she should put on a sweater.

I have tried to be more energy efficient, I hang my clothes to dry on nice days, which is most of the time during the 6 months of summer sun. I have changed over half of the bulbs in my house to the compact flourescent ones. I have recaulked almost all of the windows and doors in my home, the rest will be done this summer. I am trying to use less energy and go green, but how can you tell if you are really making a difference?

[DPWally]

That confirms what I've read elsewhere - that the conventional wisdom among home builders is that buyers aren't willing to pay much extra for energy efficiency. I don't think it's true, I think there's a significant portion of home buyers who, like Scott, *will* pay more for efficiency if they can find it.

Maybe the problem is that all communication goes through real estate agents who, I suspect, don't forward questions they don't like or don't understand.

[RPK]

You blame the government? In the first pararaph, you state that buyers aren't interested in energy efficiency, and won't pay extra for 'green' houses. Why is that the government's fault?

If buyers were screaming for green houses that cost very little to heat and cool, real-estate agents and builders would be all over it, without government interference.

If the government get s involved, you will see a massive new cabinet-level Department of Residential Energy Usage, or some-such nonsense. An enormous unelected bureacracy will be put into place to write up new regulations that will cost us billions of dollars. To house these people, new, (hopefully energy-efficient), office buildings will be constructed, probably in the home state of the next President.

The increased taxes needed to fund yet another government agency could be used by individuals to add insulation or new windows if they choose to do so. But those who like government involvement in our lives don't want any individual choices to be made.

[Haz]

Energy costs of a home over the previous year wouldn't tell you a whole lot, other than how wasteful the previous occupants were. My neighbors live in houses very similar to mine, but they use three times the energy. What they're doing with it, I don't know, but I suppose it's mostly about where you set your thermostat, how long you leave the lights on, how long you leave the fridge open, etc.

The efficiency of the house is somewhat irrelevant compared to the efficiency of the occupant.

As for windows, I installed heavy, insulated curtains over mine. In the summer, I close them to keep the sun out during the day. In winter, I close them at night to keep the heat in. It makes a very noticeable difference in rooms with large windows.

[John Simmons]

We just put an addition on our house. We spent days agonizing over spray foam insulation verses the old standard - Fiberglass (FG) batts. In the end, the foam ($4000 MORE than FG), which was FAR AND AWAY the better product, ended up getting tossed aside for the cost efficiency of FG ($1300 for FG vs. $5300 for foam). The reason being - We expect to move within 5 years, and the foam doesnt project a payback for at least 8, and, as you noted, our research indicates that potential purchasers of our house wont pay extra for the foam. Going Green is expensive, and unless there is direct payback, people are going to find it hard to justify the initial extra expense.

If we were to build a new house, I would absolutely spend the extra money, but we just couldn't justify it for this project.