16 October 2009 ?With Mayor Daley?s initiative to preserve Chicago?s historic architectural past while moving it forward through the “Green Revolution”, the city will be hosting the “Historic Chicago Bungalow and Green Home Expo 2009.” Started in 2002 for bungalow enthusiasts, the expo partnered with several environmentally oriented partners in 2006 to add a “Green Focus”. Included in those partnerships were the Chicago Association of Realtors®. The annual event is held at the Chicago Merchandise Mart and will be open to the public from 10am-4pm on Saturday, October 17th. The expo is a free event.

3 August 2009 ? The deadline to nominate your Chicago Bungalow for the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Bungalow Award is August 28, 2009. This recognition is part of the Chicago Historic Bungalow initiative started in 2000 by Mayor Daley. The objective is to preserve Chicago?s most distinctive style of architecture while maintaining affordability. The program offers grant and loan programs to help restore these homes including Bungalow Tax Smart, energy saver grants, and a “Restore, Renovate and go Green” program. Through this initiative, the city offers ongoing seminars, publications and newsletters. The winners of the Driehaus Award will be announced at the 2009 Historic Chicago Bungalow and Green Home Expo on Saturday, October 17 at Chicago?s Merchandise Mart. This annual event is free to the public with more than 140 craftsmen, banks, architects, real estate agents, and other specialists, many of whom bear a “green” designation.

23 July 2009 – Chicago finally has its first net zero home. Simply stated, a net zero home produces as much energy as it uses. Chicago resident Michael Yannel has built a 2,695 square foot showcase for emerging green technology at 4895 N Ravenswood. The home?s green features include 48 photovoltaic roof panels, a rain water collection system, geothermal heating and cooling machines, and a gray water system that converts water from the home?s washing machine for use in the toilets. While costs of building a net zero home today likely run well above the average home owner?s budget, this home makes a powerful statement about the future of green construction in residential buildings. For more details on this and other net zero homes, read Blair Kamin?s piece in the July 22 Chicago Tribune.

I just read a fantastic article on Forbes about a topic that I have been wondering a lot about: continued gentrification of Chicago as the recession drags on. I have been pessimistic about the chances that neighborhoods like Uptown would continue to renew and rebuild…be a magnet for the middle class. However, after reading this interview with Pat Lashinsky of Zipreality.com, Michael Feder of Radar Logic, Spencer Rascoff of Zillow.com, and Peter Slatin of Real Capital Analytics, I’m beginning to think my pessimism may have been misplaced. At least I hope it was and their optimism is correct.

People Want to Live Close to Work

Will Uptown's revival continue or falter?

The first point for optimism is, as Mr. Lashinsky pointed out, that people want to live as close to work as is possible. It seems to me that two facts are going to keep this trend going: First, is the cost of energy: with gas going up to over $3.00 a gallon in the past couple of weeks, and very little long-term chance that the 30 mile commutes will ever be as economically feasible as they were when gas was $1.00 a gallon, this trend is likely to not reverse any time soon. The second fact is that Chicago is a gorgeous place to live now. The gentrification that has happened in Chicago has made it not only possible, but down right attractive to live in the city for nearly everyone.

Of course, the Loop is not the only area in Chicagoland with jobs. The suburbs lay claim to some of the area’s largest employers; some of my friends actually reverse commute from the central part of the city to the far flung suburbs. However, when young people move to Chicago looking for work, they aren’t dreaming of living in a generic box behind another generic box off a cul-de-sac in a faceless suburban sprawl. They are dreaming of brownstones, high rises, and walking down bustling sidewalks to meet friends at sidewalk cafes. This is going to mean that much of the young talent is going to be located in the city. Hopefully this means that new upstart companies, as well as the Fortune 500, will continue to want to call Chicago home and the upward spiral will continue. But, if the job losses continue and young people continue to give up on their dreams of big-city life (as the rental data is hinting at) in order to return to live with their parents outside of the city, this force for renewal and growth will be gone.

Price Is Relative

As someone who grew up in Montana and South Dakota and then having spent ten years living in Tokyo, I have experienced both ends of the price-per-square-foot continuum. While living in Tokyo I didn’t think twice about spending $2,500 a month for our tiny one-bedroom apartment?a price that could have allowed me a five bed, five bath, four-car garage with a pool in my hometown. But I wanted to live in Tokyo and my income allowed us to live very comfortably even with that rent. Actually, I’ve never had more disposable income than when I was paying the most for a home I ever have.

People understand this. They know that relatively speaking, right now is an amazing time to buy. Mortgage rates are at historic lows and prices are bottoming out at RELATIVELY amazing prices. As Mr. Slatin put it in the article, “The concept of a ‘great’ deal remains relative, and isn’t that what pricing is all about?”

The bottom line is for many people, the cost-to-performance of living in central Chicago is still very low. This is going to mean that the demand for homes is going to remain and gentrification of neighborhoods is likely going to continue, but undoubtedly at a slower pace.

Slow Gentrification is Still Progress…Gains Will Hold

Mr. Slatin had a wonderful quote in this article in response to discussion about Bucktown and The Westloop,

While there will surely be regression in some newly gentrified neighborhoods, for the most part, gains will hold. Residents, investors, retailers, etc. will fight to keep areas moving up or at least flat. Where holes do develop–and they will–investors will buy up REO. There’s still plenty of life and enticement in most of these neighborhoods, and emptied out tracts are far less alluring.

The other panelists agreed with him, but made sure to say that the progress we have seen in the past years will slow. The coffee shops, restaurants, and boutiques going into the new areas of town may not survive, but eventually they will find the dollars they need to help transform the neighborhoods.

Chicago City Gov’t Has to Continue to Support the Growth of the Middle Class

Again, Mr. Slatin pointed out a large potential danger to the whole upward, albeit slow, spiral, “One danger to these neighborhoods remains the inability of local governments to support their growth through schools, green space, transit, etc.”

As I talk to my circle of friends, this is completely true. One of the main reasons we are all still in the city is that there are fantastic public elementary schools for our children to attend. But ask these people who have eschewed the suburbs for the convenience and vibrancy of the city what they are worried about and they all reply that there are not enough good high schools to accept all the fantastic kids coming out of the elementary schools. Their parents stayed and took a chance on CPS, and under Arnie Duncan they by-and-large have delivered. However, can we count on a Dailey insider who has never run a school let along a school system to continue this and deliver high schools that will prepare our children for college? I hope my concern is unfounded.

But of course it’s not only about schools: potholes that gobble up trucks, the crumbling supports for the Metra and I-90 we all pass by every day hoping the whole thing doen’t come down on us like it did in Minneapolis, and reductions in police to protect the city area all trends that have to somehow be reversed.

As Always, It’s All About Supply and Demand

The Forbes interviewer for the story was the prolific Chicagoan Stephane Fitch, who is apparently my not-so-far-away neighbor. He talked about his neighborhood of Uptown.

…I live in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Still, lots of gentrification needed in Uptown, I think it’s fair to say. It’s the classic gentrification play. But none of my neighbors thinks the gentrification will continue where I live. Not with the nicer neighborhood just to my south, called Lakeview, looking more nearly affordable for modestly well-off professionals.

That sums it up…if the jobs stay, people will want to live in this beautiful, livable city and that will mean more jobs and continued renewal of amazing swaths of this amazing city we call home. If the spiral doesn’t continue up or at least stay flat, Lakeview will prevent Uptown from improving, and eventually Lincoln Park will begin to nibble away at Lakeview, and on down we will go.

I’m optimistic and think (hope) we will continue to improve upon what is already here.

We would like to thank Supafly for sharing today’s photo of Uptown via the Creative Commons License.

Drop After Drop Adds Up

In the first articles I showed how you can save energy and money and have a positive impact on the environment by going green and I showed how important an energy audit is for providing a road map to going green in your own home.

Now that I?ve laid some of the groundwork, most people want to know how to pay for it. My basic tenet is that there is a shade of green for every project and every budget?. Finding the right shade for your individual lifestyle and budget will mean some compromises along the way. But making the most of your energy audit is important. You only have the mental and physical fortitude to undergo disruption to your daily life so many times. So making the most of the time you devote to any home renovation project, green or otherwise, is critical.

In the US, the bulk of the homes that are currently being occupied were built during the housing boom of the 1970?s and 1980?s. These homes are nearing architectural and mechanical obsolescence. Also, these structures account for over 40% of energy consumption and 75% of electricity consumption annually. Can you imagine the impact to our economy if we could reduce those numbers by 10%? The way to do that is to renovate existing buildings, starting with residences.

Let’s Assume You Aren’t Rich and Want to Go Green

I’m going to assume that the family interested in going green does not have the cash available to pay for all the costs of an energy efficiency renovation all at once. You don?t want to use a credit card to finance the purchase, as the interest that you would pay makes the entire process much more costly than needed. So where can you turn?

There are federal and state programs available to help offset the costs of going green. There are local incentives, grants, and rebate programs available to help people achieve energy efficiency improvements, and there are various types of lending programs, from home equity loans to personal lines of credit available form many different sources that are specifically geared to the energy efficiency market. I will give you the ?get started? information to help you find the right program for you.

Federal Resources for Helping to Pay for Going Green

At the federal level, the American Recovery and Revitalization Act (ARRA) passed on February 17, 2009 included billions of dollars in stimulus funds for energy efficiency improvements. Chief among these are the federal tax credits that are available to take for energy efficiency upgrades to your own home for 2009 and 2010 tax years. In summary, the federal government will repay you up to $1500 (previously limited to $750) of the costs of energy efficiency improvements for windows and doors, roofing material, water heaters, insulation, and biomass stoves. In addition, the federal government will pay for 30% of the installed costs of renewable energy upgrades like solar power, geothermal heating and cooling, solar hot water heating, small wind energy systems, and fuel cell technology. Previously the allowable tax credit was capped at $2000. Now, it is uncapped, so they will pay for a full 30% of the costs!

Builders, developers, and commercial property owners can take advantage of these credits as well, but in this care they are based on square footage, not on costs. See the IRS website or the above link for the details.

State-based Resources for Going Green

In addition to the rebates available from the federal government, there are programs from the state that are available to offset costs of energy efficiency improvements. If you visit DSIRE (Database of State Initiatives for Renewables and Efficiency), you can click on any state and find out what rebates and incentives are available. For the Chicago area, the state will rebate up to 30% of the costs of solar power installations. The program is administered through the Illinois Department of Commerce and funded through the Illinois Renewable Energy Trust Fund. The current plan expired on May 1, 2009, but the next round of funding will begin July 1, 2009. The city of Chicago also encourages green building and will fast-track permits and waive up to $25,000 in fees for green certified projects.

For those of you in Wisconsin, you hit the jackpot! There is a fantastic program available for renewable energy and efficiency upgrades called Focus on Energy. This program will offset costs for a host of renewable energy products up to 25% of costs or a maximum of $35,000. Its current funding expires June 30, 2009, but will renew.

Energy Companies Help You Go Green

Grants and rebates are available from the utility companies as well. People’s Gas and NorthShore Gas both have rebate programs that they have extended until October 31, 2009. This program will cover costs of insulation up to $750, clothes washers up to $100, water heaters up to $75 – $400, gas furnaces up to $450, and gas boilers up to $600. It requires professional installation of everything, and you can apply for the rebate online.

ComEd does not have as much of a program available. They will sell you discounted CFL bulbs, can help arrange a home energy audit, and can set up electricity cycling programs for you. Also, they will pay you $25 to recycle that old refrigerator that you plan on replacing with a new, EnergyStar® model.

For those of you in southern Illinois or some of the western suburbs, Ameren has a different set of programs, much better than ComEd. They will help with heating, air-conditioning, lighting, and with the home energy audit, as well as refrigerator recycling.

How About Weatherization Help?

Now, for funding of weatherization improvements, the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program is the place to start. On their web site you will be able to locate local programs. This is geared to low income families, but the information available is good, and at the very least, you can get a good contractor to help with your project. This is funded through the Department of Energy and the money is given to each state to distribute through its weatherization programs. This program will also cover the cost of the home energy audit in some cases.

Can I Get a Loan To Go Green?

The last topic I want to cover is funding though loans. The Department of Housing and Urban Development administers a huge number of programs that are designed to help average Americans finance, refinance, or improve their homes. There are a few income and home value limits, but a vast majority of Americans will fit into its broad criteria.

First, there is the Energy Efficiency Mortgage (EEM) which is a stand-alone product available to help cover the costs of home efficiency improvements. The maximum amount is 5% of the home?s value not to exceed $8000. Now, this may not seem like much, but the beauty of this program is that it can be added to any other FHA/HUD program without penalizing the owner/purchaser on the percentage of loan to value. So, say you want to borrow $250,000 to buy and renovate a home (or refinance an existing home). Though this program you can borrow $258,000 even if that additional $8000 would push your loan over the maximum loan to value. It?s a ?free? $8000 to use for energy efficiency upgrades.

Where this really works out is with the 203k loan program which is designed to encourage purchasers to either renovate their existing home or renovate a home they intend to purchase and live in. (See this previous The Chicago 77 post for more details.) The beauty of this program is that it looks at the value of the home as completed after the renovation, not the value at the time of purchase. The program will help pay for design, inspection, and the energy audit, as well as all the construction. Click here to see a visual overview of this program. There is also a limited repair program that provides $35,000 for home improvements to a home purchased. This additional $35,000 becomes part of the mortgage, allowing the buyer to do significant work to a home before moving in and paying for it over the life of the mortgage.

Fannie Mae also has innovative programs for renovation/purchase of single family homes.  This is called a HomePath® program. There is another program called HomeStyle®

Freddie Mac has a similar array of programs. The best bet is to contact an FHA/HUD approved lender to determine the best program for your situation.

In the more commercial market, Wells Fargo Bank has a variety of loan programs available that are geared toward energy efficiency and green living. There are others, but Wells Fargo seems to have the most developed program. The idea for all of these programs is that the lenders know that you will be saving significant amounts of money in utility costs and reward you with either a larger amount available to borrow based on your credit score, or a discount on the rate you are borrowing at.

That about covers what I know regarding funding, financing, rebates, and rewards for energy efficiency improvements.

For those who are immediately interested in upgrading their home, purchasing a new home, or renovating an existing home, make sure to read by bio below for ways I can help.

My thanks to Brad Walbrun for providing some background material on the 203k-mortgage program.

Going Green Series

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Windmills at Devon Bank of Wheeling

For those of you looking to follow the series, I am sorry that I did not have a post ready for last week. I was preparing for and taking the United States Green Building Council?s (USGBC.org) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification test. I passed, and now carry the designation Accredited Professional (LEED AP).

What is a LEED Accredited Professional??

LEED Accredited Professionals are experienced building industry practitioners who have demonstrated their knowledge of integrated design and their capacity to facilitate the LEED certification process. It demonstrates an understanding of green building practices and principles, and familiarity with LEED requirements, resources, and processes.

In the last article, I took a very detailed look at mechanical systems and insulation as related to cost and return on investment for upgrading to gain more efficiency. I think I effectively demonstrated that the costs are not unreasonable, and in almost every case the additional cost of the more efficient upgrade could be recovered in two seasons or less. Every year forward, those additional savings, and the decreased carbon output, mean more money in your pockets and less wasted energy.

Resources for Starting to be Being Green

The next question to answer is ?how in the world do I figure out where to start?? There is quite a bit of green washing out there. It seems that every magazine I read or junk mail flyer I get has something ?green? to say. In one respect I think that having the green movement become more mainstream is a benefit. The more people see it and hear about it, the more likely they will be to ask for it. In medicine, the mantra is ?see one, do one, teach one?.

We are definitely seeing green in more and more places. If you want a really nice example of a mainstream green building, the Devon Bank in Wheeling, Illinois is a LEED Gold certified building, with solar panels and a beautiful sculpture garden that has six wind mills as its focal point. I watched this building being built, and never knew it was a green project until last week! Also, if you live in the Chicago, the Chicago Center for Green Technology is a nice place to get a handle on what can be done. And the Museum of Science and Industry has an ongoing exhibit of a green home.

Now, its time to get more people doing green in their everyday lives. My tenet is that there is a shade of green for every project and every budget. Demonstration projects like the Green Technology Center, the MSI Green home, or my own River Hill Conservation Community Project purposefully push the envelope on implementing green building practices. The idea is to demonstrate as many types of green products and practices to showcase how individual pieces can be worked into any project.

When you are ready to tackle your next home project, consider using green products in the process. From a bathroom or a kitchen remodel, a simple paint job, or an addition, the opportunities to go green are immediately available and often not more expensive. You can search product catalogs on line like www.greenhome.com, or www.buildinggreen.com, and others, or go to The Home Depot and look for their EcoSpec line of products.

An Energy Audit Is a Strong Starting Point for Going Green

But for any major project, like discussed in Article 1, then you need a road map. Let?s face it, budgets are tight. If you are going to do a once-in-ten-years project, you want to do it right, and you should get the most bang for your buck. If you do not want to use a green consultant (like me) to help wade through the choices, the very least you should do is a home energy audit. This is very much like a home inspection, but focused on the mechanical systems, their efficiency ratings, the building envelope, windows, doors, and insulation. The audit will give you a very detailed picture of how well your home functions as a system.

It is the system approach that I alluded to in the first article. There are trade offs for everything, whether going green or not. Every sub-system in the home affects every other system in the home to some degree or another. One of the key pieces of information you get from a home energy audit is the amount of air exchange per hour you are getting. While fresh air coming into the home in some amounts is a good thing, air infiltration through window seals, door seals, outside wall electrical outlets or leaking air out through recessed lighting are all problems. The more air that is leaking in or out of the house, the harder the heating and cooling system have to work to control temperature and humidity.

So improvements in the building envelope through insulation, caulk, weather stripping, and duct sealing, will lead to increased efficiency in the heating and cooling systems. This may lead to better hot water delivery, since the pipes won?t be as cold, which leads to water savings since you won?t run the tap for 2 minutes waiting for that hot water to come. See??

A Sample Energy Audit

Here is a sample of a home energy audit. This one was prepared for a client by eZing, Inc (708-848-3066) and shows the type of information we get from it. After the 4 hour survey, the audit provides concrete, scientific information about how your home performs right now, and how you can improve its performance. The most valuable data it gives it an itemized action plan ? a list of to dos, their potential costs, the probable return on the investment, and the time it will take.

With this list you can then prioritize your project or projects. Don?t want to do windows this year? Ok, take care of the weather stripping, caulk, and insulation. Just did your water heater five years ago? Then tackle the 18 year old furnace. You will know exactly what to do and have a plan to do it that you can refer back to over and over again until the jobs are done.

I recommend this type of audit as part of a pre-purchase home inspection as well. There are a number of home inspectors who can add this service to a traditional inspection, and give you some real understanding of what you will be getting into, energy-wise, before you buy your next dream home. It?s a shame to buy that dream home, only to find out you can?t afford to live in it because it costs $500 a month to heat! To find an energy auditor go to www.resnet.us for a complete listing of certified auditors.

In the next article, I?ll go over some of the ways to finance these upgrades. From mortgages specifically geared to energy efficiency, to federal grants, state rebate programs, and tax incentives ? I?ll try to cover as many options as possible and provide valuable links to sources.

In the meantime, Go Green!

Going Green Series

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Earth Day

This is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day! Now more than ever we need to take a moment to think about what it means and why we have a day dedicated for it. Holidays and observances are saved for the truly significant and this is no exception.

Take part in Earth Day and think about incorporating a new daily habit into your lifestyle. It’s not hard – here are some ideas from Chicago Climate Action Plan that will put money back in your pocket!

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Being a member of The Sierra Club has shown me many ways to make simple changes.

Lastly, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE take 20 minutes to watch this very informative video by Annie Leonard, THE STORY OF STUFF. If this is the ONE THING you do as part of Earth Day, then you’ve done a great deal!!! Half of change is knowledge!

Simple Changes That Can Make a Difference (Click to Enlarge)

If you don’t have 20 minutes, then here’s a quick fact sheet from the video?and NO, it can’t be absorbed by osmosis!

What can you do to help? After all, we ALL play a part in our past, present and future!

Happy Earth Day!

* Based on overall area average heating and air conditioning use. Individual results will vary.
** Assumes vehicle drive 12,500 miles annually.
*** Assumes replacing a 150 W bulb for 8 hours every night for 365 days with a solar powered light.
**** Assumes baseline of average Chicago vehicle travel of 9,138.07 miles.

Before We Begin?

Trees offset fossil fuel consumption

This series is intended to provide a framework for understanding what being environmentally responsible means, how it can affect energy consumption, resource utilization, and what impact energy savings can have on our everyday lives. The information provided is not intended to be definitive or strictly scientific. I am not trained as a civil or mechanical engineer. I have referenced standard sources^1,2,3,4,5,6 and used calculations that are widely accepted in making estimates on costs, savings, and CO₂ emissions^7,8,9. The basic assumptions made in this series are that a majority of US homes were built before 1985, the average size home is 2000 square feet, and mechanical equipment, insulation, and windows, are either original or at least 10 years old. I used the average monthly cost for natural gas and electricity for Chicago in 2008 in any calculations requiring energy cost assumptions¹⁰. Every building has unique features, making broad generalizations about what any particular energy efficiency upgrade will cost difficult. However, my goal is that the reader can go to the sites referenced and reproduce the calculations I have made for their particular situation thus making an informed decision for themselves.

Financial or Environmental Motivation

As I introduced in my two previous articles, my main tenets are that there is a shade of green for every project and for every budget. This means that in a very real way, upgrading our buildings to more energy efficient structures will help lead to decreased dependence on finite natural resources, lead to economic recovery, and improve the comfort and quality of our indoor spaces.

My next four articles are designed to provide some real life examples and comparisons for readers to evaluate as they consider how they might incorporate green upgrades to projects that are planned, dreamed, or unexpected. I will begin with single-family residential properties, but the comparisons can be used for multi-family and small commercial buildings as well.

This article, the first in the series, will look at air conditioning, gas heating, the building envelope (primarily insulation), and hot water heaters. I have focused on forced air systems for heating and cooling, and gas hot water heaters. There are of course many different types of heating and cooling systems, but to address them all in this short article and series would be too much to tackle. The calculations and comparisons for gas and oil-fired boilers, electric hot water heaters, and room air conditioners are similar, and the principles of cost savings, energy savings, and CO₂ emission reductions are equally well demonstrated using any combination of systems. I have chosen forced air heating and cooling and gas hot water heating because it is what I happen to have in my home, not because it achieves any particular agenda.

In the United States in 2008, buildings consumed almost 40% of all energy produced, 70% of the electricity, and 14% of the potable water. They also produced 40% of the CO₂ emissions in that year.^11,12 In many articles you can find on the Internet, in publications, and in advertisements for energy efficient products, there are claims made of impressive energy savings for making certain energy efficient improvements to homes and buildings. 20% energy savings for buying a new furnace, or 20% savings for insulating your home, or 10% savings for installing a new water heater are claims I see frequently. What would it mean to our country if every building were actually able to reduce its energy use by that much? What about if the savings were more substantial? Is it worth trying to go green if we can reduce the energy consumption of buildings in the US by 25% or 30%? I think so. But is it realistic and affordable? Yes it is, and I?ll show you how.

Does High-Efficiency Air Conditioning Pay Off?

Let?s start with central air conditioning. The efficiency of an air condition is measured in a value called the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER). The higher the SEER efficiency rating, the more efficient the system is. Heat pumps have a slightly different rating scheme. I will focus on the standard split system air conditioning units. Most equipment that was installed more than 10 years ago has a rating of 10 or less. It is common to see a SEER of 9 in homes 20 or more years old with original equipment.  The other part of the energy equation is the tonnage, or how much cooling the unit can provide. Tonnage is really an expression of electricity consumed to create a certain level of cooling and is measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs). I used 3 tons as the common element for this example. A 3-ton unit is rated at 36,000 BTU/hr. This can get complicated and technical, so I made a table to show the results.

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A 13 SEER system is 31% more efficient than a 9 SEER system it might be replacing. Thirteen SEER is currently the minimum efficiency rating allowed by the Department of Energy. A 16 SEER system is another 15% more efficient, and a 21 SEER system is an additional 10% more efficient. That?s fine, but what you really want to know is how much will it cost you to run that system and at what point does the cost of the more efficient system outweigh the savings you might hope to get.

Assuming 125 days of cooling at 8 hours a day (as this makes the math easy)¹³ what you see is that the 13 SEER system saves almost $200 a season, a 16 SEER system saves you more than $225 a season, and a 21 SEER system saves $300 a season. A new 13 SEER system might cost $1035 for the unit alone, 16 SEER system $1378 for the unit alone, and a 21 SEER system $2100 for the unit alone. (I have left out the cost of labor and other parts that will probably be required as these would be required for any new system, regardless of its efficiency in the same installation.)

So in the end, a 16 SEER system is 44% more efficient, only 25% more expensive and saves around $225 a season in energy costs compared to the 9 SEER system it replaces. Basically, in the first season of use, the extra efficiency pays for itself and the homeowner has money every year after that to go to buy season passes for the entire family to their favorite amusement park.

For those keeping track of CO₂, the 13 SEER system would emit 6.23 tons of CO2 per year and would require the planting of 31 trees to offset that amount of emission. The original 9 SEER system emits 9 tons of CO2 requiring 45 trees, and the more efficient 16 SEER system emits only 5 tons of CO₂ and needs 25 trees to clean it up. The 21 SEER system is quire a bit better, emitting only 3.85 tons of CO₂ and needs only 14 trees to clean up that amount.

When looking at this, you have to balance what you can reasonably expect the consumer to pay and what they can reasonably expect to get in return. If a homeowner spends 25% more, can recover that cost in a year, saves 40% in energy and reduces CO₂ by 44%, that is a win for everyone.

Does High-Efficiency Heating Pay Off?

Now that we?ve got our feet wet with air conditioning, let?s take a similar look at furnaces. Again, I?ve made some assumptions and also limited myself to natural gas, forced air systems. There are oil and gas fired boilers, electric systems, and other modes of heating like stoves, fireplaces, and space heaters, but I will not cover those. For our 2,000 square foot house, we will be using an 80,000 BTU furnace as the controlling number for the energy and cost comparisons.

Furnaces are rated by their Annualized Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). This is a way of measuring how much of the heat created by burning the gas is transferred to heat in the home. It says that for every dollar?s worth of gas burned, the rated percentage is used to create heat while the rest is wasted out the vent stack. An 80% AFUE furnace converts 80 cents of every dollar worth of gas to heat in the home. A 95% AFUE furnace wastes only 5 cents worth. I?m simplifying this a bit (more than a bit) since not really all the gas burned is converted to heating and the rating is not the actual output of the unit. But it serves the purpose for here.

Once again, have a look at the table below and ignore all the technical stuff.

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I used 240 days of heating for 8 hours a day for the energy consumption calculation. Most older homes have an 80% AFUE furnace. The actual output is going to be determined by many more factors than just the gas burned: how clean the unit is, how well the ducts are sealed, and several other factors may make the older unit much less efficient than 80%. But for consistency, 80% will be the base figure.

The government says that a 90% AFUE is the minimum EnergyStar® compliant unit. You can purchase 80, 90, 92, 94, 95, and 96% AFUE units. Again, we want to know the tipping point in efficiency versus additional cost of a more efficient unit if you leave out all the labor and extra equipment that has to be purchased (blowers, humidifiers, and ducting).

An 80% AFUE unit uses 1090 Therms¹⁵ which will cost $1,384 to run for the season. A 90% AFUE furnace uses 780 Therms and costs $991 for the season and is 30% more efficient. A 95% AFUE furnace uses 739 Therms and costs $939 for the season and is 34% more efficient. (Comparison is to a new replacement 80% AFUE unit or a peak running older unit).

The base price of a new 80% AFUE is $678, a 90% AFUE unit is $919 (30% more expensive) and a 95% AFUE unit is $1,217 (80% more expensive). The time to recovery of the cost is quickly seen. It will take only half of the operating season to recover the additional cost of a 90% efficient system that saves a little over 30% in energy! Even the 95% efficient system pays for itself in a season and a half. Now the homeowner has saved enough money to go buy season hockey tickets for the family (minor league at least).

For the green converted, the CO₂ count is also pretty clear. The 80% AFUE unit generates 2.6 tons of CO₂, and the 95% AFUE unit creates only 1.8 tons of CO₂, a 31% reduction. That?s the equivalent of 13 trees needed versus 9 trees needed.

So the tipping point is at 90% AFUE. Everything after that is incremental. However, most of the tax rebates and incentives require you to buy a 94% AFUE unit or better to qualify (more on that in a later article in the series) but as you can see, the cost difference and the time to recover that cost is not that great. In 2 years, your additional cost for the most efficient unit you can purchase is recovered.

Do High-Efficiency Water Heaters Pay Off?

If I have not lost you yet, let?s take a look at water heaters. Using natural gas as our heat source (not ignoring electric or solar water heating, just not including them here) what can we do to improve efficiency and save money?

Water heaters are rated on a measurement called the Efficiency Factor (EF). This reflects the overall efficiency of the unit taking into account the heat recovery efficiency (energy captured by the unit to heat the water), the stand-by loss (how much energy is lost due to the water standing around), and the cycling loss (the loss of heat as the water circulates through a water heater tank, and/or inlet and outlet pipes). There are other measurements for water heaters but they are not applicable now. The size of the water heater and its BTU are accounted for in the EF, so they do not need to be accounted for in this demonstration.

Most older water heaters have an EF of 0.57 or even less. The most efficient new tanked water heaters are up to 0.68, and a tankless water heater can have a rating of 0.84 EF.¹⁶ Looking at the table below and ignoring all the technical stuff that is boring, lets look at 3 examples:

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Assuming an EF of 0.57, you would use 262 Therms and spend $297 to heat your water for a year. An EF of 0.67 uses 233 Therms and costs $264. A tankless 0.84 EF water heater uses only 177 Therms and costs $201 for the year. The 0.67 EF unit is 22% more efficient and the tankelss unit is 33% more efficient. An EnergyStar® compliant water heater is at least an EF of 0.66 until 2010.

The cost of a new water heater might run $418 for a 0.57 model, $528 for a 0.67 model, and $900 for a tankless 0.84 model. Once again there is a tipping point. Its only $100 more expensive to get the more efficient tanked water heater, but since the overall savings rate is lower by comparison, it will take 3 years to recover the cost difference. But look at the tankless unit. It is twice as expensive, but 33% more efficient. The time to recovery is only 4 years. Here the choice is harder to make and might have more to do with individual economics than anything else.

The CO₂ count is not that helpful in this case either since the numbers are not as big. The 0.57 EF unit generates 0.42 tons of CO₂ and the tankless 0.84 unit 0.29 tons of CO². It takes 2.14 trees to absorb the CO₂ from the base unit and 1.45 trees for the most efficient unit. Still and all, the savings in CO₂ are there and not immeasurable. For those trying to be as energy conscious as possible, clearly the tankless is the way to go, as long as cost is not a limiting factor.

Does Insulation Pay Off?

The last part of the energy equation I want to look at is insulation. This really is much harder to quantify. Insulation of any type is really all about air sealing. Keeping outside air out and inside air in, and controlling the amount of the exchange of the two air volumes as much as possible. The more the house leaks, the more energy is wasted. So insulation is really about the integrity of the home and how well it is sealed.

A house with many leaks. (Click to enlarge)

Homes can leak energy in all kinds of places. Wall outlets, recessed lighting, outdoor spigots, window frames, door frames, window seals, door seals, attic openings, crawl spaces and basements, and floor/wall junctions are all part of the building envelope that need to be addressed when looking at decreasing the amount of energy that is leaking from a home.

Since every home is different, the only way to figure some of this out is have the home inspected by a licensed energy rater. They can bring specialized equipment to the house and measure how badly it is leaking, from where, and provide an action plan to fix them.¹⁷

I?d like to make a couple of assumptions. First if you have an old home that has single pane windows, you should simply replace them. Whatever the cost is, replacing the windows with Low E glass, double or tripled paned windows will save so much money compared to the initial cost that it should be done if the budget allows.

Second, most older homes, those built in the 1950s, and some built in the 1975 ? 1985 boom are under insulated or not insulated at all. Attics and basements or crawl spaces are places that can be pretty easily attended to and upgraded with proper insulation. Exterior walls are much harder and will require either removing some of the siding, drilling holes in the mortar of brick homes, or doing extensive indoor work. Unless a major renovation is in your budget, wall insulation won?t be cost effective.

A well insulated house (Click to enlarge)

The Department of energy says that you can save 20% on overall energy costs related to heating and cooling by making sure that the home is properly insulated and sealed.¹⁸ For our region, the recommended insulation for an attic space is R-49 (R value is the amount of insulation needed to achieve a certain level of thermal resistance.) and the recommended level for basements is R-19. Exterior walls are recommended to be R-21.

What might it cost to insulate the attic and basement of our sample home? Assuming R-30 exists in the attic, adding 8 inches of insulation to achieve R-49 for fiberglass would cost roughly $931. To do the basement, which is likely to be uninsulated currently and taking it to R-19, it might cost $600. (For this purpose I contacted a few contractors and asked them to give me installed prices for this project). So for a total investment of $1500, you can reasonably expect to reduce your energy usage by up to 14% and save 12% overall on you energy costs. But you might expect to see a 20% reduction in heating and cooling related costs. For example, our home with the 9 SEER air conditioner and 80% AFUE furnace, this would save $380 for a full year of heating and cooling and reduce the CO₂ emissions by 2.32 tons. So you can see, insulating and air sealing the home can save quite a bit of money right away, and the payback on that $1500 is only 3 years ? faster if you apply for federal credits and local incentives.¹⁹

Other Energy and Money Saving Options

There are more ways to save money and energy and for it to be cost effective. Every appliance in the house has an expected lifespan. At some point it needs to be replaced. Choosing EnergyStar® compliant equipment will guarantee that you are getting a unit that has been certified to meet the minimum federal standards for energy efficiency. The payback on any of these items will be within the lifespan of the unit. Choosing models that exceed the minimum standards is also possible, and desirable, but you have to do the energy/costs analysis to see at what point the return on your investment is outweighed by the absolute cost of the equipment.²⁰

All Systems Impact Each Other

In all the discussion about cost and energy and CO₂, what is probably lost is the fact that you can?t look at each individual system in isolation. Changes and improvements in one of the home?s systems will affect the others in some way. Creating a tighter building envelope will reduce the demand for heating and cooling and thus decrease the size of the equipment required ? additional savings. However, a tighter home might have moisture and odor control issues and will need better fresh air ventilation via a mechanical air exchanger. Programmable thermostats can help reduce energy costs by adjusting the temperature of the house based on the time of day and how many people are home. Indoor air quality can be improved in a tighter home, so better air filters might be needed. This reduces air particles and can decrease asthma or other respiratory illness (more in a later article). All of these items will add to the cost of the upgrade, but since the payback time is so short on the basic unit, it?s a cost that can be recovered in a 3 year time frame.

A more efficient water heater might mean that you can set the temperature of the hot water lower. You might also be able to use hot water for other purposes in the home, or recapture drained warm water to help preheat water going into the hot water heater, making it more efficient. (The waste water is not mixed with fresh water, just the warmth from that water is exchanged).

Does Going Green Pay Off?

If you made it this far, I thank you for taking the time to work through what amounts to a very complicated assessment of the nuts and bolts of going green in your home. The original question that I posed in the beginning was whether it is worth doing energy efficient upgrades at all, and if you do them, can you achieve the savings that are bandied about. While the savings are not strictly additive, you can see that under each system we looked at, there are considerable savings to be had by going green. Saving real dollars in hard times is no joke. Depending on the installation, and depending on the starting point of the building, the overall savings might be substantially more than the 20% or so I?ve shown using a 25 year old home.

In addition to saving money, I think I?ve shown that the energy savings for these upgrades is pretty substantial. Now multiply the energy savings a few million times over and you can see that the total energy consumption can drop pretty dramatically by incorporating modest individual improvements. The homeowner saves money, and our country begins to move toward a more efficient energy model. Instead of 40% energy consumption, maybe we get down to 30% energy consumption for buildings. That would amount to literally billions in savings annually.

The Benefits of Going Green Are Real

I hope that this article has given you some understanding and rationale for undertaking energy efficient upgrades to your existing homes, provided you did not fall asleep getting to the end. I?m not advocating going out to replace equipment that is in good working order. But if you need to replace your equipment due to malfunction or disrepair or are planning on replacing it as part of a home renovation project, there is no reason why every home can?t be upgraded to the most efficient units available. The upfront costs are real, but the pay back on that cost is pretty short. If you plan to stay in your home for at least 4 years, every single upgrade will pay for itself in that time, most of them in a year or less. And the benefits to the environment are everlasting. I have provided a few documents to look at and several links to websites and organizations that can provide immense amounts of information on this portion of our look at going green. The next article will look at the home as a system and I?ll try to explain more about additive effects of making changes to your homes.

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Additional Helpful Green Links

• http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table
• http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_sealin
• http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_methodology
• http://rehabadvisor.pathnet.org/index.asp#
• http://www.whitefenceindex.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
• http://www.energy.gov/waterheating.htm
• http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/water_heating.html
• http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/water_heating/index.cfm/mytopic=13010
• http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-calculator.htm
• http://hes.lbl.gov/

References

1. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_methodology
2. http://www.ashrae.org/publications/
3. http://windows.lbl.gov/software/resfen/FAQ/31_FAQ.htm
4. http://www.eere.energy.gov/
5. http://www.gamanet.org/
6. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/water_heating.html
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
8. http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-calculator.htm
9. http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/bulk_purchasing/bpsavings_calc/Calc_Furnaces.xls
10. Natural Gas: $1.27/Therm ($0.0127/cubic foot); Electricity: $0.13/kWh
11. Environmental Information Administration (2008). Annual Energy Outlook 2008 (from USGBC)
12. United States Geological Survey (2000)(from USGBC).
13. http://www.inspect-ny.com/aircond/aircond04.htm
14. http://www.carbonify.com/carbon-calculator.htm
15. 1 Therm = 100,000 BTU/h = 100 cubic feet of natural gas
16. Tankless water heaters heat water instantaneously when needed and do not have a storage unit. They can be electric or gas and be whole-home or point source. For this article, I?m only including whole-home gas fired units.
17. http://www.energysavers.gov/seasonal/energy_audits.html
18. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_methodology
19. www.dsireusa.org
20. www.cee1.org has a list of products that exceed energy star certification standards.

We would like to thank joiseyshowaa for today’s beautiful picture of two trees. Thank you for sharing them via the Creative Commons License.

There Are Many Shades of Green

What is Green, exactly? It?s one of those terms that has a connotation, but eludes strict definition because it means something different depending on its context and depending on the goals and motivations of the person using the word. It is not unlike other terms that have a strong connotation but inexact definitions.  Words like, style and cool come to mind.

I?ve been invited by The Chicago 77 to write a series of articles to try to help provide a broader understanding of what it means to be ?green? and how individuals can adopt key principles and practices into their personal and professional lives that can push the green agenda further into the mainstream.  At the end of the series, I am hopeful that readers will be able to identify ways to become more environmentally responsible and realize that going green does not need to be exotic, expensive, or difficult.  Simple changes can have a big impact, especially when the changes are multiplied a thousand or a million times over.

Some Goals of the Green Real Estate Series

Over the next several weeks I will write individual articles focused on ways to go green in the residential and commercial real estate industry from as many perspectives as possible?whether you are an owner, contractor, builder, architect, engineer, broker, or agent, I?m hopeful you will find something useful to implement personally or suggest to a client. The overall goal is to provide readers with some concrete information that you can evaluate for yourself and determine if individual principles, practices, materials, techniques, and technologies are applicable to you, your project, or your client base.

I believe that there is a shade of green for every project and every budget.  The question to be answered by most people is how committed can you be and how far do you want to take it? There are extremes in every pursuit.  But adopting and implementing environmentally preferred practices will have the greatest effect when they reach the broadest market.  Some might find this philosophy too short sighted.  But I believe we will only be able to achieve a sustainable level of acceptance by reaching the broadest audience possible. Small steps first. The rest will come.

How Did I Learn All This Green Stuff?

One of the first questions I get is ?How did you learn all this?? It has been a long road.  To start with, I am a full time, practicing emergency medicine physician.  I became interested in environmentally preferred practices over four years ago when a planned subdivision in my neighborhood lead me to help the City of Waukegan create a master plan for over 1200 acres of land adjacent to the Lake County Forest Preserve.  That plan and the eighteen months of effort lead to a land purchase.  That purchase lead to creating the River Hill Conservation Community, a new conservation community that has at its heart the goal of preserving precious open spaces, restoring natural habitats, and building a benchmark green community that embraces and showcases the best in green materials, products, building practices, and applied technologies. The project?s expressed mission is to demonstrate that advanced building practices that create healthy, efficient, and durable homes can be practically achieved at a reasonable cost to both the builder and the consumer.

This has lead to a far ranging self – education in building science, materials, and renewable energy products as well as available ways to finance these projects when needed.  I am working toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Accredited Professional certification, which I feel will finally provide me with an objective measure of my expertise.  I do no profess to be the final expert in all of these fields and make no promises that everything I write about will be undisputed.  I do promise to be objective and to provide as much verifiable information from reliable sources as I am able so that you can make an informed decision about how you want to implement green practices in your life.

I?ve provided an outline of the article series below.  I certainly welcome any comments or questions, and would take suggestions from the readers on specific topics to cover.   I intend to provide some detail and some perspective on issues relating to the environment, energy efficiency, and the economics of going green.  Expect the series to start next week.  I look forward to helping all of you become Green from the ground up?.

A Guide to The Green Series

Article series (in no particular order of importance and I reserve the right to change to order and topics at my discretion based on feedback from the readers).

1. Why go Green? Financial motivation or environmental motivation:  A detailed look at the nuts and bolts of major and minor energy efficiency upgrades for homes.  I’ll look at examples of costs, time to recover investment, and the effect specific changes can have on your carbon footprint.
2. Importance of comprehensive approach to energy efficiency upgrades. A look at the home energy audit and the roadmap it creates for homeowners for 1, 2, 5, and 10 year project horizons.
3. Making green affordable Financial incentives to help owners go green.  A look at federal, state, and local tax credits and incentives and grant programs, as well as utility sponsored rebates programs. A breakdown of advantages of adding renewable energy to homes.
4. A Green home as a healthy home Indoor air quality, moisture control, air tightness, temperature comfort, airborn allergens and the effect that they can have on airway irritation (for example, asthma). (For this one, it helps to be a doctor.)
5. The Green advantage in the marketplace Increased resale value, increased market visibility, truth in advertising — third party certifications and the national green standard.
6. Putting it all together New construction, major and minor renovations, and affordable housing.
7. Going Green?builder’s and developer’s perspective
8. Going Green, not just for residential real estate A look at commercial, industrial, and governmental opportunities for greening America.
9. Going Green from the ground up? How to include landscape, hardscapes, and open space management in your green updates.  Water conservation, rain harvesting and storage, gray water recycling, zone tolerant plantings, the urban vegetable garden, and organic yard maintenance.
10. Going green in decorating materials selections, cabinets, counters, flooring, paints, lighting, plumbing fixtures, and more.

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Links to Green Sites

Here are a few web sites to give you a taste of what is already out there.  I?m not the only one trying to broaden the scope and appeal of going green.  I hope to be the best one, though.  Take a look at these mainstream sites:

treehugger.com
greenforall.org
energystar.gov
planetgreen.com
hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/203k/203kabou.cfm

I hope to offer each reader something unique and something tangible.  In the end, we all will benefit from being a little green.

Today’s photo was generously shared by Paul Wicks through the Creative Commons License. Thank you so much.

A Green Roof in Downtown Chicago

Hope. That is all we really have right now. With the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) in February, President Obama has provided a significant measure of hope that while the economy may continue its decline in the near term, there is help on the way.

E³ For America

My tenet is to focus on an integrated approach to American recovery. If we focus on Economy, Energy Efficiency, and Environmental Responsibility (E³) and work on all three simultaneously we can achieve the recovery we all hope for. The ARRA has numerous measures to try to bring about this recovery, but it will take all of us working together to bring about this change. It will take a commitment to new approaches to old problems and a commitment to new practices to bring about this change.

Green Opportunities in Real Estate

In the real estate and building industry we have an enormous opportunity to put people to work in various trades and manufacturing industries. The new federal tax incentives, current rebate programs, and local subsidies for energy upgrades to homes is an opportunity to help America achieve a measure of energy independence and help the American recovery.

Any home with windows, mechanical equipment, or insulation that is 15 – 20 years old would be a candidate for an energy efficiency update. By taking advantage of the rebates and incentives, these upgrades become more affordable for more people. There are loan programs geared specifically for home improvements and energy efficiencies to help make these upgrades more accessible financially for people across the economic spectrum.

If we encourage home owners to update their homes, we improve the retail industry, the building industry, and the manufacturing industry. We will also achieve an enormous energy savings by reducing the demand for electricity and natural gas for cooling and heating. Homes that undergo energy upgrades are up to 50% more efficient, have better indoor air quality, and are more comfortable.

The money individuals save in utility costs can be put right back into the economy for other discretionary spending. The energy saved goes to reducing our demand for foreign supplied natural resources and improves our national security.

Many Green Options for Homes, And Many Options Are Now Subsidized by the ARRA

Take updates a step further and include solar power, solar thermal, geothermal, wind, or fuel cell technologies and the achievements can be even higher. And now, under the ARRA, all these technologies are included in the 30% tax credit for installation of renewable technologies for residential and commercial projects. Before, only solar photovoltaic projects qualified for the uncapped 30% credit.

For new construction, of which I know there is little at the moment, we should be encouraging all builders to adopt green building practices. Not because it might make them more money, but because smarter, greener homes that are designed and built Green from the Ground Up? have more opportunities to achieve greater efficiencies for the same dollars invested in a retrofit. There is a shade of green that is right for every budget and every project. A green home is healthy home. For lower income families, those that live in public housing or affordable housing, green conversions and green construction leads to healthier families. The improved air quality due to better ventilation, better air filtration, and improved insulation leads to less asthma and other respiratory illnesses, fewer hospital visits, and less exposure to other toxic materials like lead and asbestos which still plague many older homes and apartments.

Green Movement Helps the Environment

Another benefit to this green movement is to decrease the pressure on the environment. Less energy consumed, smarter products used in construction with more recycled content and fewer toxic compounds, less energy used in heating and cooling, more water conservation through water recycling, rain harvesting, and smart land use all lead to a cleaner environment for everyone to enjoy.

E³

By encouraging the housing industry to adopt better practices and encouraging our clients to “go green” we all can play a role in the American Recovery and Revitalization.