Queen City Builds Green

By Abe Kruger
May 8, 2008

To illustrate what exactly a green home is, compare two examples. Both are new construction, but one was built using standard construction techniques. This home has high energy bills, rooms that are either too hot or too cold, a musty smell emanating from the vented crawlspace and the homeowners are constantly dusting. The second home’s utility bills are 15-20% less, the rooms stay at desired temperature longer and the home’s air is free of mold and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). That second home is a green home.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s define green building. A green building is an environmentally sustainable building,designed, constructed and operated to minimize the total impacts on the environment. Despite common stereotypes, a green home does not necessarily look any different from standard construction. This is because the elements that make a home green cannot always be seen by the naked eye, such as an air-tight building envelope or leaky ducts. This is one of the main reasons why third party verification, certification and testing are so important. In North Carolina we have many options for green building certification programs such as NC HealthyBuiltHomes, EarthCraft House,LEED for Homes and the National Association of HomeBuilders Green Building Program. In the coming weeks we’ll explore the various programs available for new and existing homes.

The foundation of all green buildings is energy efficiency and moisture management. American buildings (both residential and commercial) account for nearly 40% of total energy use, 68% of all electricity use and 38% of carbon dioxide emissions. There are many ways to make a home more energy efficient. Conveniently, two of the cheapest improvements to a home’s performance are also the most effective. The starting point is always sealing the ductwork and tightening the building envelope to keep conditioned air in and outside air out. From here you can add more efficient insulation, windows,water heating and HVAC equipment. Once a home’s energy use is decreased as much as possible, then solar photovoltaic might be considered.

An added benefit of saving energy is saving water. To produce 1 kWh of electricity an average of 2 gallons of water are used nationally. In North Carolina we use .55 gallons of water on average. Thus, one of the best things we can do during droughts is to conserve energy. Buildings also account for 12% of total water use and 60% of all nonindustrial waste.

To demonstrate energy efficiency, a home may be certified as Energy Star. Energy Star is a national program run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Energy Star is not a green building program because it solely looks at energy efficiency; however, most green building programs require Energy Star to meet their energy efficiency requirements.

A green home must be energy efficient,but it also has to deal with moisture. A home that needs to be rebuilt within a year or two because of rot and mold damage is not green. Green homes, therefore, emphasize controlling bulk water through proper flashing and foundation waterproofing and drainage. Likewise, green homes are constructed with sustainable materials,use less water and generate less waste.

Many associate “green” with hippies trying to limit our lifestyle choices and sacrificing the quality of life we choose. In fact, this is not true. There is nothing about green building that requires you to be a Treehugger. Yes,green building is good for the environment,but it is also good for your bottom line,your health and the longevity of the home –invested interests of everyone. Green is about living better while decreasing the negative environmental impact. This is not the 1970s and Jimmy is not in office. Today, energy efficiency does not require a cardigan!

Green building advocates are a strong and diverse lot. People are finding green building because they feel a calling to be good stewards of nature and others because their child has asthma and requires a home free of pollutants. Republicans for the Environment and creation care; evangelical Christians are just as likely to support green building as Green Peace members.

So why are healthy, durable, and affordable buildings something everyone can be excited about? Americans spend over 90% of our time in buildings between the home and the workplace. The EPA states that indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times higher, and occasionally more than 100 times higher, than outdoor levels. These pollutants may include carbon monoxide, radon, dust,mold, secondhand smoke, VOCs, excessive moisture and pollen. There is a constant give and take between humans and buildings. In many ways we affect buildings as much as they affect us. While we control the design and aesthetics, buildings shape our mood,health and pocket book. Buildings are the modern day human “habitat.”

Green building is a growing industry that offers a wide range of benefits. Today it accounts for a small, but rising percentage of new construction. The southeast was once called the “infertile belt” of green building, but today most agree that Charlotte is quickly becoming one of the markets to watch. To date around 800 Energy Star certified homes have been built in Charlotte and over 7,000 for the state. A significantly less, but growing number of homes have been certified green. Commercially, the ImaginOn and numerous Bank of America buildings have been certified LEED. Whenever possible I will showcase local builders and developers building Energy Star or green homes.

I will freely admit a partial bias at times and there will be the occasional shameless self-promotional plug (like now!). My journey into green building began in 2000 and has brought me to Sealing Agents to help develop our high performance construction services. Sealing Agents provides many high performance construction services such as turnkey waterproofing, material spreading,sealed crawl space, spray foam insulation and Energy Star and green building inspections. However, based on solid building science for Southeast construction, all of these services improve the energy efficiency and performance of a home.

Abe Kruger is the Building Performance Product Group Manager at Sealing Agents. He sits on the Residential Energy Services Network(RESNET) national Technical Committee and is a certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS)Trainer and Rater.

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