Issue12 Volume 4

December 2006

National Builders Challenge h

One of the great barriers to progress toward net zero energy homes is creating "critical mass" of builders and other stakeholders willing to build and promote super efficient homes to the general public. While interest exists in moving to a much higher level of efficiency in home building, no single entity has assumed the role of playing the critical role of convening the necessary stakeholders, ensuring development of a consistent, yet regionally-specific set of technical and marketing approaches for building super efficient homes, and working with these stakeholders to ensure that all efficiency investments are productive and mutually reinforcing.

Through the National Builders Challenge, DOE will help serve these critical roles. The initiative will:

• Establish a national label designed to allow consumers to quickly and intuitively identify homes that progressively approach zero net energy use.'
 
• Create a comprehensive set of public and private sector partners-including builders, utilities, energy efficiency program sponsors and manufacturers --dedicated to making the Challenge relevant and committed applying their financial, technical and marketing resources to achieving Builders Challenge goals.
 
• Develop technical and marketing tools that will serve as the basis for consistent national implementation and promotion of technically sound building practices.

• Design and deploy promotional campaigns to increase public awareness of the potential for and benefits of super-efficient homes.

• Create a presidential or cabinet level award to recognize companies with exemplary building practices that lead to creation of super efficient homes.

Savings: The National Builders Challenge target will be construction of 100,000 homes by 2009. Cumulatively these homes will save 0.34 quad and $3.3 billion by 2015.

Opportunity: Properly designed new homes can achieve efficiencies of 30 percent better than code at little or no net cost to the builder. Achieving these efficiencies however, requires sophisticated use of design and installation techniques and optimization of heating and cooling equipment that goes well beyond standard industry practice. While the current housing downturn
poses many challenges to the homebuilding industry, it also provides opportunities for builders to differentiate themselves by incorporating efficient designs and technologies. Particularly where these gains can be made for little cost, there is an opportunity to provide a win-win solution for DOE and the building industry.

In addition, many utilities and energy efficiency program sponsors are increasingly looking at super-efficient homes to serve as the threshold rate for their financial incentives programs.

DOE's roles:
• Technical and marketing tool design

• Working with partners to design and deploy consumer based promotional campaigns

• Recruitment of national builders

• Working with local and state partners to institutionalize these practices through better code development, training and development of building professionals and the development of rules that will remove barriers to efficient buildings.

National recognition elements: DOE can increase the visibility and public awareness of this important initiative through a high-level award program, modeled loosely on the prestigious Baldridge Award given by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). According to Baldridge Award documents, the award "recognizes U.S. companies for their achievements in quality and business performance and to raise awareness about the importance of quality and performance excellence as a competitive edge." According to the private Council on Competitiveness: "more than any other program, the Baldridge Quality Award is responsible for making quality a national priority and disseminating best practices across the United States."

It is widely believed that achieving greater penetration for efficiency into standard practices for businesses and homeowners is less about the development of new technologies and more about changing the operating practices and mindset of consumers and businesses and institutionalizing
these best practices. Thus, like the Baldridge Award, the TVMI team recommends that DOE consider a very high level award (l.e., presented by the Secretary) given to a select few organizations that have truly made efficiency and the adoption of advanced technologies a centerpiece of their business operations. Like the Baldridge Award, this recognition must move
beyond simply awarding the recipient a plaque and a photo opportunity with a government official, but become a vehicle for teaching other organizations how understand and appreciate the benefits of adopting efficiency as a core business practice and the institutional transformations required to make that leap. Reprinted from the DOE website

¹ Homes that achieve a HERS score of 70 (30 percent better than code) or better will be eligible for a Victory Home designation.

 
Builders May Have Seen the Worst of Current Downturn

Although the current housing slowdown is expected to persist into the middle of next year, on a national basis builders may have seen the worst of the downturn, according to economists, a view substantiated last week by reports of new and existing home sales stabilizing in October.

“Although residential construction continues to sag, some indications suggest that the rate of home purchase may be stabilizing, perhaps in response to modest declines in mortgage interest rates over the past few months and lower prices in some markets,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in a Nov. 28 speech before the National Italian American Foundation.

Bernanke also cited the University of Michigan's recent survey of consumers that showed an increase in the share of respondents who believe that now is a good time to buy a home, from 56% in September to 67% in November, and noted that the index of mortgage applications for home purchases has been trending up since July.

“Although these developments are encouraging, we should keep in mind that even if demand stabilizes in its current range, reducing the inventory of unsold homes to more normal levels will likely involve further adjustments in production,” he added.
                                         Reprinted from the Nation’s Building News From www.nhba.org

History and Basic Operation of the Air Conditioning System
by Derrence Freeman, GWS City Manager, Dallas / Fort Worth

Willis Haviland Carrier was known as the Father of Cool for his contributions to the mechanical engineering world. He graduated from Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering in 1901 and worked for $10.00 a week at the Buffalo Forge Company. In 1902 the first air conditioning was introduced in a Brooklyn printing plant. The combination of temperature and humidity inside of this plant would alter the dimensions of the printing paper. His invention stabilized the air inside of this plant and opened up doors to control air in other habitats. He patented the ‘Apparatus for Treating Air’ in 1906 and this was the beginning of many inventions he would get patent.

Stuart Cramer also patented the name ‘Air Conditioning’ in 1906. He combined moisture and ventilation to condition his southern textile mill. In 1911 Carrier disclosed his basic Rational Psychrometric Formulae to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. A Psychrometric chart is a graph of the physical properties of moist air at a constant pressure or often equated to an elevation relative to sea- level. His formula is still used today by the air conditioning industry. With the advanced development of air conditioning the quality of products improved significantly. By 1915 Willis and six other engineers started the Carrier Engineering Corporation to further their quest to develop the air conditioning system to new heights. The success with controlling temperature, humidity, and dew point lead to him patenting the centrifugal refrigeration machine to condition large spaces. His centrifugal machine was safer and more efficient than the previous refrigeration machine. Cooling for human comfort began in 1924, Carrier installed 3 centrifugal machines inside of the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit, Michigan. The success spread to theaters and in 1928 the first ‘Weather maker’ for private home use from Carrier was introduced. Thanks, to pioneers like Carrier and Cramer we enjoy comfort with little health risk inside of our buildings and homes.
 

There are five essential parts and accessories to the operation of the air conditioning process. We have the compressor, refrigerant, condensor, expansion valve and evaporator core, and the receiver/dryer. The compressor pumps the refrigerant through the system. It is operated by a belt and clutch that disengages when the system is turned off. The refrigerant extracts heat from inside of the home and pumps it out into the atmosphere. The refrigerant travels to the condensor where the heat is extracted from it and it turns the gas back into a liquid. The expansion valve meters the refrigerant flow and changes it from liquid to gas based on the heat loads it senses coming from the evaporator. The evaporator core removes heat from inside of the home when the blower fan blows warm air across the evaporator coil. Dehumidification also takes place at this stage. The receiver/dryer traps small particles and removes any moisture left in the system and the process starts all over again at the compressor.

Call GWS for your builder training and Power Point presentation.
     Oklahoma- 1-888-488-0206
     North Texas- 1-214-876-4417 (Chris Jones)
     Central & South Texas- 1-281-808-4512 (Samantha Pearson)

International Builders Show
Orlando, Florida, February 7-9, 2007

This show is for Single-Family Home Builders, Multifamily Builders/Developers, Dealers & Distributors, Commercial Builders, Remodelers, Architects, Engineers, Realtors, Subcontractors, Land Developers and Construction Industry Professionals.

For more information please visit: buildersshow.com/Home/default.aspx

RESNET 2007 Conference:
“Taking It to the Next Level”
San Diego, California,  February 19-21, 2007

The RESNET Building Performance Conference is the only national conference for the home energy rating industry. It presents the best opportunity for all members of the building performance industry to network and gain first-hand exposure to the latest business practices, technologies, products and policy initiatives. Join your peers for this annual update on important business and technical trends.

For more information please visit: resnet.us/conference