www.energystarhomesamerica.com

Issue 3, Volume 2

March 25, 2004

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I have seen the future of homebuilding!
by Kelly Parker, P.E.

I am returning from the road from several of the latest homebuilding conferences and thought I would reflect on the teachings of the many scholarly, experienced professionals in the field of homebuilding and program development.

The first of the conferences I attended was the RESNET (Residential Energy Network, Raters, Lenders, Building Scientists) conference in San Diego. This conference was invaluable in learning the latest in what is happening with the potential Energy Legislation Act of 2004.  This legislation, as we have reported in previous newsletters, will give a builder up to $2000 for building a home a certain percentage above code.  What has been lacking is the rating industry’s alignment with the new International Residential Codes, however this is changing rapidly.  In 2005, the rating industry’s guidelines will be aligned with the new codes. This will make it much simpler and easier for a home energy rater to define and inspect for issues dealing with the International Energy Efficiency Code (IECC), which is a component of the International Residential Code.  The caveat to this is, it is unknown at this point what the impact of the codes are to the guidelines in how a home will actually score with the new changes to the home energy rating standards.  2005 will be an interesting year!!!

Also discussed at the RESENT conference was the European Union.  Europe is now interested in having homes rated and carbon emissions quantified.  Since the RESNET standards are being finalized, the European Union is very interested in how Americans rate their homes and they are looking to possibly adopt these standards on a world scale.

What does this mean for the local homebuilder? It means a focused effort on energy and the environment from a homebuilding perspective with a centralized rating system.  The researchers and scientists can now have strategic input and involvement in the new standards in the ways in which a home is rated or components are addressed.  In the past, such components as radiant barriers, which are given very little credit in the rating will be re-evaluated.  Now with a focused attention, new methods to measure the environmental effects might now be addressed and additional credits could be attributed to the rating.

The effect of the European Union’s focus on carbon emissions could be the predominant issue. Austin Energy just recently completed the first carbon emission trading where they collectively aggregated several hundred houses and traded the carbon emissions credit to a London utility.  There will be more of this trading in the future, thereby creating a whole new incentive base for building an energy efficient/reduced carbon emissions home. This should be exciting news for a homebuilder as now the rebates and incentives could be directly attributable to environmental impacts and the builder and the homeowner rather than some program for a utility company.

The NAHB Green Building Conference held in Austin, Texas was very enlightening. Professionals from all areas of the country conversed and discussed the latest in homebuilding.  Discussions in the hallways and the exhibition booths included numerous environmental programs around the country, which are integrating Green Building techniques and Green Building products into the homebuilding process. What we are seeing is the future of homebuilding.  No longer will it be focused solely on energy, but energy will be one component of a multi-faceted environmental concern. Carbon emissions, energy, site construction, building materials, impact on the environment, health – all of these will be quantifiable. Various programs are being proposed and scoring methods are being discussed, but the impact to a builder is going to be dramatic in the near future – less than ten years – we will be seeing zero energy houses as more mainstream. We will be seeing a home built with a photovoltaic array which inputs back into the home up to 50% of its total utility bill or a discovery house, a house which is built to discover new techniques and new building elements which address the consumer’s increased awareness of the environmental impacts. The local homebuilder will now be faced with a myriad of choices for construction materials and the successful builders in the next ten years will be the ones that grasp this whole building/environmental concept and take it to market.  Select builders around the country are on the leading edge, “not bleeding edge”, and are experiencing increased sales, awareness and consumer satisfaction with unparalleled results.

So what does this mean to you as a local homebuilder?  Begin looking at the new technologies and putting them together into a marketable program that will set you apart from the competition.  This could be an existing environmental green building program or it could be a program that is being considered by your local HBA.  Get involved! Build a Discovery House! Have homeowners give input!  Evaluate! Re-access and rebuild! This is going to be the future of homebuilding. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Guaranteed Watt Saver at 1-888-488-0206.

If I install Energy Star rated windows in my home, is my home certified?
by Jerry Fenchel, National Accounts Director

We are often asked this question and the answer is always the same.  No, unless your home (which is considered a product, just like a window is a product), has met the criteria of the Energy Star program for Homes.

The EPA Energy Star program covers approximately 40 different products that meet a certain EPA standard for energy efficiency.  The list includes, lighting, appliances, heating and cooling equipment, home electronics, office equipment and yes, windows.

In new home construction, a builder can use EPA  Energy Star rated windows, ceiling fans, lighting, appliances, and many other Energy Star products, and still not qualify the home for an Energy Star rating.  However, wouldn’t it be a great marketing idea for a builder to sell that not only are their homes meeting the Energy Star requirements, but so do the products and appliances used in their homes? Hmmm…

Under the EPA guidelines, for the home to be rated as Energy Star, the home must pass the software analysis with a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of 86 (Texas requires a HERS score of 86 and 15% above IECC 2001) and be performance tested.  Or the home must meet the prescriptive method called a Builder Option Package (BOP) and be performance tested.

Credit is given in the analysis for products that affect heating, cooling and water heating as this is the criteria measured for energy efficiency in the Energy Star for Homes Program.

Though the two primary measurements of a window’s efficiency, the U-Factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) are factors that determine the efficiency of the home, the window selected may not be an Energy Star rated window and the home can still meet the program requirements.

To learn more about Energy Star rated products and the Energy Star for Homes program, please visit the EPA website.

Inspector’s Corner
Why are my windows wet? Moisture in homes
by Kenneth Lackey, City Supervisor - Dallas/Fort Worth

A house is much more than four walls and a roof. It’s an interactive system made up of many components, structure, ventilation, and filtration. Each one influences the performance of the entire system.  In this article we will address moisture movement and dew-point temperatures.

1. Moisture levels in a home depend on a variety of different factors such as lifestyle (showering and cooking), number of occupants, leaks and ground/atmospheric moisture. Moisture wants to move from areas of high vapor pressure to areas of low vapor pressure. Vapor pressure is the pressure exerted by water molecules in a mixture of air. When a home is being heated, moisture wants to move outside, and when it is being air-conditioned, moisture wants to move inside.
   
   The most common way we discuss moisture in homes is relative humidity (RH) levels. RH is a percentage that indicates the amount of moisture in the air relative to the maximum amount the air can hold at that temperature. Warm air can hold more moisture than cool air, so the RH of a sample of air will change as the temperature changes even though the actual amount of moisture in the sample does not. If we raise the temperature, we lower the RH and if we lower the temperature, we raise the RH.
   
2. Dew-point is the temperature at which water vapor will change to liquid. This is a function of both temperature and the amount of moisture in the air. If we have a dew-point of 40 degrees, any surface in the home that reaches this temperature will have liquid on it. To prevent this condensation, we can either raise the surface temperature or lower the RH.

Moisture problems are the number one source of residential concerns. In general we need to consider four sources of moisture in a home.

• Homeowner generated moisture (water vapor) produced by bathing, cooking, breathing and wet cleaning varies but can be as much as 6-10 pints per day.
• Building generated moisture (water vapor) produced by new building components and seasonal drying of building components, as much as 2-5 gallons per day.
• Soil generated moisture can enter as a vapor from air movement into the home from the surrounding soil, and capillary movement through the slab or foundation walls.
• Bulk water can enter from both below ground and through building components such as windows, flashing and roof components. This can be as much as 20-100 gallons per occurrence

Proper ventilation techniques should also be considered and will be discussed in next month’s article. If you are experiencing condensation on you windows or other surfaces in your home, please feel free to contact Guaranteed Watt Saver at 1-888-488-0206.