Posted by Matt Beaton on Thu, Nov 17, 2011 @ 12:35 PM
Beaton Construction's certification of the first passive house in Massachusetts is covered in the Fall 2011 Central One Federal Credit Union Newsletter. In the article titled
"Taking Green to the Extreme", readers learn that Passive House certification essentially lowers a home's heating demand up to 90% and eliminates the need for installing a traditional heating and cooling system. Central One Federal Credit Union was used for construction financing of this green project.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Mon, Oct 31, 2011 @ 10:50 AM
Beaton Construction, specializing in energy-efficient and sustainable construction, is mentioned in the Boston Globe article. Matt Beaton explains the company's comprehensive energy audits that go beyond other audits.
Check it out!
Posted by Matt Beaton on Mon, May 24, 2010 @ 02:25 PM
This week, there have been some interesting opinions expressed regarding LEED certifications for commercial, residential construction - and even for entire neighborhoods! In an Article posted at Inhabitat.com, they ask if, "the LEED system [is] dropping the ball on energy efficiency?"
One change incorporated into the new LEED Version 3.0 is that buildings need to report annual energy use compared with designed energy use. According to a USGBC study, approximately half of all LEED certified buildings would not make Energy Star.
In a related story on worldchanging.com, Richard Conniff discussed building commissioning (and re-commissioning). Building commissioning refers to monitoring the efficiency of a building from design through initial operation. He pointed to specific examples of LEED-certified buildings with common problems like stuck HVAC dampers and other examples of simple fixes with less than 1-year paybacks.
Richard concluded that re-commissioning / energy auditing of older homes and buildings actually had typical payback of 1.1 years on average compared with 4.5 years for new buildings!
Another story on worldchanging.com discussed retrofitting entire neighborhoods to meet LEED's Neighborhood Development standard. In the UK, a Green Streets competition performed an energy audit on each house in eight streets and provided cash to each street to obtain the best increase in energy efficiency. The street with the best performance received a cash award. The next challenge is providing a big increase in funding.
Finally, here's a neat example of an affordable housing project in New Mexico designed and built to obtain LEED Platinum certification.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Sun, May 23, 2010 @ 08:01 PM
Though not in Massachusetts, we've seen some neat examples of impressive sustainable, green, and net-zero homes and buildings recently.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is working with a Chicago-based architect to design an entire city focused on energy management. According to this story, Masdar City will, "house 50,000 people and 1500 businesses on completion, although no cars will be allowed. Masdar City will save equivalent of more than $2 billion in oil over the next 25 years (based on today’s energy prices). 75% reduction in installed power capacity, Masdar City will require approximately 200 MW of installed clean power versus more than 800 MW of installed capacity to power a similar city based on conventional design. It will require around 8,000 m3 per day of desalinated water while traditional cities require more than 20,000 m3 per day. Landfill area is severely diminished as Masdar City will need virtually no landfill area."
I recently stumbled across this sustainable residential project in Denmark, "Home for Life". Using solar cells, a solar pump, heat sensors, mechanisms for automatic window openings, and maximum natural light usage.
If you haven't seen pictures of the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin, you have to check it out; I caught my first glimpse on inhabitat.com. According to the story, the sustainably-built stadium harvests rainwater for irrigation, reuses waste heat for hot water, and has a transparent roof that lights the building during daylight hours. It's also the oldest international stadium in the world.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Sun, May 16, 2010 @ 09:14 PM
I saw a post on greenbuildinginspector.com pointing out that the Energy Efficiency Administration published new data this week on energy usage. In this, “Annual Energy Outlook 2010,” they estimate that energy consumption could drop as much as 27% by 2035.
I haven't yet read the report; so, it's not clear if they're measuring in terms of energy usage or $ spent. My guess is that money is not the most important factor. Assuming energy costs increase at the same rate as the last few decades, the 27% drop will have a small impact on our overall spend. Let's hope that they're correct in their estimate of a downward trend, though.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Fri, May 14, 2010 @ 07:22 PM
There have been some interesting, new products introduced in the last couple of weeks.
Philips introduced a new 60W Replacement LED. I hear lots of people complain about the color of Flourescent and LED lights. Supposedly, Philips has worked to get the color right on this new, "bulb". At $60, it's steep to replace a single bulb in your home; however, the bulb is estimated to use 1/5th of the power of a traditional 60-watt bulb and is expected to last 25 times longer than an incandescent bulb. How many cobwebs will you have dusted off that bulb by the time it's replaced?
Last week, Sage introduced a new product: Triple-glazed, tintable glazing (I read about it here). In addition to the energy efficiency of the windows, homeowners can control the window tinting from completely clear to completely tinted with the push of a button.
I also heard about a new batten insulation product offered by CertainTeed, "EcoBatt". While it's not yet available in Massachusetts, we may see it later this year. While I'm not convinced it's the right product for my projects, it is interesting to see the major insulation manufacturers focusing on sustainability in their manufacturing processes.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Fri, May 07, 2010 @ 07:56 PM
As reported by Greener Buildings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is partnering with utilities and states in a new pilot program that's designed to help improve commercial building energy efficiency
The program is called, "
Building Performance with Energy Star," and has set a goal of optimizing financial incentives and technical support for businesses and promote comprehensive whole-building energy upgrades.
According to the story, the focus is on:
- Incorporating use of the EPA’s Portfolio Manager, the agency's online energy measurement and tracking tool, to score building performance;
- Approaching energy efficiency opportunities in the context of findings from whole building assessments; and
- Creating a robust delivery network for whole building efficiency services.
While we always prefer to see a focus on performance driven by the market, it is encouraging to see a focus on upgrading the energy efficiency rather than on just blanket subsidies for renewable energy installations with no consideration given to how that energy is being used.
Related to this story, we've seen some interesting smart grid developments recently with regard to energy usage monitoring for homes and businesses. A product called
EnergyHub is currently involved in pilots and is said to allow you to monitor and control energy use from your home, from a mobile device, or from the internet.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Thu, May 06, 2010 @ 09:00 PM
There's a lot of talk about replacing incandescent lightbulbs with flourescent or even LED equivalents to help make your house more energy efficient. Bad experiences with expensive or leaky skylights prevent people from considering them as part of their overall lighting plan.
Tubular skylights are a nice compromise. They are less expensive than traditional skylights and are much easier to install. In addition, they can bring light to places in your home where daylight can't easily reach.
I've used these before here in Massachusetts; but, this recent story on greenbuildingadvisor.com inspired me to write about them in the blog.
Some of the advantages of tubular skylights include:
- No electricity required to operate
- No structural modifications are required to support the installation
- Full-spectrum light is provided--which can help to stave off “Seasonal Affective Disorder” (SAD)
Costs range from about $150 at the low end to over $600 for the largest, deluxe models, plus installation.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Wed, May 05, 2010 @ 09:30 PM
Smith points out that energy usage in commercial real estate is growing substantially; but, that, "somewhere between 20 percent and 40 percent of that energy is wasted, even from buildings built within the last 10 years."
For the purposes of this story, Smith focuses on ways to improve the efficiency of commercial buildings; but, his points are just as valid for residential and small businesses. There are many ways to increasing the energy efficiency of your home or small business or to make sure you are using sustainable construction principles while building your new home. We shouldn't wait for the U.S. to increase spending; in many cases, you can justify improvements with government subsidies and rebates. Improvements can result through appliance replacement/repair, insulation upgrades, and simple thermostat replacement or strategic caulking.
As a homeowner or small business owner in Massachusetts, you have a responsiblity to find out more about the simple things you can do make your house more efficient.
Posted by Matt Beaton on Sat, May 01, 2010 @ 08:12 PM
Today, I found an interesting podcast on, "How Heat Moves Through Homes".
The podcast goes into some decent detail on what, "heat," is and why we insulate. As we've covered previously in another blog post, the podcast also discusses the various ways heat can move (convection, conduction, and radiation).
Dr. John Straube of Building Science Corporation also touches on important points:
- Windows are tough to keep warm
- Energy-efficient buildings need smaller heaters
- Meeting codes doesn't guarantee good performance
- Batt insulation rarely works well in the real world
There is also some good discussion about radiant barriers in the comments at the end of the article (once they clear up who recorded the podcast).
photo credit: shanegorski