Successfully living in a smaller home

Reading ‘More Money’ this morning, I came across an intersting article that discusses the housing market as it stands today.  The good news is that smaller homes are selling much faster in this market than the larger homes of 10 years ago.  The bad news?  Although buyers want a smaller home – they still want all the amenities of a larger one!

The Kitchen of the Future

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Well, the kitchen depicted when Doc and Marty went “Back to the Future” (circa 2015), complete with hydrating pizza oven, voice activated roof mounted fruit bowl and dodgy virtual window display seems to be a bit far mark, but I wonder if those creative guys over at IKEA will be any nearer with their vision of the future (circa 2040)? Continue reading →

Green? By what standard?

I was recently at a meeting between local leaders, discussing how the newly released National Green Building Standard (NGBS) fits in with existing state and city level green building programs and incentives.  There were a number of interested parties involved, including builders, designers, local utility companies, performance testers, city departments and state non-profits.  I was extremely happy that we had such a wide range of perspectives present; the conversation was most interesting and I’d like to quickly share some of the thoughts that came from the group.

High Performance at Zero Cost

When evaluating systems to incorporate into your green home, it is easy to get caught up in direct cost comparisons of similar products.  For instance, it is easy to compare the costs of an 80% and 90% efficient gas furnace.  There are up-front costs, and then there are operating costs.  Even though the 90% furnace will undoubtedly cost less in the long run, the extra up-front costs can often be disillusioning.

A holistic look at the home as a system can help a builder bear those costs in the budget by reducing costs with additional strategies.  Here’s a quick-fire way to actually reduce construction costs while simultaneously improving the energy efficiency of a home:

Location Selection Tools

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As the old adage suggests, location is everything.  Resources available in the neighborhood of your home will determine how efficient the lifestyle of the homeowners can be, before you even get to pouring your foundations.  In my opinion, considering the … Continue reading →

Energy Trust Home Performance Score is coming…

The Home Builders Association is holding an event for the new Energy Performance Score that helps homeowners understand energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.  As part of the Ultimate Open House tour, the event starts April 18, 2009 and runs … Continue reading →

Energy Star

Features of ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes.

This label identifies a home as having earned the ENERGY STAR

And with homebuyers increasingly interested in green building, energy efficiency is the place to start. That’s because the energy used in homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and risks of global warming. So, the less energy used, the less air pollution generated. And the easy way to make sure a new home is energy efficient is to look for the blue ENERGY STAR mark, the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency. Learn more about how Green Begins with ENERGY STAR Blue (130KB).

Portland Energy Efficient Home Pilot offers $113,000 for the construction of homes built to exceed energy efficiency standards

Today, City of Portland Commissioner Randy Leonard announced that the Bureau of Development Services is accepting applications for the first round of funding from the Portland Energy Efficient Home Pilot (PEEHP). This innovative pilot program will generate residential construction in the Portland Area that will provide the industry and public with: 

• Practical information on the building methods and materials necessary to build cost effective energy efficient homes;
• Records of costs associated with constructing energy efficient homes;
• Case studies, including those instances of added complexity related to new measures; and
• Up to 20 energy efficient homes for sale in the City of Portland.