AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT GREEN BUILDING, DISTRIBUTED IN THE BOSTON GLOBE

GREENBUILDINGDECEMBER 2008

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT GREEN BUILDING, DISTRIBUTED IN THE BOSTON GLOBE2

WelcomeWhen the U.S. Green Building Coun-cil convened its annual GreenbuildInternational Conference & Expo inBoston last month, it did so amidstthe backdrop of gloomy financialnews. Yet the conference drew morethan 28,000 attendees from all 50states, 85 countries and six conti-nents and more than 800 exhibitors,proving that the top developers,builders, engineers, architects andmanufacturers in the industry intendto sustain the growing movement tobuild and operate green buildings.And the reason is simple: Greenbuildings save energy, reduce CO2emissions, conserve water, increaseproductivity, encourage innovation,provide new jobs, cost less to operateand maintain, and increasingly costno more to build than conventionalstructures.

In today’s economic climate, thoseare powerful motivators for trans-forming how buildings are designed,constructed, operated and main-tained. The growth of the nonprofitU.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)

and its LEED® third-party certifica-tion system for green buildings isdemonstrative of how much hasalready been accomplished in thebuilding industry’s transformation.The USGBC’s membership hasincreased to nearly 18,000 organiza-tions, a more than 40% increase injust one year. LEED counts more than4.2 billion square feet of real estate inthe program – 16,393 buildings regis-tered in the LEED pipeline and 2,050already certified.

Boston has been a significantplayer in that effort: 27 buildingshave already achieved LEED certifi-cation and 133 have registered theirintent to seek certification. In total,more than 64 million square feet ofbuilding space in Boston alone isinvolved in the LEED process.

This all sounds very good – and itis tremendous growth. But to date,only about 1% of all homes, schoolsand commercial buildings are green.For all the progress being made inBoston and throughout Massachu-setts, it’s just a fraction of a fractionof what needs to be done. A recentHarris poll shows that only 4% ofAmericans even know that buildingsuse more energy than the transporta-

tion sector. Making people aware ofthe potential of green buildings, andgetting them to act on that knowl-edge, is critical.

Greenbuild 2008 in Boston was asignificant indicator that this canand will happen. Green building is aconversation, a constantly evolvingset of best practices, new technolo-gies and great ideas. The morediverse, the more inclusive, the betterthe outcome.

When the first Greenbuild washeld in Austin, Texas, in 2002,barely more than 4,000 peopleshowed up. In those days, greenbuilding was a good idea whosetime was coming. Today, greenbuilding is familiar to builders,architects, interior designers, car-penters, plumbers, electricians, realestate professionals and others inthe building trades, but it must alsobe at the forefront in the minds offacilities managers, small businessowners, school boards, elected offi-cials and homeowners.

Homeowners and renters can con-tribute by making changes to theirhabits and their habitats that will helpsave money and water and maketheir homes healthier places in which

to live. A great way to get started isby visiting www.thegreenhome-guide.org. Parents, students and com-munity members can advocate forgreen schools that serve the entirecommunity and save taxpayer dol-lars while enhancing the learningexperience for the next generation ofleaders. Visit www.buildgreen-schools.org to learn more. And forbuilding professionals, whetheryou’ve been building green for yearsor you’re just getting started, USGBCoffers both in-person and online edu-cational opportunities at www.green-build365.org.

LEED has served as an essential,proven tool for enabling markettransformation. It has become thenationally accepted benchmarkbecause it provides a concise frame-work for best practices in high-per-formance green building design andoperations. Since 2001, LEED hasprovided building owners and opera-tors with an objective, verifiable defi-nition of “green” along with designand measurement tools with the reli-ability and integrity they need tohave an immediate, quantifiableimpact on their buildings’ perform-ance.

Headquartered in Ashland City,Tenn., A. O. Smith Water ProductsCompany is a leading manufactur-er and marketer of residential andcommercial water heaters andhydronic boilers. A. O. Smith offerscontractors an additional compet-itive advantage in that the compa-ny designs, builds, distributes andfield supports the world’s broadestand deepest line of residential andcommercial water heaters, as wellas commercial boilers. This single-source concept simplifies order-ing, installation and service and isbacked by more than 70 years ofresearch and innovation.

GREEN BUILDING A TITLE FROM MEDIAPLANET

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Mediaplanet is the leadingpublisher of high quality and in-depth analysis on topical industryand market issues, in print, onlineand broadcast. For moreinformation about supplementsin the daily press, contact KayvanSalmanpour on +1 646 922 1400

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Airxchange energy recovery wheeltechnology allows HVAC systemsto improve indoor air quality whilesaving energy. Airxchange wheelsrecycle up to 80% of the energyotherwise lost in building exhaustair to efficiently preheat/precoolincoming fresh air. Recycled ener-gy lowers HVAC system size andcost, providing rapid paybacks onnew and replacement projects.Airxchange wheels are widelyavailable in a wide variety of HVACfactory supplied equipment. Visitour website www.airxchange.com

AWD offers a better solution topipe and stone. Our engineeredproducts are gaining groundthrough the use of clean, modernwater management systems forcommercial, residential and civilconstruction applications. Fromwalls and green roofs to highwaysand landscapes, our geotextilesand specially designed drainagecores bring sustainability andeconomy together for out of siteperformance. AWD is the trustedname below the surface to ensurethat everything above is dry, solidand secure.

Founded in 1927, Rheem Manufac-turing Company is a privately-heldcompany and a leading NorthAmerican producer of waterheaters, furnaces and air condition-ers, swimming pool/spa heaters,and commercial boilers. The com-pany’s products are used for resi-dential and commercial applica-tions and operate on a variety offuels. Headquartered in Atlanta, thecompany has manufacturing facili-ties in Montgomery, Ala.; Eagan,Minn.; Nuevo Laredo, Mex.; Mexi-cali, Mex.; Fort Smith, Ark.; andOxnard, Calif. For more informa-tion, please visit www.rheem.com.

Green Demolitions, a charitable enterprise,recycles kitchens, appliances, bathrooms,home décor, and more from homeownersand the kitchen/bath industry. The GreenDemolitions donation program offers three“green” benefits: 1) cost savings for donors,consumers, and industry professionals (In2008 Ken Vona Construction of Walthamutilized Green Demolitions to recycle hun-dreds of items, saving their clients thou-sands of dollars), 2) environmental protec-tion from expensive landfill waste, and 3)self- sustaining support for the outreachprograms of All Addicts Anonymous. Con-sumers save 50 – 80% off at stores in Nor-walk, Connecticut, Bethel, New York, andHonesdale, Pennsylvania.Donations – www.greendemolitions.orgStores – www.greendemolitions.com

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Tall oaks grow from small acornsOne of the largest issues that those espous-ing green building philosophies face iscombating the widespread fear that goinggreen will cost too much.

The big concern for many in theconstruction industry is that ifthey start having to considerthe impact of plots on the localenvironment and then considerrecycled and more environ-mentally friendly materials,cost will ultimately shoot upand profit margins plummet.

The Switzerland-basedWorld Business Council forSustainable Development cer-tainly found this when theysurveyed home and commer-cial builders to establish ifthere is a mismatch betweenthe perceived cost of beinggreener and the true cost.

The figures speak for them-selves. Global constructionprofessionals generallybelieved green building to costa premium three times greaterthan it actually does. Theresearch found that they esti-mated greener practices to raisea project’s cost by 15 per centwhen, actually, it only general-ly raises the overall bill byaround 5 per cent.

An American study recentlyfound that this global premiumis halved in America. Accord-ing to the Costs and Benefits ofGreen Affordable HousingStudy 2005 by New Ecologyand the Tellus Institute, greenbuilding adds just 2.42% to thecost of a project and, often,does not add any extra cost.

Utility savingsThe good news, though, is thatany extra cost can quickly beoffset. According to Govern-ment estimates the averagefamily spends $1500 per yearon household energy bills butthese can be reduced by 30% ina house that has been LEEDcertified (this is a third partycertification standards devisedby the US Green BuildingCouncil). Furthermore, housesthat have been certified to theLEED Platinum level are esti-mated to save around 50% to60% and reduce their waterconsumption by 20% to 50%.

There is also growing evi-dence that, as homes certifiedby these standards drawn upeight years ago begin to arriveon the resale market, pur-chasers are impressed by aproperty’s green credentialsand so are willing to pay a pre-mium.

Hence, even if green buildingdoes cost a very small percent-age in upfront cost, the evi-dence is it will not take long forthat cost to be recoupedthrough lower home energybills and extra value added tothe resale potential of thehome.

Certainly Steve Feldman,founder of Green Demolitions,believes that thinking greenwhen planning a new building

project need not necessarily costmore and, he insists, it can oftencost less. His not-for-profitenterprise recycles kitchens andbathrooms to save them beingthrown in to landfill sites.

Green Demolitions saved$20,000 for Tim Clark, a Con-necticut builder, who comment-ed “ I needed two solid tradi-tional style kitchens for a com-mercial construction project fora three family home. I went tothe Green Demolitions store inBethel, New York and foundjust what I was looking for. Itwas actually one big kitchenthat I was able to convert to twokitchens because of the layoutGreen Demolitions provided.Green Demolitions put togethera complete package deal for myproject: cabinets, sinks, andluxury appliances. I had origi-

nally estimated this job to costme around $27,000. At GreenDemolitions I spent $7000. Isaved $20,000 and I’m reallyhappy about that.”

“We find that people have abudget when they’re planninga project and they’re normallyreally surprised at how muchthey can actually save by buy-ing a recycled kitchen or bath-room,” he says.

“It means that they can go upa grade in the type of fittingsthey’re looking for or, often,people will save the money andput it in to another part of theproject.” (information on GreenDemolitions stores online atwww.greendemolitions.com)

Such savings have thepotential to then be put in tofurther green measures, such asfunding energy efficient water

heaters, which have a higherupfront cost than standardmodels, or perhaps adding agray water system so rainwater can be used to irrigatethe garden.

When you stop to think about it, ventilation systemsdo not always make sense.

Fresh air is supplied to a building and depending onwhether it is summer or winter, its humidity and tem-perature are altered to make it more comfortable forthe occupants. So far, so good. However, when a simi-lar amount of indoor air is exhausted, the energy thathad earlier gone in to warming, cooling, humidifyingor dehumidifying that air literally flies out of thebuilding with it.

This is what prompted the creation of technologybehind Airxchange Energy Recovery wheels. Thewheels are positioned to rotate between outdoor airsupply and exhaust air streams to transfer heat andhumidity from the warm humid to the cool dryairstreams. For example in the winter, as air leavesthe building the wheels rotate and transfer heat andmoisture from the exiting air to the incoming air. This

‘preconditioning’of incoming air means it takes a lotless energy to alter it to the required temperature andhumidity. “Preconditioning the air with EnergyRecovery Wheels means that the system doesn’t haveto work so hard summer or winter to conditionincoming air to the desired levels,” explains DrakeErbe, VP of Business Development at Airxchange.

“An estimated 70% to 80% of energy used to con-dition incoming air is recycled from the exhaust airbefore it leaves the building significantly reducingbuilding energy cost”

The technology can be incorporated into heating,ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems forresidential, commercial, institutional and industrialapplications. The technology earns LEED points inenergy & atmosphere and indoor environmentalquality and is recommended by EPA Tools for Schoolsand DOE Advanced Energy Design Guides.

Recycling energy from exhaust air

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Green building improvesproductivity and healthIt’s no surprise that if you take fresh, out-door air and box it between four walls anda roof, air quality is going to be compro-mised. However, it may come as a surprisethat the EPA estimates indoor air isbetween two to five times more pollutedthan outdoors.There are many factors behindthis surprising statistic. Anobvious starting point is thatwithout the introduction offresh air, indoor air pollutionlevels will always be higherthan those outdoors. Indoorpollution results from continu-al off gassing from buildingmaterials, furnishings, clean-ing products, pestcides, sol-vents etc. The list of everydaymaterials which the EPA iden-tifies as having the potential toadd to indoor pollution is sur-prisingly large.

Also of concern, are airbornevirus and bacterial infectionswhich can never be contractedoutdoors. They are only trans-mitted indoors where the con-centrations are sufficient toovercome an individual’simmune system.

There are many problems

associated with poor air qualityin buildings. When breathed,pollutants can be measured inthe brain in three seconds.Imperceptible, low level longterm exposure can suppress theimmune system, leading to awide range of major illnesses.More immediate effects can bediscomfort in the eyes, noseand mouth, as well as dizzi-ness, headaches and fatigue.Respiratory conditions, prima-rily asthma, can also be wors-ened by indoor air pollutants.

The EPA suggests threeremedies for poor air quality;reducing pollutants at thesource, improving ventilationand purchasing air cleaners.While the latter is probablybest suited to a house or smalloffice, larger facilities utilizeventilation systems to intro-duces the correct amount of

outside air to a building at theright temperature and humiditylevel. In fact, all commercial,institutional and industrialbuildings are bound by EPAguidelines and mechanicalBuilding Codes to introducefresh air and ensure a flow offresh, conditioned air reachesoccupants.

Cost of poor airOutdoor air ventilation isimportant because inadequateamounts and distribution cancost companies lost productiv-ity as well as have a negativeimpact on staff health. In fact,researchers at the University ofNew Hampshire’s WhittemoreSchool of Business quantifiedthe effects of poor air qualityon workers in 2004. Its find-ings for New York state linkedpoor air quality to 75 deathsand more than 500 hospitaladmissions as well as a stag-gering 2m days of workers

coughing and wheezing andnearly 1m days of restrictedworker activity.

Its figures estimate that poorair quality trebles the amountof people in the work placewho report feeling less produc-tive. Overall, the cost of poorair quality, in terms of lost pro-duction, is $20m per year inNew England alone, theresearcher found. If these find-ings were rolled out on anational basis, they estimatethe cost of poor air quality tothe United States would bearound $400m.

Solar Technology Heats UpAmericans have never had more of an incentive tothink green and invest in solar water heating systemsand photovoltaic electricity arrays.

Most notably, Massachusetts residents, particularlyin and around Boston, can claim very generous stateassistance with going green which Mark Durrenberger,President of New England Breeze reveals can takebetween 25% to 50% off the cost of installation.

“Massachusetts is up there as one of the most gen-erous states in the country so it’s a real encouragementto people to invest in solar,” he says.

“People often think there’s not enough sun all yearround but solar panel and photovoltaic arrays can stillwork when it’s cloudy, only not quite so well. We stillhave four or more hours of strong sunlight a day onaverage throughout the year in Massachusetts sothere’s definitely enough solar energy to convert.”

Powerful systemsDurrenberger reveals that the average residential proj-ect will put in photovoltaic arrays capable of generat-ing 6000 kWh, enough to provide 60% of the average

household’s 10,000 kWh electricity demand. Also thesolar water heaters the company installs can usuallycut the energy costs of heating hot water for a houseby around 75%. This is because even if there is notenough energy to heat the water to the required level,its temperature will still be raised and so the back-upnatural gas or electric water heating system has lesswork to do.

According to Durrenberger, it is not only householdsthat are turning to solar.

“We have had a lot of interest from companies thatwant to do the right thing and use solar but also wantto save money in the long term,” he says.

“The typical customer will be a facility with a largeroof that’s just sitting there doing nothing. They canget grants of up to 50% to put in solar technology and,at that scale and with big grants, the technology canactually pay back after seven years. It’s around fifteenyears for most households but, you have to remember,it will pay back and the technology will last twenty fiveyears so once it’s paid for, it’s developing electricity forfree for several years.”

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Waste not wantnot with energyIf people were told that it is likely that aquarter of the natural gas they pay for toheat water in their home ends up insteadheating their air outside their house, theywould probably be astounded.

However, with the averagewater heating system which isroughly 70% to 75% fuel effi-cient this is exactly what hap-pens and, of course, older waterheating systems are less effi-cient are likely to be pumpingeven more heat outside thehouse instead of in to thehouse’s hot water system.

This is why water heatingcompanies have been keen towork with the Federal Govern-ment to bring in an Energy Starrating from January 2009

which will help inform con-sumers which are the mostenergy efficient water heatingsystems and also earn pur-chasers a $300 tax credit as areward for buying green.

Huge gapThe difference between themost efficient and less efficienthot water systems is extreme. Amarket leading water heatercan offer efficiencies of up to90% to 96%, meaning as littleas 4% of heat burned to warmwater is expelled as waste.

Although such models cancost three to four times theprice of the cheapest waterheaters, Ajita Rajendra Presi-dent of A. O. Smith Water Prod-ucts Company points out thatpeople need to think long term.

“The average water heaterwill last fifteen years and natu-ral gas prices have dropped a

little recently but are expectedto go up, so the price you’repaying now is not the priceyou’ll be paying for the majori-ty of the time you’re runningyour new water heater,” heexplains.

“So as the price goes up itmakes even more sense to turnthe gas you burn in to heatwhich heats water rather thanescapes outside – generally thelarger the family and the largerthe amount of hot water youuse, the quicker the earlyinvestment will pay back. Peo-ple are also starting now torealize the rewarding feel goodfactor of not only lower naturalgas bills but also knowing thatthey are being responsible andnot wasting natural resources.”

Peter Reynolds, VP and Gen-eral Manager of Rheem’s WaterHeater Division certainly agreesthat growing awareness is brin-ing energy efficiency to theforefront at a time when heat-ing companies have matured.

“In the past too many compa-nies were claiming efficiencyfigures that were not properlytested but now we have the thirdparty testing and that brings alot of credibility,” he says.

“People are now so aware ofgreen issues and that is onlygoing to become more pro-nounced, you only have to lookat the younger generation. Takemy kids, green is apolitical, it’sjust something the know wehave to do, they just ‘get it’.”

Efficient Water Heating Cuts CostsThe problem with conventional water heaters is that, typically, naturalgas is burned at a very high temperature and heat gas in a pipe which,in turn, heats water for the household or commercial premises which isstored in a tank. Whilst modern tanks are very good at holding in theheat of the water, so it maintains temperature, the process of warmingup the water in the first place can be very inefficient.

It is for this reason that A. O. Smith has designed water heater systemswhich replace a straight pipe carrying hot gas with a coil. This vastlyincreases the hot surface area coming in to contact with the water andso allows far more of the heat to be transferred in to it and vastly reducesthe amount which leaves the system as waste, exhausted gas.

The company has run tests on the effect of the extra efficiency thisbrings its VP of marketing, Mike Parker reveals.

“We’ve had one of our efficient water heaters running next to a lessefficient system and the difference is staggering,” he says.

“The exhaust gas on the less efficient system was leaving at 550Fwhilst ours was at 100F, It underlines the difference in the amount ofheat that is transferred in to the water instead of wasted as exhaustgas which just heats up the air outside a building.”

Home owners could also start to see the emergence of new technol-ogy which promises to turn excess heat in their homes in to hot water.Water heater specialist Rheem is working on heat pumps which PeterReynolds, VP and General Manager of the company’s Water HeaterDivision predicts will be launched during the second half of 2009.

“Most homes’ lofts are excessively hot for a lot of the year,” heexplains. “So a heat pumps sucks in that air and then transfers the heatin to the house’s hot water. The heat is there, so why not use it? You’retaking away heat you don’t want and turning it to heat you do.”

Hot Questions about Hot Water HeatersWhat is the difference between a standard product and the Vertex?Standard gas models have a chimney through the middle of the tank toexhaust the hot gases from the flame. Heat is transferred to the water asit rises through the tank. However, since conventional models are 75-78% efficient, roughly 25% of the energy escapes through the chimney.A Vertex model incorporates a helical coil inside the tank to dramaticallyincrease the amount of time the hot gases can transfer heat to the water.As a result, thermal efficiency is boosted to 96%. The benefits to home-owners are that they will save money on their gas bill and enjoy enhancedperformance (much more hot water than a conventional model).

Is the Vertex as efficient as a tankless model?The Vertex provides up to 96% thermal efficiency while tankless unitsare 80-82% efficient. An independent study evaluated both technolo-gies in real-world applications and found that the Vertex is the mostefficient option for most households.

What makes a water heater green?The most important attribute that contributes to a water heater being“green” is the model’s energy efficiency. High efficiency water heaterswill have a positive impact on our nation’s natural gas consumption aswell as positive impact to the environment. Green, or high efficiency,water heaters use energy more effectively to heat water.

Why should I choose a green water heater?According to the U.S. Department of Energy, between 13 and 17% ofnational residential energy use can be attributed to water heating.Green water heaters save energy and therefore, save consumers moneywhile having less environmental impact.

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starting to climb in popularityas people become more envi-ronmentally aware and the costof energy continues to rise,”says Peter Reynolds, VP andGeneral Manager of the WaterHeating Division at Rheem. “Itjust makes sense that youwould want to burn the mini-mum amount of fuel possibleand that you would choose toonly heat the water you intendto use. Heating an entire tankfull of hot water, which youmay or may not use and willultimately need to heat again,doesn’t make much sense.”

Busy livesTankless systems are also moreefficient because you do nothave to remember to turn themoff, because they only operatewhen the hot water faucet isturned on.

“The design of the averageAmerican house doesn’t havethe hot water tank anywherenear where the hot water isused. Instead, it is often locatedin a distant loft or garage,”Reynolds adds.

“So it means it’s out of the wayand out of mind and if you go outof town, you will probably forgetto turn off the unit, so you end upheating a tank of hot water thatisn’t going to be used.”

TanklessWhile tankless systems havethe potential to reduce energybills, Reynolds cautions, “Peo-ple committed to cutting theirhome’s carbon footprint shouldresist the temptation to takeexcessively long showers justbecause the hot water willremain flowing as long as thefaucet is turned on.”

Expert Q&ASTEVE FELDMAN, GREEN DEMOLITIONSWhat advice would you give to peopletempted by the current economic cli-mate to not consider more environ-mentally friendly building options?Will early investment be recouped inthe long term?

In considering a greenbuilding project, con-sumers need to look atall angles of green

products. The first key element toreducing costs is incorporating recy-cled materials into the mix. Recycledmaterials can be acquired at 50 percent or more off the market pricefrom a variety of sources, achievingtwo objectives: 1) lowering the over-all material costs of the project, and2) allowing for the investments inareas such as solar heating whichwill yield future cost savings. Thecurrent economic should motivatehomeowners to “think out of thebox” with green solutions that pro-vide both now and future savings.

MIKE PARKER, A.O. SMITHWhat advice would you give to peopletempted by the current economic cli-mate to not consider more environmen-tally friendly building options? Willearly investment be recouped in thelong term?

It is very important notto lose sight of ourgoal of creating a bet-ter environment for

our future, for our children. Chang-ing our actions due to the currenteconomic climate would simplycheapen all of the progress that hasbeen made thus far. We as a nationhave come so far over the past fewyears in “green” sustainable think-ing. Often, there is a higher front-end cost for sustainable products,but consumers need to realize thatthe pay-off is much higher in thelong run to live green now. Youwill save more money over time byspending money now on more effi-cient products. In the long run,energy costs WILL go up. Mostitems in a home are expected to lasta long time – so investing now

could pay off handsomely downthe road.

DRAKE ERBE, AIRXCHANGEWhat advice would you give to peopletempted by the current economic cli-mate to not consider more environ-mentally friendly building options?Will early investment be recouped inthe long term?

My advice is thatreduced energy useand improved healthbenefits from environ-

mentally friendly building optionscan best serve the owner's financialinterest regardless of the economicclimate. Some building options,for example, will provide aninstant return of investment, withlarge reductions of energy costsover the life of the building. Inaddition, identification as a greenbuilding that addresses needs forenergy efficiency, occupant healthand productivity will add to mar-ketable value.

KEN VONA, KENNETH VONA CONSTRUCTIONWhat is driving green building initia-tives? What can or should be done tofurther public knowledge of the issues?

Initially the only peo-ple behind “GoingGreen” were grassroots and non-profits.

There has been more of a signifi-cant influx of investment by gov-ernment agencies which hasincreased the level of public aware-ness. With that, the industry hasbecome more main stream and hasnewly attracted more of a corpo-rate focus. Due to this mass invest-ment, homeowners at every level ofbuilding are at least engaging in“Green” discussions and asking usto price energy efficient and earthconscious options. In my opinion,the building community hasresponded and become a signifi-cant advocate and ultimately thenew driving force for the greenindustry. The grass root companiesand organizations have started usall down this path; many peoplesay, “The government” shouldenact and mandate legislation toregulate our industry. I don’tagree. I believe it is our job as con-struction professionals to educateour customers and our own col-leagues on how to further developand promote green building.

JIM SAXTON, AMERICAN WICKIs public awareness of green issuesenough? Do we need to consider leg-islation to ensure the full cost ofunenvironmentally friendly buildingpractices is picked up by the construc-tion company and not society as awhole?

Public awareness ofGREEN is enough toeffect change if theknowledge base is

accurate and the consequences arenot exaggerated beyond credibility.We are all environmental stewards.Future generations will deal withclimate destabilization, depletedresources, diminished workplaceproductivity and environmentalpoverty if we fail to educate ourmasses.The ‘full cost’ cannot be measuredin dollars alone. Legislation cre-ates resentment and is often coun-terproductive. Publicly fundeddevelopment of good workingmodels, where benefits are broadlyapplicable, will help deliver the‘green’ benefits/understandingtransparently. Independent ‘LifeCycle Assessment’ of products, sys-tems and projects should answereveryone’s questions.

European and Asian house-holds have long been accus-tomed to a new trend in waterheating that only recently hasstarted to take root in America– tankless hot water systems.The principle is simple enough;if you heat water only ondemand, there is no need tostore it. This cuts down onwasted energy because itmeans a person only heats theamount of hot water they needat the moment. While this isnot as much of a problem forthe more modern, energy-effi-cient tank water heating sys-tems, tankless systems can savea significant amount of fuelwhen compared with older, lessefficient technology.

“The American public hasbecome accustomed to hotwater storage tanks, but tank-less systems are definitely

Why heat more waterthan you really need?

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Making the most of nature’s giftThe construction industry has traditionally had an irre-sponsible attitude to water. As urban sprawl has forcedsites that may have drainage issues to be developed, thegeneral attitude has been that shifting water to the wastewater sewerage system is a perfectly reasonable means ofproviding new, dry homes.

Of course, the problem comes when those multitudesof new homes, shopping malls and business parks are alltrying to drain away storm water at the same time; thesystem becomes overloaded and the environmentalimpact of poor water management becomes clear.

Hence, as Jim Saxton, Mid-Central Regional Manag-er at American Wick Drain, points out, many Americanconstruction companies are now starting to wake up tothe need to manage the water on their sites rather thanexpect the local storm water infrastructure to copeunder all circumstances. “Water management is becom-ing a big environmental issue for construction compa-nies as well as self-builders,” he says.

“People are realizing that with more and more build-ing we’re overloading the infrastructure and that canonly lead to flooding, so it’s far better to do somethingwith the water at the actual site. It’s an area where peo-ple can make a huge environmental impact for the bet-ter. We’re finding our drainage systems are being used

increasingly to channel water to where it can be put togood use and not discarded.

“People are starting to build beautiful natural wet-land areas with storm water to encourage wildlife in toan area or they may choose to store the water and thenuse it for irrigation or for use in their toilets because it’sjust crazy that we water the garden, wash the car andflush the toilet with potable water.”

If the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) warning that global warming is caused, at least inpart, by human activity turns out to be correct, then Amer-icans can expect to experience more flash flooding causedby a combination of warmer, wetter weather conditions.At the same time, as developers seek to expand urbanareas to plots which have not yet been built on because ofdrainage problems, there is going to be increasing pressureon construction sites to not only shift the water to where itis not going to cause a building problems, but to also dosomething positive with that water.

It is worth remembering that although most peoplethink nothing of using drinking water to nourish a gar-den, there is evidence that untreated, rain water is actu-ally better for lawns, plants and shrubs, underlining thewastefulness of discharging a valuable natural resourcein to the sewerage system.

American Wick Drain:Channeling Forward

Drainage can have a huge impact on the environment.Digging a trench a couple of feet deep and wide to put apipe in place which then has to have gravel placed aroundit requires a lot of aggregates to be brought to the siteand then a lot of waste to be taken away by truck to alandfill site.

This wasteful process has prompted the creation of theAmerican Wick Drain system which uses recycled plastic‘sheet and strip’ drains which channel groundwater fromwhere the site owner does not want it to be to where theywould prefer it.

“We obviously still have some waste but our trenchesare significantly narrower than conventional techniques,so we have a lot less waste than normal,” reveals Jim Sax-ton, Mid-Central Regional Manager at American WickDrain.

“It’s much more efficient and our core drainage sheetsare recycled plus we give site builders the option of doingsomething with their storm water. We can use our systemto let gravity take the water to where the site ownerwould like it where they might choose to build a wetlandarea or store the water for irrigation.”

AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET ABOUT GREEN BUILDING, DISTRIBUTED IN THE BOSTON GLOBE8

The ‘Six Sided Cube’ Central to Green BuildingWhile there may be, in theory, a means ofbuilding the perfect green home with a zerocarbon footprint, the reality is that buildershave to work to budgets with proven tech-nology that exists today.For this reason, builders seekingto maximize the green creden-tials of a home need to focus ontried and tested techniques tomanage water, work with renew-able materials, recycle wherepossible and install market-lead-ing levels of insulation.

A good place to start is work-ing as much as possible withwood because it is the ultimaterenewable building material andso long as water managementtechniques are used to drain thesite and prevent water coming into prolonged contact with it,wood will harden with time andlast many generations.

According to Ken Vona,founder of Kenneth Vona Con-struction, once you have consid-ered wood and have made sure

you can keep it dry, the next stepis to offer customers a home thatis as well insulated and energyefficient as possible.

“You have to create what wecall the six side cube,” Vonaexplains.

“We may well have a six inchdepth to a wooden wall whichwe’ll often put an inch of a poly-styrene product on to increasethe insulation rating from R6 toR11. At this point, we insulate thebasement and the attic. Youmight think that would make thebuilding too airtight, and you’dbe right, so we put in ventilationsystems that exchanges between5% to 20% of the home’s airevery two hours. This process issignificantly more energy effi-cient as we are addressing any/all

thermal losses before they enterthe home. In effect, we are “out-sulating the house.” This is ourapproach to building the perfectsix sided cube that breaths.

If there is an Achilles heel inany green project, it will invari-ably be the windows which cancover up to a third of a home’souter surface yet cannot give thesame insulation properties asother materials. Although win-dow panes with UV films andradon sandwiched between themdo offer better insulation thanoffered in the past, the cost ofgoing beyond conventionalglass to ‘super glass’, that cantake insulation ratings from avalue of R3 to R8 and beyond,are so high it is unlikely that ahome owner would ever see areturn on the initial investment.

This is a crucial point to Vonawho believes that some compa-nies will call things green, evenwhen only a small part of thefinished product is green, andmany others will specify a proj-ect with green technology that is

mostly unproven and often soexpensive it is unlikely to give areturn on the investment.

“You have to be upfront andclear about what things are goingto cost and the level of gain thecustomer is going to get throughreduced bills and a lower carbonfootprint,” Vona explains.

“Photovoltaic panels areincreasing in popularity but theproblem is they require a lot ofupfront investment and you’reprobably not going to get yourmoney back on them in thenortheast for around twentyyears. It’s great if you can affordit, it’s a wonderful thing to gener-ate your own electricity but youneed to know the full picture.”

Natural heatHence geothermal heating is atechnology which is catching on,Vona reveals, because it is greenand can offer a quicker paybackthrough reduced utility bills. Bydrilling standing column wells1500 feet down water can bepumped to the surface and be

compressed into warm water toheat the house. Such geothermalsystems operate a twin system sothe ground water, which mayhave contaminants, does not getin to the home’s internal heatingsystem but instead heats‘platelets’ which sit between thetwo systems. Heat is then trans-ferred from those platelets toboth heat and cool the home.

In addition to building a housewith renewable resources andinsulating it so it can be as energyefficient as possible, a green con-struction project also needs torecycle waste. Vona believes thatless than a third of the waste gen-erated on his company’s construc-tion sites now ends up in landfillsites. Some companies in the con-struction industry are very muchin touch with this grass rootsmovement to recycle, but Vonacertainly believes the incomingadministration would do well toconsider legislation to enforcebuilders to recycle where possibleto prevent landfills from over-flowing with unnecessary waste.