Who Gives a Flip About Sustainable Rehab?
Collier Construction’s monthly Green Lunch round table discussion with industry experts, sustainability advocates and concerned individuals brought us yet another challenging topic – substantiating sustainable rehab – and 5 smart ideas for greening up existing structures.
So among a host of green lunch attendees, we discussed 5 ways to green-up existing buildings.
EPB’s Elizabeth Crenshaw also pointed toward the future of home-performance evaluation, explaining that the Power Board is currently piloting its fiber optic Smart Grid which will allow customers to manage energy use through a two-way communications monitoring system.
The sustainability standpoint: you can make smart choices for the long term when you know how your home operates, consumes energy and interacts with the environment.
2. Illuminate the problem: Perhaps the simplest way to save energy is with lighting – but as we all know, compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) are expensive and LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lights are still too expensive for the average homeowner.
But think about it – Shawn Summey of Premier Lighting pointed out that CFL’s consume 75% less energy and produce 75% less heat than incandescent light bulbs while they cost an average of 30% more. So what’s the trade-off – CFL’s pay for themselves in less than one year and last an average of 8,500 hours longer than their incandescent counterparts.
(And in case you’re wondering, LED lights last an approximate 50,000 hours. That’s a really long time – like burning the same light bulb five years straight.)
The sustainability standpoint: Energy efficient lights mean less manufacturing, less production, less travel, less waste, less energy consumption.
3. Tank the tank: Would you leave your stove top on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just to heat hot water for a pot of tea? No, because that does not make sense.
Problem is, traditional hot water heaters consume energy around the clock just so that hot water is available for showers and washing clothes (and using hot water for washing clothes is not always necessary anyway).
Well, if you’re rehabbing a home, you have an opportunity to bring a little more logic into the way you heat water. As Daniel LaTour of Mainline Plumbing explained, the tankless systems heat water directly without the use of a storage tank by running water through a pipe and into a heating element (either electric or gas), supplying a constant source of hot water on demand.
These water heaters can be as much as 50% more efficient than traditional water heaters. Learn more here.
The sustainability standpoint: Purchasing a tankless water heater, while more expensive, allows you to use energy as needed and save money in the long-term.
4. Seal the deal on energy: Most homes have an estimated 6 to 10 square feet of cracks and openings where energy is lost. However, you can prevent energy loss by sealing and insulating your crawl space and attic.
Open-cell spray foam insulation (see more here) can be applied to openings and cracks around plumbing and electrical fixtures. And there are methods for applying rigid foam board to crawl space walls, but you should contact a professional to perform this service as it is rather technically involved. Our advice, contact Jerry at Insulation Unlimited.
The sustainability standpoint: Whether or not you’re a DIY’er , paying attention to your attic and crawl space means reducing your home’s environmental footprint.
5. Restore and ReStore: Kim Ray of Conditionaire brought perhaps the soundest advise of all – reuse and restore existing stuff. Like cabinets and countertops that can be refurbished and refinished. Instead of hauling vast amounts of usable stuff to the landfill, make it usable and cool. In other words, be creative, be resourceful, be inspired.
Wait, your not creative, resourceful or inspired…? Okay, no problem. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga is. And they’ll be more than happy to take your unwanted hardware, light fixtures, tile, doors, windows, lumber, appliances, cabinets and furniture. They’ll turn around and sell it at bargain prices. They’ll raise funds for their operations, and you’ll get a tax write off while greening up your building and supporting our community.
The sustainability standpoint: The ReStore has diverted 400 tons of usable materials from taking up residence in the landfill. Now, whether you restore or ReStore, you’re preventing landfill use – good job!
Sustainability advocates and industry leaders have continually sought out compelling ways to influence the market to embrace and value sustainability in terms of personal finance, the global economy and social responsibility. But at the end of the day, it comes down to what we demand. And studies show that people are willing to pay a premium for goods and services “produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way." Now that’s good news.
And if you have any questions about sustainable building and rehabilitation, give us a call and we’ll do our best to help you out.
Rehab is good
Repurposing existing materials is good, and any process that values the historic and structural integrity of an existing building moves us a little closer to a more eco-responsible economy. So if rehabilitation already contributes to the eco-good, what’s the point in talking about sustainable rehab?The problem
Rehabilitation is costly. Rehab aims to transform an existing, unusable structure into a useful building. And there are significant economic and environmental costs. As part of this process, massive amounts of waste are generated, a great deal of energy is consumed, and energy and maintenance expenditures can be excessive.So among a host of green lunch attendees, we discussed 5 ways to green-up existing buildings.
5 Simple Sustainable Solutions
1. Know your energy grid: As Travis Close pointed out, if you are remodeling or renovating your home and want to invest in energy-saving products, the first thing you should do is have an energy audit or performance evaluation. EPB offers local customers a free energy audit – from simple to comprehensive – that will help you identify where your home is consuming too much energy (423-648-1372). Or for large-scale projects – contact Building Performance Consulting.EPB’s Elizabeth Crenshaw also pointed toward the future of home-performance evaluation, explaining that the Power Board is currently piloting its fiber optic Smart Grid which will allow customers to manage energy use through a two-way communications monitoring system.
The sustainability standpoint: you can make smart choices for the long term when you know how your home operates, consumes energy and interacts with the environment.
2. Illuminate the problem: Perhaps the simplest way to save energy is with lighting – but as we all know, compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) are expensive and LED (Light Emitting Diodes) lights are still too expensive for the average homeowner.
But think about it – Shawn Summey of Premier Lighting pointed out that CFL’s consume 75% less energy and produce 75% less heat than incandescent light bulbs while they cost an average of 30% more. So what’s the trade-off – CFL’s pay for themselves in less than one year and last an average of 8,500 hours longer than their incandescent counterparts.
(And in case you’re wondering, LED lights last an approximate 50,000 hours. That’s a really long time – like burning the same light bulb five years straight.)
The sustainability standpoint: Energy efficient lights mean less manufacturing, less production, less travel, less waste, less energy consumption.
3. Tank the tank: Would you leave your stove top on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week just to heat hot water for a pot of tea? No, because that does not make sense.
Problem is, traditional hot water heaters consume energy around the clock just so that hot water is available for showers and washing clothes (and using hot water for washing clothes is not always necessary anyway).
Well, if you’re rehabbing a home, you have an opportunity to bring a little more logic into the way you heat water. As Daniel LaTour of Mainline Plumbing explained, the tankless systems heat water directly without the use of a storage tank by running water through a pipe and into a heating element (either electric or gas), supplying a constant source of hot water on demand.
These water heaters can be as much as 50% more efficient than traditional water heaters. Learn more here.
The sustainability standpoint: Purchasing a tankless water heater, while more expensive, allows you to use energy as needed and save money in the long-term.
4. Seal the deal on energy: Most homes have an estimated 6 to 10 square feet of cracks and openings where energy is lost. However, you can prevent energy loss by sealing and insulating your crawl space and attic.
Open-cell spray foam insulation (see more here) can be applied to openings and cracks around plumbing and electrical fixtures. And there are methods for applying rigid foam board to crawl space walls, but you should contact a professional to perform this service as it is rather technically involved. Our advice, contact Jerry at Insulation Unlimited.
The sustainability standpoint: Whether or not you’re a DIY’er , paying attention to your attic and crawl space means reducing your home’s environmental footprint.
5. Restore and ReStore: Kim Ray of Conditionaire brought perhaps the soundest advise of all – reuse and restore existing stuff. Like cabinets and countertops that can be refurbished and refinished. Instead of hauling vast amounts of usable stuff to the landfill, make it usable and cool. In other words, be creative, be resourceful, be inspired.
Wait, your not creative, resourceful or inspired…? Okay, no problem. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga is. And they’ll be more than happy to take your unwanted hardware, light fixtures, tile, doors, windows, lumber, appliances, cabinets and furniture. They’ll turn around and sell it at bargain prices. They’ll raise funds for their operations, and you’ll get a tax write off while greening up your building and supporting our community.
The sustainability standpoint: The ReStore has diverted 400 tons of usable materials from taking up residence in the landfill. Now, whether you restore or ReStore, you’re preventing landfill use – good job!
So who gives a flip?
All of this sounds nice enough, but the hard part is making it economically viable. In other words, sustainable rehab doesn’t necessarily increase the value of your building – from a market perspective. Most home appraisals favor the conventional flip – new countertops and a decked out bathroom – over energy upgrades and green products.Sustainability advocates and industry leaders have continually sought out compelling ways to influence the market to embrace and value sustainability in terms of personal finance, the global economy and social responsibility. But at the end of the day, it comes down to what we demand. And studies show that people are willing to pay a premium for goods and services “produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way." Now that’s good news.
Make a difference
So if you’re rehabbing a home or a major commercial project and you know the difference, it’s time to make a difference. Lower your energy bills, reduce CO2 emissions, and increase the value and life-expectancy of your building. Sustainable rehab is not only a smarter approach, it's the right thing to do.And if you have any questions about sustainable building and rehabilitation, give us a call and we’ll do our best to help you out.
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