Martin Holladay at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com kicked off another fabulous subject on their blog entitled: Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Insulation or Solar Power?

As a certified Passive House Consultant, I am partial to the insulation. However, Martin makes a good point when comparing the two approaches. As the discussion goes, many points about this subject are being addressed. This is my reply:

Other selling points
by Tim Eian, TE Studio

Our firm has been working to get a viable DER business off the ground for the last two years. We practice in an extremely cold climate (MN). After the first year, we found that there were not enough selling points to overcome the first-day cost—and even calculations favoring a DER approach in the long run may not entice owners enough to go into debt—let alone their banks who cannot begin to understand what DER actually is and why it would create value and equity.

Year two has been more successful for us, as we have been focusing on more immediately tangible advantages of indoor environmental quality and health, as well as comfort (a big thing in a cold climate) and survivability. In addition, we are trying to single out the DER measures as (more…)

I just finished reading “The Green Tragedy” by Pat Murphy. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Pat at the 2008 and 2009 Passive House conferences. I admire his sensibility for the dilemma we currently face in respect to energy and buildings. IMHO, this book is a great summary of what’s going on in the building industry right now. It’s not all bad, as Pat points out a number of opportunities to make things right. Thumbs up and thanks for your work, Pat!

A number of people recommended John Straube’s article on buildingscience.com to me. I appreciate that PH is being discussed on buildingscience.com and John’s in-depth assessment of PH in cold climate settings.

I thought I’d offer some perspective from my corner of the world (Minneapolis, MN = cold climate). (more…)

Linda Wigington of Affordable Comfort, Inc. spoke at the recent 3rd North American Passive House Conference about something she calls “Deep Energy Reduction Retrofits”. A Deep Energy Reduction Retrofit project includes all the measures needed to cut 70%+ of a building’s energy consumption.

Most people in the sustainable building industry now agree that we need these kinds of energy goals in order to curb the energy use-related environmental pollution and CO2 emissions from the building sector significantly enough to achieve true sustainability.

Deep Energy Reduction Retrofit projects will typically include more insulation, better windows and doors, and likely a new or enhanced mechanical system. While that may seem like a lot, it can potentially be done without changing the layout or interior finishes much at all, therefore keeping cost to a minimum. If you start with a building that needs new siding and windows, you can essentially eliminate this cost from the deep energy retrofit budget, as it is part of the ongoing maintenance the building needs anyways. This is when Deep Energy Reduction is most affordable. In other words, you buy or own a house with obsolete mechanical system, shot siding (roofing) and windows, and you are in the optimal position to do an affordable Deep Energy Reduction Project. I am starting to advise people to consider this when purchasing a used home.

You may notice that I have not mentioned embodied energy, green building materials, or improved indoor environmental quality at all. It is my assumption that a best practice management approach goes along with any Deep Energy Reduction Retrofit project. The designer should be aware of both the energy consumption potential, as well as the necessary “greening” potential. I find that a lot of the discussion in the industry is still focused around what I call “surface greening”—meaning putting in more earth-friendly materials. In the greater scheme of things, and while this is a proper approach, green building materials and finishes alone cannot help overome the energy challenge we are facing today. It is therefore imperative to analyze each building’s potential, and put together a package that offers true sustainability and long-term value to the client. Anything short of that will likely result in a “sunk investment”, that will effectively prevent the current owner, or future owners from giving the building the make-over it needs to overcome energy obsolescence.

The duty of a building designer is not just to the client, it is also to the society as a whole.

Deep Energy Reduction Retrofits do not require Passive House standard. As a Passive House Consultant however, I will likely use tools and ideas derived from Passive House for your Deep Energy Reduction Retrofit project, which means that you will benefit from the knowledge of the arguably best building energy standard today, even if you are not building a house from scratch.

I was thinking that I should have another goal besides being thankful for our food crops this Thanksgiving. With an average of 3,500 calories per capita I am not too worried about our food supply these days (no pun intended). Therefore, I have decided that it would be a great day to be thankful for the Earth and the Sun, and all of their free gifts that make our lives possible. I am happy to take a chance here and sound cheesy, but I truly believe that we don’t think about these basics of life a whole lot and therefore, I will make an effort to commemorate them as part of my Thanksgiving weekend. I posted Nasa’s Earthrise image because to me it symbolizes the ability to look at ourselves, reflect, re-evaluate, and reconsider who we are and how we exist and live on planet Earth. So join me, if you would, in saying: thank you Earth, thank you Sun, thank you Universe for allowing us to exist. I also pledge to further reduce my environmental footprint as a goal for next Thanksgiving.

Eastside Food Co-op is offering a program in my community, that I feel is worth mentioning. While recycling is never as good as avoiding trash in the first place (similar to renewable energy versus energy conservation), this is still a great effort and me and my family try to make use of it as much as we can. I hope that eventually, manufacturers and distributors will understand that plastics are too valuable to throw away, and that they need to circulate (on a parts per million basis per Cradle to Cradle). In the meanwhile, I pledge to do my part to reduce the amount of stuff I buy, and carefully dispose of what I have to buy and need to throw away.

Plastics Recycling at Eastside Food Co-op:
Thursdays 3:30-7:30 and Saturdays 10-2
(more…)

“Teach your children what we have taught ours,  that the earth is our mother.  Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.  The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.  Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.  We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

Chief Seattle (1786-1866), Native American Suquamish Tribe

Need I say more?

I always meant to post this talk by James Howard Kunstler. As a “foreigner” in the U.S. I cannot help but observe certain differences from my native Germany and Europe as a whole, that really have a profound impact on day-to-day living here—especially in the Midwest. James makes a lot of points along those lines that I sympathize with. I encourage you to watch this lecture carefully. I believe that it is our responsibility as building designers, architects, and urban planners to better understand the human nature and human desires—then turn them into a built environment worth caring for, worth being proud of. I believe it is important for people to identify with their surroundings. As a result, we have the opportunity to create comfortable, efficient, and enjoyable space (indoors and outside) that will empower us, encourage us, and impact the environment less, while at the same time help define who we are and what we stand for.

(Please note, the talk contains some strong language that may not be appropriate for children)

With all the conventions and political activity these days I hear a lot about green collar jobs. I would describe myself as having one of these green collar jobs, and I have even had people send their resumes to work with me in this green economy. Now we just need the economy to catch up with the green collars that are out here. So my political message of the day is: (more…)