What Green Products Really Work
In my previous blog posting, I started onto the subject of what I see as some builders who seem to use selling “Green” building methods and/or products much like the Snake Oil traveling salesperson from the old West. They play on the general public’s Green and Energy Star appetite, putting all else aside. I mentioned how I have attended many of the same expert energy seminars as they have, I read the same trade journals and go to the same energy product shows they go to. I have come away finding the subject of being Green or using earth-friendly products chiefly being used as a marketing ploy.
I hate to be the one to tell the “emperor that he has no clothes “, but no expert has yet to show me the math that makes Solar Panel electricity generation, or solar water heaters, or Krypton gas filled windows pay for themselves in any resonable near future after installation.
I am not saying that these builder’s are purposely deceiving you, I AM saying that these builders like the idea of going hi-tech so much, they are blinded by the realities. They really believe the stuff they are talking about with all of their heart. Any product will pay for itself if you plan to live in a home for decades. Since most people live in their homes for shorter periods of time than this, the real question is whether the item you are looking for will pay for itself in say, 5 to 7 years. So, what green or energy star items do work, or are worht the investment?
The best thing you could do to build the greenest home would be to build the smallest home. Even the suggestion of mentioning that a family of 3 may want to consider building a 1,500 square foot home instead of 2,000 , turns a lot of home buyer’s off. I usually keep my mouth closed. If they really were concerned about saving our Earth’s resources, the best place to start is by simply using LESS of these resources to start with. Sadly, there is no award for green given for figuring out how to build smaller, more livable, more efficient homes. Besides saving raw materials, it takes less fuel to heat a small house over a larger one. It takes less cleaning products to clean a smaller house, less lights to light the home, and so forth.
The second best thing you can do to be “truely green” is to use natural light to light the home wherever possible, yet limit the windows to the least number possible. Again, most people want a lot of windows, so watch my words on this as well. Did you know that while most home owners are trying to get an R21 (the higher the R factor, the better the insulation value) or higher for their walls, they are getting only an R3 or R3.5 window glass. While this may sound like something in need of improving, an R3.5 in a window is not reason to panic or upgrade. You could spend three times as much as these normal windows to get an R5 or R7, or even an R11 window, but the costs to get this are going to take just too long for most people to ever see the savings come back in energy savings. I have seen well meaning , studious home buyers get caught-up in getting the highest R-factors just for R-factor sake. It becomes a contest to see who can spend the least each month on their energy bills. These savings may surely make them feel good each month, but I could just as easily show you how saving your money and putting that savings into a bank would pay you more than those energy savings, IF you just want to feel good each month.
The reality of these high R-value windows are that those R11 or R7 windows are only rated that if the window is non-opening , stationary. When you have the same windows built as ones that do open, they drop the R-values dramatically to about R7 and R5 respectively. The upgrade cost for these high R-value windows may be $4,000 to $9,000 . IF those windows saved you an extra $40 or even $50 a month ,(unlikely they will) those $4,000 window upgrades would take you over 8 years to pay for the windows! If the energy savings on these $4,000 upgrade windows were only $30 a month, that’s almost 10 years.
The first thing to tackle in saving energy is the wall and ceiling insulation. Investing this same kind of money in this area by putting in foam wall insulation and R55 ceiling insulation (instead of R38 common ceiling insulation) will pay back your savings in about 3 or 4 years. That, is a reasonable return time for most.
Spend your money in sealing the home properly. I use Tyvek-type house wraps and they work fine, but if you want to do a better job of keeping your little flaws in wind-driven temperatures, tape all the seams of the exterior wall foam with the right tape.
I used to get into debates over wall construction with builder’s and shoppers alike. My position today is that we will build whatever kind of wall you want. 2 by 4, 2 by 6, gosh I will even build 2 by 12 walls if that what makes you happy. Most wall systems work. Some work better than others for different applications. If you want a stronger wall, use the 2 by 6 method and put plywood or strand board on the exterior. The big issue here is that such a wall is quite poor for insulation value. Sure you can stuff the 2 by 6 cavity with an R21 insulation but the cold will come in the home fairly quick though each wall stud. Remember, you have solid wood(no insulation) over most all of your windows(called headers). You also have 2 or 3 adjoined studs next to each other for window supports or wall corners. The state of Wisconsin says that a general figure for these wood areas is that 25% of today’s homes walls are non-insulated wall stud areas. Since wood has about R1 per inch, those half inch thich plywood walls and those 5 and a half inch thick studs 2 by 6 studs are only givng that wall an R6 over every window and each stud edges. OVER 25% OF YOUR HOME WOULD BE ONLY R6.
The solution is to use foam 4 by 8 sheets over the wall exteriors. The Foam costs more than the wood, BUT it is MUCH better (1 inch of polyurethane foam has about R7 when you add that to the 2 by 6 wall stud areas) in providing a superior insulated wall. With the R3.5 foam sheets instead of wood sheets, you are now getting an R12.5 over 25% of the home. That sure beats the R6!
Again, if you were really concerned about being green and saving the earth’s resources, I might suggest that you would not build with 2 by 6’s at all. You could choose 2 by 4’s instead and save a few trees. I prefer 2 by 4 wall construction because in my own home, I would spray the walls with interior expansion foam . My 2 by 4 wall could then achieve a stellar R27 or R28 rating. I would use an inch and a half thick foam on the outside walls and hardie plank(cement sideing) over it for strength.
Another big item that is surely not as “flashy” (or expensive) as Solar or Wind power, is making sure that all of your siding nails are nailed only into the wood studs and not nailed into open wall cavities. This is another reason why I am not personally (Remember,my job is to build to my client’s desires, not my own) fond of using wood sheets on wall exteriors. When you use plywood or particle board for exterior walls, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE COVERING THAT PLYWOOD WITH A SECOND LAYER OF FOAM SHEETS, it is very hard for the siding installer to know When he/she is nailing into the stud(as it should be) or nailing into the just the plywood/particle board. The goal is that when your siding is done, and before you insulate, you should not see ANY nail shanks poking into the areas that will be getting the wall insulation. IF you are going to fill those cavities with expansion foam ( by the way, we have had this wall foam standard for about 5 years in our standard series homes) , protruding nails are not a problem. If you are using most any other kind of insulation, these nails will attract the cold exterior temperatures directly into the relatively warm wall insulation areas and can be the start of moisture condensation and the (dreaded) mold.
As you may now know, I could write for many chapters on energy efficiency in home building and by now, most people who are caught in one of my model home lectures are having their eyes “glaze-over”.
I will pick up next ime with more good practical ideas in going Green. I may even finally get to the Master bedroom “wild idea” next time. Thanks for blogging my way. I enjoy reading any comments you may have.
Blessings,
Tom Hignite
