Evolution of the Green House

When we started this whole house building business, I knew that we had to be smart about it.  I’m not talking about how some cookie cutter home builders are smart by cutting costs every which way.  I’m talking about spending more upfront on things that will save us money in the long run since we will be living here for a long damn time, so help me God. 

In college I did energy audits at manufacturing facilities, so I know a thing or two about how we use energy.  I would have loved to do energy audits for a living, but it’s hard to find those kind of jobs in these here parts.  I’ve kept my eye on energy costs in the ten or so years since I’ve done those audits, and there’s one thing I know: energy is only going to sucketh more and more money from our wallets as the years go by.

Here are some of the products that we will be using:

1.  Rinnai hot water systems – The Rinnai instant hot water system uses energy to heat water on demand.  We bought two systems for point of use.  You waste water by keeping a hot water tank in the garage.  When a bathroom or kitchen is on the other side of the house, you go through a lot of cold water before the hot water actually comes out of the faucet.  One of our units will serve the kitchen and photo studio bath while the other will serve the laundry, master bath, and guest bath. 

2.  Solatube - These little tubes work even better than traditional and oftentimes leaky skylights.  I love them because they are easier to install, provide more light, and don’t attract hard-to-clean cobwebs because it is a closed system.  The Solatubes are great because you save energy during the day by not switching on the lights.  It’s also great for getting ready in the morning because you are seeing yourself in natural light instead of artificial light.  This is one reason why women are often dissatisfied with their hair color after leaving a salon.  It never looks the same outside as it does under tungsten bulbs.  I am hoping to put Solatube units in our kitchen, closet, master bath, guest bath, and office.

3.  Aluminum windows (local manufacturer) – These windows have thermally broken Low-E glass which helps to keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  We passed on the Argon because it tends to work better in northern states.  A lot of builders save money by buying the cheapos off the rack at Lowe’s.  It’s worth it to spend money on quality glass.  There are other manufacturers that offer vinyl windows, but anything that’s made of plastic has the potential to yellow or become brittle when exposed to UV rays.  Vinyl windows have come a long way, but I know that my aluminum windows will endure the next 50-60 years with no problems, save wayward baseballs.

4. Icynene insulation –  My husband installed this in one of his commercial jobs, and he was really impressed.  It’s expensive as hell.  It works by creating a thermal envelope that essentially cuts out air flow and drafts associated with traditional insulation.  The R-value of the material isn’t as great as typical insulation, so the savings comes from cutting out the drafts.  A fellow he knows installed it in a 5,000 sq. ft. home, and his total utility bill averaged about $80/mo.  Wow.  The commercial building has seen savings of about 15-20% over comparable buildings, so it may not be as energy efficient as we first thought.  We are thinking about putting a 3-inch batt over the Icynene material to improve the R-value.

It’s fun for me to talk about this stuff again.  I’m sure most of you quit reading at the first paragraph, but I think our wasteful American mindset will soon be a thing of the past.  We can only handle $60 gas fill-ups and $350 air conditioning bills for so long until something gives.  We need to watch our energy consumption just as much as we watch our food consumption.  If that means that we have to give up some square footage to pay for expensive energy improvements, then so be it.