About a year ago, we published an article about an exceptional Title 24 project – an astonishing 50% over compliance – and now we present an interview with the homeowner who commissioned the design. The single-family home, designed by Klopf Architecture, is currently under construction by Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders (As an aside, we’ve done design interviews with both Klopf and Mat-Pel on our sister blog, The Architect’s Take.)

Many residential architects would like to design homes as energy-efficient as this one, but without client buy-in, it’s usually not possible to go beyond a certain point. Over and over, we have heard that client commitment to sustainable principles is THE key to building green! So, here we have a green homeowner and design client who’s willing to discuss – anonymously – why he’s doing as much as he is, and why it’s worth doing.

What is your background, education, current profession?

My educational background is in human and computer languages, among other things, plus an MBA in global business practices.  I have run companies in two countries, and am currently advising startups on product and marketing strategy. I also do volunteer work for environmental nonprofits.

My wife’s educational background is in art plus an MBA.  Her artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums, and she is currently an art educator.  She also does volunteer work for local schools and community events.

How did you become interested in sustainable design?

I have had a lifelong interest in cleaning up the environment and reducing dependence on foreign oil, and was first moved to take action on both at a very young age: in 1973! My wife also has a strong interest in doing the right thing in these areas, and we were both deeply impressed by just how bad an environmental situation can get based on what we saw while working in China.

What did you do in 1973? I remember at that time we turned our heat way down.

In 1973 I found out that a proposed nuclear power plant was going to endanger the fish in our main river with its cooling exhaust.  I joined my middle school “Ecology Club” where I learned even more about nukes, and volunteered to set up petition tables to gather signatures outside of supermarkets.   Also that was the year of the first OPEC oil embargo. With another group I walked the long gas lines handing out pamphlets promoting alternative energy independence.  Learned about all of this stuff by myself; my parents didn’t quite know what was going on.  Of course, those were the days when parents just turned kids loose on the streets while they did their own thing.

This green design client worked on his own initiative as a middle schooler to protect local fish from the cooling exhaust of a proposed nuclear power plant.

Have you experimented with any sustainable projects or home improvements in the past? How did those turn out?

We previously renovated an Eichler home, raising the energy efficiency and overall comfort of the house as best we could, but there is a limit to what you can do without a complete tear-down.  In the process we also developed a deep appreciation for mid-century modern design and 21st century home building techniques.

Have you compared notes with friends or others with similar interests? I think having a knowledge sharing group is important to keeping the flame alive, and if you’re a real hard-core do-it-yourselfer then technical notes might be essential to completing a new project. Of course a lot of that is online now.

Lots of information sharing going on.  A couple friends are renovating on tight budgets and acting as their own general contractors, but are very interested in as much energy savings and solar tech as they can pack in there.  Another guy we know is actually a professional in a technical area of green building, and for their new home he has an architect and contractor putting up a shining example of what’s possible in both architectural and energy design.  Also many neighbors are following our project with great interest, including an electric power researcher who lives right across the street, and our example may influence plans for at least small aspects of many future projects.

I have participated in our local city’s green building ordinance focus group, I’ve had good discussions with green building advocates on the city planning commission and staff, and I’ve even tried to help educate one or two commissioners and other local leaders who don’t seem to have all the facts.  City staff have followed our progress with great interest, and even PG&E has been very supportive.

The green design client is also having the new home be GreenPoint Rated, and used the GreenPoint Checklist as a guide to adding more sustainable features during the design stage.

Apparently, after quite a bit of internal discussion about our project, PG&E decided to get out ahead of the looming challenge of upgrading the grid for electric vehicles (EVs). Instead of waiting until we purchased EVs and chargers that don’t even exist yet – which would have required all sorts of rewiring and reengineering inside and outside our house – they gathered all the information we and the EV companies could provide, and decided to future-proof our entire block by upgrading the transformer, wiring and power poles. They used our project as a benchmark for internal research and planning, and I believe our project may have contributed to PG&E’s most recent guidelines on electric vehicle interconnections for your home.

What made you decide to hire an architect and go for a custom designed home instead of just buying something already built?

We will get more value out of our custom designed home than most people.  The house will seldom be empty, so the return on investment for every energy saving measure is very clear, and the beautiful design will make it a pleasure to live there too!  We will both live and work in the house, we have young children and frequent guests, and we don’t plan to move again.  Our architects have helped us design a home that fits our lifestyle and our long-term plans, and having control of all materials in a complete new custom project allows for better health and energy results.

The same firm that designed the high-performing green home discussed in this article, Klopf Architecture, also has experience with Eichler remodels. Shown here are two of Klopf's other Eichler remodeling projects. The renderings for the green home have a similar airy, open feel.

The whole ROI discussion is a big deal, especially how it’s calculated. The bottom-liners might say that adding green features doesn’t necessarily add to the resale value of the home (as if that’s the only reason to do anything), and they don’t seem to consider long-term savings in energy bills. Without making this discussion too dry to read, I wonder if you could expand a bit more on how you figured your financial return, over what length of time, in a way that makes it seem comparable to other investments people might make over their lives.

It’s an accepted rule of thumb that a new solar PV system adds roughly $20 in value to your home for every $1 saved off your utility bill.  In our case that pencils out to about 20% more than the full cost of the system, *before* rebates and tax credits.  After those are subtracted it’s over 50%!  I know rebates and credits plug some people in, so to speak, but you can’t have it both ways: either kill all the many tax breaks, subsidies and other support for the oil and gas industry too, in which case the price of gasoline would average $10 a gallon, or give the alternative energy and electric vehicle industries a little support so we can transition the economy more gently while pursuing long-term national interests. In fact, government support for these new industries is dwarfed by what the multinational fossil fuel corporations have negotiated for themselves, it’s absolutely obscene.

Which would you rather have: an oil-dependent economy, or the ability to breathe freely?

As for energy savings from other aspects of the house, since we exceed Title 24  by 50% to 60% the return is very clear and faster than you may expect. The new house is three times the size of the old one but requires almost the same amount electricity, and will use no natural gas unless I connect it to an outdoor bar-b-que.  Yes, all this efficiency costs more, and I’ve had several people I don’t know walk up to me in front of the half-finished house and just out-and-out ask “how much per square foot?”  They don’t get the answer they expect.  I point over to a new stucco show-off McMansion around the corner and say “I guarantee you I’m spending more per square foot than that one.  But I’ll be earning it all back on my utility bill, and then some.”  And if another Enron-type power crisis or OPEC embargo comes around again, the ROI will arrive even faster. They all seemed to go away thinking hard about their priorities after that.

Many people don’t seem to value the energy upgrades that actually give them the best bang for the buck, with or without the public statement of a PV system.  (Speaking of which, we tried to hide our panels as much as possible.) Our system would not be paying for itself in about eight years if it weren’t for our commitment from the beginning of the project to a high GreenPoint rating, but in the end that makes our system a better value.

There are slew of sustainability approaches, yardsticks, and standards: GreenPoints, LEED, zero carbon, embedded energy, biodynamic agriculture, slow food, etc. More coming out all the time. What’s your personal philosophy on sustainability? What do you feel is most important and why?

GreenPoints, LEED, Title 24 etc. are important as objective third-party “yardsticks” because all of this is new and changing almost daily.  Everyone in the business is still learning, and hiring a “Certified Green Builder” is just the beginning.  There are good business reasons for these standards.

My personal philosophy on all this is based on a businesslike approach too, beginning with the realization that using language like “sustainability” simply puts many people off. To really serve as an example and make a difference in this world, a successful approach to green building must appeal to more people at all level of needs and aspirations, starting with the most fundamental personal and economic issues. Otherwise it’s just a few of us making these changes, and overall the world is still going down the tubes.

The fact that we’re getting a good financial return on investment in this project is the best way to start neighborhood and national conversations on long-term energy, environmental, economic, security and foreign policy goals.

What is most satisfying about your new home (still under construction)? Not just green, but the “home” part of it too. How’s this home helping you realize your personal dreams?

Well, at the most basic level, it will be a drastic and satisfying change to live in a home that stays warm when you heat it, stays cool when you cool it, and saves money doing both.  But intellectually the most satisfying thing for me is the idea that this house, totally independent from fossil fuels and prewired for electric vehicles, will contribute to national security, peace in the Middle East, and a cleaner healthier world for our children. Emotionally, there will be great satisfaction in a custom home designed to support deep integration of work and family life, exactly the way we live it.  And, it will just be a darn nice place to live.

A few months ago we published an interview with a GreenPoint Rater to de-mystify the GreenPoints system that was suddenly taking California building departments by storm. Like LEED and several of the current rebate programs, GreenPoints has tie-ins to Title 24′s energy compliance scoring, and so we’ve had to help our clients to interface with this new standard.

There’s another standard that’s been around for a long time – the Home Energy Rating System, or HERS. For the first time, we are having to tell our clients that they will have to do at least one HERS verification in order to meet the new 2008 standards of California’s Title 24 energy code. Suddenly, everyone had questions. What in the heck do HERS raters actually do, and what does it cost? Is this going to be a huge headache or a minor annoyance? What benefit is there to HERS testing apart from compliance? What does a person have to do to become certified as a HERS rater?

I’d make a distinction between green-building standards and energy performance standards.

• Green building is focused on the bigger picture, on quality of life, and on the entire life cycle of the building and possibly the surrounding community. Examples include LEED and GreenPoints.
• Mechanical/efficiency standards are focused on building operational performance and energy usage. In this context, the Home Energy Rating System, or HERS, falls into this second category.

What HERS raters do is make your home more energy-efficient by auditing its current performance levels and pinpointing areas of poorest performance. A few weeks ago, I looked at the CEPE roster shared by the California Association of Building Energy Consultants (CABEC). I was looking for people with dual or triple credentials in GreenPoints, HERS, and as a Certified Energy Plans Examiner (CEPE), since those are the three areas where we most often have to interface with our Title 24 work. One of the people listed on that site, Rob Lehman, is the subject of today’s interview. Rob is also listed on our Affiliates page.

In the text below, Rob’s answers are credited as RL, and editorial notes are shown as [bracketed italic].

What do HERS raters do exactly, and why is it important?

RL: HERS raters are special independent inspectors certified through a HERS provider, and ultimately by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to evaluate homes in California according to the Home Energy Rating System (HERS). These ratings include field verifications and diagnostic tests to determine existing efficiency levels for various energy-consuming components such as:

• Heating and cooling systems
• Supply and return air ducting
• Building envelope air infiltration
• Building envelope insulation quality

A HERS rater will also perform a comprehensive energy analysis of the home, including energy consumption for all daily living activities in the home. This evaluation includes the heating and cooling systems, and how the building components such as insulation, doors, windows, water heater, and lighting all affect the home’s energy efficiency. The information is entered into a computer program that calculates an energy rating for the home. All of the possibilities for improving energy efficiency are analyzed and prioritized according to which ones provide the most improvement relative to their cost.

This illustration shows where the bulk of energy loss occurs within a typical home: 40% through the roof, 36% through the floor, 14% through the walls, and the remaining 10% through window and door openings.

[HERS is nationwide, not just California. The California HERS program was implemented starting in 1999, and is used provide field verifications for energy efficiency programs. HERS Phase 2 or HERS II is the next stage in that implementation within the state of California. There is also a national HERS program sponsored by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).]

How did you get into this work?

RL: I became interested long ago in do-it-yourself energy conservation and efficiency through Mother Earth News way back in the 60′s and 70′s, and dreamed of a day when smarter building methods would actually be used to conserve energy and help to save the environment.  When I realized the opportunities were out there to become a HERS rater, I joined right away. I have always dreamed of having an active and productive part for myself in energy and environmental conservation efforts.

Where can people find a HERS rater?

RL: People usually come to me through their builders. The public hasn’t caught on yet where to ask for Home Energy Rating Systems inspectors, but you can find HERS professionals listed on sites like CABEC, or through one of the three registered HERS provider organizations within the state of California:  CHEERS, CalCERTS, or CBPCA.

For our market space – residential low-rise Title 24 – what are the most common verifications solely for Title 24 compliance?

RL: The most common HERS verifications that I have performed for low-rise residential construction include tight duct tests and Quality of Insulation Installation, or QII. That’s my advice – start with the ducting and the building envelope.

A blower door test measures the amount of air infiltration within a home.

Some other HERS verifications that are also good to do, and which earn compliance credit within Title 24, include:

• Blower door test for air infiltration through walls, ceilings and floors
• Refrigerant charge management and verification in split system air conditioners and heat pumps
• Measurement and verifications in a/c cooling coil airflow
• Measurement of air handler fan watt draw
• Verification of high energy efficiency ratio (EER) for the air conditioning system, through component matching
• Visual inspection of supply duct location, where ducts are located within conditioned space
• Visual inspection to verify buried ducts or deeply buried ducts
• Photovoltaic installation verification

To qualify for Title 24 compliance, all of these measures require a certified HERS Rater to conduct a field test or visual inspection, and register the results with a HERS provider.

[A HERS provider is not a person, it's an organization such as CHEERS, that is certified by the State of California. You can earn compliance credits through HERS verifications if you use the performance method of Title 24, which employs a software model to simulate the building's energy performance.]

As time goes forward, I believe that people will have to use HERS verifications more and more, as a bolstering measure for Title 24 energy compliance. They will need the extra credits from the HERS verifications to obtain the Title 24 performance scores necessary for green building certifications such as LEED, Build it Green (GreenPoints), and Energy Star.

Are you finding that it’s harder to get projects to comply under the 2008  Title 24 code? What sort of measures are you having to advise your clients to take?

RL: Numerous changes within the 2008 Title 24 energy code have raised the standards for higher energy efficiency in California homes to roughly 15% above that of the 2005 energy code.  And this is just to obtain a passing score of “0″. All this is being driven by AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The State of California will continue to tighten up requirements in future code cycles, which happens every 3 years.

I advise my clients to take advantage of the HERS verifications that will help them the most, within their climate zone. In San Francisco, there isn’t a tremendous demand for cooling such as there is in Fresno. So perhaps instead of recommending a refrigerant charge management test, I might recommend a blower door test for whole house air infiltration, to identify problems with a poorly performing building envelope.

California has 15 climate zones, each with different heating and cooling loads. For example, San Francisco is Zone 3, San Jose is Zone 4, both relatively moderate. Livermore, which isn't that far away, is Zone 12 - much hotter.

I have found that including even one HERS verification yields a very significant improvement in the Title 24 energy report score. If the client plans on obtaining a green building certification through a program like GreenPoint Rated or LEED, a Title 24 performance score of 15% better than “0″ is mandatory.  Considering that the 2008 Title 24 requirements are already 15% tighter than before, plus the additional 15% over baseline required for Build it Green or LEED, it is easy to see that employing a HERS rater may be essential for achieving all these goals.

Compliance aside, what are the most worthwhile verifications or services that a HERS rater can do? Why would someone hire a HERS rater aside from Title 24 compliance?

RL: Saving energy! That translates into lower utility company bills, month after month. Everything that a HERS rater can do is an avenue for improvements that will save money. Here in the Bay Area, I recommend starting by investigating the building envelope and duct systems.

A duct blaster test in progress. This duct lying on the floor looks a bit like a python at the zoo.

I recommend starting with the ducting because the standard methods of installation for HVAC ducting throughout the years has not been favorable to tight, efficient ducts that have low air leakage. I’ve heard figures quoted in training workshops stating that 30% leakage in a typical ducting installation is routine, and the air infiltration even in some newer homes is still very poorly controlled. That is a tremendous waste of valuable heating or cooling BTUs! All that expensive conditioned air could be going into the attic or under the crawlspace, or out through holes and gaps in walls, floors, and ceilings and not into the home where you want it.

That’s crazy! Are ducts really that poorly installed every time?

RL: Duct leakage is an issue especially in tract homes that are built by contractors working under the gun to finish the job as quickly as possible. Another problematic practice has been that the so-called “standard” for duct sealing for many years has been to use duct tape for sealing the ducting to the sheet metal connectors. But, most duct systems are in the attic, which get as hot as 140 degrees in the summer time. Duct tape adhesive isn’t designed to withstand these temperature extremes, and it dries out.

Ducts, plenums, air handlers, and connectors should be sealed with mastic on all joints and seams.

OK, so tract homes are one thing, what about custom residences? Do they have leaky ducts, too?

RL: Even in custom-built homes with higher standards of care, it still happens. The standards say not to depend on duct tape, that instead duct mastic should be used. [Mastic is a high-strength flexible adhesive that can tolerate temperature fluctuations.]

Don't use duct tape to seal your ducts - use mastic. There are plenty of web sites to show you how, although if you've never done it before, consult a professional.

What is Title 20 and why do HERS raters care about it?

RL: Title 20 is a piece of California legislation that empowers the California Energy Center to approve the software and protocol necessary for HERS II Raters to conduct energy audits, in order to tie those audit results more closely into various new incentives. There have been energy-auditing businesses and HERS provider organizations offering their services for years now, but until now they have not been regulated by the State. One reason to do so now is the increasingly complex interrelationships among the various energy-related incentives, rebates, and tax credits with Title 24′s energy compliance scoring system.

Title 20 is new legislation, very recently passed in California, which is now in the implementation stage. My HERS Provider, CHEERS (which stands for California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System) is within one month of being available to train and certify HERS II Raters to audit and report energy scores for various incentives, rebates, and tax credits.

Are there other pieces of legislation in the works that we should know about?

RL: Local government financing of homeowner energy improvements through AB 811 may require a HERS II Rater to perform various tests to show how much energy efficiency improvement has actually been achieved. The Federal Home Star Program may require similar verifications.

Rumors of mandatory energy score reports for real estate transactions when selling a home in California are probably not going to pass as law anytime soon, because there has been a lot of opposition from the real estate lobby.

What do general contractors and HVAC contractors have to do differently now under the new Title 24 requirements?

RL: If there are required HERS verifications for any portion of the scope of work involved for a permit, General Contractors and/or HVAC Contractors will have to hire a HERS rater who will register the HERS verification measures online in order for the contractor to obtain a building permit. This requirement will take effect October 1, 2010.  The documentation for the HERS verification (included on the CF-1R Title 24 report) must accompany the application for the building permit, and be submitted to the building department for that jurisdiction.

[These HERS verifications consist of whatever tests were called out originally on the Title 24 report also known as the CF-1R, which was submitted earlier to the planning department for site permit.]

In terms of the CF-1R and CF-6R connection, who’s responsible for what? Where is this all-encompassing HERS data repository, anyway? Who owns and maintains it? How can an architect look up the status of his or her project to see if the project was properly registered? If the HERS rater doesn’t follow through on the reporting, what does the architect have to do to follow up?

[Each registered HERS provider maintains its own separate online registry. Again, these providers are organizations, not people. There are three HERS providers in California: CHEERS, CalCERTS, and CBPCA. Ask your HERS rater which provider he or she is certified through to discover where your project will be registered, and check that provider's web site.]

RL: There are actually three compliance-related forms for Title 24 now: The CF-1R, the CF-4R, and the CF-6R.

• The CF-1R (the Title 24 compliance report) indicates which HERS measures have been specified for credit in the Title 24 energy calculation. Both the architect and the project coordinator are responsible for knowing what is on the CF-1R in terms of how the building and systems are modeled, including specific performance data for products such as furnaces and windows, and any HERS verifications that are specified. The architect should communicate this information to the other parties for follow-up as the project schedule requires.

• During the course of construction, the owner of the project, or his or her contractor, is responsible for ensuring a successful verification by a HERS rater for each measure listed on the CF-1R.

• To prepare for each HERS verification, the contractor (general, electrical, solar, or mechanical) furnishes the HERS rater with a CF-6R, describing the portions of their work or installation that need to be verified. This could include ducting, an HVAC system or component, solar photovoltaic arrays, or insulation in the walls, floors, or attic.

• The HERS rater is responsible for performing the verification and registering the results (pass or fail) with his or her HERS provider’s online registry within four days of performing the test or inspection. These results are also known as the CF-4R report.

• The building inspector (building, electrical, mechanical) is responsible for collecting documentation certifying that the HERS verification is complete, approved, and properly registered before signing a final inspection.

What’s the best way to ensure that the tests happen at the right time during construction?

[The general contractor or construction manager should do the following:

1. Make sure that they have accurate information about the HERS verifications that are required for the project, and
2. Include both the HERS verifications and any pre-testing at the appropriate time in the construction schedule.

For example, the ductwork can be pre-tested prior to completion of construction, but it will be an extra task for the contractor to do so. Since most contractors do not own the duct testing equipment themselves, they may need to have another HVAC professional (the HERS rater can't do it) do some pre-testing prior to the "official" test, at a time when the ducts are accessible for additional repair if needed. However, if the contractor waits for the official HERS test and the ducts don't pass, they may have to pull off sheetrock in order to address and repair any deficiencies.]

Let’s go through each of the tests individually and describe what’s involved.

What happens during a duct blaster test?

RL: Also known as a verified air leakage test, a duct blaster test is designed to test and document the air-tightness of forced-air duct systems. It takes about 1 to 2 hours to do.

Why is it that the only photos I could find of duct testing all show men?

In this test, the HERS rater attaches a calibrated air flow measurement system directly to the duct system in a house, typically at a central return, or at the air handler cabinet. With the remaining registers and grilles temporarily taped off, duct air tightness is measured by either pressurizing or depressurizing the duct system and precisely measuring the fan flow and duct pressure. The findings result in a percentage of leakage for that system.

For new homes, a leakage of 6% or less is the threshold to pass. An existing home needs to achieve a leakage rate of 15% or less. In some older homes, however, the ducting system may be largely inaccessible for repair. For these cases, a 60% improvement after failing the initial test may be allowable.

This is an example of a duct tester machine that might be used for commercial buildings. This one is a PANDA 311 Series from TSI.com. It doesn't look all that scary.

To prepare for this test: inspect your ducts ahead of time. Do you see old duct tape? Any mastic used?

For architects or private homeowners doing remodels, where this test may be specified to achieve Title 24 compliance but where no work is actually being performed on the HVAC system as part of the remodel, how do we know it’ll pass and what can we do if it doesn’t?

RL: Have an HVAC contractor come out and inspect it, pre-test it himself. Then the HERS rater can come out and officially test it.

Are there situations where a house will NEVER pass a duct blaster test?

RL: Well, if you’re using the prescriptive method of Title 24 compliance, duct testing is a mandatory measure for additions with over 40 new feet of ducting. However, if the home has asbestos in the system, it’s exempt.

But let’s take another example. Let’s say that this test has been called out, and it’s an existing home, an older home, with an alteration that has triggered a Title 24 compliance report. Let’s say that we need to use the performance method for Title 24, because we’re adding too much glass. We needed the credit from the duct test to get a passing score on the Title 24 report back at submittal time. Now we’re in construction, and it’s time for the actual test. What if it doesn’t pass, even with a 60% improvement on the second try?

My answer would be that you can’t get even a 60% improvement, that means the ductwork is very poor and the homes heating and cooling will be extremely inefficient. The homeowner should consider whether he really wants to keep throwing good money after bad.

What happens during a blower door test?

RL: A home’s air-tightness is measured with a diagnostic tool called a Blower Door. The Blower Door consists of a fan that is temporarily sealed into an exterior doorway coupled with calibrated pressure measurement equipment. The fan blows air out of the house to de-pressurize the home. This negative pressure differential pulls air from outdoors in through any holes, gaps, improperly sealed penetrations in the building envelope, or locations where weatherstripping is loose or missing – to name a few.

Blower Door tests are typically performed at a pressure difference of 50 Pa (0.2 inches of water column) and the findings are measured in Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM). The CF-1R form (the Title 24 report) has the minimum and maximum allowable rates indicated, and the test must show a rate that falls between those figures.

To prepare for this test: Seal off all openings and drains. Close all the windows, put stoppers or plugs in the sinks and tubs, seal off range hoods and chimneys, and plug up any other hole you can find.

So how can you pinpoint where air is coming in? Is there any equivalent to the thermal image test for heat loss?

RL: Not really. But you should look for obvious signs first, like loose weatherstripping. Caulking can help. Thermal imaging won’t help except in some cases where windows may be leaking around the seals or frames. Today’s windows are manufactured with tighter control and they’re better performing with regard to air infiltration. However, window installation may be an issue. Look for cold spots around window openings if using thermal imaging.

Thermal imaging can be an aid in determining where air leakage is causing cold spots. However, you can't always tell what is causing a spot without further investigation. It could be air, moisture, or thermal heat loss.

For thermal imaging to work, you need to do it on a cold day so there’s a visible thermal difference between the interior and exterior temperature. Also, any cold spots you do see may or may not be due to air infiltration.

Why does the air infiltration rate have to fall between two numbers? Isn’t lower always better? Don’t we want to create an airtight home?

RL: A home can actually be too airtight as well as too loose. Some newer homes are so airtight that they can have problems with moisture buildup, which can in turn lead to mold.

I thought mold was mostly a problem in very humid climates, not in California.

RL: If the home is tightly sealed and it also has high-humidity devices such as spas, aquariums, greenhouses, or even if the occupants do a lot of cooking, it can develop serious mold problems, even out here.

What is an Verified Insulation Quality test?

RL: A Quality of Insulation Installation (QII) verification is a visual inspection by a HERS rater to verify optimal quality in insulation installation. The HERS rater verifies the following:

• The insulation is of the proper R-value and type specified in the architectural plans and on the CF-1R Title 24 report
• The insulation coverage does not have any voids or gaps, nor any compression where the insulation is restricted from achieving its full thickness
• All pipes, wires, etc. that are in cavities where the insulation occurs are covered with non-compressed insulation in front and in back
• All electrical boxes are carefully cut out in the insulation in order to provide a tight fit with no gaps or holes

In other words, the QII inspection is looking for the installation to be pretty much letter-perfect, so that the home performs up to what the insulation manufacturer is specifying for their product. The reality is that most insulation is installed by subcontractors who are seeking to finish the job as quickly as possible.

A HERS rater can verify that insulation was properly installed by checking that the right insulation product was used, and that the insulation was applied evenly, without gaps or compression.

This verification is more cumbersome and involved that most other HERS verifications, because the HERS rater might have to make several inspections as different parts of the building are framed. For example, under-floor insulation has to be viewed before the subfloor goes on top, wall insulation should be viewed prior to installing the drywall, and corner cavity insulation has to be viewed from the exterior.

Can you do this test using thermal imaging if the walls are already closed up?

[For the purposes of Title 24 compliance, the QII verification itself has to be visual, with the walls opened up. However, if you are investigating a home's energy performance, thermal imaging can pinpoint problems that would otherwise be invisible.]

Thermal imaging shows missing insulation in this ceiling where it meets the wall - something that you can't see with the naked eye. In this case, what we're seeing is the building's cooling performance on a hot day, and the missing insulation shows up as a "hot" spot.

Where are the most common spots to find insulation gaps?

RL: In addition to the spots described previously – areas around electrical boxes, pipes, wires, and small building cavities – consider these areas as well:

• Behind the tub or shower
• Fireplaces and chimneys
• Skylight window wells
• Exterior edge between building floors
• Interior/exterior wall connections

This last one is important and hard to get to. In places where there’s a connection between an interior and an exterior wall, there will be a three-stud channel that’s typically filled with dead air, and no insulation. A 1.5″ wood stud has an R-value of only 2 or 3, while the mandatory minimum is R13. Insulation is typically installed from the inside, but for these channels, you have to get to them from the outside.

How do you remedy uninsulated spots inside a wall channel?

RL: To remedy the omission of insulation in a wall channel, you have to address it as the carpenters are framing the house. For example, they could cut and install rigid foam insulation. During a QII inspection we’d have to come out and see this part as it occurred.

What is a refrigerant charge test?

RL: The refrigerant charge test is a HERS verification for split-system air conditioning systems, and ensures that the air conditioner has an adequate supply of refrigerant to work with. The amount of refrigerant in the system can dissipate over time through leaks, and if it gets too low, the system’s overall efficiency suffers, possibly even shortening the life of the system. If the refrigerant level is adequate, the system is considered to be fully charged.

There are three ways to verify refrigerant levels.

• A non-intrusive test that analyzes the superheat and the temperature drop across the cooling coils, and compares that information to referenced values. With this information, the refrigerant charge can be calculated. It’s cumbersome to do because of the math, but worthwhile if you depend on your A/C system for comfort.

• A more intrusive method, less frequently used, is to attach a simple pressure gauge to the A/C system to get a direct reading of the refrigerant level within the system. However, this method also requires the HERS rater to obtain a certification from the EPA, because if the refrigerant leaks out, it can damage the environment.

• Within the next few years, manufacturers will begin installing a CID (Charge Indicator Device) with newer models. At this point, a simple reading of that gauge will be all that is necessary to verify the refrigerant charge. However, manufacturers have not provided these devices in most models as of yet.

Refrigerant charge verification is a mandatory prescriptive Title 24 energy calculation compliance in climate zones 2 and 8-15, but when running the performance method of compliance, it can be a selected HERS verification in all climate zones.

To prepare for this test: If you’re doing this test to meet Title 24 compliance requirements, you need to have a HERS rater do it. But, a pre-test can be performed by any HVAC contractor. If you’re not sure the home will pass, you can have an HVAC expert check the system first, and fix anything that needs attention, so that you’ll know the results of the “official” test beforehand. Because of their status as independent inspectors, however, HERS raters are not allowed to fix or change anything themselves. All they can do is run the tests and report the results.

I can see where a refrigerant charge test would be worthwhile for an older A/C system, but what about a brand-new one?

RL: Even with a brand-new A/C system refrigerant charge can be a problem particularly with split systems. In a split system, you have a compressor outside and a suction and pressure line running to an air handler inside. This line can be rather long, and if there isn’t enough refrigerant in the system, it can take enough to fill this tubing that there isn’t enough in the system overall.

OK, say you’re a developer, you want your latest project to be GreenPoint Rated, and to get more points you want to boost the Title 24 performance score on all the homes. To this end, you have opted to include HERS verifications such as the refrigerant charge test in order to gain additional Title 24 compliance credits. How would you go about pre-testing if you had a whole group of tract homes and you need for them all to pass the refrigerant charge test?

RL: In a tract home situation, an HVAC contractor can use sampling during pre-testing. The HERS rater will sample test also, in groups of 7. Bigger builders should realize that HERS raters are an asset that they can use to test and verify different components of construction.

What is a fan watt draw test?

RL: A fan watt draw test is done on air conditioning systems. It’s a simple measure of the energy consumed by the cooling coil fan, and referencing this to acceptable maximum values as shown on the Title 24 report.

What is a verified air flow test?

RL: This test measures the rate of air flow through the ducts. There are several ways to measure, but I am most familiar with the use of an air-flow capture hood, measuring the airflow with all registers open and the filter installed, and comparing the flow rates to be equal to or surpass the duct design criteria of 450cfm/12000 btu (1 ton).

What is an EER verification?

RL: An EER verification matches air-conditioner components for high functional efficiency as a group. This verification applies to split systems, where the air handler, the outdoor compressor, and the cooling coil can all be from different manufacturers. The verification looks up the make and model number for each of these components in a CHEERS online software application that contains data on how efficiently each of these components actually works with the others.

Is the EER verification a pass/fail test? What do you do if it “fails”?

RL: It’s pass or fail. What we do is match up the components for high EER compatibility. Either the proposed system makes it or it doesn’t. For example, suppose you have a system design that calls for a Carrier compressor, a Train air handler, and a third-party cooling coil. We do an EER lookup and it turns out that the off-market cooling coil was lousy pick.

At this point, you can remedy it in one of these ways:

• Call the contractor and tell him that the components don’t match, and give him some other options that do match.
• Re-calculate Title 24 report and pick another HERS measure based on what the project will best support.

How far off can they be in terms of efficiency if they’re not well-matched?

RL: I’m going to go out on a limb and give you a rough estimate, and say that mismatched components in a split system could degrade overall system efficiency by as much as 10-15%.

Is the EER verification something that you’d have to think about way ahead of time, during project design?

RL: Yes, this is something that should be considered early on. The architect or the mechanical systems designer should contact a HERS rater prior to specifying these components. It can stop you from making a bad purchase. Then, when you add this as a verification for Title 24 compliance credit, you can be confident that your system components can perform together as well as expected.

What is the maximum cooling capacity test?

[Usually recommended for commercial buildings. We're going to punt on describing it here, because it's rather complicated.]

What is the supply duct surface area reduction test?

RL: This is a verification measuring the efficiency of the duct design, again mostly done on large commercial buildings with very extensive HVAC systems. The HERS rater physically measures the duct system as installed and checks this measurement against the calculated allowable area of duct surface from the Title 24 report, and verifies that the existing duct systems meets this allowable criteria.

What are the visual field inspections that apply to duct systems?

RL: There are several inspections related to where the ducts are located and how well they’re insulated. All of these inspections are credits towards achieving a higher Title 24 performance score. The two buried-duct inspections only apply to ducts that are located in the attic.

• Buried ducts: The HERS rater verifies that the attic supply ducts are buried under the required R-value insulation, and that the ducts make contact with the ceiling sheet rock. Signs must be visible that say “caution, buried ducts” [so that anyone doing subsequent work on the home doesn't inadvertently damage them]
• Deeply buried ducts: In addition to the buried duct requirements as described above, the HERS rater verifies that the attic supply ducts have an additional R-25 insulation over them if fiberglass insulation is used, or R-31 for cellulose insulation.
• Ducts in conditioned space: This test applies only to projects where the ducts are located in conditioned space, rather than in the attic or a crawlspace. The HERS rater does a visual inspection to verify that 100% of all supply ducts are within the conditioned space envelope.

[Radiant barriers, which can earn compliance credits in Title 24, are verified by a building inspector, not a HERS rater.]

Under what conditions would any of these tests NOT be advisable?

RL: The climate zone for each project needs to be considered to get the best bang for the buck. In other words, tests that focus on air conditioning may not be advisable in climate zones where there is little demand for cooling.

[They don't buy you as much on the Title 24 score, either. For example adding a radiant barrier in San Francisco does nothing to improve a home's Title 24 performance score, but adding one in Livermore or Los Angeles certainly does. ]

What happens if a project fails a HERS verification?

RL: The HERS rater has to submit the results to the HERS registry as a failure.  The necessary repairs should be done by the contractor, and then the HERS rater is called back to perform the test again.

When does each of these tests occur in the project cycle?

RL: Various stages. The important issue is usually to observe a complete and finished component for verification, prior to its being hidden by subsequent construction. One example is the verification of quality of insulation installation (the QII test), which may require several trips. Duct verifications are best done after all or most of the construction activity is completed, and there is no possibility of workers subjecting delicate items such as ducting to damage.

How much do these HERS tests cost?

RL: Well it depends in part on the size of the building and how cumbersome the test is to perform. A duct blaster test might start at $250-$300, because it can be done in one trip and it only takes a couple of hours. Some duct blaster tests are more challenging than others. A QII insulation test, which requires several inspections over a few weeks’ time, could be more.

How can the architect, owner, and builder ensure that the project will pass on the first try?

RL: Perform your own pre-inspections and employ expert help prior to the test date to prepare the components for testing. For example, good HVAC contractors will often test their own work anyway, although many don’t care enough about quality to do this. But, they should.

Compare it to smogging your car. Emissions is a state test, and it’s pass or fail. You can go to a mechanic ahead of time for pre-smog testing to find out if you’ll pass, and get any needed repairs done prior to having the official smog check.

"Will this cardboard box pass Title 24?"

What do architects need to know about working with local building departments?

RL: Their compliance review starts with the CF-1R form, which is the Title 24 compliance report. But most people don’t know how to read a CF-1R report. Even architects, building officials, and plan checkers don’t always know every aspect of compliance.

Building departments can’t interfere with HERS verifications, which is a State-level program. However, with the increasing levels of reporting and inspection, it will be harder to do last-minute equipment substitutions.

[One thing to note is that Title 24 reporting relies on specific stated performance criteria for products ranging from windows to water heaters, and any substituted product needs to have an equivalent or better efficiency rating. This means that the person responsible for selecting equipment and products must be fully aware of any assumptions that were used when preparing the Title 24 report for the project.]

Any famous last words?

RL: Here’s one thing you should know: All three of the official HERS providers are mandated to do follow-up inspections to check up on their own HERS raters. So, the homeowner could get a call or a letter notifying them that this is happening. Usually they’re OK with it, it gives them reassurance that the system is really working as intended.

A few months ago, we had the pleasure of working with a GreenPoint rater on one of our recent Title 24 consulting projects. John Eckstein is a building professional with expertise in both home energy performance, and indoor air quality, particularly mold investigation. Since GreenPoint rating is still relatively new, we asked him what is involved in working with, or becoming, a GreenPoint rater.

At what points during the project does the GreenPoint rater get involved?

The earlier the better.  By getting a GreenPoint Rater involved in the early planning stages, simple changes can be made to the design that will have a more cost-effective impact on the overall performance of the home.  Two things that come to mind in this regard are duct layouts and Title 24.

The architect should consider the duct layout for the HVAC system while designing the home. We all know that the less bends there are in a duct, the better the duct will perform. Yet I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a beautifully designed home, but because the layout of the ducts was never considered, the HVAC contractor ended up having to route the ductwork in a way that was far from optimal.

This is an easy thing to address at the design stage, but the architect and the HVAC contractor need to talk. This doesn’t happen because of the way we design buildings in the USA. There is typically no HVAC contractor on board during the early design stages. A good GreenPoint Rater can help to address this.

Also, having a good Title 24 consultant is imperative. Many architects don’t realize that there is a huge difference in quality between different T-24 consultants, so they typically go for the cheapest person they can find, and then they get “boilerplate” calculations that don’t optimize the final T-24 in terms of detailed window schedules or other construction details.

Remember – each percentage point over standard on the T-24 calculations equates to 2 points on the GreenPoint Checkist. [Ed: so for example if your home exceeds Title 24 by 15%, you would achieve 30 points on your GreenPoint score] Optimizing T-24 is a great way to get a jump start on building a quality, energy-efficient home.

[Ed: Building to the GreenPoint checklist, even if you don't actually get the project rated or certified, will improve the efficiency of the design.]

What does it cost to get certified (for those considering adding this to their creds)?

The requirements and coursework has changed since I became certified, so I don’t know what it would cost nowadays. The best thing is to check directly with BuildItGreen.

What background and skills does someone need to be a GreenPoint Rater?

The obvious background in construction is important, but I also draw on my background as a consultant and my training in Psychology.

There is no such thing as the color “green”, there are only shades and each client will define green their own way. The GreenPoint checklist available from BuildItGreen has over 270 points available, so there is lots of flexibility to mix and match measure that meet the budget, energy efficiency, and environmental concerns of each client. A good GreenPoint Rater can help the client understand and translate their “green” priorities into the checklist.

The two faces of GreenPoint rater John Eckstein show that there is more than one way to be "green".

My background in sales and psychology are also helpful. In my own mind, I see my role as a rater as part inspector and part home “therapist”.  Just as a psychotherapist will work with a person to bring out the best, a GreenPoint Rater will work with a team of designers, contractors, and homeowners to bring out the best in the home. Being able to work with and understand different personalities and egos, and then communicate and motivate is probably the major role of a good GreenPoint Rater.

What seem to be the hardest issues for architects to understand, from your experience as a GreenPoint Rater?

There are all kinds of architects, so I don’t have a great answer. From my experience working with residential architects, many have a blind spot in relation to ventilation design and HVAC sizing and layout.

How can architects be better prepared to work with a GreenPoint Rater?

BuildItGreen offers a terrific training program called the “Certified Green Building Professional” (CGBP) program where architects can become certified.  This is a great way to get up to speed on the “why” behind all the measures.  Also, as a rater, I  can add a point on the checklist when both the architect and the contractor are CGBP certified.

Which jurisdictions really have it together?

San Mateo County is pretty good. They are working hard to understand the program and their outreach has been excellent about educating the community and contractors about the program. I always see people from San Mateo County at the training programs.

Los Altos Hills seems to have a well-thought-out green program.  I also see many of their staff getting trained.

Palo Alto has made green a priority.  They have a dedicated green program manager in the building department.

On the other hand, there are a few jurisdictions that have made getting a GreenPoint Rating mandatory for new construction, but they have done little to educate their desk staff or inspectors about the program.  As a result, I get calls from many exasperated homeowners and contractors who have been given lots of misinformation, which gives the program a bad name.

What is your own background, and how did it lead you to become GreenPoint Rater?

My father and grandfather were in the plumbing and heating industry.  I never valued it then, but being exposed to the HVAC industry at a young age has really helped me as a GreenPoint Rater. I also ran an indoor air quality and mold testing firm for a number of years.  I investigated hundreds of homes with air quality and mold issues that were caused by errors in the way the home was designed, constructed, or operated.  It sounds strange, but I think I know more about how a home should be designed because I have seen so many that have failed.

I lived in Japan for 13 years and lived in a variety of homes that were designed for a very different climate and culture. This had a major impact on the way I view homes and in the way I work with clients. Japanese trades tend to cooperate more effectively than I see here in the USA. It is huge generalization, but in my experience there there is less “pointing fingers” and less territoriality between the trades.

There are huge opportunities to improve the quality of construction if we could get the trades to think of the “big picture”. For example, an electrician who drills a 1/2 inch hole for a 1/4 inch wire should be thinking of air infiltration and then take the time to seal around penetrations.  Some plumbers install pipes right flush with the wall or stud, so it is then impossible to wrap the pipe in insulation.  Insulation and HVAC contractors should be involved in the job early, so they can plan ahead.

Many clients (and architects as well) have the impression that implementing green features is expensive.  How much does it cost to encourage the trades to talk to each other and to think of the big picture?

I am a HERS rater and do residential energy audits using HERS testing protocols. I also have trained with the California Building Performance Contractors Association (CPBCA). The CPBCA opened my eyes to building science and to treating the home as a holistic system of integrated parts.

I have worked on about 350 GreenPoint Ratings to date. It is funny, because I only took the orignial GreenPoint training because I interested in learning more. I never intended to become a rater.  It just sort of grew.

Do you have any nifty stories or cool projects to tell us about? What’s the coolest project you’ve seen thus far?

For me, the “coolest” green homes are the ones that are thoughtfully and tastefully designed. In my opinion, many of the things that make a home truly “green” are not so sexy, nor expensive.  Some very “green”, but not so sexy measures:

• Designing the home to consider passive cooling and heating.
• Considering the solar orientation of the home and then designing exterior shading, overhangs, tree planting to take advantage of that orientation.
• A well-designed, right-sized, and properly installed zoned heating system.

Do you have any pet peeves?

I really wish that the cities would take the time to really understand the program and to educate their staff and citizens before making these green programs mandatory.

The Passive House Institute in Germany  has improved upon American ideas from the 1970s and re-branded it as PASSIVHAUS. Superinsulated homes have been built in many locations in the U.S. over the last 30 years, as covered by many articles on the ASHRAE web site.

Passive houses use significantly less energy than do existing or new conventional residences. In fact, they use so little heating energy that a conventional heating and cooling system is mostly unnecessary. The house stays warm by recycling heat that is already being generated by internal sources – lighting fixtures, stoves, toasters, dryers.

This prefab home from WeberHaus is a contemporary example of a passive house.

Now, the Passive House Institute has developed an energy modeling program called the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP), created by Dr. Wolfgang Feist. This program calculates energy savings to anticipate the monetary payback from a superinsulated home.

Here at Green Compliance Plus we purchased PHPP to see what it was all about. It’s similar in some ways to the Title 24 modeling packages, in that it determines whether the finished residence will meet the Passivhaus energy consumption goals. However, it goes beyond Title 24 in both its reporting and intent.

Title 24 compares a project to a “standard model building” of the same size and orientation, and tells you whether the proposed design is more or less efficient than the standard model. The Passivhaus calculations require more input data than Title 24, and provides reports of the actual energy usage in kWh or therms. It also considers CO2 reductions, which is the home’s carbon footprint.

Examples of passive houses in Austria and Ireland. On the left, the Austrian multi-family project “Satzhof 2″, by Nabih Tahan, was completed in 2000, to the Low Energy standard, which was the generation before Passive House Standard.

Interview with Architect and Passive House Expert Nabih Tahan

To learn more, our own Alan Hugenot interviewed SF Bay Area Architect Nabih Tahan,  who recently completed construction of a Passivhaus residence in Berkeley and is a well-known speaker on the topic of passive houses.

Bay Area architect Nabih Tahan, an expert in passive houses

What kind of building is adequate in our mild Bay Area climate (Title 24 climate zones 2 and 3) to meet the PHPP standard?

As with conventional Title 24-based designs, many different building envelopes can qualify, and the PHPP model is used by entering different values for the insulation, fenestration, thermal mass, etc. until the optimum design is achieved. Generally, the Passivhaus envelope is more airtight than are conventionally designed residences. In a Passivhaus, the ventilation is controlled by the continuous mechanical ventilation system, which also handles all internal heat collection and redistribution. The underlying principle is “Build tight, ventilate right.”

If a Passivhaus does not require a conventional heating system, then where does the heat for the residence come from?

Tahan: In a typical house, every light bulb, computer, refrigerator, oven, hair dryer, and toaster generates heat. [In a passive house,] This heat cannot escape because the building envelope is tightly sealed. The only place this heat can go is through the ducts of the constant ventilation system which utilizes a heat recovery ventilator to transfer this heat from the air being exhausted into the fresh outside air being supplied into the house. This provides both energy efficiency and excellent indoor air quality. Typically, a passive house reduces the heating or cooling loads by 80 to 90%. So, a backup heating system is still necessary to provide the remaining 10-20% that is required.

What efficiency levels do passive houses achieve?

There are three measurements that define a passive house:

• The building envelope is constructed so that the heating requirements will not exceed 1.4 KWh / square feet per year.
• The outside source energy requirements will not exceed 11.1 kWh / square feet per year.
• The building shell is so airtight that it will pass less than 0.6 air changes per hour at a pressure above an ambient level of 50 pascals.

More Links to Nabih Tahan’s Material

Interview Q&A on Metro Green Business

Summary of a talk he gave at BuildItGreen this past February

Jay Bakaler was very severe with me. “Don’t call it home automation!” he said. “Home automation got a bad name in the 80s and 90s, and now when people hear that word, they all run for the hills. What we do is systems integration, also called whole-house control systems. It’s more about choosing the right standalone systems and carefully and thoughtfully putting them together.”

[Update: Bakaler, who was working with Ultimate Control at the time that this article was written, has since left to found his own company, Metro Eighteen.]

I asked Jay what home systems integration was really all about. “We start out each new project by serving as guides and educators, to help the entire project team understand the possibilities. We don’t talk about brands right away. We talk about what works and what doesn’t work,” Jay emphasized. “If you start out by taking a strong stand almost immediately, you’ll turn people off around 50% of the time… even if you’re right. After we gain their trust through education and support, then it’s OK to start making strong recommendations.”

For many clients seeking luxury homes, energy savings are almost an afterthought. However… a well-designed and well-integrated collection of home systems can offer much better visibility and control regarding energy consumption, and there are additional benefits from combining systems under a single master controller.

“There are two market opportunities – new construction and significant renovation,” clarifed Jay. “I don’t like to use the term ‘high-end’ because it’s overplayed, and these systems are getting more accessible nowadays. It’s not just for homes costing $10M and up anymore. Because it’s the Bay Area, even $2-3M homes are not uncommon. A significant renovation of half a million or more is also a good candidate for home systems integration.”

When I asked for a representative project that demonstrated proven energy savings, Jay pointed to the renovation that he did on his own  4,000-SF Edwardian home. This included insulation, flooring, a high efficiency furnace, new lighting systems, a home control overlay system, and an energy management system, saving an estimated 25-35% in energy usage.

Advanced facilities-management and control systems have been around for decades, of course, and are constantly evolving. Usually we think of them as applying only to commercial and industrial applications, though – corporate campuses, government buildings, hotel/retail complexes, embassies, manufacturing facilities, and such. At a sensitive nuclear research facility, for example, the stakes and risks are so high that they can’t afford not to stay on top of things.

Jay Bakaler applies that same meticulous approach to private residences. These are sizeable places that may have dedicated home theaters, pools, advanced surveillance and communications, whole-house audio/video distribution, and user-definable lighting and shading. These homes also integrate environmental systems such as heating, cooling, security and life safety alarms, and energy management.

“More and more of our revenue is coming from electrical services rather than purely home entertainment consulting. This trend is partly due to the economic downturn, but it is also driven by increased consolidation of these home systems. With our 15-year background in overlay control systems, we are actively working to legitimize the home systems management industry.”

According to Jay, advanced home control offers energy savings from three main areas:

• Preset lighting and dimming systems with low-voltage wiring reduces power bleed-off inside the home
• Integrated sub-system controls allows for optimal operation and efficiency when system components communicate with one another
• Energy management dashboards providing instant visibility and historical review of home energy consumption, which in turn allows for lifestyle adjustments and system fine-tuning.

“When the homeowners can see what’s going on, they have a tool to make adjustments. It’s similar to a cell phone – when your bill is double what it should be, you check your usage and change your usage patterns or switch plans. Energy dashboards can show your power consumption by time of day, what rate used, and sometimes even which appliance. For example, you left your A/C running all day because you forgot to turn set points down, or you discover that using natural gas during the day for a dryer is a 200% premium, so you set the appliance to run at night when rates are cheaper. Better visibility enables people to change their lifestyle habits.”

Once I got him going, Jay elaborated on why this visibility is so important.

“Just as important as using reclaimed and sustainable materials, lifestyle awareness and adjustments have a huge potential for impacting the greening of our environment. It’s like dieting… it’s not just frequency, quantity, and time of consumption, but it’s also the QUALITY of what you are putting into your body. This could be applied to how we consume in the world.”

“Homes are like human bodies, which have standalone systems for things like respiration, circulation, temperature control, air filtering, etc. All the systems within the human body have to operate in balance in order for the body to be a fine-tuned and healthy machine. A home is also a conglomeration of separate systems which have to operate harmoniously and efficiently, or else the occupant will not be comfortable.”

Cumulative Benefits of Home Integration

Integrated control platforms such as Crestron, AMX, or Savant can serve as an overall manager or “butler” to coordinate all the other systems inside the home. These can include spas, gas-operated fireplaces, security and fire warning systems, motorized shades, lighting, audio/video and television equipment, and thermostats. They can also integrate with alternative energy production systems such as solar or hybrid fuel technologies.

The best systems in each category have a lot of built-in intelligence, including sensors and even astronomical time clocks. “You can set your thermostat to kick on the heat when the indoor temperature goes below, say, 60. But with a master overlay like Crestron or AMX, you could also open all the shades to let in solar heat gain, or conversely to lower them if it’s too hot. You can program the shades to raise or lower to specific positions based on the time of day and time of year. And, instead of leaving all your audio/video idling all the time, you can switch all entertainment equipment on or off with one button, or power down the equipment by a timer.”

Flow valve device used by energy management system to monitor water consumption

Of course, timed lights have been around ever since suburban homeowners realized that burglars know when you’re out of town. “Lutron‘s HomeWorks line of lighting control products let you record a history of activity and then replay it while you’re away,” added Jay. (Whether or not this would stop a determined professional is unclear, but I’m guessing you could switch on the TV or even pre-recorded animal sounds for a more convincing illusion.)

Low-Voltage Wiring

Jay brought up energy savings from low-voltage wiring when we were talking about dimming technologies and presets. “Actually, you have to wire a house differently for a Lutron HomeWorks lighting control system than you would for conventional lighting. Instead of running line voltage between a traditional wall switch and the light fixture, these computerized dimming systems establish a direct low-voltage connection between the light fixture and the modules in the dimming panel.”

Low-voltage wiring is used for computer networking, telephone cabling, built-in speakers, doorbells, smoke detectors, and the like. This is in contrast to the more familiar general-purpose alternating current (AC) household power that is delivered to homes by public utilities companies such as PG&E.

So why’s it more efficient? “There’s less bleed-off,” Jay explained. “Connecting the light fixtures directly to the modules is more efficient electrically, because there are fewer things in the path through which the current travels. I’d estimate that it’s 20 to 30% more efficient to eliminate components in the electrical transmission path, plus you get the benefits of sending low-voltage current over long distances of wiring, versus sending line-voltage current. It’s more efficient to send 12 volts of DC current 150 feet over low-voltage wiring to a low-voltage lighting fixture than it  it is to send 110 volts of AC current 50 feet from a subpanel to wall switch, and from there another 15-20 feet to an incandescent ceiling fixture using Romex wire.”

But Are Home Systems User-Friendly?

We wandered far afield from simple energy savings, and touched upon why home automation had become such a dirty word. “A lot of early adopters had bad experiences,” said Jay, “because to be honest, the majority of people implementing those systems were not  properly qualified. This has historically been a cottage industry, without much regulation, totally unlike the rest of the general-contracting world.”

Some of those early systems were “nightmares”. Lights suddenly switching on and off at 3am, or other scenarios reminiscent of HAL, the rogue computer from 2001: Space Odyssey. “Many of those early implementations were either over-designed or under-designed. But in a larger home, you can’t really do without it. A custom home without lighting controls would need banks of wall switches (which Jay affectionally calls “wall acne”). It’s much better to have a smaller, single-gang keypad switch with preset scenes for things like reading, entertaining or cooking.”

An example of "wall acne" - too many switches

“Scenes are defined either by the lighting designer for the project, or if there isn’t one, we use some standard out-of-the-box programming that’s about 85% of the way there. The owners live with it for 4 months to get used to living in their new home first. Then we fine-tune the scenes and engrave identifying labels for all the buttons in each area’s control panel.”

At the same time, the scenes are fine-tunable on the fly, with split buttons at bottom of the keypad for manual dimming. Yes, even my gadget-phobic, 75-year-old dad could handle that.

Creatures of Habit

“Humans are creatures of habit,” continued Jay. “We do the same things every day – turn on lights in the morning, use the plumbing, and other rote behaviors. The right way to design home controls is to look at the client’s living patterns and then create an interface that is intuitive and helpful, to make it easier for them to live their lives.”

The One-Button Turn-Off

Another area of energy savings is simply making it easier to shut the whole house down. “In a big house, the lights tend to stay on, because people forget. Someone might forget that they’ve left the light on in their walk-in closet for weeks.” It can be impractical for a homeowner run up and down every floor and every room to turn off lights individually, every time he or she has to leave the house.

“It’s also a security feature,” Jay explained. “If you wake up in the middle of the night and hear a burglar, you can hit a one-button exterior blast that simultaneously turns on every light in the house and outside, and it also alerts the security system.” Yep, that might be a deterrent. (I didn’t ask him what to do if the burglar didn’t leave.)

Radically Green

Have you ever done an install for a client who was really radically green? “Yes, recently we worked on a home that was built from SIPs (structural insulated panels) with a lot of reclaimed materials and sustainable features. The thing with SIPs is you have to pre-design all the wiring patterns before the home is built, because you can’t do the wiring through the framing the way you can with a wood frame house,” says Jay.

“I really think hybrid fuels are where it’s at – people like ClearEdge Power are the wave of the future.” ClearEdge was the subject of a recent interview on Green Compliance Plus.

On Choosing The Right Consultants

When I asked him what words of wisdom he might have for architects and homeowners who are interested in creating an integrated home, Jay was emphatic.

“Don’t underestimate the importance of getting qualified people to advise you early on, as a guide and as an educator. You can’t rely on retail stores or vendor representatives. The first thing you have to do is educate yourself on the possibilities and impacts so that you can make informed choices. Then you can be proactive and actually put in the wiring infrastructure for all these systems. For this, you absolutely need qualified people to spec and recommend.”

So what does ” qualified” mean? “Our business comes from referrals from other professionals, such as architects, builders, and interior designers we’ve worked with previously,” said Jay. Creating a custom home is a complex and expensive undertaking. “We have to coordinate our work carefully with other consultants – energy consultants, MEP engineers, lighting designers, acoustical consultants, and more. Any home over 4,000 or 5,000 square feet should have home systems specifications and documentation written out to serve as a road map. Most home systems installers won’t bother to document much, they just go in there and do it, like a cabinet installer who just uses hand sketches instead of CAD and real shop drawings. That won’t fly for these larger projects or ensure a successful experience from conception through construction and move-in.”

Documentation Is Crucial for Home Systems Maintenance

What not to do for wire management for home integration systems!

One area that a good home systems integrator cannot neglect is documentation. “Without thorough documentation early on, there’s a huge potential for problems to develop from lack of coordination and a lack of understanding from the client’s perspective as to what they’re really getting,” cautioned Jay, “not to mention that a well-documented system enables much better long-term service and support.”

Net zero energy buildings produce more energy than they consume, and while they can function autonomously from the grid, they aren’t necessarily disconnected from it – they can use the connection to sell excess energy back to the utility companies. Sounds too good to be true? Can you really get paid to solarize your home? Well, David Knight from the Monterey Energy Group just might be able to help you get there. His take as an experienced engineer on which of these technologies really makes sense should carry a lot of weight with both designers and their clients.

David Knight outlined the latest in his Net Zero energy home projects for an audience of architects and builders at the AIA offices in San Francisco last Thursday. It’s unusual for a mechanical engineering to specialize in residential work, but he’s installed over 6,000 radiant heating systems. He did his first all-electric Net Zero Energy home 6 months ago and has completed 12 more in the past two months alone.

“The usual problems with alternative energy homes is that none of the subs talk to each other, and you really need to use a whole-house approach,” he said. “These projects need someone to fill the role as a coordinator, and that’s what we do.”

Can solar PV really produce enough power for an entire house? Yes it can, now. Solar technologies are improving, and buildings themselves are getting more efficient. The cumulative impacts of improvements in glazing, appliances, heating and cooling systems, etc. means that, according to Knight, that new buildings use half the energy that they did even 5 years ago. Even General Electric’s got a Net Zero home that uses hybrid energy sources.

Payback is another area that may be changing. Solar traditionally has been viewed as having a long payback period. However, California has highest energy rates in the country, and a tiered system where the more you use in a month, the more you pay per kWh, anywhere from 12 to 44 cents. Of course, this means that solar payback is that much faster.

And although the 2005 Title 24 code doesn’t give credits for solar-powered electric items like water heaters, the new 2008 Title 24 will. Currently, designs that call for electric heat or water heating take a huge hit in their compliance score, regardless of whether that electric power came from PG&E or from onsite energy production.

To size the power system, Knight goes through the home’s floor plan room by room to predict power usage for each appliance and for heating, cooling, and water heating as well. Exterior lights and devices are also factored in. With this information in hand, you can figure out the home’s projected power usage – and from that, you can figure out the square footage of the solar panels needed.

Knight’s approach is to balance the home’s projected energy consumption against its capabilities for onsite energy production. On the “consumption” side, factors such as better insulation or more efficient glazing act to  reduce consumption. On the “production” side, there are not just one, but several options, some of which can be used in combination.

Solar Thermal

Solar Thermal Panels

Solar Thermal is a good solution for swimming pools, but not necessarily for a home. The problem with Solar Thermal is there’s no way to store unused energy. And at the times you need it most, during the winter, is also when the sun’s power is the weakest and of the shortest duration. In order to take maximum advantage of the sun’s rays when the winter sun is low in the sky, the panels need a steep upward tilt, which can be an aesthetic problem. You need to have a sizeable onsite storage tank.

Grid-Tied Solar Electric

Built-in Solar Electric

Solar electric panels embedded in clay tile roofing

Grid-Tie Solar Electric systems can provide enough energy for the house’s needs, and can store unused energy for use at a future time or for resale back onto the grid. With a GTSE system, you get one bill a year (hopefully, a very small one). The panels can be low and flat against the roof, and no onsite storage is needed. They are easier to maintain than some other types of solar systems. There is no transmission loss, as with conventional power. Sized correctly and with enough roof space, they can indeed supply all of a home’s power needs. And because the panels can lie flat and don’t need to be tilted, they can even be built right into the roof to look like a skylight or other design feature.

PV Thermal

PV Thermal panels sit on a heat-collecting tray

Photovoltaic Thermal systems have PV panels on top of a flat thermal module that captures the superheated air and either turns it into hot water, or flows the warmed air through the house for heating. PV Thermal systems require an attic space with a south facing sloped roof.

Geothermal Heat Exchange

Geothermal heat exchange system

Geothermal Heat Exchange systems use buried coils of fluid to take heat from the earth, or put excess heat back into the ground.

• Pros: silent; good for larger homes.
• Cons: Expensive and complicated to install. They need a yard or other open area to bury the equipment in, making them less suitable for urban areas. And, California’s high energy prices means that their electric pumps can generate higher electricity costs.
• Mixed Blessings: They are better for colder climates than for California. There’s a tax credit for them, but David Knight believes it will be short-lived because it offers too much potential for cheating.

NZE systems cost about the same as LEED Platinum paperwork. And, while your mortgage interest is tax-deductible, your PG&E bill is not. So if you spend the money to upgrade your home, you can add the expenditures for new systems onto your mortgage for the portion that isn’t already covered by direct rebates.

When I first ran the numbers on the new Title 24 project from Klopf Architecture, the numbers were so high – 50% over compliance – that I immediately assumed that I had made a mistake somewhere in the calculations. After an internal review, however, we realized that it really was one of the most efficient projects we had ever taken through the energy compliance process. How did they do it?
Turns out that John Klopf, whom I’ve known through the AIA-SF Small Business Committee, is a huge fan of Eichler homes, and so were the clients who commissioned this new home in Cupertino, CA. They found Klopf through the Eichler Network, which is an online community “dedicated to supporting the lifestyle of the nearly 11,000 homeowners in Northern and Southern California who own an ‘Eichler’ home.”

Eichler homes, which were mass-produced tract homes designed by top-flight Modern architects, are highly prized today among fans of Midcentury Modern and California Modern architecture for their distinctively contemporary features – spartan simplicity, clean lines, open floor plans, post-and-beam construction, concrete slab floors with integral radiant heating, and integrated outdoor and indoor spaces.

Architect John Klopf, AIA

“Eichler homes are fun to renovate,” says Klopf. Eichler was unusually egalitarian for his time – non-discriminatory housing policies weren’t the norm at that time – and he made quality California Mid-Century Modern designs accessible to people of relatively modest means. “The homes employ limited technology, but are still relatively comfortable. Today, Eichler homes offer tons of potential as green projects, because their energy performance can be easily improved by affordable measures such as improved insulation and replacing the original clear glass with high-performing windows in the floor-to-ceiling glass walls.”

The owners are a high-energy couple with two young children who needed more space, more flexibility, and to remain in the highly-ranked Cupertino school district. Their desire to continue the Eichler aesthetic in their new home led them to John Klopf, who is widely known for his respectful work with Eichler homes.

However, the new home would be situated in an area of midsized 1960s ranch homes, on a small cul-de-sac where at least half the residents are retirees. They didn’t want it to stick out. So, the front aims for a “typical” suburban ranch feel with only a bit of modernizing. The client selected a cement fiberboard siding in horizontal planks, Artisan from Hardie, that is energy efficient and termite-resistant but which nonetheless blends well into the neighborhood. Then, as the view moves towards the rear, the Modern portions shine forth with a wall of glass at the rear. All that glass makes the home’s efficiency all the more amazing.

How did you design this home to be so efficient?

John Klopf responded, “We started off with a proper solar orientation. The home is designed to stay as cool as possible without A/C, because the client did not want A/C. Then we made the west wall mostly solid, without windows, with the exception of one portion of the western wall that featured spectrally selective, ultra high performing glass.”

“On the north wall, we used floor to ceiling windows to let in lots of light. This helped with stack-effect cooling as well. We kept the south facade relatively closed, with punched windows. This was not only for energy performance, but also to keep the front of the house in keeping with the ranch-style homes that surrounded it.”

Other basic energy design measures included 2×6 studs instead of the standard 2×4, in order to fit more insulation into the walls. “A lot of it is just using good quality construction, which should be what we’re doing anyway,” said Klopf.

Solar features include a giant sloping roof to the south, always intended for a big solar array, using solar hot water for radiant heating, and solar thermal. “We haven’t gotten to the interiors yet, so interior air quality is still ‘up in the air’. There’s no carpeting, which will do a lot to improve indoor air quality, and heat recovery ventilation systems will also help with air quality.”

Geoff Campen, another designer at Klopf Architecture, added, “Our contractor Phil is very into sustainability. He really helped us out a lot.” This was Phil Carey at Starburst Construction, a Certified Green Builder who’s well-known in the Cupertino area.

“Also, the client is VERY interested in sustainability, very adventurous. He likes to try out things that could work, even if they don’t have much precedent. He’s willing to take risks and make sacrifices. He’s open to the possibility of it not working quite as expected,” observed Geoff. “He asked us to look into SIPs and ICFs, was interested in solar PVs and water heating. We even considered gray water at one point. What we did was we walked through the GreenPoint Rating system with him, with the idea of doing everything possible.”

How does the client feel about the design?

“The house will be more than triple the size of the previous structure,” the client says, “yet it will use far less energy and it will not be a looming monster home out of character with the area. The beautiful modern design and advanced technology are well integrated into the neighborhood. We’re very happy with the plans.”

The client confirms that “the neighbors are very pleased with the look”.  “In fact,” he says, “it seems the only comment the planning department received was an email that said “I approve!”.  That was sent by a neighbor who is a big supporter of PV, hybrid cars and social change.  But the more conservative neighbors seem impressed as well, and may for the first time believe a greener lifestyle could be a reasonable and practical choice.”

How did the contractor influence the design?

Did he advise you on things like window placement? “It wasn’t so much about design as working out the mechanical equipment. Phil is actually a Certified Green Builder, with a lot of experience. He advised us on what was possible or not possible. Some of the GreenPoints are for use of certain materials, some of which are harder to obtain in California,” said Geoff.

“We started working with the subs like Solar City early on, and they provided the schematics for their systems.” These consultants included the solar, mechanical, and the landscape architect – and you guys [Green Compliance Plus] for the Title 24. There was no need for a lighting consultant, because the Eichler style calls for simpler lighting.”

Our discussion veered into what green building meant. I mentioned Green Compliance Plus’ recent Jeff King interview, and Geoff agreed. “Green Building is about living simpler, really, and less being more. But the flashier side can serve more as a mechanism for social change.“

John Klopf was more emphatic. “Sustainability is not a part of architecture. Architecture is a part of sustainability.” So what does this mean?

Even the experts don’t always agree on what “sustainability” itself really means. Klopf actually has several definitions of sustainability on pages 9 and 10 (PDF 17 and 18) of his report on sustainability for the University of California Merced Campus, available on his web site under “Research”.

Most “green” practices today are focused on mitigating degradation by incremental measures: slowing pollution, reducing toxins, increasing reuse. More ambitious approaches to sustainability actually seek to enhance the Earth’s carrying capacity by eliminating the concept of “waste” altogether.

But then there’s the practical side of what actually gets built, how it gets built, and with which materials.

When researching new materials like Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) or Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), Geoff stressed the importance of selecting vendors with some financial stability. And, the best people to provide practical, useful information about these things are not the vendors – it’s the contractors.

“For one thing, not all SIPs are seismically approved for California. For another, it changes some of your construction methods for the trades. How the subs cut into the material to lay their systems is different with SIPs. When you install them, you have to cut every piece by hand.”

ICFs – Insulated concrete forms – are cast in place concrete, but the forms are left on. They have rigid insulation inside and out. The builder can attach sheetrock to the inside insulation, and apply a special waterproofing treatment to the outside. Do ICFs cost more than conventional building materials? “Well sometimes. But you might save on labor because these products are modular, pre-manufactured, and quicker to install.”

When’s the project going to be completed?

“Assuming the permitting goes smoothly, it should be done by the end of 2010″.

How are Planning and Building officials responding to the project?

“They’ve been very helpful, because they see that we’re serious,” said Geoff. “They’ve supported the project by making it easier to get variances on roof heights (for the solar), and they’ve moved everything very quickly.”

How does Cupertino feel about GreenPoints?

“In Cupertino, a GreenPoint checklist may be required, but you can hit the 60-point minimum without even trying. We’re at about 270 points right now,” Geoff responded. Klopf mentioned that Cupertino will pay for a GreenPoint rater to come out, as long as the home scores at least 75 GreenPoints. Since all submittals now need to include a GreenPoint checklist (not the same as an actual GreenPoint rating, which takes place after the house is built), theoretically the owner would know in advance how their GreenPoint rating was likely to pan out.

Are the clients doing home automation?

The clients didn’t want a fully integrated home automation system, but they are doing interesting things such integrating spectrally selective “smart glass” into the extensive glass walls along the rear of the home. Geoff adds, “They focused more on the relationships between spaces. One of them is an artist with a home studio, and she wanted to be able to watch the kids as they played or did homework in other parts of the home.” The other client requested more isolated spaces for a media room and a quiet but sunny home office. Klopf’s design team was able to meet all of their goals.

Interior of home

“This process has been as good for us as for the client,” Geoff continued. “At my last firm, we designed $10-$15M homes, but those clients were just not as committed. They’d say, ‘Oh, can it be green? We want solar’ without really understanding what that means. And, when they realize that sustainability means they can’t have those exotic finishes that have to be shipped from across the world, they abandon the green. It’s just not that important to them.”

By contrast, in this project, the clients’ commitment to green was the vital enabling factor in this project. “He’s a marketing consultant for high-tech companies. He’s also very into ham radio, has huge antennas at his home. He has a good grasp of engineering, knows a lot about building… this client was willing make sacrifices that in turn helped us get more into the project. We’ve never been able to engross ourselves in a project to this extent. With this experience, and the added credibility, we’ll be better prepared to push it in other projects.”

The client agreed, adding, “I think with this design we’ve managed to prove that a highly efficient, very green home can fit into an average suburban neighborhood quite well, requiring no uncomfortable sacrifices or anything that might seem like an eccentric lifestyle to the average neighbor.

“As the authors of Break Through argue, long-term environmental goals are more easily achieved when you can appeal to practical and immediate concerns like people’s wallets and their country’s energy independence, not by asking them to give up their lifestyle and get all crunchy just for the sake of the polar bears.”

“We’re very lucky that the client shared our passion for green design,” Geoff said emphatically. “The client’s commitment was the key. And, he’s savvy. We don’t have to teach him, we just have to meet and work things out.”

Office workers and high school students from 30 years ago remember the terrible lighting from that era – the greenish, corpselike complexions, the blurred vision, the flicker-induced migraines, the depression, even the supposed vitamin deficiencies from the limited spectrum of those old fluorescent tubes. Nothing says “factory farming” quite like that old whitish glare. And the buzzing noise they made… the list of physiological, psychological, and aesthetic impacts goes on and on.

Now, there are all kinds of “full-spectrum” lights out there, low-voltage halogens, and newer generations of fluorescents like the compact bulbs, that look a lot better and definitely save over incandescents. But qualitatively, which ones are really competitive for high-end residential design when appearance and aesthetics are paramount? We asked Ed Cansino, a lighting designer with over 25 years of experience, and here is what he said.

For our readers that don’t know you, please describe your experience and typical lighting design project.

I’ve been doing lighting design for 25 years and had my own company for 20 years. My business is about half high-end residential, and half small to medium commercial projects: retail, restaurants, office spaces from boardrooms to circulation areas, parking garages adjunct to other structures, churches, and health care. A recent project was an Alzheimer’s center.

What does energy-efficient mean to you, in terms of lighting?

Energy-efficient lighting uses sources that deliver a high amount of light for a small amount of energy. It’s like gas mileage on a car.

What are the main types of lighting technologies available?

The tools we have are:

1. Incandescents, including halogens, that use a glowing filament. They’re at the bottom of the efficiency range.
2. Fluorescents, which use mercury vapor and a phosphor.
3. High Intensity Discharge lights (HIDs), used in street lights, stadiums, and other such spaces. The standard orange-ish light used in most cities is a high-pressure sodium, and is at the top of the energy-efficiency scale. They’re three times as efficient as incandescents.

Incandescent, compact fluorescent, and high-intensity discharge lamps

The one exception to the HIDs’ efficiency are the yellow low-pressure sodium lights used in some places like San Jose – they’re monochromatic, which makes it easier for the Mt. Hamilton observatory to filter them out, because it’s easier to filter out a single band than to filter multi-spectral light sources. The downside of single spectrum is that the color rendering is the worst it can be. Emergency personnel responding to a call literally can’t tell motor oil from blood on the ground. And there’s still plenty of light pollution in San Jose.

Super-bright whites are metal halide lamps. They’re a little less efficient, but the quality and color rendering is better, especially at lower wattages. They’re good enough now even for high-end retail, where color rendering is supremely important. You see a lot of 20w-50w halides in this type of application now.

I remember some of those HIDs made a horrible buzzing noise, enough to keep me up at night.

It depends how they’re specified. If you don’t have someone wearing the cap of a lighting designer – which could be an architect or more rarely an electrical engineer – someone who’s well-versed in lighting – then the lighting just becomes a line item subject to budget constraints. There’s no one to push for WHY you’d want to get a better quality product.

And, a lot of the noise issues for example are due to low-quality products, or incompatibilities. There’s a lot of low-quality stuff out there – poorly manufactured components, poor quality assurance – and there’s a big market for the cheapest possible solution.

What about LEDs?

LEDs are a new technology that hasn’t settled out yet. There are no industry standards for LED products. They do hold the most promise for efficiency and quality, but they’re very challenging for a number of reasons.

The Hypnocube is made from LEDs

First, it’s still difficult to get LED chips to produce white light. The first way was to mix primary colors, red green and blue light in this case. However, this produces a spectrum that is discontinuous, similar to fluorescents and metal halide HIDs. By contrast, incandescents have a continuous light spectrum; halogens in particular are noted for their crisp white light.

Second, LEDs have to come assembled in an entire system. You can’t separately buy the LEDs, ballast, power supply, and fixture and then assemble it yourself into a custom design. Because it has to come already wrapped in a product, it has a high price point.

The current approach for the white-light problem is to start with a blue LED and coat it with phosphor. That’s similar to how fluorescents work. This is the technology in those cheap LED flashlights nowadays.

LEDs are actually superior at any color other than white. In fact, you can dial in precision colors, although overtones can be a problem. Although you could in theory make a very large array of LEDs, each dialed into a slightly color to achieve a continuous color spectrum, it becomes prohibitively expensive and complicated.

Third, there’s no way to dim them. You’d need expensive additional parts and interfaces. I can think of at least 6 different protocols for dimming LEDs. This is where the lack of industry standards comes in. Remember the VHS/Beta video divide?

That’s why I am very careful with my specs on LED products. On the consumer side, you have to be cautious about what you get and who you buy from. There are installations with products out there that can’t be supported because there are no replacement parts available. Specifying LEDs can be treacherous, in my opinion.

Aren’t there international organizations to create industry standards for LEDs?

They’re not addressing LEDs yet. But you’re right – standards need to be developed by independent organizations [rather than vendors]. But think how long that could take. It could take 2 years, 5 years, or even 7 years. Manufacturers can’t afford to wait that long.

What about mercury vapor lamps?

They’re dinosaur technology, and not much better than incandescents for efficiency. They made a purplish, poor quality light and were used in the 50s and 60s as the predecessor to the HID street lights we have now.

What about neon?

The voltages in this type of cold cathode lamp are high. They’re custom fabricated, and produce more light than most indoor fixtures.

What about toxicity?

Well, 95% of fluorescents contain mercury vapor. You can actually see the little ball of mercury rolling around in them when you tilt the tube. The amounts aren’t that great, so they’re a lower priority hazardous waste than many other things.

Now you can get “eco friendly” fluorescent lamps that contain less mercury. They perform and look pretty much the same as standard fluorescents. Most manufacturers catalogs nowadays have a section for these eco-friendly fluorescents.

How do good lighting controls help with energy-efficiency?

It’s good to hear energy efficiency & lighting controls in the same sentence. Especially in residential work, lighting control systems are more often than not, thought of and sold as a “convenience” or “cool” factor. No doubt that both of these are important and valuable. I do however, spend a lot of time discussing the energy side of everything from simple wallbox controls to whole house systems. The tone of the industry is now shifting on this point.

There are three areas where lighting controls can help with efficiency:

1. Dimming rather than switching is the heart of it. Unlike fluorescents, which are harder to dim smoothly, you can use simple dimming controls with incandescent fixtures, and incandescents have no practical limits on their dimming range.. Anything that can dim proportionally saves in equal proportion. If you dim a light by 50%, you cut your energy use by 50%.
2. Longer lamp life. For any incandescent, including halogens, dimming even 10% can double the lamp life. This helps the environment because it saves on manufacturing and landfill.
3. One-button operation. It’s not practical to manage the lights in a large home using manual switching. It’s much simpler to hit a single “all off” button as you leave the house, and a “main on” when you come back that turns on just the light you need.

A good control system makes it easier to be energy-conscious. You can create a scene that delivers low light levels and then call it up with the push of a button. Other energy-saving features embedded in the software can include load shedding (auto shutoffs).

Most fluorescents’ can’t be dimmed at all, but there are a few products out there that can be dimmed to 10 or 15%. A premium dimmable fluorescent is available that dims to just 1%. But it’s expensive, so commercial projects don’t tend to use it. However, Lutron has been making high-quality fluorescent ballasts for 20 years.

Are these controls only for high-end residences?

No. If you look at Lutron, I specify them a lot. They’re on top of things… not bleeding edge, but definitely leading edge. Their website features many energy-saving products. Not all of them are big, fancy systems. Some of them can be small applications – a bathroom, or a family room, for example.

Watt Stopper is another company that makes energy-saving lighting controls.

How do older people, who may be used to simpler switching and may be gadget-phobic, respond to this new control technology?

Some may have had bad experiences with it. Lighting controls give flexibility where there was none before. Anything flexible is a double-edged sword. You can get the world’s best results, or the world’s worst results. The design, the setup, and the programming all has to be properly done.

If you have no options, you can’t be dissatisfied. But now that everything comes with embedded chips, new decisions need to be made. Everything needs to be thought out, and there are lots of opportunities to [mess it up].

To correctly specify any residential control system, you must have knowledgeable people on board who can also engage with the client.

What is the best type of lighting for high-end residential work?

I don’t believe there is one (or one category). I always think about the application first. Currently, I would say that 90% of my residential lighting is incandescent based (Halogen is incandescent), and 10% is fluorescent or LED. However, this is, and will continue to be a fast moving target due to improved technology (primarily in the LED field) and changing energy efficiency codes.

I prefer fluorescents for certain things like indirect lighting in a kitchen or lighting utility areas and garages. There are many fluorescent products with excellent color and performance. The potential rival (not replacement) to the incandescent lamp is the LED. Unlike a fluorescent lamp, it will be able to work well as a focal light source and a general light source. A lot of R&D dollars are now being spent on this technology. Unfortunately, the current lack of industry standards, misinformation, a lot of less-than-desirable performance and high cost, make it rough to specify correctly.

Like most things in design, a holistic approach is necessary to obtain favorable and predictable results. The root of lighting dissatisfaction usually involves more than one component in the lighting system (lamps, fixtures, controls, daylight, windows/skylights, reflective surfaces & occupants). All of the components are interdependent on each other.

It’s true that fluorescent lamps 30 years ago generally offered only poor color quality. However, the choice of fixture that the lamp(s) resided in was a major factor, as was the general application. Most manufactures of the products we specify then & now offer good, better & best options. Unfortunately, in reality we can end up with really bad, not so bad & just ok. The poor color quality lighting systems back then didn’t have to buzz, flicker or glare as much as some did. My lighting career is now at the 30 year mark, so I remember very well the state of commercial lighting systems back then. Choices were available even then that could have dramatically improved those dreadful spaces we remember.

But, having said all this, if I were forced to choose the best lighting for residential overall, it would have to be incandescent. I feel that we as humans have had a deep connection to flame for many thousands of years. It’s almost like it’s in our DNA. It’s interesting that as time moves on, people are still drawn to sitting around the camp fire, a fireplace, even a barbecue. Think of a Yule log. It’s just that this particular quality of light is ingrained in us. You can even get a screen saver of log flames.

Incandescents with their glowing filaments are a form of flame and are thus an extension of this inborn affinity that we have for fire. Plus, incandescents are inexpensive to implement regarding lamps and controls. If you compare simple incandescent to fluorescent circuits, they’re as efficient if not more so.

People are saying “Hey, let’s put CFLs everywhere” as if it’s a magic bullet. They’re misapplied routinely. There’s so much discussion about the benefits of CFLs, but there’s another discussion that never gets heard.

Fluorescents are better for larger areas, or for indirect lighting as in a kitchen, or a luminous ceiling with backlighting. For commercial applications, we would choose fluorescents even if we didn’t have to – we prefer them. But in residential, 90% of it is incandescent based on preference.

My impression of energy-efficient lighting is that it’s harder to see with – not as sharp.

It’s really a choice between direct and indirect lighting. Too much indirect lighting produces that “cloudy-day glare”.

So which is better… direct or indirect lighting?

Indirect lighting maximizes volumes in space. It makes a room big, bright, and cheery. If you light the ceiling, the ceiling surface is the brightest surface in the room, visually and perceptually. The next focus is on lighting the vertical surfaces on the perimeter, i.e. the walls. Indirect lighting is a great way to get soft, diffuse lighting into a space.

However, if you have nothing but indirect lighting, then you get that cloudy-day glare effect. With uniform lighting, there’s no visual hierarchy. Contrast is necessary, like salt and pepper on your food.

High-contrast lighting, with no ceiling light, creates a warm, cozy, dramatic, or romantic feeling. But, excessive contrast can also create glare.

Much of the time, it’s a matter of applying light in the right way. Too much light can be as bad as too little.  I get calls from commercial folks complaining that they “just can’t see”. And yet when I go there with a light meter, there’s a tremendous amount of light. But it’s coming from the wrong place. If there’s an imbalance between too much daylight and not enough task light, then every time people out the window, their eyes will adjust to the brightness, and then when they turn back to their desks, their eyes are clouded and they can’t see. In this case they don’t need more lighting – they need shades.

What about human factors in lighting design?

Vendors tend to emphasize technology, rather than human factors, because they want to sell product. For residential lighting, you need enough foot-candles by reading or task areas, and you need to deliver light without creating glare. You don’t want too much contrast in the room.

Lighting controls came out of the AV market. Audio/Visual  technology evolved into Home Automation, and from there into lighting controls. Because of this, the core competency of many home automation consultants is in A/V systems. They sometimes miss the opportunity to sell lighting.

Lighting design is both an art and a science. On the one hand, it’s about perception, comfort, and defining the center of a home. On the other hand, it’s about circuits and ballast. Most books on lighting design have a chapter on why human factors are important.

Also, the Bay Area has been a center for lighting research and education for many years. For example, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), http://www.iesna.org/ PG&E and the Pacific Energy Center, http://www.pge.com/pec/, and Lawrence Berkeley Labs. http://lighting.lbl.gov/l_distribution.html

Are there considerations when creating energy-efficient lighting for people with disabilities?

Well, the Alzheimer’s center I just did recently is one example. Contrast was a big issue for the Alzheimer’s patients. In this case, what do the patients need in order to make it down the hall? They need to know exactly where the walls and the floors are. If they stub their toe on a carpet or wall edge, they can fall and fracture a hip.

One problem is that Title 24 only allow a certain amount of wattage per square foot. It’s pure efficiency from an idealized, young-and-healthy standpoint. Codes like Title 24 don’t always adequately allow for the needs of people whose abilities are not those of a 20-year-old.

When designing lighting for a private residence, you have to ask the clients what their needs are. Chances are, they’re calling because they already have lighting issues.

Have you ever tried any special effects, such as mixing pure colors as part of a lighting plan, or using reflected light off colored walls, instead of just going for white or yellow?

Oh, I’ve tried all kinds of things! Fiber optics, RBG/LED products for specialized coves or backlighting. I did a 40 foot long wine cellar with translucent, backlit walls behind the specially designed wine racks.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Just that the tools are already there to create efficient and well-lit environments. It’s on the people designing and installing these systems to seek out the information, and either hire a consultant or learn it yourselves.

Last week and today, Mark English and I spoke with Jeff King, president of Jeff King & Company, about what building green really means. Some of his answers surprised us. To paraphrase:

“Finishes are only skin deep, but infrastructure is to the bone.” – Rebecca

How would you define Green Building (as opposed to any other sort)?

To us, it means building the best building we can build. Green building really boils down to having good common sense and best practices.

What is your overall philosophy regarding Green Construction?

It’s not the finishes – it’s the structure, and how it’s built, and the systems.

Green building is really about design. It means optimizing the infrastructure – the power, heat, water systems – using natural daylighting – to ensure efficient use of resources.

A lot of it is in the design and how things are placed. Hot and cold water delivery should be off a single trunk line, with the branch lines minimized. Hot water pipes should be insulated all the way up to the point of use – most builders won’t do that.

For heating, we try to install the highest efficiency system possible for the situation, and optimize the design for the house: including sizing, building exposure and orientation, insulation used, and – very important – the needs of the client.

During a remodel, we reuse materials wherever possible. Leftover lumber gets used elsewhere, for framing, fireblocking, or something else.

I’m skeptical about claims of green, especially when it comes to finishes. Is IceStone really mores sustainable than Carrara marble that comes from a 2,000-year-old quarry? What about some new stone that comes from, say, a new quarry in Brazil – opening up the land in a new place – and then that stone is shipped to China, and then to the States? What’s the carbon footprint of a slab of Carrara vs a slab of Caesar Stone, which is manufactured in Israel?

Finishes are important on one level, but 5 years from now a new owner might buy the place that has all these new sustainable finishes – recycled glass or whatnot – and just rip them all out.

Here’s another example. In San Francisco, very few buildings have insulation. Title 24 requires that insulation be added when rebuilding, but otherwise older buildings don’t have it. That’s because it’s San Francisco. In Michigan, a building without insulation would be absurd! A best practice in this case is to insulate to the max when given the opportunity, even in San Francisco.

Are architects open to your ideas about Green Building?

These days, there’s hardly anyone who’s not talking about it. One designer, who called it all “unproven technology” 4 years ago, just opened a green showroom!

The role of the architect is crucial,  because if the architect is not thinking about energy efficiency upfront, it becomes much harder to achieve that same efficiency on the back end. You know this from your Title 24 work.

The architect doesn’t have to do all the planning. The architect designs the project, but the contractor has to service it and install it. This is a partnership opportunity for both builder and architect.

We as green builders have to be cautious about what we buy into.

Do most of your clients understand how Green you build?

Gauging a client’s interest is always tricky. We advertise ourselves as green builders, so we get a lot of interest for that.

Sometimes we have to convince the client that green building is really great building. Or, we talk about health instead. A client might want melamine because it’s easy to clean, but once we tell them about formaldehydes and glues, they’re much more amenable to less toxic alternatives. If the client has allergies, radiant or exchange heating may be a better choice.

The cost savings can be an issue. Convincing a client to go for a $6,000 water heater that’s 95% efficient vs. a standard 80-gallon water heater that costs only $900 and is 80% efficient can be a tough sell. There are installation variables for some of the higher-efficiency systems to get the most out of them, also.

I’ve been in situations where I said, “There’s no way I’m putting in an 80% system,” and I knocked out my markup – that was my contribution to the project.

What’s the best heating system to use?

There’s no one type of heating system that works in every case. For example, people say, “Well, radiant heat is the most efficient.” Well, not if the client likes to turn the heat off at night. If the home is 60 degrees at night and heated to 66 during the day, that’s not efficient for a radiant heat system. On the other hand, if the client has allergies or other sensitivities, radiant might be a better choice.

Do you have any notes about radiant heating?

Radiant heat has made advances to eliminate hot spots and improve heat dispersion. The new type also is simpler to install, and is less vulnerable to puncture during flooring installation.

My understanding is that radiant heat won’t work well with solar thermal. I don’t know why, but that’s what my radiant subcontractors say. I won’t install radiant with solar thermal anymore.

What’s your feeling about on-demand water heating?

I did a couple a few years back, and I won’t do it again, knowing what I know now. For example, we did a 4,000 square foot house with a single on-demand water heater in the attic, and a separate gas furnace in the basement. It works… but not as efficiently as I would have liked.

If I had to do that job over, a higher efficiency solution would have been forced air off of a water heater.

On-demand water heating is good where:

• Home is very small, around 1,000 square feet
• Water heater is positioned close to point of use, 20 feet of pipe max
• Bathrooms are stacked – again, keeps the pipe distances short

One problem with on-demand water heating has to do with what people are used to – cold water sandwiching or a false call, where a person turns on the hot water tap out of habit, runs it for 5 seconds, and then switches it off right when it starts to warm up. With an on-demand heater, it just wastes fuel.

(Mark: A tank water heater also has a reserve of 50-80 gallons which could be useful in an emergency like an earthquake, where water supplies are interrupted)

So, is technology the answer?

Adding technologies just complicates things, involving a lot of front-end costs and sometimes actually increasing your energy costs. For example, the electric power used to pump water up to a solar water heater could, in some instances, offset the solar energy savings.

Overly complicated homes is sort of the sexy side of green, but they can cost more money at the end of the day.

What about home automation?

Home automation has a huge green potential for second homes where people aren’t there all the time.

What about green building in an urban context?

Most green building solutions are for single-family detached homes because there are so many savings to be had. When you translate this to an urban environment, there are additional limitations – fixed orientations, property lines, obstructions that interfere with solar power, and fewer opportunities for passive solar design. We are still at the front of the curve.

You could take advantage of the vertical opportunities, for example drawing cool air from above in the north, in a multi-story building. That’s a 3,000-year-old technique used in Iran.

Yes, you could! Sometimes common sense is the best practice.