Builders Zero In on New Goal of Energy-Neutral Housing - WSJ

Wisdom Way seems to be a hot topic these days. In todays Wall Street Journal there's an article by  Jim Carlton on "Energy Neutral" projects which uses the Solar Village as an example. The article focuses on electricity use and zero-energy so it makes no mention of the super-insulation necessary to achieve this goal. The difference in home prices that Anne Perkins of RDI gives is largely due to the PV panels, but the savings realized by her contractors in the insulating of these units will reap huge savings with relatively little cost.

I also think the differences in the projects in the article, the price of a unit at Wisdom Way is about half the price of a 600 square foot addition in LA. And *ahem* "offset(ing) the cost of the panels by not having to buy a big furnace"?!?!  Even without any special insulation they would not have to buy a big furnace in LA! Tomorrows high temperature in Hermosa Beach is 67, which is where many of us here in New England set our thermostats! I know it gets nippy by the beach there, but put on a sweater folks!

Real Time Energy Data

Another piece of making our live's more efficient is real time monitoring of our homes usage of electricity . It is another emerging field that already seems crowded with  solutions, yet there are few options on the market right now.

This week in Copenhagen a call to action was issued by a number of large companies to make real time monitoring become more widespread. There is a nice piece by Martin LaMonica over on cnet about the announcement.  There is also a gallery accompanying the piece which includes links to hardware and software solutions. We are anxious to get some of our clients started with real time monitoring of their electricity usage and hope that all this data will also in turn help us make our designs more efficient.

As the article mentions, until there is real time variable pricing to accompany the monitoring, there won't be a financial incentive for users to run their appliances at off peak time, thereby eliminating the need for new power plants and reducing peak demand which is the most polluting and expensive.

Real time monitoring will become essential in zero-net energy building and help the occupants manage their usage so as to achieve that balance.

Changes That Pay

A recent article in the Boston Globe Magazine outlines some ways to save energy and lists some resources for audits, building materials, and an upcoming rebate program for appliances. On the last page the article makes mention of RDI's Wisdom Way project which ADI designed.

EERE: Energy Savers Home Page

EERE: Energy Savers Home Page

We stumbled upon this excellent resource just now. The Federal governments clearing house website for all things regarding energy efficiency. Energy Star, grants, refunds, rebates, and even their own blog.

Results Are In

An electrical audit was performed at our office this autumn as part of our ongoing deep energy retrofit. Striving to save energy and dollars where possible, we are pleased to learn of several opportunities to further reduce our energy consumption and utility expenditures.

According to Paquette Electric’s report, by investing in occupancy sensors, new compact fluorescent bulbs, and T8 lamp ballasts we can save roughly 785 kWh annually which translates into savings of about $155 per year.

We’ll keep you posted on our decisions to implement these measures. In the meantime, through optimizing daylight, turning off peripherals at night (printers, faxes, etc.), and installing CFLs and T5 fluorescent bulbs, we have managed to drastically lower our electrical load, kilowatt hours, and electric bill!

The Ay's Have It - Clean Energy A Must

Clean Energy Connections, hosted at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, November 10th, was well-attended and optimistic in nature, with over five hundred clean energy organizations, business owners, and job seekers listening attentively to keynote addresses and plenary sessions. More than 60 universities, colleges, businesses, and organizations exhibited at the conference, providing ample opportunities to exchange ideas and information, to learn about the ever-evolving renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and to prospect for jobs and new employees.

According to keynote speakers, Dr. Robert Pollin and Mr. Truman Semans, approximately $120 billion in government spending will boost the U.S. “green” economy over the span of several years. Seventy percent will fund energy efficiency projects with 30% funding renewable energy technology. Additionally, Massachusetts’ total share of the funds is $2.3 billion, which will result in roughly 42,530 “green” jobs with renewable energy “poised to become” the tenth largest job cluster in the state. Though success in the green economy is predicted to skyrocket and greatly contribute to the nation’s financial recovery , it alone will not revive the U.S. economy. Moreover, it will take persistent policy overhauls to improve the flow of money from government to private organizations.

Anne Perkins of Rural Development Inc. (RDI) and Bill Austin and Jacqui McCreanor of Austin Design Inc. (ADi) manned our integrated display. As folks stopped at our table to chat, we shared with them RDI’s affordable housing enterprises and our ecological designs for single family homes, communities, and remodels. And in turn, we learned about an increasing interest, on the parts of both individuals and private organizations, in retrofitting existing buildings, adding renewable energy technology to new and existing buildings, and investing in strong local community centers dedicated to the health and robustness of its citizens and economies.

Great contacts were made and a good time was had by all. On the whole, it was a great and educational day.

Cool Photography

Doug Mason, local professional photographer, captured inciting frames of nearby Austin Design projects, including Katywil Eco-Village, Wisdom Way Solar Village, and a private client's renovated home and newly constructed poolhouse! Check out additional Austin Design photographs on Flickr.

Austin Design in Green Business Quarterly

A nice article on Austin Design appears in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue of Green Building Quarterly. There is even a picture of all of us! You'll have to buy a physical copy of the magazine if you want to get a better idea of what we actually look like, but you get the gist. The magazine is free to those in the industry so check it out.

Re-Design of Greenfield Savings Bank Drive-Up Building

We are pleased to be working with the great folks at Greenfield Savings Bank to re-design their drive-up building and surrounding areas to faciliate pedestrian access and improve traffic flow.

Read the story as published in The Recorder.

Clean Energy Connections

Tomorrow Jacqui and Bill will be at the Clean Energy Connections Conference at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Stop by, say hello, and learn about plenty of other clean energy and green resources in Western Mass.

Zero Energy Challenge

Wisdom Way Solar Village recently placed third in the Zero Energy Challenge. The Challenge was presented by Massachusetts’ investor-owned electric utility companies. The idea was to build a home which would use as little energy as possible. Bill traveled to the State House back in June for the award ceremony with Anne Perkins and Robin Sherman of RDI, check out the video above to see the action. 

What's up, Governor?

Governor Deval Patrick is laying the groundwork to lead Massachusetts toward the statewide adoption of zero net energy building standards by 2030, similar to the Architecture 2030 Challenge. We believe this is an entirely necessary step and applaud the Governor for taking it. We would just like to point out that one of the examples given on the state's website sounds mighty familiar.

Growing Connection: Supporting Our Local Community

The Bridge of Flowers is a local treasure, celebrating its 80th Anniversary this year. To commemorate this special event, Austin Design Inc. joined together with other regional designers and craftsmen to create the new informational kiosk adorning one end of the bridge.  To read more about the blossoming pathway and how the community has pulled together to keep its vital presence flourishing and alive, please follow this link to "Growing Connection" - an article appearing in the September/October 2009 issue of Design New England.

The Kids are Alright

Check out the Solar Decathlon going on now on the National Mall. This is a great competition the U.S. Department of Energy sponsors to educate the next generation of architects, designers and builders how to build efficiently and beautifully.

http://www.solardecathlon.org/

Austin Design on Flickr

We've created a Flickr account to make our newer projects more accessible. We'll try and update it regularly with new stuff and get our backlog of projects posted. Check this link or look over in the sidebar to the right to see our Flickr images.

Wisdom Way in the New York Times

A nice write up of the Wisdom Way Solar Village project in the New York Times. Austin Design worked with RDI as a client to design these low energy units. There is a nice video with Chris and everything. From way back in April but we'll re-post it here.



New York Times Article

New York Times Video

Austin Design's Energy Audit

Our energy audit was fun and a great success. Beth Paulson, an Energy Analyst/Technician and 13-year veteran of the Center for Ecological Technology, came to our office fully equipped to dig right in and determine:

1) How our building uses and consumes energy

2) How airtight or leaky our building is
3) The efficiency and safety of the electrical and mechanical systems and the structure itself

To begin, Beth surveyed the attic and the basement. On the attic floor, we discovered a foot of cellulose insulation along with an absence of a proper air barrier. In making office upgrades, holes created for utility wires have produced air leakage sites allowing warm air to escape into the unconditioned space in the attic and then to the outside.

After documenting these findings, Beth moved on to explore the two full basements (divided by a crawl space). Beth’s Delmhorst J-LITE wood moisture reader, which she tested on structural beams and wood products stored in the cellar, showed high wood moisture content. Ductwork from the furnace and plumbing pipes appeared to be uninsulated and more holes for utility wires were discovered.

Otto, our friendly standard poodle, looked on as Beth set up the blower door test. With the blower door running, one could feel outdoor air coming into interior rooms through electrical receptacles, wainscoting, around doorways, and vents.

Additional testing included individual pressure pan tests on the return and supply registers to determine the leakiness of the duct system, as well as an infrared imaging camera to determine insulation settling, heat loss, and possible rodent tenants.

We are very excited to see Beth’s report and data analysis. From those baseline numbers, residential energy modeling software will allow us to run several different scenarios to determine and prioritize the most cost-effective and energy-conserving retrofit measures.

Walking the Walk - Austin Design's Deep Energy Retrofit & Electrical Audit

We are passionate about energy efficiency and renewable energy. We recommend energy efficiency measures to our clients and design zero net energy homes and communities. Now our own office is currently undergoing a deep energy retrofit and we are excited to discuss with clients the steps we are taking to reduce our carbon emissions and to save energy, operating costs, our health, and the environment.

Today, an electrical audit marked the beginning of our journey. Kevin Harrington of Connecticut-based firm Paquette Electric visited our office in Colrain, MA to assess our electrical loads and energy consumption, and to identify energy conservation measures. The free electrical audit is sponsored by WMECO’s Small Business Energy Advantage Program and pays up to 35% of the costs for retrofit lighting measures and up to 50% of other energy-efficient installations.

On average, The Grange (the long-standing nickname for the old school building and former local grange that is now the office for Austin Design Inc.) consumes 1,200 kW of electricity per month.

Below are several pictures of Kevin gauging our retrofit lighting needs. We look forward to keeping our readers abreast of the electrical analysis report and the additional retrofit developments as they unfold at The Grange.

Austin Design on WGBY

Bill recently appeared on an episode of Eco-Exchange with Sandy Thomas on WGBY to discuss the Wisdom Way Solar Village project in Greenfield. You can stream or download the video here. It is episode #109.

The show has excellent information on local Green and Energy Efficient resources and solutions and airs Wednesday evenings on WGBY.