Mackey Kitchen: Foam and Rigid Insulation.
Photo credit: Daniel MackeySometimes Home Energy gets accused of being California-centric. We cover home building and renovation from all over the country and all over the world—our January/February 2009 issue will include articles about home building in Denmark and a cutting-edge green community in Italy. But since California leads the way when it comes to energy efficiency in the United States, it does get more than it’s share of press. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) just released its 2008 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, and California ranked first in efficiency, followed by Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, New York, and Washington. My home state, Maryland, went from 20th in 2006 to 12th in 2008. Florida went from 29th to 19th.

Since the 1970s and the first energy crisis, California’s per capita energy use has remained about the same. Even though we all now have a lot more gadgets–computers, cell phones, DVD players–and a lot more air conditioning, energy use per person has remained the same. This is thanks to energy efficiency. But the world needs more than efficiency to deal with the present energy and environmental crisis. We need to use less energy overall. California, which has committed to reduce its CO2 emissions rate to 1990 levels by 2020, can’t rest on its laurels.

California’s Title 24 building codes are among the most progressive in the country. New homes built in California today are about 15% more energy efficient than the average new home. But 70% of California’s existing housing stock was built before Title 24 came into being in 1980. Making new homes more efficient is not enough. To solve our energy and environmental problems, we have to make our existing homes much more efficient. Home Energy is publishing an article in its January/February 2009 issue about an old home outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that was retrofit to use 80% less energy than it did before the retrofit (way to go Pennsylvania!). This was done without a lot of fancy and expensive technology. The house is comfortable, and the occupants are energy conscious and make wise choices about its energy use. It gets down to the basics–air sealing, insulation, proper ventilation, and educated occupants.

A new program in California is reaching for deep energy savings in existing homes. Build It Green’s GreenPoint Rated Existing Home program aims at “the mother lode of energy savings,” California’s existing homes (Build It Green also rates and labels new homes). “GreenPoint Rated Existing Home makes it possible for existing green homes and remodels to quantify their performance in the five key environmental categories of Community, Energy, Indoor Air Quality, Resource Efficiency, and Water, while providing the homeowner with a label they can trust,” writes Cory Fitch, Program Associate for Build It Green. “The GreenPoint Rated label adds value to the home as homeowners gain confidence that their home is not only more resource efficient, but more comfortable and healthy as well.” The program is past the pilot stage, and Build It Green is offering training to contractors and builders who want to participate in the program. As the housing market continues to slump, builders can distinguish themselves from the competition by offering green homes and green home retrofits and by participating in reputable labeling programs like Build It Green’s. And saving energy and money makes more sense in difficult economic times.

The California Academy of SciencesThe California Academy of Sciences is officially the greenest museum on the planet. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Environmental Engineering and Design, is under the umbrella of the U.S. Green Building Council. It is the benchmark for certification and ranking of green buildings throughout the United States and the world. LEED gave the Academy the highest rating of Platinum for a green building on October 7, 2008. Fifty-two points are needed to for a Platinum rating and the Academy received fifty-four points.

Before starting construction, the Academy was committed to creating a Platinum building to exemplify and embody the Academy mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world. Thirty-four of the fifty-four points were received for the construction of the building. The remaining twenty points were awarded a year after the building was built to ensure that all systems worked effectively. LEED awards its point in the following categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process. The examples below touch upon the many ways the Academy took on the commitment to a green building and sustainability:

• The new Academy was integrated into the natural environment of Golden Gate Park. The vision of Renzo Piano, the architect of the building, was to lift an acre of the park up and put a museum underneath. His use of light and transparency further reinforces the integration with the park.

• By absorbing rainwater, the new Academy’s living roof prevents up to 3.6 million gallons of runoff from carrying pollutants into the ecosystem each year (about 98% of all storm water).

• Over 90% of the demolition waste from the old Academy was recycled. 9,000 tons of concrete were reused in Richmond roadway construction, 12,000 tons of steel were recycled and went to Schnitzer Steel, and 120 tons of green waste were recycled on site. Most of the materials used to build the new building were also sustainable. All the steel in the building was recycled and the insulation within the walls was made from recycled blue jeans.

• Radiant floor heating reduces energy needs by 5-10%. Heat recovery systems also captures and utilizes heat produced by HVAC equipment, reducing heating energy use.

• At least 90% of regularly occupied spaces has access to daylight and outside views, reducing energy use and heat gain from electric lighting.

• Rather than hiding the green aspects of the building, they are in plain sight. Such examples include the living roof, use of remarkably clear glass, skylights, concrete with recycled bio-ash and a motorized ventilation system. The green building is an exhibit in itself.

Senior Radio Editor Andrea Kissack also contributed to this post.

When we started working on this project, we thought it would be easy to find people to interview: D.I.Y.ers with a passion for sustainable building who were testing out new technologies in their backyards. We called consultants, local suppliers, green-minded architects, and collected as many leads as we could. We found a handful of great subjects, but we never quite tapped into that centralized hub we’d envisioned. And that, it turned out, was the point. When you’re a D.I.Y.er, you tend to D things Y.

Which is what’s so appealing about these projects. Green innovators like those we meet in the radio piece and slideshow are working on their own initiative, spending much more time and money than they would with more conventional technologies, and running a high risk of failure. Ultimately, though, we’ll all learn from their mistakes.

Wind Turbine

Chris Beaudoin fits one type of these backyard innovators: He’s a long-time environmentalist willing to spend some extra cash trying out something new. San Francisco’s Department of the Environment put Beaudoin in touch with Blue Green Pacific, a local company that will ultimately have two turbines up and running on Beaudoin’s garage. So far there are only about five “micro-wind” projects like this in the city, about half of them operational. But stay tuned. Gavin Newsom is encouraging homeowners to experiment with wind turbines, and the state of California is already offering rebates on home turbines.

Dixon Beatty and Stephanie Parrot, who live in West Oakland, fall at the other end of the spectrum, what I’d call extreme do-it-yourselfers (though I’m sure they’ll disagree). They’ve spent years remodeling a beautiful old Victorian in West Oakland that they still call a work-in-progress, despite well-functioning solar thermal and photovoltaic systems that keep the house warm and lit with almost no help from PG&E.

Dixon Beatty

When Lisa and Michael Rubenstein wanted to build their green dream home in Hillsborough they thought they would derive the majority of their energy from photovoltaic rooftop solar panels. PV Panels, afterall, have been the energy technology of choice for eco-friendly buildings. But as the Rubensteins waded further into construction, their architect suggested a geothermal heating cooling system. They were told geothermal can provide the most energy efficient, environmentally friendly home and so, they decided to go for it. Together, with PV solar and solar thermal panels, the Rubenstein’s monthly energy bill is only eight dollars. Not bad for a 6,000 sq. foot home. It was an expensive project but what they have created is an experimental, contemporary home that gives living green a whole new aesthetic.
Lisa and Michael Rubenstein

Also merging modern design with eco-practical, is Sunset Magazine’s idea house for 2007. PIX Located in San Francisco’s Mission District, Casa Verde is Sunset’s first idea house to be focused in an urban setting, The model home features solar and wind power, a green roof and a sleek, eco-friendly aesthetic.

Listen to the“Beyond Solar: Do It Yourself Home Energy radio report online, and watch our Web Extra: Generating Energy Right at Home slideshow.