Build a Green ‘Fun House’ and Save Half a Million on the Way
Posted: July 18th, 2011 | Author: admin | Filed under: green building | Tags: green architecture, green buidling, green home Westchester, NY Architecture | 2 Comments »
The Greenest House in Westchester this Year - 6 weeks from completion
The Brave Couple who are about to finish building the Greenest House in Westchester, NY in August, are nearing completion on a total Fun House, made for enjoying life with full Green Credentials.
The house is a stylistically timeless American Shingle style but could have just as well been a New Glass House like the Philip Johnson one, if there had been a different budget, updated technology for glass and other features, and a location that accepts modernism). The Master bedroom ceiling has an open working loft for their own use and reaches 29 feet. They luxuriate in an open soaring space that overlooks a wonderful distant view, which is rare in suburban lots in general.
We started two years ago on this very modest and rickety 1950’s house with plans for a master bedroom addition on an extremely low budget. The beautiful rear yard, unfortunately, was unusable as the land sloped too fast from the house.
The existing 2nd floor had only the typical R-18 insulation on the roof (added in 80’s), low ceilings of 7 feet, and thus the upstairs bedrooms were boiling in the summer and very uncomfortable in the winter (all typical issues with American houses). This was compensated by multiple means of heating, gas, electric and under floor heating – all competing with each other due to inadequate construction standards.
At that time the existing heating system was functional and thus there was no financial incentive to change this.
In the middle of our revisions, however, the heating tubes under the floor formed a major leak, and thus we were faced with a new selection process and a full analysis of what to do.
1. We had already applied to the addition the latest recommendations by US department of Energy task force or ‘Passive Hus’ – House standards insulation standard (R=40 walls and R=60+ for roofs, the German and Swiss approach) with solar panels. These standards are about double the current North East energy codes, and as I have indicated in my previous blogs, savings and comfort beyond anybody’s imagination is the result. I had tested these standards in my own house first, and I have to admit that even I as professional was amazed – even blown away – by the results.
So we switched to geothermal cooling and heating. The difference in price was about $20,000 extra for drilling to earth heat, of the total $70,000 heating cooling package with ducts. (Geothermal units last 30 years instead of the typical 15 years for current heating and cooling units). With generous tax incentives, this is from the start win-win economically, due to applied insulation that allows us to get full tax breaks. And every month, the savings are about 50% better than average heating/cooling and with insulation 75% + better than houses built only to code in the states of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
There are no ‘noisy’ humming compressor units outside, and thus the yard is quiet in the summer. Because of this feature alone many clients want to use geothermal, as in large houses several compressors working at the same time cause a formidable amount of noise and cut down on the pleasure of being outdoors.
So why don’t we have more people doing this?
I have found out the following in the last 5 years when building totally green houses or retrofitting old ones:
1. Builders charge too much premium for doing this as it is different from their normal operation and they do not want to deal with Geothermal, solar and other applications. In my office I get around this by bidding with known contractors who have built with me and know what to expect.
2. I have the names of solar installers, and geothermal drillers, and I deal with them directly.
3. As a result, the houses are built to less cost because the tax breaks cover the extra insulation, and due to a smaller need for cooling and heating, ducting and heating cooling units are half the size.
4. Builders and consultants, mechanical equipment installers and suppliers do not like smaller mechanics as anything that is smaller and more efficient is less profitable, and thus my professional approach allows owners to gain state-of-the-art efficiency without the premiums.
5. Bankers, real estate professionals and developers do not find that people care enough to pay a little extra, (which could save them on a mortgage of $500,000 the entire mortgage amount in 15 years if savings for heating and cooling were applied to capital payments). Thus on a half million dollar mortgage, savings in 15 years amount to half a million in capital interest savings. Not bad for a little clear thinking.
Regards,
Tapani Talo, AIA
Love the combination of thoughtful green elements with the unique design. The lighting is playful.
Everything I have read about geothermal has said the drilling is often very expensive and only one out of ten tries is successful. Have you found this to be true?
Sadly, people at large do not have access to do it right. Most of my Blogs are trying to address this in this very short format. Geo costs nothing if: 1. You do it at the time you need new heating and cooling equipment, as payback with current oil prices is sufficient. But full advantage is when one insulates the roof to R=60 and walls R=40, and ten gets full tax breaks. In addition the comfort alone is worth the effort for all my clients so far. And the need to drill is 1/4 or less than it would be for an average American ‘Gas Guzzler home / office building’. After this, if one can install solar panels, with current tax breaks, one never has to worry about increased oil prices for home. And if your neighborhood / town is smart, they insist that local school installs a mega size wind generator with gas turbine back up, and you are free from Utility supplier, and long distance utility line power outages, earth quake and other disturbances But that is for an other blog.