Energy audits, supply sources, & tax credits

It's a great idea to have an energy audit performed on your house. A good auditor will be able to identify the sources of energy leakage, possible issues with air quality, and create a report that will quantify the energy savings vs. cost of making suggested improvements. It will cost $400-$500. Make sure you use a certified Home Energy Rater. RESNET has a directory, http://www.natresnet.org/directory/raters.aspx. A local company that does a wonderful job is AccessGreen, http://www.accessgreen.com/. You can schedule an audit directly from their site, which is very informative. Montgomery County has just passed a new program called HELP, Home Energy Loan Program, which is modeled after a program in Anne Arundel County. Our councilmember, Roger Berliner, has been spearheading energy conservation efforts in the county. The program specifies that, if a homeowner has an energy audit, the costs of the suggested energy measures can be borrowed from the county at a zero to nominal rate and is paid back over an extended period of time (I have heard 10-15 years, but I haven't seen the actual legislation yet) on the property tax bill. No separate checks to be paid, and, if you sell the house, the cost remains on the tax bill, and doesn't follow you. My understanding is that the cost of the audit itself can be made part of the long-term loan. Savings on energy bills after remediation often more than pay for the remediation itself. To follow through with energy repairs, the Amicus Green Building Center, www.amicusgreen.com, which sells quality products that are sustainable, energy conscious, and healthy (such as top-quality paint that doesn't emit toxic chemicals). Prices are very competitive, but you will find products that are unavailable elsewhere, as well as staff that is extremely knowledgable. They are in Kensington on Howard Ave., but you can shop online as well. Amicus Green has created relationships with reliable contractors who are familiar with the products and energy issues, so you won't have to re-educate a contractor. Montgomery County has a program called Clean Energy Rewards. Among other incentives, you can get credits on your electricity bill if you specify that you want 50% or 100% wind power to supply your home's energy needs. The county site for the various incentive programs is http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/deptmpl.asp?url=/content/dep/rewards.asp There are other incentive programs available from the state and fed'l gov't, often involving tax credits. These programs are expanding all the time. You can check for fed, state, and local incentive programs at www.dsireusa.org.

Join Friends of White Flint

The White Flint Sector Plan is the blueprint for the next 20 years' development of the "downtown" area of North Bethesda. With the White Flint Metro station at its core, North Bethesda is creating a new town center. Residents, community leaders, business interests, and the planning department have been hard at work for the past few years to create a walkable, livable, vibrant environment for the future. Friends of White Flint is a new organization that we can all join to learn more about our community, participate in its growth, comment on the challenges, and enjoy the results. Check out the link, www.friendsofwhiteflint.org to join. Membership is free until May 11, after which a nominal $15/year fee will apply.

Disposing of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL)

These bulbs last a very long time and are becoming more and more popular. As I've written before, a "color temperature" of 2700k to 3000k will simulate the familiar look of an incandescent bulb. You can now get these energy-efficient bulbs usable as floodlights, vanity lights, and other common shapes. Since they have a tiny bit of mercury in the tube, they shouldn't be thrown away in trash destined for the landfill. We don't want to see any toxic chemicals leaching into the groundwater or contaminating the soil. Montgomery County's transfer station at 11601 Frederick Road (on the Pike just south of Shady Grove Road) accepts CFLs in the hazardous waste area. It is open every day, including Sat. and Sun., from 9am to 5pm. If you've never been to the transfer station, it's a great field trip...you can recycle TVs, computers, fabric, mixed paper, scrap metal, leaves, and usable building materials, in addition to disposing of regular trash and hazardous waste.

Energy audit vs energy rating: What's the difference?

Essentially, an energy audit is an inspection resulting in a report of the energy usage of an existing building. An energy auditor can test the various components of your house, checking for the efficiency of the appliances and HVAC system, helping you analyze your utility bills, and suggesting repairs, upgrades, and maintenance items that will result in energy savings. A certified auditor (look for an auditor that has been certified by HERS) has tools that are not commonly available, such as the capability of doing thermal tests of the building envelope and pressurizing the house to discover hidden sources of air leakage. Standard home inpectoions, used for decades when buying and selling houses, do not substitute for a good home energy audit. Often, many of the corrections noted are not costly, such as caulking, sealing leaks, adding insulation where electric junction boxes are on exterior walls, etc. Anywhere that we can conserve energy reduces our utility costs, reduces our personal carbon "footprint" (coal-fired power plants put out a lot of carbon into the atmosphere, as well as other toxic pollutants), and can reduce our country's dependence of foreign energy sources. Good all around! An energy audit will cost between $400 and $550, but will teach you things about your house that you could never have learned another way!! As a certified Eco realtor, trained in energy and environmental issues surrounding property, I can help you find an energy auditor. Your energy audit is a bonus when you go to sell your house, since it shows that you have taken steps to reduce the utility bills for the property. Now, let's talk about an energy rating. At this point in time, it is not possible to "rate" an existing building, but new construction can apply for an energy rating. The most well-know and oldest rating system is a LEED rating, which predominantly rates commercial construction. The developer designs the project to include as many energy and environmental attributes as possible from a detailed list of possible "green" building techniques, materials, and design guidelines. Depending on how "green" the final project, it is then rated as LEED Gold, LEED Platinum, or other levels of enviromental and energy efficiency. LEED is working on ratings for new home construction. New homes are more typically submitted for an Energy Star rating, which is set up by the EPA and includes a checklist of the many design, materials, and techniques that can be used in residential construction. You will find more and more new homes projects advertised that the community is being built as an Energy Star rated community. The builder will then provide the prospective homebuyer with a list of the elements that make the property conform to the Energy Star rating. It is not yet possible to rate older construction for energy usage and environmental advantages. Older homes were built with using many different techniques, types of materials, siting, etc., but there are moves in the field to create a credible rating system for existing homes. At this point, we are happy to be able to have our older homes audited so that we can make them as earth-friendly and energy efficient as possible.

Commuting vs. housing cost trade-off

As I noted in the April 15, 2008 post on this blog, there is growing demand for housing near transit with buyers weighing the advantages of location vs. possible loss of living square footage and some privacy. The link at the end of that post is no longer working, so this link is the one to use to calculate the cost-benefit in the location choice, http://www.uli.org/ResearchAndPublications/TerwilligerCenterforWorkforceHousing/Cost%20Calculator.aspx It is possible to save several addresses, edit each category shown in the calculator, and compare the cost of living in a specific location with the cost of the commute to work for that household. Check the Information link for specific instructions or just play with the categories to edit them. The calculator was created by the Urban Land Institute, an organization that develops land use policy in the DC Metro area. You will find all kinds of interesting information on their site; check the navigation panel to the left of the calculator tool.

Eco-friendly closet systems

Yes, it's possible to build a beautiful closet and use recycled and reclaimed wood materials as well as working with a company that cares about energy usage and environmental concerns. We haven't yet filled our closet, but it was built by Eco-Nize, www.eco-nize.com. The price is competitive with the many closet installation companies, but the quality is great and you don't have to worry about the environment. We are thrilled with our new closet!

Now, to a "greener" closet by Eco-Nize

The next step, after remodeling the bathroom, is re-organizing the walk-in closet in our bedroom. We were able to recover some extra space in the closet by removing the HVAC flue chase. The flue was no longer in use, since our 2007 installation of a high-efficiency hydronic furnace system vented out the side of the house. The bathroom remodeling included removing the chase to create a rectangular closet, moving the closet door to center it, and wiring the light to a switch outside the door. Now it's time to add shelving, etc. We have contracted with Noel Sweeney of Eco-Nize, www.eco-nize.com, a green closet systems installer. Noel is able to offer a high-quality product at a wonderful price in comparison to the standard closet installers. The materials are "EPP certified 100% recycled or recovered wood or wood fiber." The company business practices are tuned to energy efficiency and recycling, with the company a member of the U.S. Green Building Council. Noel measured our space, listened carefully to our needs and budget concerns, then send us several great designs. He worked with us to choose an optimal layout. The designs were sent by email, with great graphics detailing what we should expect. We hope to have the systems installed in the next couple of weeks and I will write about it when it's done, along with posting photos.

Before & After- "Green" bathroom remodeling

The first three photos show the tiny bathroom before construction began. The house was built in 1962 and the bathroom was leaking from every possible pipe. The 24" door blocked a small closet that took up room to the right of the sink cabinet. The closet was mostly obscured by an old accordian door. We believed that the space to the right of the sink cabinet, hidden by a wall, was an empty chase formerly used for the old furnace chimney flue. When the furnace was replaced last year with an ultra-high efficiency hydronic system (see previous posts) that vented to the side of the house, the old flue, which went through the room, was abandoned. We intended to pick up this space for use in the remodeled bathroom. As it happened, there was a return duct in the space, which had to be re-routed. Delayed progress, but was workable. When demolishing this bathroom, the contractors carefully removed anything we could reasonably donate as usable building materials or recycle. The vanity cabinet was donated to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, the sink & faucet and toilet went to the usable building materials section of the county recycling center, the medicine cabinet (minus the mirrored doors, which we are using elsewhere) was recycled, and excess aluminum from the re-routing of the ductwork was recycled.

The view from the pocket door to the shower. All of the tile is of recycled material. The red tile is from Sandhill Industries, Inc. and is made in the USA of 100% recycled glass. The shower walls (Terra Classic) and bathroom floor (Terra Traffic) tiles are from Terra Green Ceramics. From a supplier's website, "The body of the tile contains over 55 percent waste glass from windows, mirrors, and post-consumer glass like bottles and jars. The rest of the tile is made of nonmetallic minerals such as special clays, feldspar, sand, and silica." The shower floor is by Oceanside, a recycled glass mosaic blend called Disco Inferno. The manufacturer is in Mexico, a negative to the product, and the manufacturing process is not as energy-conscious as with Sandhill Industries or Terra Green Ceramics. All of the companies' tiles are handmade.

The toilet is a Toto dual flush, which, incidentally, performs like magic- a very efficient flush.

We purchased some of the items online, but much of the tile and the toilet were ordered through Amicus Green Building Center, a complete "green" supply company located on Howard Avenue in Kensington. The owner and staff are very knowledgable and prices are quite competitive.

This is the Oceanside tile.

The granite pieces used in this bathroom were scraps from a kitchen remodeler who polished these pieces for us instead of discarding them.

The 12" sun tube illuminates the room completely in the daytime, even though it was installed on a north-facing roof and it is winter. We anticipate that the summer light will be even brighter. This photo was taken without flash. The sun tube is Energy Star rated.

The light in the shower is part of an Energy Star exhaust fan using CFL lighting. Reflecting in the glass doors (standard construction, not "green") are two LED recessed light fixtures. They are 12 watts each, are dimmable (we installed a dimmer) and are expected to last 50,000 hours.

The other end of the small bathroom (only 48" wide) has the two vanities. The vanities and medicine cabinets are made of old rubber trees, but the sink bowls and faucets are standard. The counter bridging the cabinets is recycled plastic from 3-Form, Inc. The material comes in 4' x 8' sheets and is easily cut, but I found a scrap in their online "reclaim" page. It comes in a huge variety of thicknesses, textures, and colors. Amicus Green Building Center has a complete selection of samples and can order the material.

The pendant light between the mirrors (shown without the translucent white cylindrical globe, still on order) is a CFL fixture.

All in all, this was a really interesting project to see to completion. We are enjoying the new bathroom immensely. Our contractor was excellent. During the process of the job, he insulated wherever possible (and useful), and installed cellulose insulation in the attic to an R-38 rating.

State of the real estate market in North Bethesda

As in other areas of the country, prices are declining in our DC Metro area. Fall and early winter are often "slow" seasons for real estate sales, as people are focusing on getting children in school and gathering for the holidays. However, there are still buyers looking for good properties, and the buyers who are looking during this season are serious about purchasing. Many potential sellers are waiting for the "spring" market to list their homes, so the available housing inventory is now lower than it had been for the past two years. The combination of reduced attractive inventory and fewer, but more serious, buyers means that sales continue, with reduced volume of transactions. Here in North Bethesda, we have a variety of housing types, and the detached single family homes and newer townhouses have the advantage over the condominiums in this market. For the month of November, 2008, there were 51 single family and townhouse listings in the 20852 zipcode, with 101 condominium listings. Fourteen houses and ten condos went under contract in the same month. This gives an absorption rate of 27.5% for houses and 10% for condominiums. The absorption rate defines how much of the available inventory is removed (sold) in that time period. An absorption rate of about 30% is a reasonably balanced market between buyers and sellers, so the 27.5% rate for houses shows more strength in the market than we had previously. It is neither a sellers' nor a strong buyers' market for houses that are well kept and properly priced. Properly priced, for our area, means that the housing prices are roughly what they were in early 2005. The condo market, on the other hand, with a 10% absorption rate, is a strong buyers' market, so that, if the inventory is not reduced, prices will have to drop to create an environment in which buyers will be confident in making the commitment to buy.

I have been certified by the Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals

As an adjunct to my other professional designations and specialties, I have completed the certification process for the green Realtor designation. The education requirements include coursework on air quality, hazardous materials, environmental issues, energy-saving products and building techniques, passive and active solar systems, building orientation issues, insulation, window design and materials, energy ratings for new construction, energy audits for existing residences, special financing for energy-efficient residential property, and other relevant topics. It is my goal to be able to serve my clients in the most complete manner possible, and I look forward to working with some of the excellent business partners in the field. Call or email me (or comment to this blog!) if you have are interested in referrals to green contractors, suppliers, products, energy auditors, air quality and environmental evaluators, etc.

Green bath remodeling update

For the background, see my post from September. We have ordered all but one or two items, and it's all piled up in the dining room, waiting for construction to begin next week. The tile is gorgeous, but we did order a little tile from Oceanside after all, since Sandhill's glass is too expensive (and slippery) for the shower floor. The cabinets arrived and are everything I hoped for. We bought a dual-flush Toto toilet at Amicus Green Building Center in Kensington. As for lighting, which hadn't been addressed previously, Rexell Lighting off Gude Drive & Calhoun Ave. has a number of low-energy-use options. Mel was very helpful and respectful of my priorities when I came in there, asking for guidance. We will install two LED recessed fixtures. The light color is wonderful, there is no heat generated, the lamps never need to be replaced (guaranteed well past my lifespan!) they are each 12 watts, and they are dimmable, unlike compact flourescents. Between the 2 medicine cabinets, we will hang a pendant fixture, which uses a 13 or 18 watt compact flourescent lamp (about 8" long). We bought an energy-star exhaust fan online; a little research gets the best price. Upon demolition, the contractor will save any reusable items, and we will take them either to the Habitat for Humanity Restore on Gaither Road (just east of Home Depot off Shady Grove Rd.) or to Community Forklift in Prince Georges County, off Kenilworth Avenue. Both of these places have normal working hours, take donations, and sell reusable building materials. It's amazing what you can get there! We shopped at Community Forklift, but they didn't have enough tile for our whole job or cabinets that would fit, but I encourage you to check them out. Habitat for Humanity is closer to us, and the offerings change daily. A good choice for recycling.

Check out proposed building heights

Some of the plans for North Bethesda include building heights as high as 28 stories around Rockville Pike. This is approximately 300 feet. On Saturday, Sept. 20, Luxmanor Civic Association sponsored a balloon test, in which they flew a huge balloon near Marinelli Road, demonstrating the potential height of such buildings in our town center.

Letter to planners regarding North Bethesda development plans

Below are some of my suggestions to the county planners and councilmembers as they consider White Flint Sector Plan. Currently, planning staff is recommending phasing the development by geographic area, which ignores the readiness of owners of various sites and will throw the area into chaos. Also at stake is the redevelopment of Rockville Pike into a Bethesda-style boulevard (see Wisconsin Avenue), with smaller blocks to facilitate pedestrian crossing and use. We can't create a "town center" if people can't walk around, and the shops created won't be successful without pedestrians. They are now talking about needing a new elementary school to accommodate the new local population. Placement of the school is being discussed... 1. Rockville Pike improvements phasing - Rockville Pike is the backbone of the sector. All planning is directed toward its success as a circulation corridor. It is critical that the conversion in the Rockville Boulevard concept is begun in Phase 1 so that any commercial development in the corridor can proceed with the Pike infrastructure in place. It cannot be left till the last phase. 2. Geographic project phasing - I heard about this concept first at the last advisory board briefing by staff. This concept was dismissed by all of the private citizens and developers in attendance as an artificial barrier to the development process. Phasing should proceed using the criteria currently in place in the Bethesda CBD, with individual projects staged based on the sector development and needs, not cutting the sector into smaller geographic pieces. This coordinates with the concept that the Pike must be constructed in its "boulevard" design at the earliest opportunity. 3. Revenue distribution - Any tax revenues generated by developers in the White Flint sector must remain in the sector for infrastructure and transit use. These monies cannot be diluted into the general Montgomery County "pot." Infrastructure needs in this sector are and will remain extremely high, and the money the developers contribute is critical to the success of the overall plan. 4. MCPS elementary school site - I understand that MCPS wants a future school site to be located within the sector plan. However, the two sites that have been identified to date, Wall Park and White Flint are each totally unacceptable. Wall Park is right on major roadways and will be an unsafe site, as well as removing an important park asset for the surrounding residential communities. White Flint is too close to Garrett Park Elementary School, is on the fringe of the sector (not near much of the new housing to be built) and will also remove a valuable asset from the White Flint and Garrett Park Estates communities. The optimal site for a new elementary school is the current WMATA bus depot, which is of sufficient size and is located near The Sterling, The Gallery, and the new LCOR residential units. As a bus depot, it is a supreme waste of acreage as the sector density increases. The depot must be relocated and the land used as a positive community resource.

New, free website rates consumer products

Check out www.goodguide.com. This new site is free and has rankings on over 61,000 household products, with ratings for effectiveness, environmental responsibility of the company, social responsibility, and consumer satisfaction. The detailed information on each product includes the product's ingredients, and there is a "shopping list" you can compile for the products you want to start buying so you will remember the ones you liked the best. It is easy to use, and you can also sign up so that your settings can be saved. All around, a great new site!!

"Green" remodeling- our bathroom adventures

We are in the middle of planning a total remodeling job in our master bathroom, which was precipitated by leaks in the shower pan, shower drain, and sink drain in our 44 year old house. The room is small and has no windows, and we have decided to make this environmentally as low an impact as possible. To this end, I have been doing massive research on materials, designs, supply sources, etc. So far, here are some of the factors involved (what to look for and where I found it): 1. Cabinetry Looking for a renewable wood (companies that harvest trees in a sustainable manner earn the FSC certification). Bamboo can be problematic if it has to be shipped here from across the Pacific Ocean, so bamboo (and cork) should be checked for where they were harvested. Maple grows like a weed around here, so it is reasonably OK to use. Another factor is whether or not the manufacturing process includes VOC (volatile organic compounds) and/or formaldehyde. Most particle board contains both, which can be respiratory irritants or worse. Greenway Cabinetry, Inc. has a product line called Breathe Easy, using non-toxic water-based glues, formaldehyde-free plywood, and FSC woods or bamboo. I found a company in Baltimore and another south of here that will order these cabinets. However, due to design and space needs, I ended up ordering a different cabinet that is made from the remains of used-up rubber trees. Tile: Ceramic tile is available that is made with a high content of recycled glass and the remains of other ceramic processes. I found wall and floor tile in many colors and sizes at Amicus Green Building Center, 4080A Howard Avenue, Kensington. This store features all kinds of building materials, and the staff is very knowledgable regarding the sources and processes for the materials they sell. I will be using floor and wall tiles (matte and gloss) from Terra Green Ceramics, Inc., which I will order from Amicus. Glass tile made from recycled glass is trickier (also gorgeous and more expensive, but great for accents); the most common manufacturer is Oceanside, sold both at Amicus and at Home Depot's Expo. However, Oceanside moved its manufacturing plant to Mexico and uses a lower % of recycled materials with a production process that is higher in energy use that two other tile sources. Online, I found Sandhill Industries (www.sandhillind.com) and Stardust Glass (www.stardustglasstile.com). Both use up to 100% recycled glass (post-consumer and bits from windows, etc.) and a less energy-intensive process. These are stunning tiles. Sandhill is based in Idaho, and Stardust Glass is in Washington State. I will be ordering from Sandhill; they are sending me some samples. Neither of these companies has a local dealer, so I have told the owners of Amicus about them. Hopefully, they will expand their product lines. Other architectural-quality recycled glass tile manufacturers are Blazestone from Bedrock Industries and Aurora Glass Architectural Accents. I have not researched these thoroughly, so I can't comment on their product lines. Vanity countertop: We will probably be using a recycled plastic product called 3form (www.3-form.com). It comes in sheet of every possible color, texture, and thickness. The website includes instructions for cutting and modifying the material. I was looking for a thick material that is translucent, and find that I can even find scraps large enough for our purposes on the website. Lighting: We are installing an 18" suntube, which is an energy-efficient version of a skylight. We saw one installed in a friend's bath, and it delivers a lovely diffused light all day long (and will glow gently on moon-lit nights). As we move further along in this endeavor, I will report on our progress.