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High-Performance House Discover where products, processes, and systems converge INSIDE:


The EnergyWise program


requires that all participating homes use spray foam insulation.


New approaches offer better options for storm-resistant homes. 47


High-performance builders go the remodeling route. 49


Energy Efficiency—Guaranteed


New energy-efficiency program hopes to grow the market for foam insulation with an unusual energy use guarantee. By Green Builder staff


There’s a new player off ering energy use guarantees to builders nationwide. Energy- Wise was a small program in Texas for 30 years, but went national two years ago after being purchased by Bayer Material Science, which makes spray foam insulation. It has since certifi ed “a couple of thousand” homes, according to business development manager, Trent Blakey.


EnergyWise diff erentiates itself from the


long-established Environments for Living and Comfort Home programs in two ways. One diff erence—not surprising given Bayer’s ownership—is that participating homes must have spray foam insulation. Bayer, of course, wants to grow foam’s


market share (currently 5% to 10%), so it off ers what Blakey calls a unique guarantee. Energywise will pay any heating or cooling bills that exceed a predetermined threshold, but unlike the other programs, it has no life- style requirements. “We engineer each home plan,” says Blakey. “We guarantee a certain space conditioning for a particular home regardless of where the homeowner sets the


www.greenbluildermag.com


thermostat.” The obvious risk is that a hom- eowner could crank up the heat and open the windows, but Blakely believes participants in such programs truly want to save energy. The other programs seem unconcerned


about competition from EnergyWise, citing a long history of satisfi ed customers. “We’ve had about 120,000 homes build under our program and have never had to pay a claim,” says Comfort Home’s Jeff Stoltz. In fact, the three programs actually have more similarities than diff erences. These include prescriptive requirements, for insula- tion, windows (U-factors, SHGC, condensation ratings), combus- tion safety, ventilation, and other items. Any program pushing those specs should help enhance the effi ciency and durability of American homes, and thus be a positive addition to the industry. “Our goal is the same as everyone else’s,” says Blakey. “Energy-effi cient homes that are durable, comfortable, sustainable.”


Media of the Month: … While not specifically for builders, The Green Blue


Book: The Simple Water-Savings Guide to Everything in Your Life (Rodale Press, March 2010), deserves a place on the green builder’s bookshelf. Readers of this magazine will no doubt be familiar with many of the water conservation tips that author Thomas Cosign includes in the book, but what may be less familiar is the concept of “virtual water.” It’s similar to embodied energy in that it gauges the amount of water required to grow various foods (17.5 gallons per banana) and to manufacture various products (3,865 gallons for 1,000 square feet of linoleum flooring). The book offers tips on choosing products with less virtual water, and its 196 pages include 65 pages of web links to most of the concepts and water-saving ideas mentioned.


Bamboo Lumber ... Lumboo is basically bamboo Parallam—long strips of bamboo


bonded under pressure with a phenolic adhesive. Manufacturer Cali Bamboo (www. calibamboo.com) sees the product as a green alternative to preservative treated wood. The material is labeled as dimensional lumber but has yet to get code approval for structural use, so it’s being sold as fence posts and rails. If it does get approval, builders will need to make some jobsite adjustments: Lumboo is dense, so it must be pre-drilled before nailing; and although it comes in familiar nominal sizes—1x4, 2x4, 2x6, and 4x4—the boards are slightly smaller in each dimension than conventional lumber. On the plus side, bamboo


should earn the builder points with many green building programs. These points won’t come cheap: current price is $25 for an 8’ 4x4.


July > August 2010 GreenBuilder 43


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