It's Easy Being Green (Sustainable)

For the past 25 years I have been teaching, among other subjects, sustainable construction techniques (Green Construction) and Sustainable Living Solutions (which include the use of non-toxic home and food products). I’m sure that I will be putting up many posts on these interrelated subjects. I’d like to make these posts a bit more all encompassing. To that end I’d like to let you know some of the topics I will be including in these posts:

1. What is Green?
2. Living Green.
3. Basic Green Construction Techniques.
4. Green Renovations.
5. Alternative Energy & Winterization.

For now let’s just toss around a few concepts that will help us with some needed definitions. To begin, let’s add a new word to our dictionary and that word is sustainable. I am defining sustainable as using any resource so that the resource used is not depleted or permanently damaged. Some (green) builders may think of this as simply using renewable resources and materials in their products, others go deeper and include everything in this definition by starting with sustainable site planning followed by the inclusion of energy efficiency and sustainable construction techniques. While builders may only think of sustainability only in terms of their products, for many of us we would include all aspects of life and living from specific areas such as the environment or energy use to a much more wide open area like lifestyle, diet (food) and personal responsibility. 

For this post I’d like to focus on one example of how to increase sustainability at home. One of the things my therapist is known to remind me is to understand the difference between wants and needs. Needs are food, sleep, clean air,shelter etc. Wants are everything else. We may think we need winter tomatoes, a new phone, a new car, a new or bigger house but we don’t actually need those things. We want those things. As we are approach the end of this harvest season we have an opportunity to do the right, or sustainable thing. We all like tomatoes and other produce that is seasonable here in the northeast. The problem is most produce can not be grown in the fall and winter locally, most will come from faraway places, actually from faraway countries. Most of these distant producers are both far away (adding the costs of transportation) and lack of any real oversight for healthy production (the use of herbicides and pesticides are generally unrestricted in places like Mexico and Chile.) Starting this fall let’s try and be more sustainable by purchasing organic products from as local a source as possible.

Besides the fact that the food that comes from those distant places is usually picked early for long term shipping and is usually “tasteless”. I once spoke to a woman I knew at the grocery store and asked her why she was buying tomatoes in January from Mexico and she looked at me and said she just did it automatically, as she and her husband always had a salad as part of diner (an attempt at a healthy lifestyle). When I suggested that there were American companies that sold organic produce (generally hydroponic) for just a bit more she took my suggestion and agreed that although it still didn't taste as good as local summer tomatoes, it certainly tasted better than the tasteless stuff she had been purchasing from foreign sources.

As a sustainable consultant for over 25 years I receive requests to assist clients in many areas, including the many different ways to build green. Technically, building green may involve certification of that construction. There are currently two main certifying agencies (US Green Building Council and the National Green Building Standards of the National Associations of Home Builders as well as those who want to build green but don’t care whether or not their work is certified or not certified.

Green building could can vary from those builders who simply purchase “sustainable” products to use in their construction to those that believe green construction should include the entire ownership life-cycle of those products as well as concern that also includes consideration of where the building products are coming from. An example: Is it green to purchase hardwood FSC Certified from Costa Rica (a country that is 4000 miles away)? Is it possible to build a green 5,000 square foot (or larger) home?

These last two questions really bring up the point of any discussion on sustainability. We know that we can find green or sustainable products and we know we can build in a way that protects the environment, but can we continue to do both without sacrificing our lifestyle and changing the fundamental way we live our lives? I believe that the answer is “No.”

Ultimately we are talking about a look far into the future to find a way to live our lives that “does no harm.”  If you have ever read Tom Friedman’s books and editorials he has been writing  for decades that the American dream is now the whole world’s dream. Everyone wants a car, a refrigerator, and a more materialistic lifestyle. The problem is if the current success of our (the USA) is an example, we would be adding 300,000,000 new consumers to the marketplace each year. This is exactly what is happening in China and India today. Remember, part of the successful lifestyle we are living includes having only 5% of the worlds population and using 25% of the worlds resources. Clearly if we are adding the equivalent of a new middle class America to the world each year we will simply run out of resources (and sooner than you think). We therefore must change the way we live and put forward a new, less materialistic, less consumer driven lifestyle.

Again, not to date myself too much, but if you grew up in the 70’s, your motto was: “You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.” Let’s all be part of the solution. When I talk to my construction clients and explain that one of the reason to buy non-toxic building materials is not just because it’s less toxic to their workers, but because it’s less toxic to this planet. When we purchase organic or natural foods we don’t just eat healthier, we help create a healthier planet. If the world is going to live like Americans then we Americans must change the way we live. If we live sustainable lives, so will the rest of the world.

The Importance of Motivation

When I taught real estate I many times used my wife as a main character in the stories I told my students. My wife has always had a bad back but every once in awhile I would come home to find all of the heavy furniture moved to a completely new location. I’d say that this miraculous feat proved one of two things: either she was having an affair with a very strong moving man or she was highly motivated to get that furniture moved. I have found that motivation is a major factor not only in the moving of furniture but also in all sales or services. Things get done or get done much faster if someone involved is motivated. 

One of the oddest things about being in the real estate business is watching over and over again how little people make sense in the sale or purchase of their property and how little they understand how their own motivation to buy or sell plays in the final transaction. One of the best things about real estate is that there is so much data that each transaction is easy to predict. As easy as it is to understand the data, it is just as baffling at how resistant clients might be in understanding that if they are unmotivated, by definition the transaction will take longer. 

No matter what anyone tells you there is no such thing as “the right price." The right price is always the range of values that someone is willing to pay and the range of values someone is willing to accept for a specific piece of real estate (or any other goods or services.) The key here is “the range concept." Think about popcorn in a movie theater. We are always going to “overpay” here because the buyer is more motivated then the seller. 

For example, lets say that your house has a value range of between $150,000 and $190,000. (I have taken this range from an actual house that was listed for sale.) This means that the data shows that there are actual sales of similar homes between these prices. I can’t emphasize enough that this range is created from actual data, not rumor, conjecture or simply out of thin air. It doesn't reflect what a seller “needs to make” or what a buyer “would like to pay”. It simply states the fact that sales took place and closed between these values. 


If we look at the diagram above we can see the concept visually. Note that the highest price also has the longest market time and that the lowest price has the shortest market time. As a broker for over 30 years I can tell you that while this rule is broken occasionally, it is valid 95%-99% of the time. (Chance, luck or quantum mechanics is still at play some small percentage of the time.) This time concept is important and I will expand on it later. Also note that when I describe the players, on the high price side I describe the seller as unmotivated and the buyer as (highly) motivated and when I describe the lowest price sale I describe the seller as (highly) motivated and the buyer as unmotivated (a bargain hunter.)

To further the example, the high sale is probably made by an out-of-towner or very wealthy buyer who is in a need to purchase quickly. Time is as or more important than price. The buyer is highly motivated. When I expand on the attributes of the second sale seller is use the term highly motivated. This seller also believes that time is as or more important than price. In both cases the principal motivation (time) is more important than the price. 

This time/motivation concept is the key to understanding any transaction. The product or service (in this case real estate) is irrelevant. A real estate brokers main conflict is when a seller tell us that they are highly motivated but ask for a high listing price or a buyer explains that despite being highly motivated, even the low end product is “not enough of a bargain”. By the way, the actual price range is irrelevant. It could be the low end (below $100,000), the middle range (between $100,000 and $500,000) or the high end (over $500,000). What's fascinating to me is the general anger that exists when you have to tell you client that their wishes and stated motivation don’t match. Yes, "I can sell your home for that price but not in that time frame" or "yes, I can sell your house in the next 30-60 days, but not for that price."

These concepts are universal. As I have said, the product or service does not matter. Think of Apple. They get their customers so motivated for each new product that they can (consistently) put out defective products (which eventually are corrected) and have happy customers because everything else about their product is innovative and hip. Their customers are always looking for the next big thing. Something to remember about you think of your business.

Getting Ready For Winter Part 2

In my last post I discussed the areas that need to be considered when purchasing a new furnace. Now we will deal with what inefficiencies we can add to either a new furnace installation or an existing furnace. One of the most overlooked areas in energy efficiency is failing to understand the other parts of a heating system that have as much effect on heating costs as the furnace itself. Those parts include the distribution system and system control or thermostat.  

The distribution system is your heating's system’s vents and registers. Included in this system are both the supply and return ducts. Most systems I see lack the proper return ducts (not enough return for the amount of supply).  Most homes, as did mine, were built with a single return duct. The proper installation would have as many square feet (in volume) of return ducts as supply ducts. If you have installed a new furnace, this balance of return ducts and supply ducts should be correct, or if incorrect prior to the installation of the new furnace, corrected by your heating contractor by adding one or two new return ducts (and registers.) If you are just trying to correct your own system and not installing a new furnace you could just call a duct installer and have him/her size up the correct return ducts needed and install those ducts. With the correct supply/return balance the hot air distribution will reduce costs and make for a more comfortable home.

Once you have the proper balance between supply and return ducts those ducts should be taped and insulated. If you ever want to see how much heat is lost before reaching its end point (each room) you could purchase a “Smoke Pen” (which I purchase at 

http://www.professionalequipment.com/default.asp?keyword=smoke+pen

 . You will see a variety of “smokers” that all do a great job of helping to locate leaks in ducts and heating systems. My three favorites are the 

Regin Smoke Pen

  the 

Regin Smoke Source Puffer

 and the 

Regin Smoke Emitters

 (the 4 minute variety). By using these smokers from the start of the heating ducts to the end of each branch register (in any accessible location) all of the leaks should be found and can be properly taped. Remember, actual duct tape is not the duct tape sold in rolls of cloth tape. The correct duct tape to be used is sold in rolls of metal tape made specifically for taping heating ducts and unlike the cheap cloth tape, metal tape lasts forever. Below is a photo of a taped duct.

Now that all of the leaks are found and covered, its time to insulate the ducts. Most un-taped, un-insulated ducts can lose as much as 20% of their heat in distribution so besides taping the ducts, all ducts should be insulated. What I have found to be the least expensive and easiest insulation to install is a proprietary product called Prodex and sold at 

www.insulation4less.com

 . (You will find many other similar products on the web but none are even close to this product in quality.) This product is both an insulation and a radiant barrier. It is basically Closed-cell polyethylene foam sandwiched between 2 layers of radiant barriers. (See below close-up.)

It is a perfect insulator and costs about $200 for 700 square feet (or $0.28 per square foot.) One of the best things about using Prodex is that you don’t need a professional installer due to the ease of the installation of the product. The product can be cut into workable size pieces and installed by anyone. The key is that it does not need to be installed tightly around a duct. It can be installed loosely and what makes it work properly is just to making sure that all seams are taped (with the same metal duct tape.) Below is an example of what your duct should look like once insulated and taped.


Now your heating system is set for the new heating season. The last part of our energy savings will come from the installation and proper programming of our homes thermostat. If you don’t currently have an EnergyStar thermostat one should be purchased. Most people don’t realize the difference between an EnergyStar thermostat and a regular programmable thermostat. I will explain the difference. With a regular thermostat when it is overridden (like deciding you want the temperature to be 71 instead of the programmed 70) the temperature will stay at the overridden temperature (in this case 71 degrees) indefinitely. This will cost you money as this temperature is usually higher than the programmed temperature. All EnergyStar programmable thermostats will always return to the programmed temperature at the end of each programmed cycle. This will save a lot of money if the program is used properly.

How do we maximize our programming  Most of us live on a regular schedule. Monday through Friday we wake up (lets say 8:00 AM) , go to work at 9:00 AM and return home (at 6:00 PM) for the evening. We might go to sleep at night (11:30 PM) only to repeat the same schedule the next day. Weekends we mostly stay (or not stay) without the regular leaving and returning. Using this schedule we might program the thermostat this way: Program the weekend at 70 degrees both days all day. (If we decide to go out for longer than 2 hours we can manually override the temperature settings to 68 degrees or lower.) For our Monday through Friday schedules we will set the heat to 71 degrees at 6:00 AM. This will give us a toasty home to wake up to. The next program will be to drop the temperature at 9:00 AM (when we are going to work) to 67 degrees (or even lower if you’d like). Then we would program our next change to take place at 6:00 PM (or at least 1 hour before we got home.) Here we might program a warm house at 71 degrees. Our last programming will take place just before bedtime. Here it depends on whether you like a warm sleeping environment or a cooler one. If you like it warm, you might want to just drop the sleep-time temperature to 70 degrees. If you like it cool, you might want to drop it to 68 degrees or less.

For those who would like to calculate the savings it would be safe to assume that for every degree of temperature differential there is a 2%-3% savings of energy. This means that for a typical 2000 square foot home the typical savings should be between $80 and $200 per year. Obviously the more you set the temperature down and the longer the savings period of time the more money you will save. Also, as the cost of fuel increases, the savings increases. The beauty of all of this is that you only tape and insulate once but the savings last forever. Most people will get a 100% payback (return on investment) in their first year. If you know any other investments with a 100% payback in the first year please call or write. have a warm, comfortable winter.

Getting Ready For Winter

Here in upstate New York we are going into our most beautiful season, the Fall. While we wait for the “Peak” of the season (which is the maximum color variation of our falling leaves) we have time to get ready for heating season. For most of us that means maximizing our heat savings by either replacing our heating system or making it the more efficient. For those replacing their furnace, this starts with making the decision between a mid efficiency or high-efficiency furnace, a single stage or two stage furnace and a two stage or variable stage furnace. For those simply making regular seasonal furnace maintenance, the job is much simpler. This post will deal with the following: 

1. When does it make sense to replace a furnace?
2. What kind of replacement furnace should I purchase? 
3. If I’m keeping my furnace, what can I do to improve the efficiency? 
4. What else can I do to decrease heat loss and lower my heating costs? (We are not going to be able to deal with this and the previous question in this posting but I promise to make the answer to these questions the subject of my next post.) 

One of the first things all real estate agents do when they list a house for sale is to get the facts about a house. One reason for that is that once a house sells, a property inspection is done and any failures becomes a point of contention and renewed reasons to renegotiate the price of the house. One of the most common failures is that of the furnace (90% of all homes have a furnace and not boiler.) The failure is typically unknown by the homeowner because it generally is due to a burn through of the heat exchange wall which makes heat and gases leak, but still allows the homeowner to think that they have a working furnace. (By the way, if the furnace has this defect it could be found out by having the required CO2 detector nearby.) 

So the real question is what is the least expensive way to keep your furnace safe? What we recommend at Living Structures is that all homeowners have a Service Contract with their fuel supply company on their furnace. This accomplishes two goals. The first is that it will give you preferred service when a problem occurs. The second advantage of a service contract is a free (or included) inspection of your furnace. Remember, the service provider only makes money on the contract if they never have to give you service. Because of this if they see any real problem with your furnace they will not provide a service contract. It would cost them money and its the best way to find out the condition of your furnace. They may find out that although the furnace is fine, they may say “its on its last leg and will need to be replaced soon.” It now makes sense to replace your furnace. 

OK. Now that we have decided to replace the furnace we need to understand all of the options. First you need to understand that 100% of old furnaces were designed with an efficiency of about 70% and generally over-sized to make up for an old leaky house. To replace that furnace today (with a 90%-95% efficient furnace) the new furnace should be designed for about an 20% decrease in size. For an example, a new 94% efficient furnace that is rated at 80,000 Btu puts out as much heat as an older 75% efficient furnace 100,000 Btu furnace. ( By the way if the furnace company simply looks at the current Btu furnace and recommends the same Btu replacement furnace, get them out of your house asap. They are incompetent thieves.)

Now that we have a good furnace company and we know the Btu required we need to decide mid efficiency  (costing $1500-$2500 installed and saving 15%-20% on the old 65%-70% efficient one) or a high efficiency furnace (costing $3000-$5000 and a savings of 25%-30% on your old furnace). To me the decision is easy. Lets face it, the cost of fuel will only go up. If the furnace is natural gas fired the mid efficiency may make sense due to the artificially low price of natural gas. If the furnace is oil fired, there is no doubt that you must go high efficiency. 

While not as important a choice, you still have two other decisions to make. Do you go with a single stage or two stage furnace and do you purchase a two speed or variable speed blower for that furnace. If you look at the previous paragraph you will notice a fairly high variation in the price of the high efficiency furnace. To cut to the chase, the $2000 price variation is the price difference between a single stage standard two speed blower and a two stage variable speed blower (which operates on DC power and saves a ton in usage costs.) To me, if I only have to pay an additional $2500, and can cut my heating bill by 25% for the next 20 years it’s a no brainer- buy the best, most efficient, lowest cost to run unit. You won’t be disappointed. As usual, any questions, write or text me.

Extending Your Season Part 2

 I was writing my next blog when I started getting getting calls and texts from friends, old students and others asking me about the actual steps of building the poly-tunnels and row covers I described in my last blog. Additionally, I realized that I was putting up my own polytunnels so below you will see the steps involved. I will assume that you have followed my link to Johnny’s and understand how to make the ribs of the polytunnel, so the real question is how to best install the ribs and tunnel covers. 

There are two ways to install the ribs. The first is directly in the ground by pounding the ends into the ground 6-9 inches deep. (See below.). If you are installing the tunnels directly in ground and not over a raised bed, this is the only option. If you are installing over a raised bed both methods will work.    

The second way, and my suggested way is to install PVC holders. This is more work but give you a much stronger and easier tunnel to build. As the tubing is ½ inch in diameter you should purchase a few pieces of 1 inch PVC pipe to make both the holders and bracing. Cut one pipe into 9-12 inch pieces. I have found that in order to screw the tube holder you must first pre-drill the holder. If you look at the holder you will see a hole I drilled into the side of the holder so as to make it possible to then screw the holder to the raised bed.

 The ribs should have 1 holder no closer than 24 inches and no wider than 36 inches apart. (The suggested distance is 48 inches. I do not recommend that distance in any area that gets a foot or more of snow in a year.) Here we can see the ribs all installed. Note that in addition to the ribs, there is a top support (made of the same 1 inch pvc that was used to build the rib holders.)

    The first year I built this I didn't include the top support (nor is it part of the original directions.)  I found that the structure was simply too wimpy to hold up in our upstate climate. The top brace is simply held to the ribs by the use of zip ties. (See below.)

For safety, the end rib should be taped so the fabric or greenhouse plastic doesn't get torn. (You can see that if you look at the closest rib in the third picture above and highlighted in the red circle.) 

 Now that the frame is complete it could be covered with either Agribon AG19 row cover (good down to 20 degrees) or Tufflite IV Greenhouse plastic (good down to 10 degrees.) I use the first through the middle of October and switch to the greenhouse plastic from October through the end of December. That's right, I said the end of December. (If you have never tasted a winter carrot you simply have not tasted carrots. 

If you look inside you will see at the back end of the bed the carrots I planted in late July (and now are eating with home made hot humus ). In the front bed (you can’t see due to the small size) the carrots I planted in September and should be harvesting in late November and December. Here we can see the cover down and how it will look until then.

One of the other items I left out in my last blog was the suggestion that the ribbed row covers could also be used to extend the season on existing plants that have both flowers and flower buds. What I do each year at the end of September is to take plants like peppers that require a long growing season and transplant them into large pots and cover them with row covers.

As a follow-up on my last blog I also missed a link I should have included. While I told you about Mother Earth News, I failed to give the link to all of their season extenders. Let me correct that now. Follow this link to a whole world of good information: http://www.motherearthnews.com/year-round-gardening-zl0z12onzhir.aspx . While not on exactly the same subject, there is a woman who contributes to Mother Earth News frequently who is best known for her edible landscaping. Her name is Nan Chase and her blog can be foundhttp://www.culinate.com/author/Nan+K._Chase/blog . Have fun.  

Extending Your Season's Crops

For the past several years I have tried to extend the gardening season. We live in East Durham, New York in what is mapped as Zones 4-5. We are also at about 1300’ so it tends to get colder sooner in the fall. I also have a greenhouse, so I can start plants sooner in the spring. Whether you live in the county like me, or live in a city you can both get things going sooner and end the season later if you just do a few things to help extend your season. We'll be discussing sources of information for the indoor gardener, the best vegetables to grow indoors, and tools such as row covers.

First let me tell you that if you are not growing at least some of your food yourself you are missing both the best food possible as well as the great feeling of growing your own food. The food is always better tasting and more healthy than store bought food. While there are many great sources for the information you will need, my choice for the two best sources are Mother Earth News and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Additionally, the best book on the subject of season extenders is sold through Johnny’s, The Winter Harvest Handbook by Eliot Coleman. I consider it the bible of the extended season gardener. The book is designed for the traditional gardener but the tools and techniques will work just as well with a little adjustments to growers using a New York City roof garden or a surburban back yard. When I lived on 30th Street and Fifth Avenue in NYC I had a small 3’ wide terrace and was able to adjust the techniques.

The beauty of extending your season means that you can start growing crops early and for almost 8 months (here in the Northeast.) You can start by just growing lettuce, Japanese greens and cherry tomatoes. I never order salad in most restaurants simply because it always tastes plastic and tasteless. Growing your own salad ingredients will be a constant reminder of how food should taste. The short story here is that by using small covered gardens you are protecting your plants and can get the equivalent of +10 to +20 degrees of added heat. To cover your crops you can use row covers and both low and high row tunnels. To see a video of how this works, click HERE.Here is an example of a simple row cover. This is made of 1/2 inch bent electrical conduit. Below is a picture of the bender which is sold through Johnny's for $53-$59.In my garden I install these directly in the ground, but for city gardeners a simple 2"x4" frame can be used. If you have a raised bed, they can be installed directly on the raised bed frame.

Normally at this time of year I write about energy savings such as sealing air leaks around windows and doors, having your heating system cleaned and checked by a professional, purchasing fuel from a local supplier at a locked in price to avoid price increases in the height of the season and programming your thermostat to save energy. Most of those suggestions are located in other places in our website so I will assume if any of these subjects are of interest, you will follow this link. (The information is located on the bottom of the Newsletter link page.)

If you have any questions please feel free to write me and I will try and help. I promise you that once you've eaten your own home grown food you will only want to add new crops each year. Good growing. PS: A special shout out to Eric Goldschein, my blogging mentor whose work can be found at:www.ericgoldschein.com.

Protecting Your Property

If you live anywhere near Cairo, NY and you travel through the Town of Cairo on Main Street you can see 2 great examples of property rights issues. (We will deal with the second in Part II.) The first is pictured below this column. If you look at the picture, you will see a photograph of a now condemned property in the middle of Cairo. I have added white lines to show the destroyed concrete wall which was the only protection this property had from the adjoining stream. If you look at the concrete wall that meets the bridge you will see that it tappers down to the protective wall. While I could not confirm this, based upon my experience this wall, when built was constructed to protect to the 100 year flood plain level. As you can see, it never made the 100th year.

 

As you all know, last year we had 2 large floods, the last of which overflowed the protective wall, taking down the protective wall and the existing building supports.
Some obvious questions are;

1. Who’s liability is it?
2. What could have been done to protect the building?
3. What other lessons can we take from this example.

I think that the answers are so important that we will devote the bulk of this newsletter (blog) to those answers. Lets start with the 1st and easiest question. The liability is the owners (unless the owner can prove negligence of either the town, county and/or state. We will discuss this later). We can assume that the property owner had insurance to cover this loss. One question is whether or not the property was insured to the full “cost of replacement”. It has been my experience that many properties in Greene county are under insured  In many cases this is either due to the property owner owning the property so long that they simply have not kept up with reconstruction costs. In other cases it is because the owner has an “Actual Cash Value” policy. While this sounds good, it actually is a bad policy to have on an investment property. Actual Cash Value actually means that the insurance company will pay you the actual cash value minus the depreciated value. This means that if you owned the property for a long time they will deduct the depreciated amount and you will not get back enough money to rebuild. Not good idea. Therefore one smart thing to do is to make sure that you are covered with a policy that will actually pay you the real replacement value of your property.

Now lets looks at what the owner might have done to protect themselves a little better. As I have said, while the protective wall is so close to the stream, the possibility of this becoming a problem was always a possibility. Had this been my property that would have meant adding some protection. In this case it would have meant either an additional wall above the existing wall, or a less expensive solution, a steel and concrete pier rather then the wooden one which was used.

Let's take away from this one of my favorite laws… Murphy's Law. What can go wrong will go wrong. While we all have insurance for the ultimate protection from catastrophe but we need to do our due diligence to make sure we have the proper policy and we should look at our “risks” and attempt to decrease our exposures. Good Luck. As usual, if you need help, just call or write.