All is not necessarily lost though… Abu Dhabi, as the article states, is in fact, loaded, so where there is not a way, there is a bank account to make a way.   Still, will the richest Emirate find tenants to actually move into Masdar?  I hope so, for the sake of this grand experiment, because I would like to see if it’s actually possible.  And since Abu Dhabi seems to be the only ones with enough money to make it happen, I’m rooting for them.

I’ll try to write more when I’ve had some time to process, as well as when I have a full keyboard to write on. In the meantime enjoy my iPhone’s photo of Seattle scenery.

First of all, you may want to know what a “home energy rating” consists of.  The funny thing is, there’s actually LOTS of home energy ratings.  There’s the HERS, which is given by ResNet, which is the group hosting the conference I’m attending this week; there’s a BPI rating; there’s the ENERGY STAR designation; there’s the LEED for Homes; there’s the NAHB Green Home Standard; and I’m pretty sure there’s a few that I’m forgetting.

An example of a HERS score: image courtesy of ResNet

Each of these rating systems use a set of standards that are either administered during the construction or remodeling of the home, or they are checked after the home is completed.  To adhere to these strict standards, your home needs to have properly installed insulation, tight construction (so that your home doesn’t leak too much air),  an air/moisture barrier (again with the leakage), properly sealed ducts, and it wouldn’t hurt to have good windows, weatherstripping, very efficient HVAC equipment, and … basically your home should be a well-constructed, high-performance house.

I would regale you with the details of the various sessions that I’ve been attending but I can almost guarantee that you would get bored and fall asleep reading.  I’ve been having a hard time staying awake myself, which I attribute to the warmth of the rooms and the fact that I’m operating three hours ahead of my home time zone.  Nevertheless, it’s an incredibly informative conference and I’m getting to meet a lot of very knowledgeable people who are working to help homeowners save energy.

Now, back to watching the Olympics! 

Image courtesy of Inhabitat

File this under “better late than never”… I just learned about this house and knew I had to talk about it here because it embodies many of the things that I love in one tidy, very livable package.  Observe:

1. It’s a house, which is great, since I love house design;
2. It’s made of straw bales, which are sustainable, renewable, AND energy efficient with proper installation;
3. It’s pre-fab, which is super cool because pre-fabricated designs cut down on job site waste and allow for easier manufacturing recycling;
4. It’s small, and compact, and cute, which means it’s got a lower carbon footprint (although the cuteness doesn’t contribute to that, it’s just a bonus);
5. AND it meets PassivHaus standards, which is about as close as you can get to a net-zero energy house.

I mean, this is pretty awesome, right?  And it’s a good looking little house.  The only problem I’m seeing is that ModCell is a UK company which makes it nearly impossible to build the cute goodness in your pre-selected plot, if you live in the United States, that is.  Which is not to say that you couldn’t send the cuteness over on a giant cargo ship, it’s just that the adorable-ness becomes slightly less so when you realize how much fuel you had to use getting it States-side (think of how much carbon you burn when you get a on a plane to take a short flight, then multiply that by like, oh, 10,000*).

*(I’m exaggerating, I don’t actually know what kind of carbon footprint a trip on a cargo ship would yield.  I have to believe it’s bigger than having it built down the street, though).

So, here’s to hoping that ModCell partners up with an American manufacturer to begin more “local” production of it’s pre-fab wonder so that some of us can get our hands on this wee, energy-efficient, awesomeness.

Here's another photo of it because it's cool; image courtesy of Inhabitat

• a 20 percent mandatory reduction in indoor water use, with voluntary goal standards for 30, 35 and 40 percent reductions;
• Separate water meters for nonresidential buildings’ indoor and outdoor water use, with a requirement for moisture-sensing irrigation systems for larger landscape projects;
• Requiring diversion of 50 percent of construction waste from landfills, increasing voluntarily to 65 and 75 percent for new homes and 80 percent for commercial projects;
• Mandatory inspections of energy systems (i.e. heat furnace, air conditioner, mechanical equipment) for nonresidential buildings over 10,000 square feet to ensure that all are working at their maximum capacity according to their design efficiencies;
• Requiring low-pollutant emitting interior finish materials such as paints, carpet, vinyl flooring and particle board.

All of this and more information about CALGREEN can be found here.

So what does this mean for the average homeowner?  Well, if you live in California, you may start to see the changes immediately, especially if you are building or planning on buying a house in the next few years, as this new code will affect all new buildings.  Although on the other hand, the changes may not be as noticeable, since California has been at the forefront of energy efficient design for many years, so this code is more like an incremental step rather than a big jump.

Even gas stations in California are designed sustainably: The LEED Certified BP Helios House in LA

Now, if you don’t live in California, you should still pay attention, because you may not be off the hook:  the CALGREEN is the first green building standard in the nation, but it won’t be the last.  There are many states that are not too far behind California in discussing adjustments to their state building codes to make buildings more energy efficient, and those changes to the code might be coming as soon as this year.  States like New York, Minnesota, Florida and Colorado are no strangers to green building guidelines, while Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington have energy efficiency programs in place already.  California has many challenges facing it right now – its crazy budget problems, its constitution, and various other calamities notwithstanding – but it has always been good at leading the pack with regards to energy efficiency.  The CALGREEN program will test the system, and if it works, it will be a great model for the rest of the country.

Of course, you could just get ahead of the curve and start greening your own home without any codes or lawmakers telling you to do so… 

Take, for example, the news that the first net-zero neighborhood in the United States is being built in Boulder. At just 12 homes, it will be a tiny neighborhood, yes, but a photovoltaic-powered assemblage of LEED Platinum homes nonetheless.

Image courtesy of Inhabitat

Also, today I learned from one of the DOE’s daily updates that the U.S.  Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs is committed to being the first institution of its kind to reach net-zero energy use, by purchasing or producing as much renewable energy as it consumes.   The Air Force is actually leading the government charge on energy innovation, and according to the DOE,

“The Air Force currently uses more green power — 426.2 million kilowatt hours (kWh) annually — than any other branch of government, over a third more than the second-place Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and twice as much as third-place DOE.”

Very impressive!  The Air Force has also collectively added several “green stripes” to its uniform (wait, do the Air Force get stripes on their uniform?  I think so?) with several EPA and DOE Green Power awards, including:

• 2003: Green Power Partner of the Year;
• 2004: Green Power Leadership Award;
• 2005: Green Power Partner of the Year;
• 2008: Green Power Leadership Award.

Building improvements at the Air Force Academy will focus on the 6.4 million sf of space already in use, with high efficiency mechanical, electrical and HVAC equipment; security and energy efficiency upgrades to window wall systems; improved building insulation; utilization of natural lighting; and energy-focused roofing replacements.   The goal in making these improvements is to have all its buildings reach or exceed the USGBC’s LEED Gold standard.

And NO, I’m not finished yet.  As IF that weren’t enough, the Air Force’s leadership on renewable energy has led Colorado’s elected officials, military and energy leaders to create the Front Range Renewable Energy Consortium (FRREC) to “collaboratively develop and utilize the state’s renewable energy and energy efficiency resources”.  This new consortium includes:

• Department of Defense and military (Air Force, Army, Colorado National Guard);
• DOE and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory;
• Governor’s Energy Office;
• USNORTHCOM/NORAD;
• Xcel Energy;
• Tri-State Generation;
• Colorado Springs utilities.

That list above doesn’t even mention the Air Force Academy’s Army neighbor, Fort Carson, which is ALSO now marching towards net-zero energy status and hopes to reach this goal by 2015.

Whew!  That’s a heck of a lot of bullet points, and a heck of a lot less energy consumption.  Massachusetts, New York, and Wisconsin, you have an answer to this?  California, Oregon and Washington?  …Your move!  Colorado might soon be renamed “The Net-Zero State”…

The ultimate goal of the AIA, and of all proponents of green building, is to see a day where “building green” no longer exists, and green design is integrated into all buildings.

Hear hear, AIA.   Thanks for writing that.  Now if we could only get more architects to live it, we’d be in better shape…

The good news is, in the meantime, I’ve been able to upload and catalogue all of my photos from the event and add some commentary as well.  Feel free to check out my Solar Decathlon collection on Flickr, where each house has its own set of photos and my corresponding thoughts written alongside.  Note the overwhelming gray clouds in all of the pictures – made for some pretty gloomy photography :-/

Wow, that sky is ugly

I will now wax poetic on my favorite house in the Solar Decathlon, since I haven’t done it yet.   I want to talk for a moment about Virginia Tech’s Lumenhaus. This house was truly lovely, and I am at a loss to explain their 13th place finish.  I felt that this team used every sustainable system reasonably available to a residential customer to create a truly green, net-zero energy home.  And not only that, they did so without compromising on space – the interior of house was perfectly proportioned in its public versus private areas, with some extra special touches thrown in that really sealed the deal.  Case in point: the partitions in the bedroom that not only held your closet, but they separated to reveal a TV and in doing so, created a partition wall between the bedroom and the living space.

The rainwater collection system/awning over the front door

But I’m not going to stop there.  The exterior screens were cut steel and then bent by hand in a pattern that was meant to direct sunlight into the house but also maintain privacy.  The awning over the front door doubled as a rain scupper, and drained water into catchment basins under the house… which could be recycled in a closed-loop graywater system.  The skylight in the bathroom… the geothermal heating system in addition to the roof PV array… and if all this hotness weren’t enough, to move this house, all you needed to do was put it on a giant set of wheels and hitch it to the back of a tractor trailer, and you’re on your way!

Metal sunscreen and panel system as seen from the inside

I’m not the only one who thought the Lumenhaus was pretty great, however; the Virginia Tech team was approached by NBC during the Decathlon and the team is now in negotiations to move the house to Rockefeller Center so it can be on the Today Show, which may happen in mid-November.  Also, the team of bloggers at Inhabitat did a great write up of the house on their blog, which included some beautiful photos that I will now borrow to show you how nice the house is -  if only it had been sunny while I was visiting!

courtesy of Inhabitat

courtesy of Inhabitat

Everyone loves a section detail! courtesy of Inhabitat

Congrats to VT for such a job well done, and let’s hope they get some of their technology upgraded in time for the Solar Decathlon Europe competition next year – since they are the only team from the U.S. Solar Decathlon to compete overseas too!

courtesy of Inhabitat

But what does this have to do with climate change? Well that’s easy: designing and showcasing solar houses is a great way to promote renewable energy, which reduces our dependence on fossil fuels, which means less carbon emissions, which means slowing down climate change. And the DOE has been holding this competition for a while now, so the idea of promoting renewable energy in homes is not exactly new to the Federal Government. But how can we make this information more valuable directly to homeowners? Slowing down or reversing climate change is a complex task and homeowners could be a key factor in the process by both reducing energy consumption and using more renewable power at home.

…And one way to learn is by staying tuned to my blog and reading more about the Solar Decathalon! So stay tuned!

Nationally, the AIA has adopted the Architecture 2030 Challenge and is committed to developing and promoting the means to reach at least a 50% carbon emission reduction by 2010 and carbon neutral buildings by 2030.  As stated in the AIA SustAIAnability 2030 program, “This exciting challenge offers many opportunities for integrated, high-performance, environmentally-conscious buildings that will become valued assets for future generations.”

So, from my perspective this is pretty much awesome. Because it means that it’s getting the best designers in the city to recognize that in order to have a really great building, you need to have a great design AND be environmentally sound as well.  And AIA Portland is helping out, by providing all applicants for the awards with the following 2009 Carbon Calculator.  It’s a simple Excel spreadsheet that requires a few inputs to yield your building’s percentage of carbon emissions, which compare to baseline numbers that you determine by filling out the Energy Star Target Finder.  It may seem like a lot of numbers but frankly designers need to become more familiar with these processes… finding your building’s carbon emissions, and then figuring out how to reduce them, is going to be absolutely key if we are going to fight global warming!