REMODELING NEWS, March 2008

By Richard Cherry

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Ever-growing concern with climate change and the need to slash carbon emissions and reduce energy consumption are having an impact on the way that remodelers are being asked to do business. Homeowners want to “go green”— especially if conserving energy and reducing carbon emissions also means savings on utility costs.

Adding to the environmental movement are various city and state sponsored programs to promote energy conservation and clean air initiatives, including economic incentives and financial assistance to low-income homeowners for weatherization projects offered by entities like the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Recently, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, where remodelers working in the city obtain their licenses, formed a task force on how to educate, train and inform remodelers on green strategies—which is the intent of this article.

I am part of this task force based on my work at the nonprofit organization Community Environmental Center, which offers home performance services in the metro New York area and works with architects and contractors involved with sustainable housing. Short of taking the specialized training to qualify as “building performance contractors,” what do remodelers need to know to add “green” to their portfolio of capabilities?

MATERIALS SELECTION

From the remodeler’s standpoint, green strategies for the most part focus on careful selection of materials. The emphasis is on using recycled materials or new materials with recycled content that are environmentally benign. Ideally, these materials are locally sourced, manufactured with minimum negative impact on the environment and easily replaced.

First, let’s define what “going green” means. As I like to say, there are “many shades of green.”

The best kind of green is re-using materials instead of trashing them and buying new. For example, refinishing floors, doors and cabinets instead of tearing them out. Bricks from a demolition site can be re-used for fashionable exposed brick walls. The idea is to reuse what you can instead of sending it off to already overburdened landfills.

Next, the way to go is select new materials that are recycled or have recycled content.

Otherwise, new materials can be considered green f they have a negative impact on the environment; that we call a “small carbon imprint.” This means the process of producing these materials emits minimal amounts of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

A growing phenomenon of the green movement is the startup in many communities of re-use centers, usually nonprofits, where building materials otherwise destined to be trashed are collected from construction and demolition sites, recycled and given a “new life.” In New York, for instance, there is Brooklyn’s Green Depot and CEC’s Build It Green!/NYC. In addition to the admirable job they do in reducing the wastestream, these re-use centers are an invaluable resource for anyone involved with home renovations, offering such good-as-new materials as flooring, doors and door frames, shelving, cabinetry, trim, tile, plumbing and lighting fixtures, among a variety of other items, at prices much cheaper than what they would cost new.

Remodelers counseling ecoconscious householders can point the way to the selection of new, green materials manufactured from renewable substances or with substantial recycled content.

Bamboo flooring, for instance, is handsome and durable — and bamboo is a fast-growing plant, easily replenished, unlike other tropical woods. Wood (and wood-derived products) with FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council) certification are from carefully managed and sustainable forests. Modular carpeting, which can be made from ground-up plastic bottles, is installed in the form of square tiles, enabling easy replacement of individual tiles when worn, instead of tearing up all the carpeting.

Manufacturers of a wide range of building materials continue to climb aboard the green bandwagon. For instance, 3Form’s Ecoresin is a tough, non-toxic polyester-derived sheet material, 40 percent of which is from recycled material, available in many colors and patterns as countertops, backsplashes and wall panels. Otherwise, consider countertops of recycled plastic or glass.

An important point: Remodelers should also use paints and glues labeled as not containing VOCs (volatile organic carbons), now available from all manufacturers, which greatly improve interior air quality.

FOUR BASIC GREEN STRATEGIES

Looking at the house as a whole, consider these four areas in which remodelers can make the most impact in providing homeowners with a more comfortable environment while greatly reducing energy consumption.

Air sealing. Identifying all locations, including piping and ductwork, where cold air infiltrates from outside, and applying weatherstripping as needed.

Replace old appliances with Energy Star appliances, as certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy, which greatly reduce energy consumption. An Energy Star refrigerator is 40 percent more energy efficient than other refrigerators.

Replace conventional light bulbs with CFL’s (compact fluorescent bulbs), which are 75 percent more efficient and last six to 10 times longer, available in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Install modern high-tech argon-filled thermal pane windows with low-emissivity coatings that do a far superior job of blocking air infiltration than conventional windows.

Install (or replace) insulation, probably the single most effective means of preventing heat loss. CEC is on record as favoring cellulose insulation because it is made from recycled paper, is locally sourced and provides a superior thermal barrier (see remodeling News, January/February 2008).

Sometimes the job of making homes weathertight involves major problems that can be solved only by BPI-approved building performance contractors. The Building Performance Institute offers intensive training for remodelers wanting to take the next big step to achieving green expertise.

Short of that, remodelers may find it more practical to sub-contract a building performance contractor. That way the first step to be taken in a home improvement project would be an energy audit pinpointing just where and how energy related updates should be executed, and prioritizing them according to needs and budget of the client.

Results of the audit become a sort of blueprint for the whole job of remodeling, expediting work and assuring at the end a comfortable home as well as one with aesthetic improvements. For further information on green materials, suppliers and manufacturers, and energy-efficiency techniques, remodelers can find many sites on the internet that offer valuable guidelines.

Resources include the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), which has local chapters across the nation, the Building Performance Institute (www.bpi.org) and, for an exhaustive list of green materials, Building Green (www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen). Also helpful are CEC’s websites (www.cecenter.org and, the re-use center, www.BIGnyc.org).

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Richard Cherry is the President of Community Environmental Center. Visit CEC’s website for more information.