George Bush Builds Green

[Allan Edwards]

Well, not George Bush but the George Bush Presidential Library. LEED Platinum rated.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...z.4a15b95.html

Steps the George W. Bush Presidential Center says it will take to seek a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program:


Energy

•Deep building overhangs and sunshades to minimize solar-heating loads
•Photovoltaic panels to meet 9.5 percent of the building's energy demand

•Solar hot-water panels to supply 100 percent of the building's domestic hot water

•High-performance, low-iron insulated glazing units to reduce heating and cooling loads

•Green roofs, gardens and highly reflective roofing materials to reduce heat-island effect

•Highly efficient heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems to reduce energy demand


Materials

•Locally sourced building materials

•20 percent recycled materials

•Recycling waste generated during construction


Indoor air quality

•Products and finishes that emit no volatile organic compounds

•Mechanical air filtration


Landscaping and water

•Native landscape species to reduce irrigation need

•Harvesting and storing rainwater to meet 50 percent of the irrigation demand

•Landscape features that treat rainwater before storage


SOURCE: George W. Bush Presidential Center

Not sure I'm impressed (with the building).

[Allan Edwards]

At least they aren't using solar powered attic vents :)

[Dancing Dan]

It's LEED. And the irony is crushing me.

[David Meiland]

From today's Seattle paper, a "living" building about to break ground:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...bullitt16.html

[Allan Edwards]

It's LEED. And the irony is crushing me.

Ooops. Thanks Dan!

[David Meiland]

Not right to edit your typos once someone points them out, that way we don't know what you said.

So.... what DID you say?

[Allan Edwards]

I guess my question is the LEED program really worth pursuing. I know Lstiburek doesn't like the point system, it does seem a bit arbitrary. I only know a 2-3 that have been built here.

[hdrider_chgo]

I guess my question is the LEED program really worth pursuing. I know Lstiburek doesn't like the point system, it does seem a bit arbitrary. I only know a 2-3 that have been built here.

It seems like a worthwhile program, helping to advance the construction industry toward better practices. There have been many LEED buildings built here, too many to track. Everything from high-rises to single-family. I think most public buildings here are now built LEED.

I guess every owner has to decide whether it is a good decision from a business standpoint.

It looks like several dozen at least have been done in your area, and hundreds of them in Texas overall:

https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2314

Looks like that list is few years old, too.

[Unforgiven]

It's LEED. And the irony is crushing me.

George Bush's Presidential Library being energy efficient shouldn't be that surprising. His home in TX is pretty impressive as well if we are talking strictly efficiency. Now Al Gore on the other hand...

http://www.snopes.com/politics/bush/house.asp

[Dancing Dan]

Plenty of hypocrisy to go around. But Bush had 8 years to do something about energy efficiency and went in the opposite direction.

Anyway, we're on our 4th LEED-rated home and about to start our 5th. Have never done a commercial LEED project, which is where the real savings could come from.

LEED, like any rating system, is a mixed bag, but I think some kind of 3rd party certification is necessary. There's so much BS about efficiency and "green" I could puke (if I hear someone bragging about their bamboo floors I'm going to beat them over the head with it)

I think one interesting question is whether LEED rated homes will be worth any more. If they get a track record for actually out-performing other homes, for being more durable and cheaper to heat/cool, fewer indoor contaminants, etc. it will be great for all involved.

I wish LEED would operate like a HERS rating - you just get a number. If you're on the cusp between two levels, you're going to go point-chasing to get to the higher level, and may not make decisions wisely.

I also wish the rating gave more credit for renovation work. We just had our initial rating session for our next project, which is turning an existing home into what may end up a net-zero home (and if not, damn close). It's going to be a struggle to achieve platinum, which seems a little odd (we've got 2 other platinums, a gold and our current house will probably get gold as well, so I've got a reasonable sense of what it takes to achieve the various levels).

Anyway, I think USGBC has taken a pretty thoughtful approach overall in the rating system. It's based on a lot of input from members, and is reviewed and updated frequently.

[Allan Edwards]

Anyway, we're on our 4th LEED-rated home and about to start our 5th.

Dan

I could be wrong, but if you are on your 5th LEED home, you might be the top or at least one of the top residential LEED home builders in the country. I just don't see a lot of them built or even discussed that much. I bet 95% of home buyers or people building have never heard of LEED.

[Dancing Dan]

Well, that would be depressing if true. I haven't looked at the USGBC list. But I think there are some big developers who have a lot of them.

EDIT - just checked, looks like these guys in NM have about a zillion certified homes, lots of silver but some gold and platinum projects as well. I've attached a listing of LEED for Homes projects by builder.

[Dick Seibert]

Under our Green Codes the builders have their choice of LEED or BuildItGreen, all I've seen choose BuildItGreen because it's easier to comply with, I've heard that the LEED program isn't really applicable to homes, geared more to commercial, and I hear that it costs something like $30,000 per home.

In commercial our Federal Building is a joke:

First, the big new Federal Building in San Francisco was late and over budget. Then workers complained about needing sunglasses and umbrellas indoors to shield them from the glaring sun.

Now comes word about another bit of embarrassment at the $144 million "green" behemoth at Seventh and Mission streets.

Officials recently installed four giant, stainless-steel plaques near the entryway in recognition of the many planners, architects and others who helped make the eco-friendly building possible.

Only it wasn't long before office workers were making pilgrimages to the wall - and snickering at the engraved name of one "Hugh G. Rection."

That plaque is now gone. Of course, so are all the others, temporarily - seems they were installed crooked.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...#ixzz0iUTwoRpG

I have not heard a satisfactory explanation of Gifford's and Lstiburek's greenwashing allegations, and people are getting sick in our BuildItGreen homes, I'd say it's been a disaster so far, and they are now cranking the ACH up so high to get rid of the toxics that so-called "green" homes are consuming around 50% more energy than normal homes.

As far as I know we have two LEED Platinum homes in California, a Ray Kappe home in Southern California (Kappe is an excellent architect) and a Contractors own home here, his energy bills are 10 times what mine are, I called him and talked to him about it, he went way over budget and is trying to get $6 million for a 4,600 square foot home in this market, more on our LEED Platinum home. In a case I'm involved in over in San Francisco they are making the claim that LEED Platinum costs 3 times what conventional construction costs in their permit application to convince Design Review to approve it.

At this point I'd say you can be energy efficient or you can be green, but you can't be both.

[Dancing Dan]

Unimpeded by the thought process as per usual, Dick. Attached is a list of projects by state. They don't give a count, but looks like several hundred.

None of the projects I've done have cost any more than comparable homes with the usual crappy efficiency. Perhaps you could come up with a new argument.

[Dick Seibert]

Dan:

I looked at the list after I posted, most of those in California appear to be rammed earth homes, it's pretty hard to do too much here because of our structural requirements, and there is a strong movement to incorporate California structural requirements nationwide.

There was just a bill introduced in the California legislature to allow concessions and create "experimental homes" for green homes, but it was shot down in committee, but my understanding is that our Green Code taking effect the first of the year is the strictest in the nation, with all the health problems in communities with green codes I hope the put it off again.

California Legislature—2009–10 regular session

ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2472

Introduced by Assembly Member Huffman

February 19, 2010

An act to add Section 18941.8 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to building standards.

legislative counsel’s digest

AB 2472, as introduced, Huffman. Building standards: experimental permit program.

The California Building Standards Law provides for the adoption of building standards by state agencies by requiring all state agencies that adopt or propose adoption of any building standard to submit the building standard to the California Building Standards Commission for approval and adoption. Existing law requires that all building standards
shall be administered and enforced and, whenever practicable, written on a performance basis consistent with state and nationally recognized standards for building construction.

Existing law authorizes a city or county to make changes or modifications in the requirements contained in the provisions published in the California Building Standards Code and other specified regulations, including, but not limited to, changes or modifications to green building standards.

This bill would, notwithstanding existing law, authorize a city, county, or city and county to adopt an experimental permit program that exempts an unspecified number of buildings from the California Building Standards Code in order to facilitate innovation of environmentally sustainable building materials, methods, and designs. The bill would impose certain reporting requirements on the city, county, or city and county relating to the scope, designs, modifications, and performance measures of the permit program and the permits issued.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 18941.8 is added to the Health and Safety
2 Code, to read:
3 18941.8. (a) Notwithstanding Section 18941, a city, county,
4 or city and county may adopt an experimental permit program that
5 exempts up to ____ buildings from the California Building
6 Standards Code, in order to facilitate innovation of environmentally
7 sustainable building materials, methods, and designs.
8 (b) A city, county, or city and county that adopts an experimental
9 permit program pursuant to this section shall report to the
10 Department of Housing and Community Development and the
11 commission on both of the following:
12 (1) No later than six months after adoption of the experimental
13 permit program, the local jurisdiction shall report on the scope and
14 requirements of the program and the types of permits to be issued.
15 (2) Five years after the adoption of the experimental permit
16 program, the local jurisdiction shall report on the types of permits
17 issued, the number of each type of permit issued, an assessment
18 of the program’s success, and recommendations for future revisions
19 to the experimental permit program.
20 (c) A city, county, or city and county that adopts an experimental
21 permit program shall require that upon resale of a property where
22 an experimental permit has been issued, that the seller notify the
23 buyer in writing of the building designs and modifications approved
24 under the experimental permit program for that property.
25 (d) A city, county, or city and county that adopts an experimental
26 permit program shall require the property owners to measure and
27 record performance data of the innovative features covered under
28 the experimental permit.

A bill is being introduces to require IAQ testing prior to occupancy, better contractors are already doing this to avoid the litigation around green.