Improving Your Home's Energy Efficiency with Technology

More and more, home buyers are looking for ways to incorporate home technologies that increase the long-term value of their house but also provide convenience, safety and comfort. These days, energy management tops the list of desired features in new homes, according to a recent survey by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).  

NAHB’s 2007-2008 consumer preferences survey of more than 2,300 recent and prospective home buyers examined the features, products, amenities and layouts preferred in a new home. 

In the home technology features category, the number one choice among respondents was energy management at 61 percent – up from 45 percent in 2004.  Also ranked highly in this category were multi-zone heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC), lighting controls and home theatres.

Staying in the home technology features category, three of the top five most-wanted technology features – energy management, HVAC and lighting control – also provide energy-efficiency.  By incorporating the following technologies, home owners can save money on their utility bills:

Automated HVAC systems can maintain a more energy-efficient temperature while the home owners are away at work, but switch to a more comfortable temperature prior to their arrival home.  Zones can also be created to heat or cool only the areas most used by the occupants, keeping other areas, such as guest bedrooms, shut down until they are needed. According to Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, programmable thermostats can save consumers about $180 per year in energy costs. 

Water heaters with a timer can be turned off when the occupants are traveling, then can turn on and begin heating the water in preparation for their return home.  Tankless gas water heaters – which only activate when residents start to use hot water and immediately de-activate when they are done – are also a great option and can reduce water heating costs up to 35 percent annually.

Lighting can make up 10 to 20 percent of the total electrical usage of the home.  Installing an automatic dimmer, which adjusts to the homeowner’s needs based on time of day or occupancy, will lower electricity bills and increase the life expectancy of light bulbs.  

Blinds and drapes can be programmed to close during the hottest part of the day to block out the sun; keeping the house cooler.  In the colder winter months, they can open up to allow the sun in to warm the house, which helps regulate the room temperature.

By incorporating technologies that help make your home operate more efficiently, Energy Star estimates that home owners can save $200 to $400 annually on their energy bills. If you'd like to see how specific energy efficiency upgrades to your home could affect your local utility bill, City Utilities of Springfield has exceptional online calculators that allow consumers to compare various technologies and upgrades and the impact that each should have on their utility bill, using City Utilities actual rates. 

For more information on these and other home technologies available, contact the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield or visit the National Association of Home Builders online.

'Living Green & Loving It' Summit & Expo

A national conference on "living green" will be held in Branson on Friday July 25 & Saturday, July 26. The 'Living Green & Loving It! Summit & Expo 2008' will be held at Tri-Lakes Center. Hosting 80+ exhibitor’s booths featuring the nation’s cutting-edge “green” technologies impacting:  construction, lenders & green mortgages, renewable energy systems & sources, daily living products, and so much more.  

The conference is designed to benefit two audiences: green construction  manufacturing companies committed to building highly energy- efficient homes affordably, and consumers who seek reliable, practical guidance on achieving better energy-efficiency in their day-to-day lives.

For information & tickets visit: www.hthconstruction.com/expoinfo.html Presenters include geothermal heating & cooling specialist Gemma McKee-Bartholomew and former California EPA Secretary Terry Tamminen. Entertainment will be provided by popular vocalist Jake Simpson.

Living Green & Loving It!  Expo  

For tickets call Tri-Lakes Center (417) 336-0219  

General Admission: $8 /$6 Local Residents

Kids 12 & Under Free 

For more information:

http://www.hthconstruction.com/expoinfo.html

Gemma McKee-Bartholomew

417.739.2185 

Missouri Governor Signs Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday Bill

Missouri Only the Fourth State to Enact Environmentally-Friendly Tax Holiday

Legislation Also Contains Tax Credits for Energy Audits and Related Home Improvements

Gov. Matt Blunt today enacted the state’s new Show-Me Green Tax Holiday for Energy-Star appliances making Missouri only the fourth state in the country to enact this environmentally-friendly tax holiday. The governor called for the tax holiday in his State of the State Address this year.

“This Show-Me Green Tax Holiday rewards Missouri families that make environmentally-friendly choices that are good for energy efficiency and good for their family budget,” Gov. Blunt said. “I am pleased to sign this legislation giving an additional incentive to purchase energy efficient products, saving energy, saving money, and ultimately helping to preserve our environment. Now for one week every April, we will forgive state sales tax on Energy-Star certified appliances.”

With the governor’s signature, Missouri becomes only the fourth state to enact this environmentally-friendly sales tax holiday joining Connecticut, Florida and Virginia.

Senate Bill 1181, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Engler, creates the “Show-Me Green Sales Tax Holiday”. The holiday will start on April 19th and end on April 25th. All sales of Energy-Star Certified new appliances, up to $1500, will be exempt from state sales tax.

This legislation also allows 100 percent of the cost of a home energy audit, conducted by a certified energy auditor, and the costs of implementing any of the recommendations made in any such energy audit, to be deducted from a taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income. The deduction is limited to $1,000 per taxpayer per year and up to $2,000 cumulative lifetime total per taxpayer.

Last year the governor announced a partnership to create renewable energy and heat using byproducts from the Jefferson City Landfill. Methane gas from the landfill is converted to electricity, and the heat created by conversion facilities is used to heat water for the state prison. The project uses resources that would otherwise have been wasted while at the same time producing benefits for the environment, the state, the prison and local communities. Gov. Blunt’s support for proactive solutions to save energy and protect the environment once implemented will both reduce energy use and save taxpayers nearly $16 million in energy costs. Initiatives include a range of projects from centralizing and monitoring statewide energy consumption to changing laundry operations at prisons.

For more information about Energy Star ratings and Programs, visit http://www.energystar.gov/

2008 Choose Environmental Excellence Award Winners

The HBA of Greater Springfield was among the 2008 winners of the Springfield - Greene County Choose Environmental Excellence Awards. Below is the KSFX (FOX 27) recap of the 2008 winners.

 

KSMU (91.1 FM) Reports on Local Green Building Efforts

KSMU's Missy Shelton reported July 1 on Green Building efforts in the Greater Springfield area. She intereviewed HBA Builders Brett Godfrey and Scott Kisling, as well as HBA Executive Officer Matt Morrow on the subject. To listen to the radio news story, click here. Following is a partial transcript:

July 1st, 2008

Going Green Series: Green Building: This month, we continue our look at what it means to “go green” and protect the environment. In this report, KSMU’s Missy Shelton talks with local builders about green homes and the demand from buyers for green homes.

Meet Scott Kisling, president and owner of Uptight Construction, Incorporated. He’s a certified green builder.

Kisling also looks at ways to get some life out of used materials.

There’s often a cost to going green. Kisling says using insulated concrete forms to make homes more energy efficient comes with a cost.

Kisling’s own home is made with insulated concrete forms, something you’d never suspect just by looking at it. And he says he’s seen tremendous savings on his energy bill.

As good as that might sound to homeowners looking to cut back on their energy costs, energy efficient features and other green building features are just starting to catch on in the Ozarks.

Matt Morrow is Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield.

People have heard of going green but may not know exactly what that means, especially as it relates to homebuilding.

Morrow refers to recent research done for the HBA.

Since there is some confusion about what green building is all about, Morrow offers a definition.

And in a tight housing market, those can be important selling points.

Brett Godfrey is president of Built by Brett, Incorporated and is building green homes like this one in south Springfield.

For homes that are going on the market (in other words, they’re not custom homes), builders have to make some tough choices: how many energy efficient and green features to include in the home. Godfrey says it’s a question he has to tackle.

Godfrey and other home builders in the area are banking on homebuyers being enticed to hand over more green for features that are green.

Builders Tell Congress Ways to Make Housing Green

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) on June 11 testified before Congress on ways to improve sustainability and energy efficiency in housing while simultaneously supporting housing affordability.

Jerry Howard, NAHB executive vice president and chief executive officer, spoke at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on H.R. 6078, the Green Resources for Energy Efficient Neighborhood Act of 2008, also known as the GREEN Act.

"Because federal housing programs are such a critical component of the nation's housing system, NAHB believes that it is important to ensure that the incorporation of sustainable building practices for these programs is accomplished in a thoughtful and practical manner," Howard said. "Also, it is important to maintain a balance between the goals of affordable housing development and maximizing energy efficiency."

Overly stringent or unrealistic goals for energy efficiency compliance could boost the cost of building affordable housing to a level that is not sustainable over the long term, he added.

As the committee moves to adopt green criteria that would apply to federally assisted housing programs, Howard urged lawmakers to consider the following principles:

• Recognize and plan for a variety of green building rating systems to help increase the sustainability of federally assisted housing and allow for regular review and updating of these standards and criteria. Congress should avoid naming specific green criteria in federal legislation that may seem sufficient today, but that could become quickly outdated or unworkable in the very near term, Howard said.

• Provide necessary resources, including the additional staff and technology needed to implement the programs, as well as appropriations to help support the additional costs of building green.

• Structure new programs in a manner that allows them to be used easily with other housing programs, avoids duplicative rules and regulations, and supports funding timelines in concert with other program rules.

• Provide financial and other incentives to developers and builders of affordable housing to help them meet and even exceed green building goals.

• Work with builders, lenders, government-sponsored enterprises, nonprofits, community groups, appraisers, and others to develop attainable goals for the development of supportive financing mechanisms such as energy-efficient and location-efficient mortgages as well as appraisal standards that appropriately recognize the value of green building.

• Develop educational materials that can be used by the various stakeholders to learn and communicate best practices and promote sustainable federally assisted housing.

Currently, the association is working with the International Code Council to complete a rigorous standards-developing process that will produce the first standard approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for green residential construction and remodeling – the National Green Building Standard™.

"The development of the National Green Building Standard™ is the most recent and most robust effort undertaken by the industry to encourage green building in residential construction," said Howard. "When completed, it will be the only ANSI-approved standard for residential construction."