Energy Star House

[Gregg Mason]

Anyone here ever built, bought, or have any info on an "Energy Star" compliant house ?

If your not familiar with this program, it's basically a more energy effecient home. The house must meet certain standards(upgraded insulation, windows, weather sealing, appliances, heating/HW, etc.). Inspections are required to qualify.

You can upgrade an existing house, or build ES from the start. There are tax rebates,credits, etc, that can be had to help cover the cost. I'm not sure how much though.

I was wondering if anyone here had gone through the process. I should be starting on my new house in a few months and I'm considering this as an option. I'd like to know if you felt it was worth the cost, what kind of rebates are available, etc.

I'm also looking into solar panels for electric. NJ has a rebate program of 70% of installation cost. But even with that, it's expensive. About $30,000 after rebates. I don't know if I can justify that much.

Thanks,

Gregg

[Jesse Merino]

I dont know, my wife would skin me alive, if I sunk that much money into solar panels.... And it still cost me 30K after rebate! sheesh!!

It really cant be justified!! In my lifetime, I would never use that much electricity, even with the electric rates going up!

I dont think it would give you enough power to electrically heat your home, would it? Unless your going to use a light bulb, with R-25 in the walls, and R-75 in the ceilings!! Completely cut off from the World... You cough, and the curtain moves three bedrooms away....

Naw, in my neck of the woods, ohio, it aint gonna happen here...Jesse

[Jerry Clark]

Solar sounds good, but there is always maintenance and other expenses involved, and the batteries only last so long and are expensive. :rolleyes: I don't think the technology is quite good enough to justify the cost.:D

[Howard Norman]

The Energy Star concept for houses has been around for some time now. It probable makes sense to go that route if the incremental cost is not too great.

On the other hand, solar electric power is expensive. For a home in a normal civilized setting it doesn't make economic sense. If you are out in the real boonies fifty miles from the electric grid then it is another story.

Howard

[Jim Becker]

No question that all construction should be as efficient as you can make it. As an alternative to the solar panels, consider putting in a geo-thermal HVAC system for long-term benefits. There may be some form of rebate, there, too....I don't know. I agree with the others that the cost (and ROI) of solar is a bit hard to swallow, even with the rebates.

For the home addition we have in the initial planning stages, we've already specified that the most energy efficient construction materials and techniques should be used. A little extra up front will undoubtedly pay off both in comfort and in energy savings as the cost of electricity and gas continues to escalate.

[Gregg Mason]

I agree the solar is still cost prohibated, even with the 70% rebate. I need to do a little more digging to see if there are other federal tax incentives that might cover more of the cost. I'm talking about a 10kw system, largest residential available here. I beleive that should cover about 80% of my yearly electric. Also can sell Green credits back, and any overage if there is any, gets sold back into the grid. I'd have to get an ROI of 5-7 yrs for me to concider this seriously.:confused:

The energy star program seems much more feasable. Since the house will be brand new, I think it may already meet many of the standards required. I need to get more info on what cost/savings is compared to standard home building. I was hoping to find someone that's gone through the process.

Jim, good idea on the geo-therm. I can also take a look at that for rebates. I am pretty much in the sticks. Propane( or Oil) is my only option for heat.

[Art Mulder]

Don't know much about Energy Star -- but I suspect that it is much like the Canadian R2000 homebuilding standard that has been around for 10-15 years. Great idea, and some of the practises have crept down into standard homebuilding, but a lot haven't. We need a more educated public to demand things like that from the builder.

That said, if I were building a house this year, I would look VERY hard at using SIPs (Structural Insulating Panels) to build the house. Very strong, very ridgid, goes together quickly, and NO THERMAL BRIDGING. Looks very cool to me. Flatter walls too, which has got to make installing trim and built-ins easier.

This company Thermapan (http://www.thermapan.com/) has some videos on their website. And I just googled and found that there is a national organization: www.sips.org/ (http://www.sips.org/)

[Jim Becker]

[quote=Art Mulder]That said, if I were building a house this year, I would look VERY hard at using SIPs (Structural Insulating Panels) to build the house. Very strong, very ridgid, goes together quickly, and NO THERMAL BRIDGING. Looks very cool to me. Flatter walls too, which has got to make installing trim and built-ins easier./quote]

I've already stated to the architects that we will be interviewing that SIPs or sticks with closed-cell foam insulation was on the table. I like both technologies...very energy efficient. And with SIPs, the build/"framing" time is really short, reducing labor costs although balanced with higher initial material costs.

[John Daugherty]

I am in the process of building with SIPS. The house will be 2100 sq/ft. I with the help of family, put the panels up for the exterior walls in about 1.5 days. The process was very easy. The design was a simple rectangle however. I had the rough electrical inspection yesterday. The framing/plumbing rough-in is today.

One other benefit of SIPS is that your HVAC equipment can be downsized.

[Ken Garlock]

Well Greg, yesterday I did a quick search on Energy Star and found a typical government site that was more BS than specific minimums. :rolleyes:

Any way, when we built in '02 I used 8" thick SIPs with an R-30 rating.

The windows were Marvin low-E.

The first layer of insulation in the attic was 5" of Icynene that provides an air seal that will not shrink from the joists and provides an R-15. That was followed by 12" of blown in fiberglass. The total attic is about R-60.

The underside of the roof deck is aluminum foil coated to reflect heat back outside. The roof shingles are the best I could find, hurricane rated and top fire rating.

Finally the HVAC is geo thermal. I have 4 300 ft. deep wells in the front yard. Each well has a loop of black PVC pipe. All 4 pipes have equal length supply lines to balance the water flow. There is a small pair of push-pull centrifugal pumps on the garage wall that circulate the water when the compressor is running. The compressor is a 5 ton unit in the garage attic that supplies a 3 zone Trane heat exchanger some 50 ft. away at the other end of the house.

Exterior doors are Stanley fiberglass with R-17, I think. The garage doors are from Overhead Door, and have an R-19 rating.

The appliances are all Whirlpool energy star rated, including the Whirlpool Duet tumble washer/dryer.

The shop is essentially the same with 8" SIP walls, Marvin windoes, Icynene insulation, and a Trane heat pump HVAC.

Some where there is probably a set of numerical minimums for the Energy Star rating, but I haven't seem them. OTOH, I haven't looked too hard either.

[Ray Bersch]

Gregg,
I have built to Energy Star specs and it is esay and well worth the effort - there are utility funded consultants in this state that will help you - I don't have time now, but I will look them up tomorrow.

The basic concept is to combine air tight construction with adquate insulation, approved windows and doors and Energy Star rated HVAC appliance (95% efficient furnace and 12 SEER or better A/C and high efficiency hot water heater.) None of this is rocket science. The consultant will help you and inspect the home during construction and just before the CO is issued there will be a final inspection with a blower door test. (you may actually make the house too tight - get a well qualified HVAC contactor to explain the benefits of a fresh air circulation unit.) But, you must make the effort to apply for the program, complete the application and conform to the specs - it takes a little effort - before you start construction.

In addition to the utility company rebates, you will be entitled to Federal Income Tax credits - check it out

One caution, many HVAC contractors still use outdated rules of thumb when designing their systems - this will result in over rated heating and air conditioning units that will defeat some of your efforts - this is not a case of bigger is better - right size is better.

Wish I had more time to discuss this with you but I gotta go for now -

Ray

[Ray Bersch]

Gregg;
Here is the link to the NJ Energy Star Program
http://www.njenergystarhomes.com/

this site should answer most of your questions - there is one area entitled "10 Questions to ask your builder" which is very informative. The site will give you a list of participating builders, however, you do not need to use one of them or to buy a home in a development being built by a participating builder. Use the contact number provided in the site and you should get all the info you need. If you get stuck, PM me with your phone number and I will call to help you.

What you need most is a cooperative builder and sub-contractors - I have been in and around the building business for over 30 years and one of the most frustrating things I hear is "We don't do it that way." - What ever the "it" is, if it is not familiar to the contractor he/she may not be willing to try. I dismiss those kinds of folks immediately.

If you are shooting for a spring start, you should get on this right away -
Good luck and keep in touch if you need help.
Ray

[Gregg Mason]

Ray,

Thanks for the information. I've been on the NJ energy star site, it has quite a bit of good info. The one thing I haven't been able to find is information about the tax rebates/credits, both state and fed. There is some information on the site about the state credits for individual items(furnance, AC, applianaces, windows, etc.). But I haven't seen anything for an over-all rebate/credit for building a new ES certified home. Is there such a thing, or is it done for each item purchased. I also haven't seen anything at all for federal tax credit/rebates.

I will be meeting with my builder next week, so I'm going to bring the ES idea up to him to see what info he can give me. Good news is he's listed on the site as an energy star builder.

I will also give a call to ES to talk to someone there.

Thanks again, I may have more questions for you. I may send you a PM after talking to my builder.

Gregg

[Gregg Mason]

I found the page I was looking for, with the incentives(rebates/credits for state). But if I'm reading this correctly, the incentives are only available to homes built in designated "Smart Growth" areas. See Item (3) on this page. http://www.njenergystarhomes.com/html/builder/2005_program_changes.html

There are several of these areas around me, but I'm not in one. I'll give a call to find out for sure.