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Scott Adams On the Difficulty of Building a 'Green' Home
An anonymous reader writes "Scott Adams built himself a new house with the goal of making it as 'green' as possible, and detailed his experience for those interested in following in his missteps. Quoting: '... So the architect — and later your building engineer, too — each asks you to sign a document saying you won't sue them when beavers eat a load-bearing wall and your entire family is crushed by forest debris. You make the mistake of mentioning this arrangement to your family, and they leave you. But you are not deterred because you're saving the planet, damn it. You'll get a new family. A greener one. Your next hurdle is the local planning commission. They like to approve things that are similar to things they've approved before. To do otherwise is to risk unemployment. And the neighbors don't want to live next to a house that looks like a compost pile. But let's say, for the sake of this fascinating story, that everyone in the planning commission is heavily medicated with medical marijuana and they approve your project over the objections of all of your neighbors, except for the beavers, who are suspiciously flexible. Now you need a contractor who is willing to risk his career to build this cutting-edge structure. Good luck with that.'"
Seems the much maligned president owned, with little fanfare, a rather "green" home. Passive solar heating, natural cooling, geothermal energy, modest size, rainwater collection, nature preserve, all made for a model environmentalist domicile. (This in contrast to the fast talking "green" showman whose mansion burned 20x the national average.)
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
Every single one of them would be just as much a problem if he were building a regular home. Or even buying one.
It is stressful. Unless you have enough money to just throw out a check and not worry, you're going to have problems.
From the roof to the foundation, and even in the ground. You won't know what's going to go wrong, but something will.
"Pioneers usually end up with arrows in their backs"
That was pretty much his conclusion too. Among other amusing quotes:
In my defense, the price of your future photovoltaic system will never come down unless idiots like me pay too much today. You're welcome.
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_recovery_ventilation They're becoming increasingly common, particularly in colder climates. In Alaska, many newer homes are so well-sealed that a full air exchange in the house can take days. Properly sized, an HRV can provide just the right level of fresh air, and has the side benefit of recovering some of the heat. (Recovering some of the heat is important! Many areas of Alaska rely primarily on oil for heating. The Anchorage area has an extensive natural gas distribution system, but it's limited in other cities and villages, where it exists at all.)
This guy is off his rocker and mixes up "Sustainable Housing" with "Natural Building Materials" and overuse of PV panels.
Sustainable housing provides a way to live well without requiring lots of expensive resource use.
There are many styles of housing with many different construction methods to achieve the goal of Good Living with (Considerably) Less Reliance on Resources.
Resources are things like land, energy, water, construction materials, time, money. Good living means different things to different people - maybe a small modest house with no mortgage, maybe having time for family and friends, maybe living in an architectural masterpiece, maybe fitting in, or standing out.
For me good living always has a party now and then, when I have a big fire, leave the lights on, and rock out.
But most of the time, when I am not thinking, a sustainable house helps me live without need for extra heating or cooling energy, has less need for ongoing maintenance, and doesn't cost me that much.
The easiest way to use less resources is to have a beautiful small house that lasts a long time:
http://tinyhouseblog.com/
http://smalllivingjournal.com/
Beauty can come from use of recycled or natural materials.
Straw: http://www.thelaststrawblog.org/2009/08/bit-bale-walls/
Earth: http://www.shac.org.nz/group/whareuku
And may have wavy lines, and be built slowly and experimentally
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthship
Or may be slick and modern:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/07/tiny-home-lives-large/1
Or might be built offsite
http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/fablisthome.htm
And in most cases, sustainable living will mean remodeling existing buildings, and encouraging higher density living - next to friends and culture.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/08/03/clip-on-plant-room-adds-green-space-to-apartment-buildings/
Living more sustainably gives me freedom to innovate, and has nothing to do with forcing me to live in a log, as the author seems to think - at least until that idea strikes my fancy.
-Tim
timbAtclaire.org
I'd say it is as humorous as recent Dilberts. That is, very boring.
Besides, his assumptions are utterly idiotic. For example windows are not that bad energy losers (U < 0.8 are available easily). If you have photovoltaics the colour of the roof hardly matters. Insulation costs next to nothing, unless you want to use more expensive ones (to keep it thin). Etc, see e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-energy_house
This guy is off his rocker and mixes up "Sustainable Housing" with "Natural Building Materials" and overuse of PV panels.
Sustainable housing provides a way to live well without requiring lots of expensive resource use.
There are many styles of housing with many different construction methods to achieve the goal of Good Living with (Considerably) Less Reliance on Resources.
Resources are things like land, energy, water, construction materials, time, money. Good living means different things to different people - maybe a small modest house with no mortgage, maybe having time for family and friends, maybe living in an architectural masterpiece, maybe fitting in, or standing out.
For me good living always has a party now and then, when I have a big fire, leave the lights on, and rock out.
But most of the time, when I am not thinking, a sustainable house helps me live with need for extra heating or cooling energy, has less need for ongoing maintenance, and doesn't cost me that much.
The easiest way to use less resources is to have a beautiful small house that lasts a long time:
http://goldenbayhideaway.co.nz/abodes/little_greenie
http://tinyhouseblog.com/
http://smalllivingjournal.com/
Beauty can come from use of recycled or natural materials.
Straw: http://www.thelaststrawblog.org/2009/08/bit-bale-walls/
Earth: http://www.shac.org.nz/group/whareuku
And may have wavy lines, and be built slowly and experimentally
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthship
Or may be slick and modern:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2010/07/tiny-home-lives-large/1
Or might be built offsite
http://www.fabprefab.com/fabfiles/fablisthome.htm
And in most cases, sustainable living will mean remodeling existing buildings, and encouraging higher density living - next to friends and culture.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/08/03/clip-on-plant-room-adds-green-space-to-apartment-buildings/
Living more sustainably gives me freedom to innovate, and has nothing to do with forcing me to live in a log, as the author seems to think - at least until that idea strikes my fancy.
-Tim
I recently met the guy who heads the BAC's online Sustainable Design course. It seems good. http://www.the-bac.edu/x350.xml
They should build green modular homes and deliver them all over the country.
I think this was the idea behind Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion house
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso
I did some work on my home - added a second story etc. while living in it - an adventure for sure! I learned some things. For one my contractor was a good ole boy who was so honest it wasn't funny. He did it ALL without a signed contract and he stuck to his original price despite having to wait a YEAR to begin! It took a year to get permits and to get the damned architect to properly do the plans, we waited on weather some too. Jackass architect drew in 2X4 walls and not 2X6, not noticed by me till they were banging nails - grr. The first few sets of plans were a joke and the very first time my contractor caught a GLARING error before he even got out of their office. The architect hated my contractor but my contractor knew how to build and was catching all sorts of errors. Thankfully he worked around the ones in the final plans just fine.
So, I wanted to do some odd things my guy hadn't seen before. For starters I had a specific toilet in mind. You know, a low flow toilet that WORKS! Toto Drake for those wondering - just wish it had more water in the bowl so keep a brush handy. He thought it was silly to want a specific toilet and darn it the thing cost MORE. Wow, it works he finds out. Guess who now has two in HIS home :-) I wanted "solar tubes". What in the world are those he wonders. Well the guy puts them in and wow, lots of LIGHT from outside. My contractor thinks this is pretty cool - don't think he's bought any yet. I wanted a tin roof. Now he's seen these and he's had them done. I had a good quote from a guy but when the guy came out to look over the job he made the cardinal sin of ignoring my contractor - this pissed him off. My contractor got his buddy on the phone and shaved multiple thousands of dollars off the price just to spite this jerk - likely burned a favor. Took the guys maybe two hours to put up that roof too. Rolls off the reel through an extruder and up go the panels onto the roof. I wanted spray foam insulation too. Why would I want that? Well the downstairs leaked like a sieve and I wanted it quiet. Research I found said to spray it under the roof decking and make the attic a controlled space. Contractor and roofing guy not happy, insulation guy not so sure. Govt. studies say this saves money bigtime but if the roof decking gets too hot and fries I'm out big bux. Never mind that Govt study was partially conducted in Florida. I relent but I still have the stuff in my walls and attic - it rocks! My contractor also does Tyvek wrap, rigid foam with foil, and the insulator guys sealed every nook with caulk too. End result is awesome but pricey. Insulator says they never do this in homes but in businesses all the time. A/C and heating guy nearly passed out when I told him what we had for insulation - my heat pump doesn't have to work at all but is sized for efficiency. Tankless hot water heater and softener system. Why would I do that? Well endless hot water for the big tub I had installed and the efficiency is off the chart compared to the previous somewhat new water heater. Literally - the two charts don't overlap the new one is so good! I wanted good windows - Pella is what I chose. All sorts of coatings and stuff. I had gotten a ballpark at a homeshow on price. Pella only sells through regional dealers if you buy their good stuff - price is sky high. My contractor is NOT happy and talks them down a couple hundred per window. Love this guy! I get a seriously good attic trap door with insulation and gasketed seals - everyone thinks I'm nuts till that sucker goes up and seals like a drum. I wanted good temp compensating shower fixtures - I buy them online for way less than local. Plumber freaks at the puzzle he has to build to plumb it. I use a local tile and granite guy instead of a big box store or boutique bath place. I save TONS and the guy is very happy to have my business - I've been back for more stuff twice.
So in the end I saved a bunch and obviously went over budget. Every single time I wanted to do something "odd" I got questioned and quizzed. If you aren't
Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
actually, with well designed argon filled double pane windows, your windows will transmit less heat *than the surrounding walls* white roofs make a huge difference (just ask anyone who has to run ethernet cable through attics in the summer in the southwest, dark roof = miserable, light roof = not so bad). insulation is not as cheep as you think.
I've decided to Diversify my Holdings. I've divided my cash between my left and right pockets, instead of all in one.
Dilbert -- er, I mean, Scott Adams -- pointed that out in his article, where he noted that the greenest thing to do was not to build at all.
For example windows are not that bad energy losers
I beg to differ. If you are looking for enery loss guidelines, the rule of thumb is the best window is the same as the worst wall.
Insulation costs next to nothing
Really? Ever try and make an R40 roof or R20 wall? Not ridiculous, but not nothing either.
Tesla was a genius. Edison however was a overrated hack who liked to torture puppies.
Your average 1200 sq ft bungalow needs 6880 square feet of r20 insulation (a little less since you can take stud width out, but you usually leave that in and just come up a few bags over)
That means properly insulated, r40 roof, r40 floor and r20 walls. Average bag of insulation should be around $35 CAD or $30 USD and does about 50 square feet on the average(usually a bit less, and the reason you leave in the stud widths if using regular lumber). So in total you need about 138 bags of insulation to do it right. Grand total cost is around 5k CAD or a bit less USD and you'll save enough in AC/Heat in the first 3 years in most places to be in money from doing it, so any argument about up front capital cost is moot as average time spent in a purchased home before selling is well over 3 years, at least in Canada. Especially when you consider average house cost is over 100k(a lot over 100k in some cases), even for that modest bungalow. 5k isn't much to tack on when theres already 100k going into the place.
Thats not including your basement if it exists but a good vapour barrier and 2 layers of R7 1.5 inch styro around all of the interior cement, a good water barrier on the outside and a good sealer and sub floor on the cement floor will remove the r40 floor as a necessity(probably still want to do r20 just for sound reasons, at least, I know I would) and cover the insulation needs the same. Shit, an uninsulated basement is probably the #1 cause of overpaying on heat bills, again, in canada, but I can't imagine its much different south of the border. I've had people cut their heat bills in half with just the double styro insulation around the cement.
Correct. In CA, the populace can vote initiatives (which can include huge bonds) with 50% + 1 vote while the legislature needs a 2/3 vote to raise taxes or even pass a budget.
I don't always use unix-like operating systems; but when I do, I prefer FreeBSD.
You must have been asleep for the last 20 years or so (or you have severe, advanced Alzheimer's disease) if you really believe it was under Obama's watch that oversight of oil wells were allowed to "...diminish to the point of catastrophe...". He's been in office less than 2 years. BP has a history of safety violations going back years. Bush II, Clinton, Bush I and Reagan are all complicit in reducing and/or eliminating the regulatory structure in the oil business (and other businesses as well, considering Enron, the savings and loan crisis of the 1980's, the stock market meltdown, the housing bubble, etc.).
Yes, A guy who actually has DONE it is probably far less informed than random people on the internet quoting numbers.
PS. Ever own a house? Sure, my double-pane windows rock ... the casings, on the other hand, leak like a sieve.
Actually, he was less informed. Take that from someone who has done all sorts of construction. The fact that he has missteps and made bad choices does not mean it's not doable, nor does it mean it's not economically feasible. As some for instances, there are various utility companies who will not pay money for power generated. You still get a bill for what you use though. Oh, wait, that's not legal. Yep! Ask BGE why, they tell you that though it is the law that they have to buy power from you, that there is no law yet that tells them how they are supposed to do it. Until then, they aren't paying anyone (at least not as of the last time I checked - by now, enough people may have made a stink to force them to follow the law). Our friend just had an installation done that cost him $6000 after rebates (because it was done right), and we've started on ours. Much of the time, he's selling back to the electric company (which our current one, fortunately, does properly buy power back and credit you for it).
Take the insulation... there are tons of new insulation, lab tested, R value and all, all eco-friendly - oops, guess he simply made a bad choice there too. Take the solar. Oddly, most people who install them get enough rebates that the system can be paid for in 5 years... not 15. Of course, if one does it wrong, there are a lot less rebates (or none). The system has to be able to generate a certain amount of electricity during each season - if not (because you stuck it under trees, in the shade, or facing the wrong direction), then you aren't eligible for a lot of (or any) rebates. Take his other suggestions (stone walls... btw, they work great on the outside too... no reason to have a living room with a stone wall), thick slab foundation, and so on... duh! Sounds like he forgot those and realized them as an "ooops, here's what you should consider which would have made things better for us had we considered it"
Should I go on? Also, green homes do not need to be ugly. Wanna know how you can cut costs? Get good appliances. And no, I dont mean the top of the line "crap" sold at your local appliance store (Sears, Home Depot, Lowes, wherever). They make full size refrigerators that use 200W - NOT 1200W. Similar (electricity) savings can be found on other appliances as well. Ensure you have entirely LED or CFL lighting. Once you are done, during spring and summer, how much electricity is it to run a house? Let's see... 200-300W for the fridge, 20 lights at 3W is another 60W, plus the incidentals. During summer, use cooling from a heat/cooling pump (pumps coolant into a ground chamber, comes out at 55 degrees or so... inotherwords, ideal to drop the house temperature to something nice - or to something cool with AC using a LOT less electricity). In the winter, the same can be done to "warm" the water before it's used to heat the house. Things like floor heating, when not needed, can simply be a flow valve away from being removed from the loop - and since the lines are filled with "antifreeze" (a chemical like it), no worries about it freezing and busting a pipe (c'mon, this flow valve idea is common sense - people use stuff like that all the time for lawn sprinklers that have multi-zones, for ponds and fish pools and more). As for the lawn, one can use runoff, if one builds a cistern or some other containment. People are already doing that, and collecting enough in most areas like his, to water a full lawn, and have water extra for toilets, and an overflow for when it gets too full.
Well, I could keep going on and on. Honestly, he made mistakes (BIG ones), read the wrong magazines/websites, and is complaining (whining?) about it now.
StarTrekPhase2 - The Five Year Mission Continues!
If you have trouble reading this, that would be because you are avoiding something you know is true
The author spends quite a bit of time making good natured jokes of his personal experience and unfortunately (well meaning as he appears to be) drops in some rather misleading information. The German Passivhaus standard is a type of house he could have considered. The standard was implemented in 1996 (predicated on some work done on project houses in Saskatchewan Canada in 1977, as well as in Massachusetts, and also by the University of Illinois) is readilly achievable, even in very cold climates (like colder parts of Germany, Austria and Alberta Canada. Windows do not have to be some energy leaking sieves at all. Good windows require thermal breaks and should be triple glazed. South facing windows are large for heat gain in winter months and canopied for blocking high summer rays.
These houses basically - and readilly (with installed solar systems including Photovoltaic and Solar Hot Water, achieve a "Net Zero" energy requirement: In the span of one year on average, and all within their property envelope (urban settings too) they produce an amount of energy equal to, or more than ("Net Positive"), the energy they consume. That also requires choosing energy efficent appliances (fridges can be power hogs otherwise) that consume low Killowat hours of energy. LED lights are excellent. induction cookers as well. The key thing on Passivhaus design is that the house has a very high R-value all round (walls can be a foot thick of insulation and roofs are R 80) and the house must be air-sealed to a specific blower door pressure test stardard.
Passivhauses do not have to look like bunkers or lunar outposts by necessity. The Mill Creek Net Zero home in Alberta is one pleasing example, or this example in Salem, Oregon. Because the houses are so well sealed (in contrast to regular built houses that leak air badly), air exchangers are a necessity and key to having fresh air. One of the benefits of a passivhaus is that the air is extremely fresh. To save conserve space heating energy heat recovery ventillators are used. Some heat recovery ventillators can be anywhere from 95 to 99% efficient. In some cases - even in cold climates, the passivhaus standard built house actually doesn't need an auxilliary heating system, but the City officials can get a little freaked out and demand one anyway. Germany has many of these houses. Passivhauses can also work in hot climates as well.
Anecdotes are fun. I have a friend in Fairbanks (a poet) who built a cabin, quite literally, with his own two hands. The doors, triple-pane windows, everything are hand-built. His two-story cabin (probably 600 sf total) warms in about 30 minutes once his wood stove is started. He collects 4 cords or wood each summer, and every third or fourth year he has enough left over that he doesn't need to collect that one year. It's an amazingly tight place. (He once bragged that his 6-candle candelabra keeps the place comfortable at -30F.)
Like your Finnish homeowner, my friend has very thick doors, with tight wool gaskets to match. The roof is about R-60 in the summer, and because the snow doesn't melt on top, gets much more insulating in the winter. No water and an outhouse make the cabin somewhat too rugged for more conventional folks to raise kids in, though.
. . . I don't think that I know anybody with a "greener" house than his, though.
Thanks for the ego trip. The guy obviously talked to a lot of people, some of them surely more knowledgeable than you are. The problem , as me mentions, is that people don't agree on what is a good idea. You seem to be giving questionable advice just like he was given. Don't use the wattage of refrigerator to determine the energy use . That's the power consumed when its on. The 200W fridges are unlikely to be energy efficient because they have to run constantly to keep up (if they do keep up). Insulation matters too. Look at rated kWh per year. The rates are published.
That is only irony if you are mentally retarded.
You have very badly insulated walls. the best windows on the market are triple pane with about U=0.5, the best double-panes are 0.8 or 0.9. a badly insulated wall starts at max U=0.6 (I think the building-standard(in Belgium) calls for U=0.35 walls) [LOWER is BETTER]
[I think U = the # watts lost per hour per degree difference in Kelvin]
Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
1. Buy the archive of the back issues of Mother Earth News. Not all the ideas are practical, but many are, and the rest can lead to further ideas.
2. Smaller is greener.
3. If you are innovating in construction technique, build so that it can be modified.
* Build in access to pipes.
* Wire in conduits.
* Extra conduits so you can network, or put in 12v DC, or whatever later.
* Attic access for later addition of fans.
* Power outlets in the attic.
* Steep pitched roof so that most of your attic access is not on your hands and knees.
* Use screws whereever you think you MIGHT want to change things.
4. Zone your heating/cooling system.
5. Do your best calculation for heating needs -- then put in a unit half that size. But leave room to add a second one later. This will give you redundancy, at some increase in expense.
HVAC people seem to overestimate heating and underestimate ventilation. Put in bigger exhaust fans than they tell you.
6. If you are in a net heating environment, design your house to have most of the windows on the south.
7. In our climate (10000 degree days, central Alberta) a dual glazed south facing window has better net performance than triple glazing.
8. Don't bother with argon/krypton. The gas is gone in 5 years.
9. In a well made window, a sizeable amount of the heat loss is on the edges. Use fewer but larger units.
10. If you are building a single floor house in a heating climate, considering building it partially underground. I've seen houses that were essentially walkout basements.
11. The most energy efficient shape for a two story house is a butter cube, oriented east west.
12. Conifers on side to the prevailing winter wind makes your house use a lot less heating, and makes your gardening less problematic.
Third Career: Tree Farmer Second Career: Computer Geek First Career: Teacher, Outdoor Instructor, Photographer.