Wayne English Building and Green Building

In the late seventies Wayne became interested in alternative building methods to those that were predominately in use at that time and set about a course of self study in building technology. One of the driving forces behind his interest was to find methods of building that were in harmony with the environment and incorporated the best of modern building technology and traditional building methods. One of the first books that Wayne read when doing his research was From The Ground Up by Charles Wing and John Cole first published in 1976. The authors define a home built utilizing the constructions methods and design concepts described in the book as a “Post Industrial Home”. From the Ground Up leads the reader through the process of building a home that is: energy efficiency, in harmony with nature, made use of local resources, used salvaged material where possible, and minimized waste. All of this made perfect sense to Wayne and he was hooked from that time on the concepts of building green. We find that today’s Green High Performance Houses incorporate many of the same concepts that Wing and Cole described back in 1976. Wayne say’s “building green is not new but has thankfully now entered into the main stream of builders”.

Green Building, Sustainable Building, Natural Homes, and High Performance Homes

What is Green Building? What is Natural Building, what is Sustainable Building? These questions we hear a lot in the building industry today as consumer seek to fine ways in which they can help to lessen their environmental foot print.
Green building can be defined as the practice of increasing the efficiency of buildings and their use of energy, water, and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal in fact the complete life cycle of the building.

Natural Building is similar in concept to green building. Natural Building is however focused on the use of natural materials and building in the vernacular. The vernacular builder first looks to use material from the exact site where the house will be set to build the structure. Building materials may be taken from the site itself; for example, if a new house is being constructed in a wooded area, wood from the trees which were cut to make room for the building could be incorporated into the house. In another example clay form the excavation for foundations could be used for finishing walls. Next consideration are can materials be found 100 yards of the house setting, 1 mile , 2 miles so on and so fort until all the materials for the construction home are acquired from sources as close to the site as possible.

Sustainable development and sustainability are concepts integral to green building. Sustainable building seeks to use material in a way that does not over stress the environment. Sustainable builders often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural environment. Sustainable buildings are also environmentally friendly in that they are built out of materials that do not damage the environment and raw materials that are harvested in sustainable manner. Building materials typically considered to be 'sustainable” include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, lumber from forests lots certified to be sustainably managed, stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable. The appearance and style of sustainable homes can be nearly indistinguishable from their non-sustainable homes.

We can sum up all of the concepts discussed above on Green Building, Natural building, and sustainable Building by the use of the term High Performance House. A High Performance House is a house that was built under a process that incorporates the following principles: optimal site planning, passive solar design, intelligent use of interior and exterior living spaces, an energy efficient enclosure system, water efficiency, indoor air quality, renewable resources, use of environmentally friendly materials, low maintenance, use of locally resourced materials, and end of functional life considerations.

There are many benefits to building a High Performance House including but not limited to the following:

Environmental Benefits:

• Protection of the environment
• Improve the quality of the earths water and air
• Reduction in waste
• Conservation of national resources

Financial benefits:

• Higher property values
• Reduced utility bills

Health benefits:

• Improved air quality
• Less impact on local infrastructures.
• Greater comfort
• Greater livability
• Higher quality of life.
• More leisure time
  

Green Building Standards

There are currently more than 70 local and regional programs for determining what it means to be green or a High Performance House in the United States but the two main guidelines are those established by the Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) LEED Program and the National Associations of Home Builders (NAHB). More guidelines and programs are in the works including The National Green Building Standard accredited by ANSI.

Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program

The LEED program was established by the US green Building Council as a way to define and measure “Green Buildings”. The LEED program is a cross-functional initiative that involves all members of the home building process including manufactures of products, service providers, home builders, and home owners. The LEED system is a voluntary rating system for assuring that a home is designed and built to be energy efficient, resource efficient and also a healthy home for the occupants to live in. the LEED rating system has four levels of green: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The rating of a home is performed by LEED for homes provider’s organizations with documented experience and expertise in the regional market in which they operate.

We are pleased to offer LEED certification and Energy Star through the Center for Environmental Technologies (CET) Northampton MA.

NAHB Model Green Building Guidelines

The NAHB Model green building Guidelines were established by the NAHB with the main stream home builder in mind. The guidelines were designed to be used as a tool by home builders in designing and building new homes that address environmental concerns. The guidelines are composed of 7 guiding principles:

Lot Design, Preparation, and Development

Efficient site design and development practices can reduce the impact to the environment. For example, Trees may be saved and the proposed house can be orientated on the site in such a way as to maximize passive solar heating and natural cooling possibilities. For those that want to work with EBS to build in the vernacular with natural materials, the site can be analyzed to see if there are trees that need to be cleared that can be used in the construction of the house. Similarly the excavation site can be assessed to see if it might yield materials that can be used in the construction of the house such as clay.

Resource efficiency

At the earliest stages, before a site is chosen or purchased considerations are given to the site as to the resources it contains and how they might be used to reduce environmental impact. As mentioned above for those interested in an EBS timber frame or natural house it might be possible to use resources contained on the lot in the construction of the house. Another example of resource efficiency is the use of engineered wood products and advanced framing practices. Both practices we see employed at Epoch. Engineered wood products can use up to 50% more of the raw timber from which the structural framing material is milled than that of conventional framing lumber. Engineered products may also require less maintenance and have a longer functional life. Resource efficiency is also about the minimization of waste created in the build process. By reducing the amount of waste it is possible to lower builders cost and reduce the burden of waste on the environment. Introduced under this guideline is the concept of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) basically an analysis of environmental impact from the “cradle to grave”.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is an important consideration in the design of a new home. The energy consumption of a home and all homes combined can have a very far reaching effect on the environment and impact the acquisition of fossil fuels and the emissions that come from their consumptions. Energy efficient improvements can reduce homeowner’s utility expenses over the course of a year. Whatever is the climate energy efficiency is a key factor in most Green Building Programs.

Water Efficiency

The importance of conserving water resources is becoming more and more apparent to all as we see droughts affecting many areas in the USA. Green High Performance Homes are designed to conserve water both indoors and outdoors. Thoughtful selection of native and drought resistant plants can reduce the need for watering thereby conserving precious water resources.

Indoor Environmental Quality

Heightened awareness of material out gassing of chemicals used in building materials has cause homeowners to put indoor air quality near the top of the issues list when considering a High Performance Home. Building a custom Natural Home with light clay plaster on the interior walls can results in a green home with excellent indoor environmental qualities.

Operation, Maintenance & Homeowner Education

If the home owner is not properly educated in how to operate and the maintenance houses systems or simply fails to do so then the efforts of the builder to create a high performance resource efficient home can be negated. For example the owner can fail to clean or change filters regularly or simply fail to turn on systems.

Global Impact

These guidelines address issues that do not fit neatly into any of single guideline listed above. An example of this guideline is Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Paints with low levels of VOCs have less impact on the global environment than do paints with high levels of VOC, however the local effect on indoor air quality of the two is about the same since the majority of the VOCs are released once the paint is dry. Levels of VOCs in paint are therefore not a consideration for the Indoor Environmental Quality guidelines.

What Are The Levels Of The Green Building Program?  

There are three different levels of green building available for the NAHB program; Bronze, Silver and Gold. All levels have a minimum number of points required for each of the seven guiding principles to assure that all aspects of green building are addressed and that there is a balanced whole systems approach. After reaching the thresholds, an additional 100 points must be achieved by implementing any of the remaining line items.

How Can Consumers Compare Green Homes?

One of the many challenges faced by a homebuyer is comparing a green home to another home. Any home can be called "green," but how does the homeowner know that it really is green? LEED certification is something that consumers can look for to readily identify green homes that have been third-party inspected, performance-tested, and certified to perform better than conventional homes.  The LEED certification ensures that the home you are purchasing was designed to meet the highest standards and is operating exactly the way it is supposed to.

What is Energy Star?

ENERGY STAR qualified homes are at least 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC). Any home three stories or less can earn the ENERGY STAR label if it has been verified to meet EPA's guidelines for energy efficiency. This includes site-constructed homes, attached or detached homes, single or low-rise multi-family residential buildings, manufactured homes, systems-built (e.g., SIP or modular) and log homes, existing homes, or retrofitted homes. ENERGY STAR qualified homes achieve energy savings through established, reliable building technologies. Builders work with Home Energy Raters to select from a number of features when planning and building homes.

1. Effective Insulation

Properly installed, climate-appropriate insulation in floors, walls, and attics ensures even temperatures throughout the house, less energy consumption, and increased comfort.

2. High-Performance Windows

Energy-efficient windows employ advanced technologies, such as protective coatings and improved frame assemblies, to help keep heat in during winter and out during summer. These windows also block damaging ultraviolet sunlight that can discolor carpets and furnishings.

3. Tight Construction and Ducts

Sealing holes and cracks in the home’s “envelope” and in duct systems helps reduce drafts, moisture, dust, pollen, and noise. A tightly sealed home improves comfort and indoor air quality while reducing utility bills.

4. Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment

In addition to using less energy to operate, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems can be quieter, reduce indoor humidity, and improve the overall comfort of the home. Typically, energy-efficient equipment is also more durable and requires less maintenance than standard models.  

5. Lighting and Appliances

ENERGY STAR qualified homes may also be equipped with ENERGY STAR qualified products — lighting fixtures, compact fluorescent bulbs, ventilation fans, and appliances, such as refrigerators, dish washers, and washing machines. These ENERGY STAR qualified products provide additional energy savings to the owner.

6. Third-Party Verification

With the help of independent Home Energy Raters, ENERGY STAR builder partners choose the most appropriate energy-saving features for their homes. Additionally, raters conduct onsite testing and inspections to verify that the homes qualify as ENERGY STAR.

Epoch Homes and Green Building

By definition modular construction is a method of green building. The process of systems built construction is by its very nature a green building process with efficient use of materials, manpower and energy.  The construction cycle time is shortened requiring less energy use, and the quality control procedures put in place assure the energy efficiency of the home being produced as well as the quality of the components.

Building a home using modular construction is a very effective way to make the best use of materials, manufacturing efficiencies and protects the framing process from the elements.

Keeping all materials dry and away from the elements helps to reduce the chance of mold and other toxins from later contaminating the indoor air quality.  Local communities are looking for ways to minimize the impact of construction on local infrastructure at the building site. By building with modular construction you can reduce the traffic to a building site by delivering a house that is 80% complete in one day as opposed to having trucks delivering materials day after day. Modular construction minimizes the disturbance at the site and will reduce neighborhood traffic.

There are many ways that Epoch Homes is already a green company. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) organization has created a rating system to define and measure “Green Buildings” based on existing and already proven technology.  In addition the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has created the Green Home Building Guidelines for use by homebuilders. Here at Epoch, we have already instituted many of these practices and there are many more that will be accomplished over time.

A recent analysis by Epoch identifies numerous NAHB green specifications already met by our homes. Epoch’s modular system produced 87 points in the Resource Efficiency area, 43 points in the Energy Efficiency area, 60 points in the Indoor Environment Quality area, and 11 points in the Global Impact area. Without making any changes, a typical custom designed Epoch Home achieves over 200 points, qualifying at the Bronze level. With a few additional Green design choices, it is easy to reach even higher levels!

Epoch makes it a standard practice to control waste and our employees’ works together as a team to make the best and most efficient use of materials. By doing all of the rough framing in a controlled environment allows us to keep all materials dry and away from the elements, this helps to reduce the chance of mold and other toxins from later contaminating the indoor air quality.
Local communities are looking for ways to minimize the impact of construction on local infrastructure at the building site. By building with modular construction you can reduce the traffic to a building site by delivering a house that is 80% complete house in one day as opposed to trucks delivering materials day after day.

Leading Custom Home Builders of New England Modular Homes

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