SEE (SUPER ENERGY EFFICIENT) HOUSING - Chapter One
Copyright 2009
Chapter 1: The Compelling Argument for SEE - - The Many
Advantages
The purpose of this first chapter is to briefly introduce what SEE housing is about and to present the many very timely advantages that bringing new & existing homes up to SEE standards can provide for individuals as well as the United States in general. We are going through a time of severe economic turmoil in this country and the world, which has been and will continue to be aggravated by the global energy situation. Individuals, businesses and government, at all levels, are being adversely affected by what is happening and we all need to pull together to turn this situation around. SEE offers a tremendous amount of potential to be a major factor in solving many of the problems that we face. Most importantly, you, the reader, do not need to wait for the government or anyone else, to begin taking advantage of the benefits that SEE can provide to you personally.
I have been researching, developing, perfecting, and building what I call SEE housing since 1978. The standard that I have set for SEE for a new home being built is actually quite simple - - the home must be constructed in such a manner that it will use 75% less energy for space heating / cooling than a home built to NBC (National Building Code) insulation standards. It should be noted that NBC insulation standards vary for around the country with the colder climates obviously requiring more insulation than the warmer ones.
In new construction, it is relatively easy to have one’s building plans evaluated before any construction begins. This is very easily done if one is planning on building an energy efficient home to begin with. The Federal Energy Star Housing Program, which offers tax credits for building energy efficient housing, requires an independent engineering analysis to determine the level of energy efficiency of a particular home’s design. Tax credits do vary depending on the level of energy efficiency a home design can achieve. Yes, as this is being written, it does cost money to qualify for the tax credit. However, these engineering firms do provide suggestions as to how to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency with a particular building’s design, which could qualify for a higher tax credit, and at the least will be returned with future energy savings.
The highest rating that one can get for an Energy Star home is a “Five Star” rating. Such a home generally has a space heating efficiency need that is 75% below the identical home built to the region’s NBC insulation standards. I can easily build a home’s insulated shell to reach such a level of energy efficiency and your local home energy evaluation engineer can also help you to design your home to that level of efficiency. Thus, the simple standard that I have set for a new SEE home is one that is 75% more energy efficient than an NBC insulated home.
Older existing housing is a bit more difficult to evaluate to a standard, due to the variety and complexity of existing homes designs and their construction. In looking at an older home, I would evaluate how such a home could be built new to SEE standards, and then determine the most economical way to achieve such an insulating value on the existing home. Since these older homes are generally much less energy efficient than a new home built to NBC insulation standards, the potential energy savings is much higher than 75%. I would think that as much as a 90% energy savings could be achieved over the existing home’s energy usage. I would think that a 75% energy savings would be easy to achieve. Again, an engineering analysis could provide a lot of insight into the potential energy savings of a particular existing home.
SEE homes offer many advantages to their owners as well as to the rest of us living on the Earth. What are the many advantages that an SEE home using 75% less energy offers? Some you have already anticipated and will be no surprise, but others many of you probably have not considered. I will begin by presenting the advantages to the owner of an SEE home or building:
∑ As SEE homes and buildings use considerably less energy
than NBC homes, they will obviously cost their owners much less to heat and cool. What isn’t obvious is that the energy cost savings can be so great that they usually cover the additional cost of building to SEE standards. While building a new home or building to SEE standards usually adds between 5% to 10% to the cost of construction, the energy cost savings can usually cover the added expense of conventionally financing the extra cost to build to SEE standards.
As an example: let’s say the cost of heating a $250,000.00 NBC home would be $3,000.00 per year. An SEE home would save $2,250.00 (75% of $3,000.00) per year in energy costs while having a mortgage (at the worst case 10% higher or $25,000.00) that would cost an additional $1,800.00 annually at a 6.0% rate on a 30 year note. You save $450.00 per year, plus you have the additional mortgage interest tax advantages. Sold? Will you be sold sometime in the future when energy costs continue their historical increases?
∑ SEE homes are easier to finance. The Federal Mortgage
programs all offer Energy Efficient Mortgages that more and more mortgage brokers are supporting. These programs recognize a homeowner’s lower operating costs and thus allow a higher debt to income ratio for an energy efficient home purchase. This means that buyers may possibly qualify for a more expensive home than they would otherwise, while still saving increasing amounts of money over the years on energy costs. SEE homeowners will certainly be getting “a lot more for their buck” initially and certainly over the long haul.
∑ SEE homes & buildings are a good investment for their
owners, as they should appreciate in value at a much faster rate than NBC insulated housing & buildings. As the awareness of the cost saving advantages of such homes & buildings increases, the demand for them will understandably increase. As demand will initially exceed supply, such homes & buildings will be hard to find on the used market and will command a premium over, as well as probably sell faster than NBC housing. This situation will probably last for a decade or more, as it will take time to replace the total housing supply with new or remodeled SEE homes. Thus, SEE homes are a good investment offering their owners a higher degree of financial security above that of NBC housing & buildings.
∑ The Federal Energy Star Housing Program, the nationally
recognized LEEDS program, and private home energy auditing companies as well as many advanced builders already exist to help one to build a new SEE home. The above can also facilitate the converting of older housing to SEE standards. There is plenty of help available today to build a new SEE home or building or to renovate an older one to SEE standards.
The advantages of SEE housing & buildings extends beyond the advantages to their owners. The rest of us all benefit from the adoption of SEE standards in that:
∑ Building new and upgrading existing homes & buildings to
SEE standards will certainly help to cut the United States’ dependence on foreign energy sources. Whether or not this means less energy price upheavals or possible future wars, it will certainly mean less dependence on the political scenes of foreign nations that supply that energy.
∑ Building new and upgrading existing homes to SEE
standards also has a tremendous benefit to our nation’s economy in that it would provide many additional skilled or semi-skilled jobs in the building construction and related industries. These new jobs for materials manufacturers, product transporters, materials suppliers, and building fabricators will also be created mostly within the United States and will be “non-exportable”.
Combining the income from additional jobs with the savings from lower energy use, more public & private money will then be available for buying other goods and services. This should help to greatly strengthen many other sectors of our nation’s economy in the short term as well as the long term.
Importantly, the adoption of SEE standards and the new jobs created by them will not need to be paid for by any tax increases. The simple savings SEE homeowners & building owners will get through their lower energy consumption should cover their additional financial costs. However, the tax dollars that the government collects will actually be increased through normal income taxes on the new jobs created. This carries the win/win principle to the maximum.
* If the United States cuts its demand for energy that will help to put downward pressure on any natural supply/demand energy price increases. This will mean lower cost fuel for homes “not yet remodeled” to SEE standards, lower airfares, lower transportation costs, lower automotive fuel prices, etc. Obviously this will also help our economy.
∑ The big bonus for all of us comes from the simple fact that
SEE homes & buildings will use considerably less energy (especially carbon based fuels), thus they will create much less greenhouse gases (CO2 and NOx) and acid rain pollution (SO2) than buildings built to NBC insulation standards. It does not matter whether you believe that global warming is the result of human activity or some cyclical warming of the Earth by the Sun, global warming IS occurring. Converting to SEE housing will help to slow any warming of the Earth and give us time to develop alternative forms of energy that do not magnify any global warming that is occurring from naturally and/or man-made activity.
In summary: 1) The concept of SEE housing & buildings is not just for newer, but also for existing/older homes & buildings 2) SEE homes & buildings will not cost us more, but actually less to own (now and more so in the foreseeable future), 3) SEE homes are easier to finance and will probably be more so in the future, 4) SEE homes & buildings are much sounder long-term investments offering better appreciation than are non-SEE buildings, 5) There are already many existing institutions ready to help build SEE homes today - - not in the distant future, 6) SEE insulation standards will help to wean the United States from foreign energy suppliers and their influence, 7) Adopting and building or remodeling to SEE standards can immediately begin to benefit our national economy in many ways and continue to do so for a long time, 8) Adopting SEE standards will help to keep our energy costs lower in the future, and 9) Adopting SEE standards will have a major impact upon minimizing the deterioration of our environment.
These are nine very good reasons as to why we SHOULD & MUST economically and environmentally convert our housing & buildings to SEE standards. There are actually many more subtle reasons to adopt SEE building standards, but how many do we need.
Copyright 2009
Chapter 1: The Compelling Argument for SEE - - The Many
Advantages
The purpose of this first chapter is to briefly introduce what SEE housing is about and to present the many very timely advantages that bringing new & existing homes up to SEE standards can provide for individuals as well as the United States in general. We are going through a time of severe economic turmoil in this country and the world, which has been and will continue to be aggravated by the global energy situation. Individuals, businesses and government, at all levels, are being adversely affected by what is happening and we all need to pull together to turn this situation around. SEE offers a tremendous amount of potential to be a major factor in solving many of the problems that we face. Most importantly, you, the reader, do not need to wait for the government or anyone else, to begin taking advantage of the benefits that SEE can provide to you personally.
I have been researching, developing, perfecting, and building what I call SEE housing since 1978. The standard that I have set for SEE for a new home being built is actually quite simple - - the home must be constructed in such a manner that it will use 75% less energy for space heating / cooling than a home built to NBC (National Building Code) insulation standards. It should be noted that NBC insulation standards vary for around the country with the colder climates obviously requiring more insulation than the warmer ones.
In new construction, it is relatively easy to have one’s building plans evaluated before any construction begins. This is very easily done if one is planning on building an energy efficient home to begin with. The Federal Energy Star Housing Program, which offers tax credits for building energy efficient housing, requires an independent engineering analysis to determine the level of energy efficiency of a particular home’s design. Tax credits do vary depending on the level of energy efficiency a home design can achieve. Yes, as this is being written, it does cost money to qualify for the tax credit. However, these engineering firms do provide suggestions as to how to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency with a particular building’s design, which could qualify for a higher tax credit, and at the least will be returned with future energy savings.
The highest rating that one can get for an Energy Star home is a “Five Star” rating. Such a home generally has a space heating efficiency need that is 75% below the identical home built to the region’s NBC insulation standards. I can easily build a home’s insulated shell to reach such a level of energy efficiency and your local home energy evaluation engineer can also help you to design your home to that level of efficiency. Thus, the simple standard that I have set for a new SEE home is one that is 75% more energy efficient than an NBC insulated home.
Older existing housing is a bit more difficult to evaluate to a standard, due to the variety and complexity of existing homes designs and their construction. In looking at an older home, I would evaluate how such a home could be built new to SEE standards, and then determine the most economical way to achieve such an insulating value on the existing home. Since these older homes are generally much less energy efficient than a new home built to NBC insulation standards, the potential energy savings is much higher than 75%. I would think that as much as a 90% energy savings could be achieved over the existing home’s energy usage. I would think that a 75% energy savings would be easy to achieve. Again, an engineering analysis could provide a lot of insight into the potential energy savings of a particular existing home.
SEE homes offer many advantages to their owners as well as to the rest of us living on the Earth. What are the many advantages that an SEE home using 75% less energy offers? Some you have already anticipated and will be no surprise, but others many of you probably have not considered. I will begin by presenting the advantages to the owner of an SEE home or building:
∑ As SEE homes and buildings use considerably less energy
than NBC homes, they will obviously cost their owners much less to heat and cool. What isn’t obvious is that the energy cost savings can be so great that they usually cover the additional cost of building to SEE standards. While building a new home or building to SEE standards usually adds between 5% to 10% to the cost of construction, the energy cost savings can usually cover the added expense of conventionally financing the extra cost to build to SEE standards.
As an example: let’s say the cost of heating a $250,000.00 NBC home would be $3,000.00 per year. An SEE home would save $2,250.00 (75% of $3,000.00) per year in energy costs while having a mortgage (at the worst case 10% higher or $25,000.00) that would cost an additional $1,800.00 annually at a 6.0% rate on a 30 year note. You save $450.00 per year, plus you have the additional mortgage interest tax advantages. Sold? Will you be sold sometime in the future when energy costs continue their historical increases?
∑ SEE homes are easier to finance. The Federal Mortgage
programs all offer Energy Efficient Mortgages that more and more mortgage brokers are supporting. These programs recognize a homeowner’s lower operating costs and thus allow a higher debt to income ratio for an energy efficient home purchase. This means that buyers may possibly qualify for a more expensive home than they would otherwise, while still saving increasing amounts of money over the years on energy costs. SEE homeowners will certainly be getting “a lot more for their buck” initially and certainly over the long haul.
∑ SEE homes & buildings are a good investment for their
owners, as they should appreciate in value at a much faster rate than NBC insulated housing & buildings. As the awareness of the cost saving advantages of such homes & buildings increases, the demand for them will understandably increase. As demand will initially exceed supply, such homes & buildings will be hard to find on the used market and will command a premium over, as well as probably sell faster than NBC housing. This situation will probably last for a decade or more, as it will take time to replace the total housing supply with new or remodeled SEE homes. Thus, SEE homes are a good investment offering their owners a higher degree of financial security above that of NBC housing & buildings.
∑ The Federal Energy Star Housing Program, the nationally
recognized LEEDS program, and private home energy auditing companies as well as many advanced builders already exist to help one to build a new SEE home. The above can also facilitate the converting of older housing to SEE standards. There is plenty of help available today to build a new SEE home or building or to renovate an older one to SEE standards.
The advantages of SEE housing & buildings extends beyond the advantages to their owners. The rest of us all benefit from the adoption of SEE standards in that:
∑ Building new and upgrading existing homes & buildings to
SEE standards will certainly help to cut the United States’ dependence on foreign energy sources. Whether or not this means less energy price upheavals or possible future wars, it will certainly mean less dependence on the political scenes of foreign nations that supply that energy.
∑ Building new and upgrading existing homes to SEE
standards also has a tremendous benefit to our nation’s economy in that it would provide many additional skilled or semi-skilled jobs in the building construction and related industries. These new jobs for materials manufacturers, product transporters, materials suppliers, and building fabricators will also be created mostly within the United States and will be “non-exportable”.
Combining the income from additional jobs with the savings from lower energy use, more public & private money will then be available for buying other goods and services. This should help to greatly strengthen many other sectors of our nation’s economy in the short term as well as the long term.
Importantly, the adoption of SEE standards and the new jobs created by them will not need to be paid for by any tax increases. The simple savings SEE homeowners & building owners will get through their lower energy consumption should cover their additional financial costs. However, the tax dollars that the government collects will actually be increased through normal income taxes on the new jobs created. This carries the win/win principle to the maximum.
* If the United States cuts its demand for energy that will help to put downward pressure on any natural supply/demand energy price increases. This will mean lower cost fuel for homes “not yet remodeled” to SEE standards, lower airfares, lower transportation costs, lower automotive fuel prices, etc. Obviously this will also help our economy.
∑ The big bonus for all of us comes from the simple fact that
SEE homes & buildings will use considerably less energy (especially carbon based fuels), thus they will create much less greenhouse gases (CO2 and NOx) and acid rain pollution (SO2) than buildings built to NBC insulation standards. It does not matter whether you believe that global warming is the result of human activity or some cyclical warming of the Earth by the Sun, global warming IS occurring. Converting to SEE housing will help to slow any warming of the Earth and give us time to develop alternative forms of energy that do not magnify any global warming that is occurring from naturally and/or man-made activity.
In summary: 1) The concept of SEE housing & buildings is not just for newer, but also for existing/older homes & buildings 2) SEE homes & buildings will not cost us more, but actually less to own (now and more so in the foreseeable future), 3) SEE homes are easier to finance and will probably be more so in the future, 4) SEE homes & buildings are much sounder long-term investments offering better appreciation than are non-SEE buildings, 5) There are already many existing institutions ready to help build SEE homes today - - not in the distant future, 6) SEE insulation standards will help to wean the United States from foreign energy suppliers and their influence, 7) Adopting and building or remodeling to SEE standards can immediately begin to benefit our national economy in many ways and continue to do so for a long time, 8) Adopting SEE standards will help to keep our energy costs lower in the future, and 9) Adopting SEE standards will have a major impact upon minimizing the deterioration of our environment.
These are nine very good reasons as to why we SHOULD & MUST economically and environmentally convert our housing & buildings to SEE standards. There are actually many more subtle reasons to adopt SEE building standards, but how many do we need.
Copyright 2009
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Peterson on -
If you are not yet convinced that converting our homes and buildings to SEE standards is a “No Brainer”, don’t bother reading the rest of this book!
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Peterson on
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Hello All,
This is the beginning of the long awaited book on SEE housing that I have often referred to. Feel free to comment on it with both positive and constructive criticism
Thomas
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Permalink Reply by Rex Richardson on -
Awesome my Friend, Great first Chapter!!
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Permalink Reply by Mark J Warren on -
Rex, you have known Tom for many a year, you can do better than that !!!!!!!!!!
I expect more of you.
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Permalink Reply by Rex Richardson on
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Ok Mark, I hear you, So here goes, You see it's like this, Tom has one of the most analiticle minds that I have ever seen, he awesome with numbers, and also has one of the most creative minds I have ever seen. I have seen him sit down and create a design for a house in a matter of minutes. And give me a materials list to get a quote in an hour, from the design he just created. As for his writing the book, I have been in on this since he first started writing, and I have got him through trials and tribulations when they got in his way, and pushed him to continue writing. Tom is not only my best friend, but also my mentor, my teacher, as I am the same to him. Please excuse the short remark on his first chapter, We have talked between each other so much on this chapter I'm kinda talked out about it. However, I don't mind adding a little more! Will have more to say as time goes on. All I can say is Tom is a very brilliant man! Of coarse he will probably clobber me for this, but I'll handle it!
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Permalink Reply by Mark J Warren on
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Thank You
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Permalink Reply by Thomas Peterson on
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Rex,
CLOBBER, CLOBBER, CLOBBER!
Thomas
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Permalink Reply by Anachronism on -
Copyright 1985 (Concept/Design Applications)
Hello Mr. Peterson, The path you are blazing is very much the same as mine for the last forty years. I’m a journeyman Plaster, concrete installation, and designer of Commercial Buildings and residential homes. I have designed and applied Energy Efficient Building design’s using various structural foam core panels to allow actual “stand alone” Commercial Structures using Passive Solar Heating and Passive Cooling without any commercial heating or cooling system’s in the Arizona environment to maintain stable 70 degree interior.
In Arizona we will use Passive Solar Heating in concert with direct burial of 20,000 gals tank of water to completely cool the structure. We pipe this water through fan/ radiators to “cool” the interior and Mother Nature re-cools the water for the operating expense of a ½ hp. water pump. The impact on the “Grid” is nothing and the “Gas” company was shocked to find themselves stopped and their inability to charge $25,000 for a half- mile extension for “Our” necessary cooling in Arizona with their 110-degree heat and freezing nights.
My five commercial projects built in Washington State started in 1983 using a passive solar heating system costing $75 to construct, which has furnished 98% of all space heating of 142,000 cubic feet for 25 years with an average gas cost in the winter of $1 per day. My next four projects evolved to my Vancouver project using a totally Passive Solar heating system in conjunction with totally Passive Solar Cooling system. This building size of 225,330 cubic feet of space has an expense of approximately $2.00 per day in the winter to supplement the passive solar input. I maintain +/= 5 degree’s (68/74) which is acceptable in commercial storage of household products. My system automatically cools the building using no add on (compressors/chillers) to alter the interior air. The cooling costs involve the actions of my solar heating system changing into a passive solar cooling system. The actions are self-acting and react to the determined pre-set conditions required for the interior. The shell structure is absolutely “air-Tight” using R-Control wall panels with 6-mill plastic installed under the roof grid for the drywall with 3 coats of latex mixed with oil-base and two coats applied for total infiltration of outside air or the movement of “warm” from our interior.
I created self-acting magnetic seals on all door openings to stop all movement of either interior or exterior air intruding into the building which kept both floors stable in the temperature swing that normally occur near garage doors. I also air-locked the residence space from the storage structure to allow for two environments to co-exist in the same structure.
John Green, The journey you have started is doable, but will surely tire you immensely. The “mass” of humans has thousands of old concepts from their individual lives and the constant pressure of peers, which few people are able to overcome. I’ll walk with you as you can observe I walk the path less tread.
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Permalink Reply by Anachronism on
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Dated 11/20/2009
Hi Tom.
This comment relates to added information placed on 8/22, 2009 and is as follows: Even a Heating Engineer would have trouble calculating the energy storage of “one cubic foot of static” air mass at 80 degrees or 100 degrees in said space, as it would change from second to second as all conditions changed.
The heat energy generated and captive in the interior space of the attic will literally heat the interior volume of 141,075 cubic feet to 78 degrees (Plus) on a normal winter day. The exterior walls a 12” thick and has an R-27 rating and the attic ceiling is 12” of fiberglass batting. There are no openings from the interior of the building above the closed doors on the first floor.
On Saturday the 14th of November, 09, I went to BARRON Heating/air Conditioning Company to inquire if information is known as to a method of calculating the amount of Btu’s collectable in 26,125 cubic feet of air contained within the attic space?
Mr. Gary Lee's, a certified Heating Engineer, answer was very logical in that the ability of any specific “Cubic Foot of Air” to hold energy changes every second and the fact it has produced excess heat, above and beyond the amount need for the last 25 years indicates the “Volume and btu’s” are in excess of what is required to maintain 74 degree’s or more.
Mr. Gary Lee’s information is “spot on” in that if it works, even if impossible to “Calculate”, at any one point in time, that my system functions and produces excess heating which is easily dissipated by allowing the extra heat simply to be exhausted from the building using any adjustable/temperature, activated opening to dump excess heat generated.
This takes us to the next stage of the question, how to calculate the amount of attic air space volume and its ability to capture the Solar energy needed to heat a specific volume within a residence typically constructed using or having an attic space:
Separate document: "Ratio of attic air volume to interior air volume" to generate enough Passive Solar Heating to maintain 74 Degrees During Winter Months.
Here's is a Document which could help you determine if solar would work for your home.
RATIO OF ATTIC AIR VOLUME TO INTERIOR AIR VOLUME TO GENERATE ENOUGH PASSIVE SOLAR HEATING
to maintain 74 degrees in Winter Months
(2,016 Sq. Foot House) width length
Floor space in house 36' X 56'
Attic Air space 36' X 56'
You Divide 14,112 cubic ft by 2 which gives an attic volume of
(Divide the attic space by 2 as you have two triangles)
Cubic Volume Attic Space --Inside Height
16,128 HOUSE 8'
14,112 ATTIC 7'
7,056
Ratio of house to attic volume is then 44%
My Mini-storage attic volume to interior building volume is building volume is :19% to 21%
The typical house has double the ratio of my Mini projects. Therefore it could
produce excessive amounts of "FREE" heat for the typical single family home.
MAIN BUILDING BURLINGTON VANCOUVER
LENGTH 95' 145'
WIDTH 55' 74'
HEIGHT/EXT 27' 21'
INTERIOR VOLUME Burlington 141,075 Vancouver 225,330
ATTIC VOLUME Burlington
Vancouver/Monroe/Mount Vernon
Burlington & Bellingham, Wash.
LENGTH 95' 145'
WIDTH 55' 74'
ATTIC FLOOR TO PEAK
Burl 10' Vancouver 9'
ATTIC SPACE Burl-52,250 Vancouver --96,570
DIVIDE BY 2 (NOT SQUARE) Burl-26,125 Vancouver--48,285
(Attic is two triangles Spaces)
RATIO/BUILDING INTERIOR Burlington ------Vancouver
TO ATTIC SPACE 19% 21%
CONCLUSION: MY MINI STORAGE USED 21% OF ATTIC
CUBIC SPACE TO BUILDING SPACE AND FUNCTIONS TO PRODUCE AN "EXCESS OF HEAT" TO MAINTAIN 74 DEGREE'S OF INTERIOR INTERIOR TEMPERATURE -DAILY -FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS.
Vancouver has a "Combination Passive Solar Cooling System",
and Maintains a cool 73 interior degree temp when "SUMMER" exterior temperature is excessive.
NO compressors, chillers or other cooling systems, "total Passive Solar".
THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS USED AND PROVEN FOR 25 YEARS. I know it is "too simple", BUT it is real. Anybody have the guts to use this knowledge? Stand TALL and DO something?????
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