Greening the Wasatch Front One Building at a Time
Green building is coming of age along the Wasatch Front. In 2005 former Salt Lake Mayor Rocky Anderson issued an executive order requiring all new and renovated city buildings and facilities be certified under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System as LEED-Silver or better. In 2006, The Salt Lake Intermodal hub became the first-ever completed LEED project for the city. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker, through moves like fast-tracking residential and commercial building permits for green construction and completely overhauling the city's building codes to encourage sustainable building, has been named one of America's "Top-20 Green Mayors." Earlier this month, the fourth-annual Salt Lake Sustainable Building Conference attracted 400-plus business and government leaders, architects, and builders.
But what about residential building? Right now, there are unprecedented and significant tax incentives for green home renovations that are part of the Obama stimulus package. These incentives reward installation of solar panels and small wind turbines, but also encourage other measures like upgrades to insulation meeting International Energy Conservation (IEC) codes, or, for a larger investment, installation of low U-factor windows and/or doors or even Energy Star-qualifying roofing.
Green building is not only hot from an environmental and saving perspective, but from an investment angle as well. There are many "green" standards that bring the promise of higher values for both buildings and owners who commit to sustainability.
With government and education entities pioneering LEED architectures, there are numerous opportunities for private companies and for homeowners alike. The U.S. Green Building Council now provides LEED for Homes certification, with a remodeling certification on the way. (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=147)
Locally, the Park City Area Home Builders Association has created the Build Green Utah Organization (www.pcahba.com) to provide a standard, recognized third-party certification process for building green homes right here in Utah.
At last month's Sustainable Building Conference (www.saltlakesbc.com), a Wasatch Front homeowner attending my presentation voiced concern about the difficulty in finding, let alone following a roadmap to undertaking green building projects. (A perfect fit with my presentation, entitled "If Green is So Great, Why Isn't There More of It?") He indicated having initiated, then ending relationships with multiple contractors, because he discovered he knew more about green building than they did; and, more importantly, knew more than they said they did.
Fed up with misrepresentation of contractors' greenness (a.k.a. "green-washing) and with city codes that were too difficult to comprehend and adhere to, the home owner went maverick, electing to wrestle with managing his own project, while flying under the radar of city building ordinances. The system let him down.
That experience, while distressing, is not uncommon. "Jill," owns a million-dollar home in Salt Lake's Avenues neighborhood. Frustrated with her general contractor's lack of knowledge and, in her opinion, his low interest in helping "green" her full-scale home remodel, she, assumed contractor responsibilities, learning as she went.
With today being Earth Day, if you are looking to purchase or build a new home, consider the added comfort and health benefits of going green. A green home uses less energy, water and natural resources; creates less waste; and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. Benefits of a green home include lower energy and water bills; reduced greenhouse gas emissions; and less exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. The net cost of owning a green home is comparable to that of owning a conventional home.
If, more likely, you are not planning to move in the near future, consider ways to either remodel a shade greener, or just make the most minor of adjustments. Former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson attributes Salt Lake City government's world-praised greening to two simple changes, as he explained to www.PostCarbonCities.net: "We have far exceeded the goal, six years early... The way we accomplished our reductions was primarily through lighting retrofits in public buildings. In our city and county buildings alone, replacing our incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs saved $33,000 a year in electricity. Then we used some of those cost savings to become the state's largest purchaser of wind power."
The EPA credits the University of Utah as one of the top-10 (#9) in terms of national schools purchasing renewable energy such as wind power. For the rest of us, enrollment in Rocky Mountain Power's "Blue Sky" renewable power initiative, is just a few clicks away. (http://www.mypoweroptions.com/bluesky/)
Switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs is an easy switch to make to green up your existing home. Also investigate your appliances' Energy Star rating (www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product ), and perhaps upgrading to more energy efficient models.
The Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District's "Slow the Flow" campaign can help you upgrade to low-flow faucets, toilets, and shower heads as well as checking your existing sprinkler system.
Beyond that? At Planet Conscious Resources, our lights may not be on, but we're always home and ready to help folks along the Wasatch Front with green building issues.
With the motto "Build Smart. Live Well," PCR is the premier green builder along the Wasatch Front and is further credentialed by being a member of Salt Lake Mayor Ralph Becker's E2 (Environmentally and Economically Sustainable) business force. Remodeling the first two Build Green Utah-certified projects, PCR (Planet Conscious Resources) emphasizes building green for inherent comfort and health benefits, augmented by economic rationale.
