By Matt Weafer
For the Messenger-Inquirer Home & Garden Show Catalogue
Go green.
If the new millennium had a moniker, that would be it.
The trend of green construction has filtered into Owensboro. Now, not only have residents’ interests in recycling grown, but so have their interests in building to reduce their carbon footprint and save a dollar or two.
And the hero that makes this all possible — Energy Star appliances.
Energy Star, an organization stemming from the Environmental Protection Agency, sets a standard for energy efficiency in home appliances, conserving electricity and water and reducing greenhouse emissions.
Energy Star also sets a standard of tests during construction to ensure a home is sealed tight to minimize loss of energy through the heating and cooling system.
“The thing about green building that I see more than anything is (people) talk about the green building products you use,” Rick Bivins of JMJ Construction said. “This is green. That’s green. The problem is they don’t see the whole picture. What we’re putting in this building is important, but if you use all green materials but it’s not energy efficient, you’re defeating the purpose.”
Energy efficiency in a home is achieved by reducing energy consumption through appliances including heating and air conditioning units, and by reducing loss of energy through weak insulation, windows or leaky air ducts.
Ray Chambers of Green River Appliances said the biggest energy-savers are Energy Star refrigerators and washing machines.
He said, some of the new refrigerators reportedly “use less electricity than a 60-watt bulb.”
Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Owensboro Richard Stallings said, “The technology is out there to make sure you have the most energy efficient home possible, and we have contractors to counsel customers on new homes and existing homes.”
While many recycled and eco-friendly products dominate the housing market currently, Bivins and Chambers agreed the best way to create an environmentally friendly home is to decrease energy-consumption.
“These houses are going to be around for 100 years,” Bivins said. “I think it’s as important or more important to build energy-efficient homes by using good windows — the best windows you can find — good insulation and good heating and air.”
Chambers said some of the new French door refrigerators can save homeowners up $800 in energy savings over a five year period, and front-load washing machines can save up to 8,000 gallons of water annually.
Also, the new washers use around 14 gallons of water per load compared to the 40 gallons used by top load washers.
“The average front load washer will spin out about a quart more water out of the clothing which will require less drying time,” Chambers said. “Less time is less energy, and that protects our water supply as well.”
Stallings said the state currently offers a $500 tax credit for homeowners who upgrade insulation, windows or doors for more energy-efficient models.
“If you have a lot of duct leakage, it’s going to take more energy to heat and cool your house,” Bivins said.
With JMJ construction, he said, the company uses an Energy Star certified heating and cooling installer to make sure the ducts are as tightly sealed as possible to minimize leakage.
“We use several products that they say are green,” Bivins said. “But they call everything green. They a call a car green because it’s a midsize car and not an SUV. What we do is we build as energy-efficient as possible within financial reason. There’s other ways you can build tighter and more energy-efficient but most people couldn’t afford to build that house.”
And while building energy-efficient is an investment, the benefits pay off.
“It’s pretty amazing how energy star products will pay for themselves,” Chambers said.
More than a billion and a half products carrying the Energy Star label have been purchased, Chambers said.
“That’s going to obviously prevent some greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “Those products that have been purchased are equal to taking 20 million cars off the world. And we will all benefit from it and our grandchildren, too.”
With more than 1000 manufacturers building products for the Energy Star program, the options in design and performance range to suit any need.
“There are a lot of green products out there,” Neal Tong of Neal Tong Building and Remodeling said. “Some of them better than others, some of them more economical than others and will pay you back sooner. But the green building practices are a good thing.”
And according to Chambers, “Energy Star is here to stay.”
Reprinted with permission from the Messenger-Inquirer
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