My latest column is online at GreenerBuildings.

Q: If I want to get involved in Green Building, where is a good place to start? What business opportunities are there? Where can I do the most good?

A: I cannot tell you how many versions of this question I receive. The popularity of the question indicates a growing desire by people to get involved in something larger than themselves. It is also a sign of real changes being made…

Read the full article here

I get to mention the great work of some friends: Energy Innovations, Sustainable Capital, Valencia Green Financial, Green Key Real Estate and New Resource Bank, among others.

In our projects, there are now only three items where cost is still a barrier to greening the building:

1. Specifying FSC Certified Wood.
This important Certification (demonstrating wood to be sustainably harvested, still adds a 20% upcharge to the cost of your wood framing. This is a tough sell to most clients, but we try to do it anyway. TIP: save money in one area, say removing the need for air conditioning, and divert that money towards the purchase of FSC Certified Wood instead.

2. Carbon Neutrality.
Innovative Carbon Trading programs now exist for both your car and your home, such as the TerraPass and DriveNeutral. While these are great ways to make yourself Carbon Neutral, they represent a small, but additional, cost that is a tough sell for many.

AND 3. Solar Panels.
While everyone seems to understand the obvious benefits and uses of Solar Panels, the cost can often be prohibitive. Even with the great State Incentives that exist for solar, and an average payback of 5-7 years, the $20,000 average up front cost is too much.

But now, a rental program called REnU is removing this barrier to entry. Delaware-based Citizenre, a renewable energy development group, will rent solar panels to US residents on a per-kilowatt basis on a one, five, or twenty-five year contract. With a tiny $500 deposit, paid back at the end of the contract WITH interest, homeowners can easily and inexpensively make the switch from local utilities to solar power. What’s more, Citizenre acquires all necessary permits for residential installation, making the process simple. I have not tried it yet, but I have already begun the process.

The costs and innovative uses of solar energy are examined in this clip from “The Power of the Sun,” narrated by John Cleese.

Watch the Video Here

The Age of Corporate Environmentalism
Surprise —big business has learned that it’s pretty easy being green.

Investing in green building provides benefits
Austin Business Journal – March 3, 2006
by Deborah Fuller

Some variable commercial real estate construction and build-out costs can’t be controlled. In the wake of higher energy prices due to the 2005 hurricanes, construction costs have risen.

A company’s work environment is an investment, and increasingly, organizations are evaluating what it takes to make that investment environmentally sustainable.

FULL STORY

Cost effectiveness of green buildings

ONE MAJOR reason green buildings are not easily accepted by many people is the widespread misconception that they cost more to build than conventional construction. … like labor, materials and energy use.
Even with tight budgets, many green building features can be incorporated with…
FULL STORY

Making a calculated improvement

The 2005 “Cost vs. Value” report analyzing various home improvement projects has just been published by Remodeling magazine and the National Association of Realtors, and San Francisco is one of the markets featured. Because of the skyrocketing cost of homes in the Bay Area, all 18 of the projects more than paid for themselves on resale — and that was true for no other city analyzed, including New York.

Below, San Francisco averages for some common projects:

– Add a “midrange master suite” (24 by16 feet over a crawl space, with walk-in closet, whirlpool tub in ceramic tile platform, separate 3-by-4 ceramic tile shower): $91,241 cost, $103,959 resale value (114 percent).

– Add a deck (16 by 20 feet with pressure-treated southern yellow pine, concrete footings, built-in bench and planter): $13,385 cost, $21,355 value (160 percent).

– Do a “midrange bath remodel” (5 by 7 feet, replacing all fixtures, ceramic tile floor, vinyl wallpaper): $13,695 cost, $23,107 resale value. At 169 percent, this was the top-paying project in San Francisco; an “upscale bathroom remodel” (expanded space with window added and top-of-the-line fixtures and design elements) recouped 142 percent of cost.

– Remodel the kitchen, minor (reface existing cabinets, replace oven, cooktop, laminate countertops, floor): $17,399 cost, $26,564 value (153 percent).

– Remodel the kitchen, midrange (cabinets, island, all appliances, floors, lighting): $51,699 cost, $76,079 value (147 percent).

– Remodel the kitchen, upscale (top-of-the-line cabinets, countertops, appliances and lighting, with cork flooring): $92,909 cost, $109,488 value (118 percent).

The projects with the least return in San Francisco market, according to the report: an upscale master suite addition (106 percent) and a family-room addition (107 percent).

It pays to remodel your home!

Survey Predicts 100% Increase in
Green Design Practices by Architects
by 2010

Autodesk, Inc. announced the results of its 1st annual Autodesk Green Index, a study commissioned to evaluate the use of green design elements and practices by architects. The study indicated that the rate of adoption of green building elements is accelerating, with the use of high-efficiency HVAC systems leading the way, followed by the increasing use of design software to predict and evaluate HVAC operating costs, solar lighting, and retention basins for storm water run off. The study queried practicing architects on their expected use of 16 green design practices and elements from five years ago, the previous 12 months and the expected use of these practices five years from now.

FULL STORY HERE
OR HERE

The full survey is available at Autodesk