Home Green Homes: Recent Episodes
Izumi Tanaka
I am Izumi Tanaka, a green home advisor and a green realtor. Here I invite a variety of experts in the world of green homes and have conversations about how we can all live in healthy, resilient and efficient homes. My guests provide insight in a wide range of topics from designing, building and living in green homes, purchasing or financing green homes, and improvements to how we can live to reduce the negative environmental impact from the way we live. My goal is to inspire and inform you about how we can make a difference in our own lives and our environment.
“And what we did was, ‘let’s combine the performance of heat pump, off the shelf heat pump, heat pump water heater, with thermal storage with really really smart controls, and you can reap the benefit of that heat pump by shifting the load to the middle of the day and giving you a heat and hot water whenever you need it.” - Jane Melia
Jane Melia, Co-founder and CEO of Harvest, the smart thermal battery system explains the genesis of Harvest. She discusses the limitations of traditional heat pump systems and how Harvest combines a heat pump with thermal storage and smart controls to decouple the time when heat is generated from when it is used, allowing the system to take advantage of cheaper, cleaner electricity.
Jane provides a detailed overview of how the Harvest system works. It uses a heat pump water heater, a thermal battery (hot water tank), and smart controls to optimize when the heat pump runs to take advantage of renewable energy and off-peak electricity rates, while still providing heating and hot water on demand.
Jane discusses the cost of the Harvest system, noting that it is comparable to a median heat pump system but with higher performance. She explains the various incentives and tax credits available, including the 30% federal tax credit, that can make the system cost-competitive with traditional gas heating and water heating. She also discusses Harvest's efforts to work with contractors and property owners to drive broader adoption.
Jane and Izumi discuss the future of home heating and cooling, with Jane envisioning a future where thermal storage becomes a standard feature of heat pump systems to better leverage renewable energy and support grid decarbonization. They also discuss the policy changes, such as bans on new gas furnaces, that are helping drive the transition to clean heating solutions.
harvest.green
“During Covid I started to think more about the products I was using and plastics. I’d always used refilled bottles for water and I’d reuse plastic bags at the grocery store. Then I heard the statistics that 2.5 billion tons of trash are in the landfill just from hand and body lotion alone and hand and body wash… “ - Libby Bourne
Libby Bourne is the store manager for a sustainable store Sun Moon Rain in Santa Monica, offering refillable cleaning and personal care products. The store aims to eliminate single-use plastic and toxins through education.
Libby outlined the store's most popular items like refillable dish soap and laundry detergent, appealing for their effectiveness and concentrates reducing plastic use. Customers favor natural deodorants and handwashes for their safe, non-toxic formulas. Libby ensures products meet the store's high standards by checking Environmental Working Group ratings and trusting suppliers with aligned values. This gives customers confidence that items support wellness without compromising the planet.
She explains how the store attracts families seeking non-toxic products plus students and health practitioners concerned with sustainability. Santa Monica schools influence interest, and youth outreach grows demand while older customers remain open to change. While progress encourages Libby, a perfect solution remains distant. Continued education and small individual changes can chip away at plastic pollution if companies also curb production. Collaboration across generations offers hope for positive change.
"We’re not sacrificing anything aesthetic. We’re not sacrificing anything ergonomic by being mindful. We’re just pausing and thinking about it and making a good decision instead of rushing through to check everything off the list. It’s not going to be apparent in the final end result that you did everything in a very sustainable mindful way. It looks the same. It functions the same. It’s just going to last, and it didn’t hurt anyone in the process. And if it’s ripped out, it’s not going to hurt the earth for getting ripped out." - Ali Davin
Ali Davin is a founder of Jute Interior Design, who specializes in sustainable and healthy designs. Ali's passions for art, antiques, and spatial design led her to study and work in those fields in Italy and the US. Clients regularly sought her design advice beyond individual pieces, inspiring her holistic interior design practice.
For her sustainability means prioritizing the earth's and inhabitants' well-being. Ali incorporated sustainability from necessity due to her chemical sensitivities. It involves mindful material selection, waste reduction, and opting out of consumerism through repurposing.
Building codes and contractor mindsets don't always support sustainability. Willing contractors make incremental changes, while some reject discussions. Education is key to accepting health risks in building practices.
Ali informs clients of sustainable options without pushing agendas. Most clients initially prioritize aesthetics over sustainability. Changing mindsets requires patience, as rushing decisions sacrifices health and environmental impacts.
Ali sees growing receptiveness as sustainability connects to individual and planetary well-being. Her dream is working with aligned clients and contractors on thoughtful, waste-reduced projects that minimize footprints.
Her book, Live Natural, aims to introduce sustainability gently through beautiful imagery and approachable, bite-sized writing. It encourages absorbing sustainable messages comfortably without sacrificing aesthetics or function.
“You as a consumer, I as a consumer have enormous power to make the transformation that we want to see. But one of the transformations as a consumer is selecting the right products because the competitor who is not doing the right packaging or the right product is going to see that they’re losing clients to the competitors that are doing more sustainable product, produce and materials, so he’s gonna change. He’s only going to change because us as consumers are driving the change by purchasing the right or the best materials available for us.” - Denise Braun
Denise Braun found her calling for sustainability work after witnessing waste flooding during a storm as a child in Brazil. She was further inspired after reading a book on applying sustainability in businesses while working in human resources. This led her to pursue a career in waste management.
Denise founded All About Waste 8 years ago after having a child, encouraged by her husband to start her own business focused solely on zero waste solutions. The firm now provides zero waste certifications and consulting globally to reduce building waste.
She leads by example with zero waste practices like composting and using refillable products. She encourages others gently and hosts zero waste children's birthday parties. She also recommends shopping at farmers markets when possible or using services like Imperfect Produce. She also suggests stores like Sprouts for bulk options. In Europe, she noticed less waste from smaller grocery formats and buying daily needs. Her goal is advising political leaders on waste policy.
Other resources mentioned: The Natural Step, the book
"For me, mantra in my sort of day-to-day climate work is go for the gigatons. And while as a homeowner, a single homeowner, you can't do that, you can look at your biggest spend. So what are the most gigantic energy sinks in your home? Two-thirds of home energy use is from heating and hot water." - Trent Wolbe
Trent Wolbe is currently a VP of marketing for a start-up called, Harvest, but I invited him to be my guest because of his fascinating history and passionate dedication to help this environmental crisis we face. He recently joined me as a co-chair of the Green Home Committee at USGBC-LA and dove right into actions, which I’m so grateful for. He shared how watching Ninja Turtle in his youth led him to be who he is today, and how he and his partner built a sustainable ADU in Los Angeles.
A chance sighting of unusual structures revealed Earthships to Trent, inspiring him to study their off-grid design harnessing nature for comfort through materials and thermal gain. And upon building his ADU, he optimized for minimal energy use with a tight envelope, geothermal, solar, battery and heat pumps. He shares lessons from a challenging but educational process.
"For some folks, they become really motivated by the climate crisis. They start to understand that in their family, maybe their single largest source of climate pollution, and it's a big one, is sitting in their closet just heating their water and heating their house, right? So that's some folks are motivated by that, and they want to start finding out what they can do. Other folks maybe don't care about climate at all, but they've got high utility bills, and they want to understand how electrifying their home can actually reduce their utility bills. This is a common misperception. People think electricity is expensive, and they think it's dirty. Electricity is not dirty in California. Our electricity supply is remarkably clean. … Also, electricity is not expensive when you do the math right when you compare apples to apples, running your home on electricity and running it on gas. You'll discover that over time, you can save, a typical home will save thousands of dollars over the lifespan of the equipment that we're talking about." - Cooper Marcus, Chief Quitter, Founder
Cooper Marcus founded QuitCarbon, which is a platform that makes home electrification easier, cheaper, and better for all with free expert advice, personalized plans, contractor referrals and support through the process to transition homes off fossil fuels. Chief quitter, founder of QuitCarbon shares how he started this company as he went through a complex process of electrifying his Victorian home in San Francisco.
QuitCarbon is free for homeowners and generates revenue through contractor partnerships by connecting them with clients, with the goal of helping millions of homes electrify while educating contractors on the transition. Cooper addressed pushbacks like climate concerns, cost worries and reliability myths, noting solutions like battery backups and that electricity is often cheaper than gas long-term, especially as incentives lower upfront costs. Also QuitCarbon has developed a software that tracks almost 300 ever changing financial incentives available and be able to inform the homeowners the best possible path of electrifying homes.
“…what can we do in terms of water and energy? Something that's super decentralized that doesn't make people compromise. And we started to look at where water is used most within the residential home and 50% of that water use stems from the bathroom. It's quite alarming when you start looking at how much we actually use in terms of water.” - Alisha McFetridge
A typical 10-minute shower uses 25 gallons, whereas Rainstick Shower uses under 5 gallons, saving both water and the energy required to heat excess water. Its point-of-use cleaning further reduces costs and environmental impacts. Alisha McFetridge, Co-founder and CEO, detailed Rainstick's recirculation system saves 80% water and energy by reusing shower water up to six times through cleaning and pumping, while maintaining a strong 3 gpm flow. Her background in water management and sustainability led to developing this solution. She also explained the installation process, maintenance as well as the possible upcoming financial incentives.
Instagram: @rainstick.shower
FB: rainstickshower
LinkedIn: rainstickshower
“I feel that we have this moral imperative from a business standpoint to preserve our markets. And so, as Realtors, we are advisors. So we explain to our developers, we explain to our buyers, we explain to our sellers how to transact in a way that is most profitable for them.
how the Code of Ethics really demands that we understand the products we sell and that we do a better job of representing these products.” - Wayne Beals
Wayne Beals is a managing broker at Beals Group of Exit Strategies and a fellow Green Realtor in Chicago. Wayne details his upbringing fixing old homes, sparking passion for buildings that led to careers in construction and real estate. Witnessing energy poverty drove focus to efficient housing. He now specializes in all-electric new construction, convinced gas infrastructure worsens problems, developing with partners seeking competitive edge in electrification. While some buyers eagerly seek green, others dismiss features until educated on health, comfort and cost benefits. Appraisals don't recognize value, hindering prices despite certification. He believes that as advisors, realtors must explain sustainability impacts for clients' long term interests. While some resist, normalizing discussion introduces more to benefits, shifting perceptions over time for future-proofing markets. Relying on early adopters, realtors can disrupt competitors by demanding high performance standards. Educating all parties grows receptive audiences. With moral duty to steward resources and public health, the industry must integrate sustainability for viable future operations.
"The new thinking is around circularity. The idea of circularity is the circulation of materials at their highest value for the longest period of time. And when you design with circular systems in mind, you are thinking about the end at the beginning, meaning what's going to happen to this product that we're making? What's going to happen to this house that we're designing at the end of life? Can any of these things be reused again? Can they be made into something else? Can you take and use... send the furniture back to the manufacturer and they'll repair it or even keep it and resell it to somebody else. There are companies that do that. " - Kathryn Soter
About a year ago, I interviewed Katie Story, a founder of Good Future Design Alliance, which she created to educate the professionals in the building and designing industry to reduce the massive waste this industry generates forging a radical new path in the world of design. The new executive director, Kathryn Soter, gives us the update on the organization’s missions as well as some practical tips when designing, redesigning and renovating homes or even when we need to replace a piece of furniture to help reduce waste.
- Construction and demolition waste is a massive problem, with 500 million tons generated annually in the US alone. This is equivalent to 100 Great Pyramids of Giza per year.
- There are major health impacts from construction waste, including landfill pollution, emissions, and plastic waste.
- GFDA aims to connect and educate interior designers, architects, contractors, and manufacturers to adopt low-waste practices.
- Homeowners should plan carefully, salvage and reuse materials, and hire trained professionals to reduce waste.
Resources mentioned:
- Chairish
- Renovation Angel
- Rheaply
- FirstDib
"I think that we will continue to see high performance sustainability at the forefront of innovation. I think it's going to be a slow transition depending on where you are in the world and where you are in the U.S. So I think we're going to see different rates of adoption. I think all of it is going to become faster as we realize the impacts of climate change. And the same holds true with the other element you mentioned, which is resiliency. So as the climate continues to warm, storms are going to be more severe. Floods are going to be more severe, droughts will be more severe, hurricanes will be more frequent. And the approach to build buildings and homes that are more resilient to disaster is going to continue to increase. And I think those two are going to go hand-in-hand." -Todd Usher
Todd Usher is the founder and president of Addison Homes in South Carolina. Todd has been building high performance homes since 2003 when he discovered Earthcraft House certification. He is passionate about sustainability and building science. In his presentation, he explains the key elements of a sustainable home including insulated building envelope, air sealing, indoor air quality management, efficient equipment like heat pumps, and smart home technology. He also discusses how site orientation, window placement, roof overhangs, and other passive design strategies are crucial before considering any technology or building techniques. Conversation further explores how energy efficiency strategies can align with strategies for improved health, comfort and resilience.
“Building science for these principles and tools to measure and test homes and treat them as an interconnected thing so that all the systems work together and you can achieve better results by looking at the house as a system.” - Dan Thomsen
Dan Thompson, the owner and founder of Building Doctors, shares his journey from flipping homes to becoming an energy auditor and contractor. He was inspired to enter the green industry after attending a GoGreen Expo and hearing a talk by an environmentalist, leading him to start his own company called Building Doctors. Dan's company, conducts comprehensive energy audits using science-based tools to assess homes' energy efficiency. They provide homeowners with a treatment plan based on the audit results, which includes insulation, HVAC system upgrades, and solar installation, aiming to make homes more comfortable, energy-efficient, and valuable. Dan serves on the board of Efficiency First California and the steering committee for Tech Clean California, involving in the preparation to roll out the rebate programs being set forth by Inflation Reduction Act. His passion for improving the energy efficiency of existing homes is palpable.
There’s been plenty of studies over the years ranging anywhere from half of a percent to 15 percent in value for certifications. And part of it has to do with the areas, so obviously when you get into areas like parts of Texas and California, Florida, Virginia, we saw value increases partiallybecause I think you have more educated and interested population who cares, and so they bring that value. -Brett Little
Brett is the education manager for this non-profit organization, GreenHome Institute, which provides rich sources of educational information and services to empower people to make healthier and more sustainable choices in renovating and constructing the places we live. Brett shares his knowledge and insight into the current green home space; who are participating in the classes and services they offer; how the certifications would help evaluate homes that have implemented sustainability elements while discussing his own journey of certifying his home and how the certification played a role in getting his home evaluated.
My model is if you look at the cost of owning a house holistically, is a high performance home better? In most cases I can tell you with all confidence it is. But a lot of people look at first cost, and they say, “wait a minute, this house costs 10,000 bucks more than house B over here, which is code built.” And they’re missing the big picture. My point is that I don’t wanna be the right person in the room, but I wanna be the one who has the most information so people can make the right decision. - Kerry Langley
Kerry Langley is a long time industry leader in the field of mortgage lending and founder and CEO of Home Bucks. He was someone who helped me in a challenging moment when negotiating with buyers for my recent listing of a certified green home with an attractive proposition of lower interest rates. He explains how he created a platform to come up with mortgage programs that would fit the buyers needs including the energy efficiency issues.
He explains what TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) software is, and how it integrates the information about the home’s energy efficiency/sustainability/disaster resilience as well as other improvements the homeowners may want to make. His new platform HomeBuck$ VIP completely disrupts how a prospective homebuyer goes about selecting the terms of their mortgage loan and in turn gives them the ability to control the total cost of owning their new property.
kerry.langley@primelending.com
"Is my home going to last longer? Is home gonna be more beneficial for me in some ways? Is it gonna be easier to maintain? Am I gonna have lower energy bills and water bils? Is it just gonna be cooler? Is it gonna be like really interesting and fun to have some that also happens to be environmentally friendly? Knowing that information as soon as possible in your home search is more beneficial for you than too far down the line when you doing a home inspection or energy audit." - Kari Klaus
Kari Klaus, the founder of Realty Sage with a background in sustainable economic development, found inspiration to create a platform of market place for green homes while she was renovating her own home to be more sustainable. Kari shares her experience and challenges of promoting energy-efficient homes and the creation of Realty Sage, a platform that educates and incentivizes sellers to invest in green properties. The platform evolved over time, launching in 2016 and expanding to include Realty Sage Pro's in 2020, connecting real estate agents with home buyers nationwide. While Realty Sage has received positive response from the market, we both recognize the deficiencies in the real estate industry and the need for more information and transparency for consumers.
So I make electricity from the sun. With that electricity, I make water out of air. With that water, it goes to the pressure tank. That pressure tank would then take it to the water heater. The water heater is a heat pump water heater, which we use the electricity from the sun to heat the water heater. The bi-product of water heater is the air conditioning. That’s the only air conditioning we would use, which we pipe the air conditioning out of the water heater into the house. Then you take a shower, and that shower water goes out to my fruit trees in the front yard, and that was all gravity fed. So make electricity, make water, heat the water with the electricity from the sun, shower then feed the fruit trees.
-Ryan McEvoy
Ryan McEvoy, a principal and founder of Gaia Development. While Gaia Development has an impressive track record of developing and/or consulting for more than 500 sustainable buildings around the world, our conversation was about Campbell Collective, which is a residential property he bought and renovated in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles guided by the Living Building Challenge garnering Zero-Energy Certification. Ryan explains why he chose to go with the Living Building Challenge (LBC) program as opposed to LEED, and how the process of putting together his net-positive water and net-positive energy went, and how he ended up with three petals out of seven for LBC. With regenerative and permaculture design, the place is now an urban farm oasis providing the community with fruits, vegetables and herbs. As he prepares the property for an upcoming home tour for USGBC-LA in November, he shares with us the challenges he had so far and the vision he has for the property for the future.
In the beginning, just because a lot of people, like I said before, a lot of people, they don't know, or they have not conscious of what's going on in the world, and how they can save money and electricity, gas, or the more healthy.
A lot of people aren’t sure. So I was a little hesitant in the beginning. I said, how we're going to market this property and to get the price that we want. Because of course, to do those changes, we add more and more budgets, more money for budgets. Now we have to raise the price, the listing price, is no more budget. In the beginning, so we were a little concerned, but everything came out good. - Jenny Acosta
Jenny Acosta and I met through Women in Real Estate (WREN) back in 2018 as I was trying to learn more about flipping houses. My motivation was simply to create more green homes that I can sell as a Green Realtor. Jenny is a successful real estate investor, who has been “flipping” homes in Los Angeles since 2015, now in Austin, Texas as well. Over the years, I have talked to Jenny about doing her flip projects “green,” and we finally had an opportunity to collaborate on her most recent project to make a certified green home. This conversation was recorded a few days after we closed escrow. We discussed what we did, some challenges, and the outcome.
My debrief presentation deck.
Marketing video of this property.
“I think there’s definitely certain Feng Shui principles and concepts that can and should be used through our architecture. At the same time, it can also be very logical because Feng Shui is based on the natural world, the interactions with the natural world, the operation of the natural world and the flow of energies.”
El Larson is a wellness real estate agent and Wellness Design Consultant. She combines a wide range of expertise in what makes a home healthy and sustainable incorporating principles such as Feng Shui, biophilic design, land resilience and material health. El discusses the different aspects of wellness in real estate, including the importance of constructing homes with wellness practices. She shares her expertise in her application of Feng Shui, particularly landform and BTB methods, in assessing and enhancing the health and balance of properties.
She discusses some examples of the land formation principles, and how it can impact the energy and well-being of individuals; and shares the possibility of remedying certain issues with Feng Shui. How do we incorporate the concept of Feng Shui into wellness real estate and design.
www.heare.la
"Literally if you gave me two words to describe you what I’m doing, I would say “eco-flipping.” That is actually what I’d say to you. But there’s a huge difference in what it means because third party certification means adherence to certain standards and have to be not only done but defend it and understood. So the buyer of this home is going to know exactly what is behind all of their walls, what the sources of their materials are, and the processes that went into all of it."
In this part, Steve Matloff discusses a project in Los Feliz that he and his partners are working on. The project involves renovating a home built in the 1930s and making it relevant for modern living while honoring its legacy. They approached the sellers with letters expressing their desire to buy the home at the full asking price or more and transform it into a demonstration of sustainable home utilization for the next 100 years. The home they chose was in disrepair and had been untouched for several years, making it an ideal candidate for their project.
The team aims to change every system in the home to align with modern priorities and advancements. While they want to maintain existing materials, such as the flooring, they plan to reframe the entire second floor to optimize living spaces and take advantage of the beautiful views of the Griffith Observatory and downtown Los Angeles. The challenge lies in balancing form and function and creating a home that offers luxury while significantly reducing its carbon footprint. They envision providing a 7,000 to 8,000 square foot home that functions like something much smaller, appealing to buyers who want both space and environmental sustainability.
One of the challenges they face is the design aspect, particularly in maintaining the elements of a proper Tudor revival while incorporating green priorities. They want the home to achieve independent third-party certification for its sustainable features and ensure transparency for potential buyers. They aim to provide a book documenting the home's eco-friendly features and the points accumulated for third-party certification, giving buyers a clear understanding of what lies behind the walls and the environmental impact of the home. The team is currently in the planning phase, aiming to finalize permit plans in the near future.
The vision of Tradicient is, once they successfully execute this project both in renovation and sales, to scale this model to lower price points properties.
LA Times article by Lisa Boone about Steve’s family home and its landscaping done by FormLA
Steve Matloff: steve@tradicient.com
"I want to inspire others who are doing this work but based on a different set of priorities, who understand that this priority of sustainability, of efficiencies of resources and processes, of reduction of wastes of all sorts including the carbon is valued. And you should be incorporating those priorities into your project."
Steve Matloff is a “sustainable real estate RE-developer,” CEO and founder of Tradicient, which is a business name that combines the two words, “tradition” and “efficient.” Steve believes that the majority of our built environment was designed and developed for a different world and different times. Over the years, the world has changed significantly, with population growth, the introduction of convenience products, changes in the definition of quality of life, and increased consumption. Our existing built environment, including millions of homes and buildings, was not designed to meet these new circumstances. Therefore, redevelopment is necessary to prioritize efficiency in resource utilization, waste reduction, and urban development.
He shares his personal journey and how his love for architecture and design combined with his awareness of environmental impact led him to focus on sustainability in the built environment. He emphasizes the need for a market that offers existing homes with modern functionality and efficiency. He started out with his own family home, built in 1922. He wanted to find professionals who could maintain the historical characteristics of the home while making it efficient. However, he couldn't find anyone who specialized in this type of work. Steve emphasizes the importance of renovating and retrofitting the existing built environment instead of starting from scratch, as the waste generated from demolishing and rebuilding would be immense. To address this gap, Steve formed Tradicient. He sought to make his own family's home a LEED Platinum-certified property, the highest level of certification for sustainable homes. He collaborated with professionals on maintaining the aesthetic and historical characteristics of the home while incorporating efficient and sustainable features.
Overall, Steve's goal with Tradicient is to create a market for efficient, sustainable redevelopment of existing homes. He believes it's crucial to preserve and enhance the built environment while aligning it with modern sustainability standards.
LA Times article by Lisa Boone about Steve’s family home and its landscaping done by FormLA
Steve Matloff: steve@tradicient.com
"From the environmental aspect, composing has so many benefits. When you compost your food instead of throw way in the landfill, it gets proper aeration and it has oxygen to properly decompose so it doesn't release harmful greenhouse gasses like methane into the environment. So it's helping kind of the global warming movement on one aspect. And then from another lens, I'm taking AP environmental science right now and my teacher was talking about how one of the main reasons that they're requiring compost in California is because they're running out of landfill space. And so landfill space is obviously really detrimental to a lot of ecosystems because you're displacing those natural lands to put in manmade things like the landfills. And so when we compost our food, we're not taking up those lands and taking those lands away from natural ecosystems. And lastly, composting is known as black gold. And so, compost is really valuable to a lot of plants, and so, when we compost instead of just throwing it away, we create that natural fertilizer, so composting also reduces the use of synthetic fertilizers, which cause so many problems in the ecosystem."
Grades of Green is an international non-profit organization, originally founded in Southern California by moms to “educate, empower and inspire students to take action and achieve long lasting environmental impact in their schools and communities.” Special Project Manager, Glenn Arnade, proudly introduced me to a high-school student named Cordelia O’Rouke, who spearheaded a program to get local schools to start composting the food scraps from their cafeterias.
In California, the State Senate Bill 1383 enacted in January 2022 requires the food and compostable materials be kept out of the landfill. Empowered by the bill and the support/structure provided by Grades of Green, Cordelia has so far reached approximately 4,000 students at 4 different schools and trained them to engage in composting programs to divert the cafeteria food scraps.
Cordelia discussed the benefits of composting and how it can help the environment by reducing greenhouse gasses and landfill space, and also shared tips on how to compost, including adding more brown waste and finding the right composting method based on individual goals and living situations.
"You know, I thought, I know about your podcast and I'm really thinking about what I can contribute in. It's really quite numerous. And so as I said, very little hereditary and so most of it is environmental. So one thing I want to say, it's tangential to your question, but I don't want it to be lost. It is family history and non-hereditary because we also share environments, share homes, maybe sometimes workplaces, and so it's not always that there's a gene."
-Melanie Palomares
I have had episodes to talk about what makes a home healthy in comparison to home being “green.” I would say most of us who are interested in “green homes” would probably want our homes to be healthy. So I wanted to talk to a medical professional who can give a perspective from the medical standpoint of prevention. What is it that we should all be aware of so that we know our homes are a place of nourishment and healing. Today, I have a guest named Melanie Palomares. She is an MD-MS. She's affectionately known as Dr. Mel as a preventive oncologist and founder of Cancer Prevention Movement.
We discussed the various environmental factors that can contribute to cancer, including pollution, cleaning products, water and air quality., and exposure to EMS. We also talked about the importance of awareness and prevention, such as using filters and detectors, and making lifestyle changes to reduce exposure to harmful substances.
Melanie offers various cancer prevention strategies including the importance of diet, exercise, and environmental factors. Jue 4 is a National Cancer Survivors’ Day, which celebrates cancer survivors and highlights the need for prevention.
Melanie’s foundation: https://canpreventmovement.org/
“Part of that is to be able to honestly and clearly articulate the difference between cost, especially the upfront cost and long term value, obviously the fiscal value of something that works as your monthly output is less for that. And that money can go towards small add to your mortgage. But there’s also these amazing soft cost value that people don’t know. You can’t quite grasp until you’re in. The air quality is amazing. They’re very quiet homes. You don’t have any drafts on the big windows, and you have great light and things like that. Those are the things when you actually bring some people to a home like that. It’s like walking into the nature, you just get that feeling, this is amazing.” - Brian Falcon
Joe Lombardi and Brian Falcon are founders of a home building company, Alter Eco, based in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Joe and Brian, both architects, started their partnership in sustainable and energy-efficient home building after working together in a firm where they encountered difficulties in implementing green building principles due to clients' lack of understanding.They faced pushback from contractors and structural engineers who were used to a certain type of system, but were able to gain exposure and clients through national awards and articulating the importance and benefits of sustainable building. We discussed the sustainable design and construction practices they implement in their architecture firm, including the use of energy-efficient systems, minimizing water waste, and achieving third-party certifications. They also talked about how they have been able to control costs and reduce waste in construction through their integrated design process. the trend of green and sustainable home building, including the use of pre-fabricated and panelized parts, and the importance of considering the embodied carbon of building components. More importantly we talked about the need to educate people on the benefits of sustainable homes and how it doesn't necessarily require a change in lifestyle.
I’m a big believer that if a product or space is human friendly, then by definition, it’s environmentally friendly. I don’t think the same is true in the opposite direction. There are plenty of products that are eco-friendly but still very very dangerous for humans. There’s also plenty of examples of things that are 100% natural that are dangerous for humans.
When I first learned about what we call, “green homes,” the aspect I was most interested in was the “health” factor of what a green home is to provide. As I learned more about what makes a home green, I soon discovered that the definition of “green home” can be rather complex and can be elusive. Soon I realized a “green home” is not necessarily a “healthy home” for certain people.
Typically in the green home world, the health or wellness factors often talked about are indoor air quality, comfort, daylighting, access to the outdoors, etc., yet for some people, that’s not enough. Both my guests, Jen Stout and Mike Bender, had a long journey in finding their way to create a home that they could live in without having any reaction. Since I have interviewed a few people who worked with Andy on my podcast around what makes a home “healthy,” I thought I would go directly to the source.
As founder of The Green Design Center, Andy Pace is an invaluable worldwide expert in the field of chemical sensitivity, building materials, and non-toxic construction with over 30 years of experience. He is a leading educator for those who suffer from allergies, asthma and chemical sensitivities and struggle to create healthy living environments. He is also a host of Non-Toxic Environments podcast.
“So it is one of the most effective things you can do as a homeowner to make a difference to the world with respect to climate is by going solar. So please do not delay because our planet can, well, our planet will be fine, we'll just be dead. We need to make a difference if we want to make this planet a planet where our children and grandchildren are going to be able to enjoy. So make that decision now to go solar. It's not only a great decision from a cost effective perspective, but your grandchildren and their children are going to thank you for the decision you make today.” - Carol Cole-Lewis
An independent solar consultant Carol Cole-Lewis and Izumi explored various aspects of solar energy and incentives for homeowners including the transition from Net Energy Metering 2 (NEM2) to a new net energy metering rate plan (NEM3) in California and the importance of battery storage. Carol advises homeowners to choose a reputable installer based on factors such as experience and financial stability. Topics also discussed were the different business models of solar installers and the importance of energy efficiency before going solar. Carol emphasizes the potential benefits of various financing options, including loans, leases, and power purchase agreements. The conversation also touched on tax credits and incentives per Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the importance of taking action to combat global warming.
UpstartEnergy.com
Go Solar with Confidence, a book by Carol Cole-Lewis
DSIREUSA.ORG - Check available incentives
Project Drawdown
“I think especially when you get to the point of EHS, that everybody takes responsibility for their own energy, and that’s part of the healing. Just as important it is to put that metal shielding around those wires as it is to be very mindful of how we’re using our energy, and how we’re treating out bodies.”
Michael Bender, an artist and writer by profession, who struggled with increasingly aggravating and mysterious health issues that most doctors couldn’t figure out pretty much all his life after he was bitten by a tick at the age of 11. He was not only sensitive to the typical toxins found in homes, but started to have reactions to some of the most benign home products such as lavender fragrance of his wife’s shampoo. Needless to say, he developed electrical hypersensitivity (EHS), which reacts strongly to electrical signals and what’s commonly known as electro-magnetic field (EMF). After decades of challenges, he finally built a house where he and his family can live by creating a “Quiest Home,” which is a result of his tenacious effort to find solutions in various disciplines and modalities. He shares of a few resources he either used for himself and what he may recommend to others.
· Mike’s article, The Quiet House, in Men’s Health Magazine, March 2022
· The Green Design Center, Andy Pace
· SafeCoat Paint
· IQAir Perfect 16 Air Purifier
“A couple of things to know about tax credit. So there’s efficiency tax credit and renewable tax credit. Efficiency tax credits are the ones that were expanded this year. It used to be set at $500 whereas now you can take up to $3,200 in the tax year in which you make the installations. On the renewable side, one thing that’s important to know is that for the first time now battery storage is a part of what you can get 30% tax credit as well. That didn’t use to be the case.”
As a part of the new legislation, Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, some financial incentives are now available for home owners and builders to build higher performing residential buildings as well as to improve existing homes for better comfort and efficiency. I have been dying to learn about what IRA has to offer to homeowners and builders so I can guide them to utilize this massive bill. Cynthia Adams, CEO and Co-founder of Pearl Certification generously offered to explain IRA in a nutshell. While there are many moving parts and the mechanics of rebate are still pending, Cynthia offers some information we should be aware of.
Incentives are offered in two different types: 1) tax credits for efficiency and renewable energy upgrades; 2) electrification (HEEHRA) and efficiency (HOMES) rebates. Here are some helpful website links Cynthia mentions in our conversation:
· Area Median Income Look-up Tool
· Greendoor.app by Pearl Certification
“If I’m speaking to a builder, your home owner, your client is going to be more comfortable, they’re going to be happier; they’re going to be healthier; and they’re going to love living in this home compared to any other home that is less than, and that is something that I think isn’t top of mind for a lot of people when they think about green building. Health and comfort doesn’t always come.”
Karen Benner is a building consultant, who has worked in the residential construction industry over 20 years. Once she became aware of the impact construction industry has on the planet in early 2000s, she emersed herself to learn about green building and high performance building, and took it onto herself to inform, encourage and empower the home builders she worked for to build better homes. She has navigated the landscape of the construction industry to shift the mindset from focusing on short-term financial benefit to include long-term benefit, providing guidance to mitigate risks and manage projects with a new perspective of building green. While her experiences were primarily with production builders, Karen sees that once you commit to building sustainably, the business model can be successful and scalable even with smaller builders and developers.
Resources Karen mentions in her interviews:
· National Association of Home Builders
· Enterprise Community Partners
"I went down the rabbit hall of, “O.K. how can every choice I make as a consumer be made with an idea of thinking about where does this come from, what are actually the ingredients, and materials that are being used; and what happens at the end of life of this product?” Basically, my mission right now is I guess I categorize myself as becoming a zero waste living advocate."
Amanda Cavallo is an architect by profession in Santa Monica, though originally from Boston. Throughout her life, she was always in tune with nature and environment. As she works with her architectural clients recommending sustainability design, she was keenly aware of the fact that if she talks the talk, she must walk the walk. She took on herself to live a lifestyle of reducing our waste. With the social media channel, "return_to_earth_collective," she is collecting tips and info on healthy, eco-friendly living, researching natural and low-waste products to share with the public trying to inspire to change one good habit and sustainable swap at a time.
Also mentioned in the interview: Dark Green Religion by Bron Taylor
“When you purchase a home, it’s more than just principal and interest. You’re never going to own a home and not utilities, not have power payment, not have gas payment, and not have water payment. So we said, O.K., let’s talk about PITI plus utilities and then what’s that total payment, then how can we maximize that for home buyers.”
When purchasing homes, home buyers who are financing the purchase would consider what the monthly payment would be. They don’t always take into consideration how much it may cost to operate and maintain the homes, namely the utility bills. In some areas of the country, the heating and/or cooling cost can become exorbitant. Don Worthington introduces Lowtility, a mortgage product that allow the homebuyers to include the cost of energy efficiency improvement in the purchase price as the first mortgage. While there are other similar “green financing” products as were introduced in previous episodes of this podcast, Lowtility approaches the underwriting process with minimized utility bills in the equation. Homebuyers can have energy efficient homes for the same or less amount of monthly payments with little to none utility bills. They service all across the United States except the state of New York. Find out more from Don!
Definition of sustainable site is it promotes land development and management practices with our future in mind. So sustainable sites generate less waste, minimize impact on the landscape, and use less energy, water and natural resources.
Brandon is a Sr. Applications Engineer for one of an innovative solar technology company. He was influenced by growing up with a father who was a pioneer of sustainable building professionals. Now that he owns a property of his own up the hills in southeast of Los Angeles near Temecula, he has undertaken a truly regenerative transformation project of what once looked like a deserted property into a home with net-positive energy sanctuary. Brandon shares the strategic approach he has taken to regenerate his home and the land surrounding his home on almost 5-acre of property including decarbonization, water management, and landscaping following the concept of “sustainable site.”
I think we understand more and more that life webs that we’re all in makes human beings happier and healthier, that there’s things to do to acknowledge those life webs and do what we can do to help it.
Greg Travis is an old friend of mine, who has become an amateur expert on native plants gardening. He and his partner bought their 1908 craftsman they now call home in West Adams area of Los Angeles in 2001. Greg’s primary goal was to have “dirt” where he could do gardening. At the time he was a self-proclaimed “frustrated gardener” and was going through a certificate program for horticulture and garden design. When not many were talking about the native plants yet, one instructor who taught him about the California natives really influenced him, which led him on a journey of creating his dream garden. He transformed the front yard from the typical grass yard into a lush garden that hosts not only a wide variety of native plants, which attracts variety of pollinators like birds, bees and butterflies, requiring little irrigation. Hear how he designed, planted and nurtured his beautiful garden including some of the mistakes he made.
[This episode is from a short video about Adam's project. Best to watch on HomeGreenHomes YouTube channel.]
Adam, a long-time construction professional, and his family were experiencing health issues when they found their “property” in Redwood City, California. What they wanted was a place where they felt healthy. Yet the property was in such disrepair that his first thought was to demolish and rebuild. Instead he chose to “heal the house and the land that the house was sitting on” in the same way that he wanted to heal the family’s wellbeing. Thus Adam took on a challenge to change the construction process, which is typically very extractive, disruptive and wasteful, into a regenerative process to have a positive impact not just on the environment but also to the local community and local economy.
The project touched on the Five Roots of Regenerative Real Estate®: 1) Health and Wellness; 2) Sustainability; 3) Community; 4) Ecology and 5) Spirit, which also relates to the concept of “Eco-chaplain.” (Those who work to establish people in a healthy, compassionate, and mutually supportive relationship with each other and the natural world. - Sati Center of Buddhist Studies)
As a result, he was able to accomplish his Vision of truly regenerative project and indeed be an eco-chaplain for himself and his family, the property he turned into his family nest, the people who worked on the project and the surrounding community.
“I’m a firm believer that the soil health is human health. If we start with the land first, it will reap the fruits of our labor and it’s highly reciprocal.”
Diego Torrelio is a Founder and CEO of Circlefoot. Circlefoot is the leading wellness landscaping and construction company based in San Mateo County, California. They design, build, and manage homes, gardens, homesteads, and small farms in San Mateo and beyond with a mission to deliver ecologically regenerative outdoor-indoor living solutions. Driven by the Vision of human being living lightly and in balance on our planet, Diego and his company collaborate with their clients to create not only regenerative living spaces but also promotes more just and ecologically regenerative economy. Diego shares the back story of his professional development and his Vision for future.
“Discussion about energy efficiency, net positive and locking your energy cost by installing solar power. They’re privileged conversations. But I want to deliver energy efficiency and the promise of being a part of clean energy future to bigger groups of people that don’t necessarily have access and make it a much more equitable thing.”
Realty Energy Partners work with Realtors and their communities to build a solar-powered net-zero future and regenerate neighborhoods. Licensed in all 50 states Providing energy solutions that are more effective and financially sound than what "big solar" is trying to sell. Changing how solar and alternative energy is sold and financed. They are a trusted name in understanding, selecting, coordinating and implementing solutions that meet a building's needs and its budget. Licensed in all 50 states
☀️Providing energy solutions that are more effective and financially sound than what "big solar" is trying to sell.
☀️Changing how solar and alternative energy is sold and financed.
☀️They are a trusted name in understanding, selecting, coordinating and implementing solutions that meet a building's needs and its budget.
They work with commercial, residential, and institutional Realtors to help their clients find the best path to fiscally responsible eco-development and renovation. Right now, only 4% of buildings in the US have solar power. But with their help, that number is going to increase dramatically.
To learn more, visit our website: RealtyEnergyPartners.com
We are not looking to be orthodox about our ability to create low carbon footprint and green homes. We’re looking to educate people and let people know that this is possible, and you can do it beautifully, economically and have impact.
Greg Roth is the senior designer for CarbonShackDesign, a branch of Home Front Build, an architectural firm. CarbonSharkDesign offers a holistic approach to green building design, integrating high performance, low impact materials with refined aesthetics, to create homes that respond to the way we live today. As a soup-to-nuts sustainable design-build company, they view every aspect of design and construction as an opportunity to shift the way homes are built today, towards minimizing our impact on the natural environment. From simple moves, like selecting touchless faucets or installing window shades, to more systemic applications, like upgrading insulation or installing solar panels – every decision you make about your home construction project can be viewed through the lens of its carbon footprint.
And CasaZero is the case study house they designed and built to expand the definition of “green” to include the entire life cycle of a building and also one that examines the interconnectedness of our choices with the environment.
See what else they have to offer at: CarbonShackShowroom, and SustainableBuild.
“Capturing rainwater and letting it make its way back into earth is really the most sustainable thing you can do with the water on the property, and a good way to guarantee water supply in a more sustainable way.”
Do you know that an inch of rain on a 1,000 sq/ft roof topcan collect 600 gallons of water?
Jesse Froehlich Savou, a native of Davis, CA native, thinks everyone should be able to harvest rainwater, so she set out to make that possible, founding BlueBarrel in 2012.
Jesse developed her first catchment system in 2010 as an AmeriCorps project with Conservation Corps North Bay at the Indian Valley Organic Farm & Gardenlocated in Novato, CA. Her assignment was to build a 1,500 gallon rainwater catchment system with a budget of only $1,000. She and project partner John came up with what ended up being the prototype for the BlueBarrel System, using 22 food-grade plastic barrels and associated hardware in a narrow corridor next to the farm’s greenhouse. nThe system immediately proved workable, and Jesse decided to install one at her home… And then another… And then a third! With a few tweaks each time, Jesse refined what became known as the BlueBarrel Rainwater Catchment System™—now available nationwide as BlueBarrel’s DIY RainKit™ for you to install at your own place. BlueBarrel (https://www.bluebarrelsystems.com/) now offers the tools and resources for successful home-installation experiences for rainwater harvesters everywhere!
"...soil without biology is geology. It's supposed to have life in there. So by telling people to use harsh chemical fertilizers I was part of the problem. I heard this saying, 'Be the solution, not the problem."
Nationwide, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day. As climate destabilization leads to intensifying heat waves, fires, and droughts, we are witnessing already burdened watersheds getting stretched to their limit. It's been estimated that California only has enough water supply to last one year, a state in which declared water shortage emergencies and restrictions to outdoor usage have become the norm. Approximately one-half of residential water consumption is used on our lawns.
What if we could reduce water usage, sink carbon, increase biodiversity, and beautify our landscapes all at the same time?
This is precisely what Dane Shota has sought out to do. As a bio-nutritionist, permaculturist, consulting arborist, and real estate broker, Dane consults with landscape architects and homeowners alike on using “rainwater only landscaping.” In this conversation, Dane will share with us his landscaping techniques for using only what falls from the sky to create beautiful, drought tolerant landscapes for his clients in arid climates.
*At 20:19, Dane mentions the nutrients of the product lasts for 6 years, but he later corrected to mean 6 months.
“I’d like to describe what we do as wellness integrated living. That is actually the foundation and inspiration behind our book. Since it is so difficult to disseminate this information. A lot of people shot at Whole Foods, but they don’t even know or think about the house, “Is my house healthy?” like it’s just not something that’s on top of people’s mind yet. So I think that’s really going to be hopefully pivotal as far as educating people, which is part of our mission.”
With so many building materials out on the market, it's hard to know what's going into your family's home. JS2 Partners Healthy Home Builder is doing something no other builder is doing. They are creating better living through healthier building, using exclusively non-toxic construction materials and design methodsin our custom homes.
Jen and Rusty Stout share their story about how they came to recognize that each homeowner has their own needs and unique sense of style, how they came to specializes in healthy home building & design in the Austin, TX area and surrounding Central Texas Hill Country region, and how they ended up writing a book, Healthier Homes, to spread the knowledge.
“I’d like to describe what we do as wellness integrated living. That is actually the foundation and inspiration behind our book. Since it is so difficult to disseminate this information. A lot of people shot at Whole Foods, but they don’t even know or think about the house, “Is my house healthy?” like it’s just not something that’s on top of people’s mind yet. So I think that’s really going to be hopefully pivotal as far as educating people, which is part of our mission.”
With so many building materials out on the market, it's hard to know what's going into your family's home. JS2 Partners Healthy Home Builder is doing something no other builder is doing. They are creating better living through healthier building, using exclusively non-toxic construction materials and design methodsin our custom homes.
Jen and Rusty Stout share their story about how they came to recognize that each homeowner has their own needs and unique sense of style, how they came to specializes in healthy home building & design in the Austin, TX area and surrounding Central Texas Hill Country region, and how they ended up writing a book, Healthier Homes, to spread the knowledge.
“I am an interior designer. I call the architect who calls the contractor. We all call landscaper because we’re all obsessed with plants right now. But all day we’re working in tandem in a circle. So I thought everyone needs to be involved here. What does it matter if I spend all my time trying to source responsibly and bill my clients may be a little extra for these efforts […] if the contractor just goes in and throws everything in the landfill anyway? So why did we do that? We need to close the gap like close the whole circle.”
Katie Storey is an established interior designer based in San Francisco, who had an epiphany when she realized her work was big contributor to a massive waste problem generated in the world, particularly in the design and building industry, despite her own personal practice in conscious living. One of the resources that awoken and inspired Katie was Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the date when humanity has used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates during the entire year. She founded The Good Future Design Alliance, a community of design and building professionals committed to reduce waste to “forge a radical new path.”
She shares how this fast-growing network of design leaders are shaking up the industry with access to cutting edge tools to help them meet their professional low-waste goals, and invites designers, architects, general contractors, landscapers as well as manufacturers to join the movement.
“My modeling shows that the number one thing you can do to reduce the carbon footprint of your house is to switch from gas water heater to heat pump water heater.”
As an energy consultant with Build Smart Group, Nick Brown, helps homeowners, builders and developers to design energy efficient and sustainable homes and buildings and ensuring they meet the California energy code. On this podcast, Nick shares why heat pump water heater is the best solution when replacing existing gas water heater or designing new buildings.
Up to about 10 years ago gas water heater was standard, and came the gas tankless water heater became popular, but now the current heat pump technology makes the heat pump water heater a better choice in terms of energy efficiency; hence, reducing the carbon footprint. Nick offers the insight on how the heat pump works to make it more efficient compared to other options we have for water heater as well as some tips for what to know about replacing the unit to heat pump.
Nick recommends for consumers to check the Switch Is On site to learn more about home electrification including more information about the heat pump water heater and other appliances; how to find the contractors to install, and about the available incentives.
“We are kind of in a new world order now. People are just loving driving electric. A study, a data showed that once you entered that market even if it’s plug-in hybrid electric, which is I have, you don’t go back so much. You don’t go back to gas car. You stay electric.”
Zan Dubin Scott, a communication specialist of ZDS Communications, one of co-founders of Plug-in America and the co-founder of National Drive Electric Week, is a passionate advocate of electric vehicles since the beginning. Zan shares the current market condition as of 2022 with a brief reference to the history of electric vehicle industry including what’s going on in the infrastructure that supports the driving needs.
While there are many more electric vehicle models available today than ever, Zan says it may not be a good time to acquire EVs due to the shortage of inventory affected by a number of factors. Yet, if you’re more concerned about reducing carbon footprint today and have extra cash, Zan says to go ahead and get one by all means. There are some really cool EVs that you can get today.
Also, there are still federal tax credit as well as rebates available. California residents can check what’s available at DriveClean California website.
“To me permaculture is really planning. It’s a road to sustainability. And I will add that may be not commonly used but its part of it is resilience.”
Ruth Meghiddo, AIA, of Meghiddo Architects, founded Farm Urbana in 2014 with the vision for cities to become prosperous and sustainable. Ruth’s passion for urban farming began decades earlier, as a student at UCLA. There, she published a pioneering thesis in sustainability, “Agriculture in Urban Environments: City and Farm Romance.” Her background in architecture and urban design inspired her to create edible garden solutions. She became a Certified Permaculture Design Consultant. She draws from permaculture design the agenda of natural green living and create the urban framework for consciously designed local farming landscapes to provide sustainable and resilient cities. They are keen to incorporate the element of farming into the built environment, connect to nature, and activate local communities around growing fresh food and a healthy lifestyle.
Ruth discusses history of permaculture, the principles and how she envisions permaculture to be a provide a roadmap to sustainable urban living for all people.
“Chefs don't like it. It’s not gourmet way to cook. … I won’t cook on gas any more. And in my private chef life, I literally bring my induction hub to my fancy clients’ kitchen if they don’t already have induction because it cooks better, faster and more accurate.”
Chef Rachelle Boucher (a.k.a. “The Appliance Whisperer”) of Kitchens to Life is a celebrated national cooking appliance trainer, private chef, influencer and event expert with over twenty years of experience creating custom training programs, activities and hands-on workshops for appliance brands, architects, designers, developers and end users to help them choose, use and enjoy modern cooking appliances and technology.
After an adventurous career as a top private chef for celebrities such as filmmaker George Lucas, rock band Metallica, legendary sports celebrities and many other luminaries, Rachelle was recruited into the home appliance industry. She quickly became a celebrated corporate chef, trainer, and consultant with Monark Home, Sub-Zero & Wolf, Miele U.S.A. and many others working to showcase cooking technology such as convection, induction, speed cooking, steam cooking and more. This experience grew into a passion for electric cooking appliances which inspired her to become a leading advocate for electric kitchens and home electrification.
Chef Rachelle has exceptional local, national, and international relationships with cooking appliance manufacturers, vendors, dealers, architects, designers, builders, influencers and industry groups including ASID, AIA, NKBA, NARI and experts in related fields. She is working tirelessly to bring electric kitchens to the forefront with her partner Robert Roth with their new venture, “Kitchens to Life” whose mission is to “Elevate the electric kitchens conversation, engage stakeholders with today’s inspiring cooking options and facilitate the adoption of kitchens electrification for performance, people and planet.”
Rachelle recently joined forces with Building Decarbonization Coalitionto further the movement to electrify kitchens where abundant resources for electrification is available.
“We shouldn’t imagine that we’ll just get a $20,000 home loan and decarbonize the whole house. We could do that, but that’s not the most common way. More common, like you said, people are gonna have something that’s breaking or just broke, and they need to replace it. Now is the time to spend the money and I’m going to get an electrified version. That means like a 8-year horizon. You can get the whole house like by 2030 and that would be great for the planet.”
Sean Armstrong is the Managing Principal of Redwood Energy and has worked for 25 years in building electrification, designed the retrofit and new construction of more than 10,000 all-electric residences for disadvantaged populations, co-authored five practical guides to building electrification, provided legal and technical support to dozens of gas bans nationwide, helped develop the 2016/2019/2022 and 2025 Title 24 California Energy Codes, and has received sustainable design awards from the United Nations, the U.S. Department of Energy and the SoCal Building Industry Association.
Together Redwood Energy has led the design of more than 1500 units of Zero Net Energy, all-electric affordable housing, and 200 all-electric market rate residences. They provide Title 24 modeling, design support and Utility Allowance modeling to create cost-effective Zero Net Energy housing. Their projects range from cottages to high rise residences, commercial spaces and large facilities.
Publications of comprehensive resources by Redwood Energy based on their extensive research are available on their website.
What you need to do is to talk to somebody that understands it all, that can look at and understand what’s going on in your home and help you decide what aspirational approach or what would be possible, and then back down as necessary. And you’ll get the best possible result.
Passive House (Passivhaus) represents today’s highest energy standard for building performance with the promise of reducing the operational energy consumption of buildings by up to 75% in California, while providing superior comfort and extreme indoor air quality – all with minimal additional upfront investment. When coupled with renewable energy systems, such as solar PV, Passive House puts zero net energy within easy reach. Passive House is a proven standard, already applied to more than 100,000 buildings in all climate zones and is growing exponentially. [passivehousecal.org]
Jay dissects the Passive House in an understandable way, offers an insight of what makes a passive house, benefits and how to have passive house.
To watch the interview with Jay's presentation, go to YouTube channel.
“We have maximum above ground size limit for the homes. Sometimes cities or HOAs would have minimum size limits, but we have maximums. The reasons are two-fold: One to maintain the human scale so that we don’t have enormous homes. Also because one of the easiest ways to make homes more sustainable or to building in general is to limit their size.”
Mulberry Grove in Moab, Utah, is a community developed by an architect Kalen Jones and his associates on a 20-acre of land with 42 lots developed in mid-2000s. This unique community was designed with an intention to make it sustainable and pedestrian centric residential community providing open space and connection to nature. It was developed as HOA giving the authority for HOA to manage the infrastructure and providing “green building program” as a guideline for the property owners to build on the lots.
Kalen discusses the brief history of the development and some of the features that makes this community unique and sustainable. The slideshow is available here. For more information, contact Kalen Jones at kalen@withgaia.com.
“We now have a much evolved scope of how we are thinking about creating a better places for people to live, and looking at how to create regenerative neighborhoods that are truly creating more energy, more thriving lives for folks that more equitable, more vulnerable that helping address issues of climate resilience.”
To facilitate new ways of thinking, Build It Green convenes stakeholders tackling challenges around housing in California. By enabling collaboration across silos, we can collectively start to envision the regenerative housing ecosystem we want to see—one that meets the interconnected needs of individuals, communities, and the environment.
Hannah Bruegmann, director of initiatives, shares the brief history of the genesis of Build It Green and about the different programs Build It Green developed and operate over the years and how each can benefit the home building industry, building professionals as well as homeowners.
The resources she mentions include CalGreen for the updated California building code as well as Switch Is On where consumers can check on the incentives available for energy upgrades.
“I realized that I had to take the matters in my own hand. So it’s not just research the materials and the fixtures, and all the nice end product finishes. You had to make sure there’s no VOCs in your cabinets and flooring, and beyond that. I realized I had to research all the mechanical pieces and what goes behind the walls. It was frustrating but I realized if I didn’t do it, I’d be making a huge mistake.”
Lisa is a Director Sustainability at Metrolink with a long history in the sustainability field. A few years ago, Lisa and her husband decided to remodel their home and committed to walk the walk of living a sustainability by converting their home into a “green home.” Decabonization, by eliminating the gas line and electrifying the home was the major element of this project. She shares how she went about achieving this and about the challenges she had to face as well as some of the specific choices she made in doing so.
At certain points I think a lot of the building owners and management companies see the writing on the wall coming with policies changing not only at city level but also at state level with benchmarking, and conservation code is coming out, stretch code is coming out that they’re going to need to basically comply with within the next 10 to 20 years, next two decades. In a lifetime of a building, that’s pretty short. So they need to start investing now, and if they have free help from a local non-profit, then they are going to jump on it. So that’s kind of what our selling point has been there. But then also we are encountering a lot of building owners who do care about their tenants.
USGBC-LA’s The Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP) was developed to support all Angelenos in having healthy, efficient, and resilient places to live, work, and play. This program delivers green community resources to disadvantaged communities and historically underserved neighborhoods that are energy-inefficient or burdened with pollution sources that are hazardous to communities’ health. The GAHP provides owners and residents of multi-family properties located in the Eastern San Fernando Valley with strategies for reducing energy and water costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The Green Affordable Housing Program provides:
- Tenant Workshops in English and Spanish covering sustainable practices & occupant health to help reduce utility costs;
- Enrollment assistance with LADWP programs and rebates;
- Guidance through a menu of efficiency & electrification options to facilitate building retrofits;
- Subsidized installation of innovative new green building technology to reduce utility costs and gas emissions;
- Air and water quality monitoring provided at no-cost.
Workshops for both property owners and tenants will be delivered at 20 selected multi-family properties. Participants will also receive a toolkit with resources on sustainable practices and occupant health, programs and rebates, tips on water and energy savings, building retrofit support and more!
“Anytime moisture is in the house, it not only can create a potential for mold growth or mildew, it can raise the humidity levels drastically based on what’s going on and how long it’s been going on, and that can actually create a very unhealthy environment inside the house.”
Amanda Klecker is a Certified Building Biology Practitioner and Certified Professional Inspector trained with the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Amanda is passionate about helping homeowners create their own healthy living environment. Over the last few years, Amanda has become a green living expert in terms of keeping a healthy house. She is constantly involved in learning about the newest found toxins and solutions for healthy living.
Amanda offers a wide variety of resources on her website as well as via Instagram for homeowners, homebuyers, and real estate agents to identify health issues in home environment and tips and ideas for creating healthier living.
“What I envision is where everybody has healthy homes regardless of your income, your age, your ability, your race of gender whatever it may be. Everybody has access to clean, comfortable home that’s energy efficient, that’s run of clean renewable energy that’s not wasting any necessary resources. I really think that’s possible. It’s possible even now. It’s not 20 years from now, but it’s possible right now. If you want to make that happen, we can absolutely make that happen. That’s my message. You know when there’s a will, there’s a way. I completely believe in that.”
Avideh is a Southern California based licensed Architect specializing in sustainable/regenerative design. She believes that though buildings are primarily a matter of tectonics, they emerge from and contribute to social and ecological systems. While she has previously served as co-facilitator of the Living Future Los Angeles collaborative, as well as co-chair AIA Los Angeles Committee on the Environment, she is currently on the steering committee of the AIA California Climate Action Committee, leading AIA CA's efforts on embodied carbon. I also sit on the board of directors of USGBC-Los Angeles chapter.
Avideh shares of her history and passion that led her to where she is today professionally, and her experience as an owner/founder of ZEROHOUZ, which is her personal journey to renovate a small 99-year old home in Signal Hills into a regenerative home as an example of what can be done.
Avideh has partnered with Building Decarbonization Coalition to utilize a campaign called, “Switch Is On” that educates the general public about the importance of home electrification.
"We can talk about your particular situation and what’s best for you. Don’t ever get confused. Clients (home owners, buyers, investors) should recognize that they are the drivers. Everybody else is merely tools to help you get where you’re going. But you need guidance sometime to help you learn just what you can do and then you can make a qualified decision."
Mike Young is a 203K consultant, who has helped homeowners, home buyers as well as investors to achieve their goals for their new home visions. As a 203K consultant, he works with lenders who offer FHA 203K loan, which is a loan that includes renovation loan, which upon completion of the renovation work, becomes commonly used FHA loan, 203B.
His job is to inspect homes to identify what can be done to improve the property structure-wise, cosmetically as well as energy efficiency wise to come up with a scope of work to put out for bids. Once the borrower selects the contractor based on their bids, 203K consultant would act as an liaison between the lender, contractor and the borrower to assure smooth construction process and underwriting process.
The new research has shown that when the humans are connected to nature in interior spaces, their blood pressure goes down, their serotonin level goes down, they got the dopamine kick in the brain that’s the happy hormone, and you end up with 15 to 20 % more creativity, happier wellbeing, 15% more productivity, and people want to be there so your attendance is higher and people would linger longer in the interior space, so you can see people kind of gravitate towards nature in any space. They are happier and more curious. So you have happier and healthier occupants.
Macelle Albelda is a biophilic designer, currently the Vice President of Sales for GreenMood Acoustical Moss Walls. Macella explains what “biophilia” means and its brief history, what are considered “Biophilic” design elements in the built environment and the benefits of them offering practical tips for people to integrate in their living space to live happier and healthier life even when living in the urban environments.
Net-Zero homes and energy efficiency, everyone knows that language. But materials are something people are just learning about. They are really getting pushed to the front. I think everybody knows that USGBC, International Living Future Institute, and Healthy Product Declarations. There’s this push the materials, and in so doing the green homes forward.
Kate Bachner holds an MA in Contemporary Art from the Sotheby’s Institute and a B.A. in Art History from Emory University. She has studied the principles of sustainable building and healthy materials at NYU and the Parsons School of Design. She has earned her LEED GA, WELL AP, and LFA. Kate is also a licensed real estate agent in the state of California. Her new venture, Wise Matter, marries Kate’s deep knowledge of healthy building products with her refined eye for art and curation to create a home that is beautiful from the inside out.
Kate shares her journey of coming from the world of art to being in the world of green building and real estate, and why she chose this path. She reflects on her experience and knowledge from working with homeowners and developers as she offers some insight into what are the current challenges and prospects in creating more healthy homes.
After we had an energy audit done, we knew why some rooms in our home was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. In addition to our propane furnace approaching the end of its life, we needed to improve the energy efficiency of the home before we even consider of getting solar panels on the roof.
Henry Francois of Gundlach’s Services from Bakersfield talked through the energy efficiency improvement project of our home. Based on the findings from the energy audit, they replaced the furnace with 96% efficiency unit; added cellulose insulation in the attic; repaired fallen insulation and placed Tybek paper to keep the insulation from breathing in the crawl space and caulked the ceiling to seal the air leak from outside and attic. Henry explains some of the logistics and the objectives of each of the work done. He offers some insight into how to prioritize the work that may have greater return of investment and result in creating more comfortable homes.
In order to get this work done, we utilized an unsecured financing specifically designed to provide energy efficiency improvements through GoGreen Financing, and was able to obtain a loan called, REEL (Residential Energy Efficiency Loan). You must use the contractors who are vetted and registered in their network to qualify for the loan.
"There are many things inside our home that people can focus on before you even get the solar."
Before homeowners rush to get the solar panels installed on your roof, it is recommended that the "envelope" of your home be inspected to make sure the energy is not being wasted.
Carl Reese, a general contractor and building inspector with many qualifications, discusses what energy audit also known as "home performance evaluation" recently and why homeowners and home buyers should have one, and what measures you can take to improve the energy efficiency of your home and reduce the utility bills as well as the indoor air quality.
Carl suggests the first thing the homeowners can do is to change the light bulbs to LED, which would reduce the energy bill by up to one quarter. If the home tends to be dusty and/or you sneeze a lot in the house, that's a sign of air leaking into the living area from the attic and that the duct works should be looked at by HVAC professionals. Improving the insulation and sealing air leaks, which can be done relatively easily and inexpensive, alone would have more immediate return of investment.
“Banks love it because they know after the mortgage a lot of people’s next payment is utility payment. So if they see that you’re gonna have a home without $200 or $300 monthly utility payment, the banks would make the asset more valuable and to the new buyer it’s neat to get a net zero home and it’s more exciting for them.”
Steve Nauert, a mortgage broker with Green Mortgage Advantage, as well as real estate broker, offers various mortgage products that allow new home buyers as well as home owners to take on a mortgage that includes the funds to get home improvements done for energy efficiency upgrades. We discuss the advantage and benefits for both the lenders and the borrowers of these mortgage products and why consumers should consider.
“We care about the home owner, and we care about the environment. We’re trying to lower emissions into the atmosphere where we’re trying to build it. We’re conscious, eco-conscious. So we care about sustainability, and we care about the toxins that are in your home. We don’t want VO2 emissions going off in your living space. The real heart of my messages are that we care.” - LeAn
Fortunate Homes builds well thought-out carefully designed homes with love. Their design includes a functional floor plan, tasteful finishes, and the best top-of-the-line Green Building Techniques. They create a WIN-WIN-WIN because they create passive income for investors, a wonderful home for the owners, and reduce the impact on the earth.
… regenerative real estate can go as deep as regenerative design by looking at why are we considering the rain that falls on our roof storm water whenever it is the precious vital resources, and why are we powering our homes with fossil fuels that are extracted and degrading whenever we can be pulling from the earth and the sun and free resources, and why are we degrading mountain tops and far away landscapes whenever we can use local non-toxic materials that we know are beneficial to our health and we can do it in a way that is beneficial for the economy and ecology. That’s really the basis of the regenerative real estate.
Neal and Alissa Collins are the founders of Latitude, Regenerative Real Estate. They created this community of real estate agents across the boundaries of states and countries through eXp Realty who are pursuing something more than the traditional transactional real estate business and finding ways to do good in our world with passion projects where they can actually face the issues of the world and help solve them by intertwining the personal values in their businesses. Their focus is the wholistic approach to home living beyond finding dream homes for buyers or selling homes at the best price with short amount of time. These "Change Agents" dare to be different from most real estate professionals and dedicated to the message of how to prepare our built environment for 21st and 22nd centuries as culture creators and leaders.
“…The National Association of Realtors, research shows that since the pandemic one in six homebuyers are purchasing multigenerational homes, which is bigger, accommodates grandparents who live with us and young kids. So this new ‘full house family dynamic’ can also lead to increased energy usage, obviously, and consequently, increasing our utility bills.”
Dennis Stinson is the Vice President of Sales for Fujitsu General America, a national manufacturer with distributors in local communities across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean leading a team of sales professionals, selling well over $300M of Fujitsu products. At Fujitsu, Dennis has held the responsibilities of Regional Sales Manager in the Mid-Atlantic and The Director of National Accounts.
Dennis discusses the following topics in the light of post-COVID lifestyle and dynamics.
- What tips can you give for the homeowners to make their household conducive to all the activities?
- What are the tips that homeowners can implement to minimize the utility cost?
- What are some of the latest technologies and/or practical tips for homeowners?
- What is the “Strategic Electrification of America”?
"Today it's actually less expensive to put in a more efficient system, because of the incentives coming back. It is cheaper to go more efficient in many places in United States.”
Go to Eco Rebate Finder on FujitsuGeneral.com!
Joseph Gentile, Vice President of Real Estate at Pearl Certification
"According to the Department of Energy, 25% of homes are sold undervalued every year and what are those homes have in common? Well, it's energy efficient features.
If you went up to a buyer and said, “Would you like to live in a house that had less dust, less bugs, less mold, costs less money to run every month, and it was more comfortable. Would that appeal to you?” Of course, every buyer would want that but articulating that is very difficult in the real estate transaction. So they combined together all these features and considered a high performing home. They said, okay, what can we do to help highlight these features to bring them to the forefront of the transaction and that's what Pearl Certification is. We are a marketing program for real estate agents..."
Joseph has spent the last two decades leading efforts in the Real estate services industry. He is fluent in all aspects of franchising, sales, operations, and management, and has taken those skills to Pearl Certification, a nationally recognized company that brings the value of energy efficiency to the real estate transaction by helping homeowners recoup the value of their high performing investments at the time of sale or refinancing.
Here are the talking points:
- History and background of Pearl Certifiaction
- Criteria for Pearl Certified homes
- What are the benefit of getting certified
- How the certification help to qualify and quantify the values of certified homes
- Other similar certification programs for homes?
“The pandemic has done for energy efficiency and sustainable building practices in one year what we have been trying for 20 years.” CR Herros
Regina Marston is a passionate marketing executive with over 20 years of experience leading and directing the marketing and advertising activities for a variety of companies and organizations. Regina has experience in leading the marketing efforts for national homebuilders, land developers, high-tech startups, restaurants, healthcare, architects, wineries, solar providers and electric and water utilities. She has led marketing campaigns for large-scale residential master planned developers and homebuilders across the nation. Maria Meeuwisse brings more than 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing for the homebuilding and related industries on both the client and the agency side. Maria has created and managed successful integrated marketing campaigns for a variety of verticals, including homebuilding, retail, construction, high-tech, and master planned developments.
Both have been heavily involved in promoting green building practice in wide spectrum. Being on the marketing end, they’re on top of what’ happening in the industry. Why this transition of idea from “green home” to “healthy home”. What is the definition of a Healthy Home.Why your next home purchase should be a healthy home.The benefits of Indoor Air QualityThe benefits of an Induction CooktopWhat are the most important message for me as a green realtor to be conveying? Engage Marketing:
"...if somebody were to ask me, what would you do first? energy efficiency is always the first thing that you should do, because you want to reduce your home load or your home energy load before you put on panels..."
Ruby Rose is a seasoned building industry professional with 1 O+ years experience specializing in affordable housing projects. Ruby Rose graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelor of Architecture. She has gained industry experience through her work in architecture, construction, and sustainability consulting. She holds several certifications including LEED AP BD+C, Certified Energy Analyst, Certified Green Building Professional and a Green Rater.
Ruby Rose, as an energy consultant, guided teams to successfully secure funding and implementing sustainability features required for Third Party Certifications and Utility incentive programs. She certified over 30 projects as LEED or GreenPoint Rated.
Ruby Rose currently supports Southern California Edison as a Senior Advisor assisting developers and builders and promoting· decarbonization programs and resources.
• How utility companies such as SCE have worked with government levels to create programs that incentivize the homeowners to improve their home living through energy efficiency upgrade to electrifying?
• How much of the SCE Power supply is from renewable source?
• Rebate programs and/or different rate plans?
• Other tips to reduce the power usage and more importantly the bills?
• What are the incentives that would motivate them to build homes that are more efficient and clean?
"...you get the best value when you're designing this way (using the rating systems) with a green home, this intent to finding the most durable building materials and then also the types of equipment and finishes and so on, that will be as efficient as possible over the long term."
Alison Kendall is a California licensed Architect and LEED Accredited Professional with specialty in Building Design and Construction. She has a Masters of Architecture and Masters of City Planning from University of California at Berkeley, where she taught Environmental Design and Energy Efficient Architecture. She is also a GreenPoint Rater for New and Existing single and multi-family dwelling and a Building Performance Institute Building Analyst specialized in energy efficiency. She has taught sustainable architecture and planning to students and professionals in California and in France. She founded Kendall Planning + Design as Sole Proprietor in 1997 in the San Francicso Bay Area and relocated the practice to Santa Monica in 2003.
Alison discusses the purpose and benefits of the two primary rating systems, LEED and Green Point Ratings using the illustration of her current townhouse project in Culver City, what these certification systems address in their rating process.
We also discuss the challenges and prospect for the rating systems in the state and nation levels.
The biggest progress of Green Building is that more people recognize the value of green building; and the biggest challenge is it's not enough people yet.
Mary Love is the Broker-In-Charge for her real estate company, Love The Green, as well as her property management company, Town Mountain Properties. She is also President of Mary Love Consulting Firm. With a long list of qualifications, Mary has been inspiring, training and teaching for over thirty years, and is affectionately called, the “Grandmother of Green.” She presents facts and detailed information with a sense of humor and great passion. Mary’s love for nature and humanity has guided her to be one of the top presenters in the Green Building Industry. Mary believes that individual actions create massive change when done with purpose and intend. Her motto is, “A little bit of something is a whole lot better than nothing.” Mary sees the world as one big Green Project and her passion is helping everyone understand how we are all connected. Here are the talking points: What was it like 30 years ago to be talking about “green homes”?I imagine things are quite different now compared to back then. In your observation, what is the biggest progress in the business of green homes and what is still the biggest challenge in your work?What do you think is the most effective term to use to describe the homes you and I are promoting? “Green,” “eco,” “healthy,” and/or “high performance.”?What is your advice for me to reach more of the right people who would be more receptive of the idea of “green,” “healthy,” or “high performance” homes?
“…the comparison isn't so much about the rate, it's about your house, and what other alternatives you have.”
William Brown is the National Renovation Sales Manager at Finance of America Mortgage, LLC. He brings a depth of knowledge and insights, gained over time, with more than 20 years of experience in construction trades and 15 years in the mortgage and housing industries.
During the past 10 years, he has built and managed renovation and construction ops for two national lenders which served retail, wholesale, NDC and delegated origination channels. Close to 8000 renovation or construction loans have gone through his operations centers. Each received project management support to assist the borrower, mortgage adviser, realtor and contractor prior to closing, and high touch draw administration services post-closing. In the interests of improving the product throughout its lifespan, William has also written product guidelines, training, and marketing materials for all participants in the renovation loan process.
Talking Points: What are renovation loans?What types of “green” mortgages are available for consumers?Can you explain HomeStyle loans, Green Choice, and EEM?What are the advantages of “green mortgages” as opposed to conventional mortgages?In this unprecedented time of low interest, can “green mortgage” compete with other products? William Brown contact info: wbrown@financeofamerica.com, 317-371-6127
Chris Stratton and Wen Lee moved into Wen’s childhood home, which was built in 1963. Wen has a background in environmental studies and education, and Chris in building science and architecture. They decided to convert this very typical suburban house into a Net-Zero sustainable house via DIY, which took almost 4 years in total.
This was a house in a suburb of Pasadena with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which looks a like typical suburban ranch style house from the outside. It was a pretty like standard house for this era and it was in fine condition but it wasn’t very energy efficient. There was very little insulation and the air conditioner and furnace were oversized.
Their goals were for Chris to learn about the process of home renovation; to reduce the home's carbon footprint (hopefully to net-zero), make it more efficient, pleasant/interesting, and comfortable; and finally to achieve financial viability in terms of value and also reduced living costs.
See their blog: frugal happy
Home is where we get healed and energized.
Deanne Dalton, a founder/design and project manager for Eco Design and Build Studio. Her purpose is to "Bridge design with a state of well being" She has been designing since she played Barbies as a child. While in college as a nutrition major she fell in love with her Art History class and changed her major to structural design and also received an interior design and landscape design cert. She has been designing homes, small Commercial TI and Landscapes for 37 years. Gardening is a passion of hers and therefore she is very in touch with nature. It wasn't until she was construction manager on homes that she was a witness to the daily waste and trash that our industry produces. It was then that she knew she could only design for the planet and focused on passive design for homes/structures and rain gardens for the landscapes. Outdoor kitchens in California really enhances the quality of our lives and planting a landscape with low maintenance plants with a kitchen garden compliment and softens the hard surfaces.
Some tips and ideas for consideration of wellbeing at home, especially during the pandemic: Kitchen garden: minimum a herb garden to grow food to reconnect with natureOutdoor kitchen with solid coveringsIf you don’t have an outdoor space, have potted plants on windows, or other indoor plants inside to purify airBring mirrors inside to reflect more lightsCreate a meditation space – also consider gardening as a form of meditation
“Looking at what is our furniture made of and understanding the importance of good quality indoor air will ensure that we experience wellbeing in the spaces we live and work in.”
Originally from Paris, Sophie Castro, an interior designer, a LEED Green Associate, studied Interior Design at the Parsons School of Design New York City. She thrives to create well balanced, healthy, and beautiful spaces, committed to eco-friendly and sustainable interior design, considering indoor air quality, energy conservation, and how furniture and furnishings are made of. Here are some take away from the conversation: EPA reports the average American spends 87% of their time indoors - likely more in the time of pandemic. It’s the foremost importance to ensure the indoor air quality. The starting point is to ask “what are things made of?”Whenever you bring new items into your home, leave it outside or in an empty room and keep the windows open for several days.When repainting, make sure to use zero VOC paint.For flooring, consider: FSC Certified wood, reclaimed wood, cork, and Marmoleum; or tiles with post-industrial recycled content.For rugs and carpets: Natural fibers such as wool, cotton, silk, natural grasses with non-toxic backing and adhesives.For counter tops, Vetrazzo (cement or resin mixed with pieces of recycled glass), Paperstone (mixture of recycled paper with non-petroleum base rsin.)Great resources to find sustainably oriented materials: GreenBuildingSupply.com
"We need to radically reconsider what home means, and what’s beautiful and healthy." - Mariam Mojdehi
MAAM, founded by Meredith McDaniel and Mariam Mojdehi, is a collaborative design studio specializing in architecture and interior design. They believe good design is rooted in sustainability and resilience. Taking a pragmatic approach, they look for opportunities to incorporate sustainability into all their work, which might be in systems that you cannot see, insulation, water treatment, etc. as well as finishes. Their work aspires to not only "be less bad" but to actually improve our environment. The idea of “less bad” is an approach to materials and manufacturing that considers more cyclical view as oppose to linear of extraction, manufacture, use, and disposal, which reframes our mindset to look for opportunities to use the waste of one system that would become fuel to another. “Carbon sequestering materials” removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores as either liquid or solid. While there are traditional building materials and techniques that help to sequester carbons, there are many new innovations and technologies: ex. hempcrete, strawbale, cellulose, Blue Planet concrete, CarbonCure.Building industry is doing a good job of improving their products. It is our responsibility as architects to specify products. Once we help them understand what’s at stake for individuals, especially from the health perspective and it is for their own good and for their subs, everybody starts to get more invested and it becomes a win-win situation.
“Planting a native garden has endless upward spiral of benefits to homes, schools, communities and environment.“
Cassy Aoyagi is a LEED accredited practitioner, a board member of the USGBCLA and president of FormLA Landscaping, a full-service design+build and maintenance firm. She believes LA’s authentic, native beauty can save LA - from drought, fire, flooding and slides, all while improving our health and economic resilience. During more than 20 years in business, Cassy’s firm, FormLA has added nearly 1.5 million square feet of authentic, native habitat to Los Angeles, ranging from Tujunga to Playa Del Rey, western Malibu to the San Marina foothills. That involved removing about 200,000 square feet of thirsty lawn – the rough equivalent of 40 football fields or 750 tennis courts!
Cassy offers various observation and practical tips in the topic of sustainable residential landscaping: Current trends in the residential landscapes: Downward spiral effect of having lawn: “Cost savings out of lawn can amount to college tuition after 10 years.”Benefit of planting a native garden.Actionable and simples tips to start:If you don’t have a yard, planting a window garden with something edible or something that attracts butterflies can be a good investment for you, especially for kids to learn.A few tips for fire-prevention.
Norma and Alan Williamson are a husband / wife team who in 2003 renovated their home into an energy efficient solar home. As it generates more energy than it consumes, it is technically a zero energy building. Alan is a certified Building Performance Institute technician and photovoltaic specialist with 20 years of experience. Norma is a retired teacher, environmental project leader, and was named 2020 Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia from Assembly District 58. For several years, from 2004 – 2008, they opened their solar, net zero, energy efficient home to the public for the annual National Solar Tour, sponsored by American Solar Energy Society. On one Saturday, they received 250 visitors, which led them to an invitation to submit an article on their home to Solar Today magazine, which became a cover story. Let’s hear from you for the general audience why “Net Zero Energy”?When you bought your home in 2003, were you already planning to do the net-zero conversion and looked for a property with that in mind?We can see all the details on your website about what you did to transform your home from the ‘60s, but can you please briefly tell us some of the key elements you did in your make-over process?Did you do all the research in deciding the technology to implement, sourcing the materials, vendors and contractors? And how was that process look like?You have been actively promoting this concept of retrofitting existing old homes to net-zero or near-net-zero. Tell me about where you have been presenting and how the audience is responding.I've been trying to promote the idea by trying to reach the builders who are flipping old homes, but I find it hard to convince them from the investment stand point from time and money standpoint. Do you have any suggestion?
Audrey Sato is a licensed architect in the state of California and Principal at Sato Architects, Inc. and has specialized in residential design since 2008 and founded Sato Architects, Inc. in 2010. She is a LEED AP, and is committed to green building design. Growing up in Hawaii, she gained an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the importance of community. Here are some talking points: Her clients appreciate that she is knowledgeable about sustainability, and they want to build a home that’s healthier and better for the environment. They’re not necessarily looking for plaque or label. They do want help with materials that have lesser impact on the environment or what’s most durable.For the sustainable remodel with limited budget, she wanted to make sure to integrate some of the principles and not just look at everything from a cost perspective, and it made sense to spend money on certain features. For example, if you spend more on efficient heating system and insulating the house right up front, there will be a lot of cost savings in a long run. They also spent more money on windows because that would make a huge long-term impact. The use of rapidly renewable products make a big difference in not taking old growth or resources, cork and bamboos were used for flooring.Some challenges when remodeling an old home like this one to make it a “green home” but not break the bank are that contractors may be familiar with new materials that they don’t know how to handle them.With strategy not to dump as much as possible, they salvaged a lot of materials and donated to Habitat for Humanity. You can find Audrey at satoarchitects.com, or @audreysatodesigns on Instagram!
Based on the studies, we’re about 3 years away from gas powered cars leveling off and no longer having growth though they will still be selling. By 2025, a third of all cars will be electric, and by 203, 50% or more will be electric.
David Eagle, founder and CEO of CURRENT EV, is an Emmy Award Winning TV Producer/Director, a Green Technology Entrepreneur and an electric vehicle, solar power/charger expert. David was an early adopter of both EVs and solar power, has owned numerous EVs including one of the first Nissan Leafs sold in the U.S. His home is powered entirely by solar, which charges his electric vehicles with a charger installed in his garage. Through the extensive contacts he has established with Los Angeles automobile dealerships, and via his relationships with various organizations like Plug-In America and the Electric Vehicle Association, David has become an expert on negotiating the best deals for EVs, chargers and solar power. During the 1st year that CURRENT EV’s car-shopping website has been active, he has transacted an impressive number of EV leases and purchases for CURRENT EV customers. How did an Emmy Award Winning TV producer/director turn into an electric vehicle expert?What’s happening on the market?Configuration of his soiar powered lifestye?What are the Incentives for consumers to go green with our choice of low to no emission vehicles? What are landlord required to do when tenants want to install a charger?What is your forecast for the trend in general?
"If you're not taking climate risk into your investment strategy, you're really missing out."
Ben Stapleton is an LA native who brings a creative mind and consultative approach to a wide range of projects with a focus on building teams and designing programs to deliver impactful results. As Executive Director for the U.S. Green Building Council - Los Angeles, his current work is based on coordinating an ecosystem leveraging the built environment as the entry point and connective fabric to help create a more sustainable society for all.
I noticed you have a real estate license and have worked with real estate investors. Assuming it was commercial real estate, but can you briefly tell me about that experience: i.e., what were your roles?Do you have any ideas or suggestions to mitigate some hurdles so that more developers would use green materials because those flippers and developers are the ones that creating a lot of homes in our city, and if we can incentivize them to build green, we will have a great impact. On the personal note, I understand you just moved into a new home. What are the measures you’re implementing in your home to make it more green?
If you live in Southern California, most likely you're eligible for rebate.
Kim O'Cain is the President of O’Cain Consulting, a small, woman-owned consulting firm in Santa Monica, CA providing water conservation planning, public policy and outreach services to public agencies and businesses. Kim has more than 18 years of experience developing and implementing water conservation and efficiency programs and policies, including managing the City of Santa Monica’s water conservation unit. Kim implemented the first landscape rebate program, water neutrality ordinance and sustainable landscape ordinance in California. She taught the Sustainable Landscape Program continuing education courses at Santa Monica College, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at SMC teaching water sustainability courses. Here are the topics we explored: While you were really spearheading the water conservation issues at the institutional level, it comes down to us residents. You implemented the landscape rebate program. Tell us how you got it going, what you had to do to bring awareness of homeowners, and where you think it stands throughout California?Since I met you, we’ve had a few devastating fires in our area. One of our clients in Malibu did lose their home completely in Woosley Fire. While it is a loaded topic, but what do you think we learned from those fires? You work with municipalities to come up with programs around water conservation. Do you have any programs that’s worth mentioning for our audience? Find your local information: www.socalwatersmart.comI share the interest and joy of camping, cooking and traveling with you. At personal level, what are some of the things you do to ensure you are living a greener life?
It's a value proposition both on the cost savings and potential time savings for the overall budget.
PlantPrefab is the nation's first prefabricated design and manufacturing company dedicated to sustainable construction, materials, processes, and operations. It was spun out of LivingHomes, a sustainable design development company responsible for dozens of award-winning prefabricated homes, including the nation's first LEED Platinum-certified home under Amy's direction. Amy Sims is a founding member of LivingHomes and currently the Director of Design for PlantPrefab. Over 10 years of experience in commercial office, sound studios and retail/restaurant design, allowed Amy to develop a core set of skills to apply to the start up of a studio dedicated to prefabricated structures. We explored following topics: Prefab homes are becoming increasingly popular these days. Can you briefly define what “prefab homes” are, and perhaps explain the difference from what’s known as “manufactured homes”?Are most or all “prefab homes” considered “sustainably designed”?Are your customers mostly home owners building new homes for themselves or do you have a sizable business from developers? What are the benefits of building prefab as opposed to the conventional way of building?How does the process look like for PlantPrefab? Do your customers have to know they want to do prefab before they purchase the lot, or can it be an after thought?What is your sense of the future of prefab homes and sustainably designed homes in coming years?
“For a resale value, new buyers are very interested as all those things pay benefit back to the owners.”
Todd M. Lynch, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, is a Principal Project Planner for UCLA Capital Programs, with specialty in sustainable design and construction of new buildings and major remodels, from initial studies through construction and into post-occupancy. Todd has helped many campus projects achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System. He teaches Architecture and Sustainability at UCLA, and a Board member for the USGBC-LA. While Todd is actively involved in sustainable design and building at institutional levels in several professional capacities, he is also a principal architect for a private practice of Sharif Lynch Architecture. Can you briefly explain what LEED AP means for architectural professionals?If a home owner or property owner wants to design a new home, what would be the benefit of hiring LEED AP architects?How would a LEED AP architect design a home differently than architects who don’t have this accreditation?You are quite involved in the sustainable design and building at much larger scales than a single family homes through UCLA, what is your sense for the current trend for green home designs? Do you think it is getting to be more in demand? If so, what is the factors that are making green homes more in demand? If not, why is it?Here’s a question I ask everybody. Do you think designing and building a green home, even if it’s a renovation of an existing house, is necessarily more expensive – not considering the savings through the energy efficiency and reduced medical cost? Reach Todd Lynch at: tlynch@capnet.ucla.edu
Beate Kirmse is a fellow Green Realtor in Palos Verdes, orinally from Germany. After working with architects and contractors as an energy and green building consultant for a few years, she became a Realtor® and got her Green Realtor designation. In addition, she is also a LEED AP Homes, WELL AP, and Certified Passive House Consultant.
Originally, Beate thought about green homes to be how the building should be anyway, saving resources like water and energy, wondering why we had to make it into a label or niche product. In her mind, green building is just knowing how to build a good building. When she and her husband decided to renovate their 1948 ranch style house in Palos Verdes Peninsula, they wanted to use hempcrete, the non-toxic and organic building material made of hemp, and soon learned these good products are still not as understood. Benefits of using hempcrete other than being non-toxic and organic are that it makes great insulation, which keeps the house healthy and comfortable. So for people who are highly sensitive, this is a huge benefit.
Beate is also a certified Passive House Consultant. “Passive” in passive house really means using as little mechanical systems as possible to keep the interior comfortable by focusing on the envelope of the house: i.e., roof, walls, and floors. By following passive house system, you’ll only need a tiny air conditioning or heater to keep the temperature in your home always comfortable and constant. It really cuts down the mechanical and creates a very energy efficient house. If you wrap your house around right, then you have a very comfortable and healthy home. Beate also installed the Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system, which circulates fresh air all day in the house contributing to being healthy home.
Find Beate at KirmseHomes.com.
Rojelio comes with a wide range of qualifications: licensed real estate agent, California Mortgage Loan Originator, City of Los Angeles Power Generation Steam and Turbine Engineer, Certified Refrigeration EPA 608 Universal, Registered home improvement salesperson, AND designated ADU specialist.
Rojelio dissects the little known FHA mortgage, EEM. EEM stands for Energy Efficient Mortgage.
EEM was developed by HUD in the 1980s as a part of FHA loans. It has some unique components that makes it attractive such as it allows 5% over the appraised value and 6% additional allowance for DTI (Debt to Income) ratio, which gives consumers more power to purchase and do the energy efficiency upgrade. Application process is the same as any other home loans except the property needs to be inspected by HERS rater (home energy rating system) before and after. As it is a FHA loan, the down payment required is 3%, besides the FICO score required to get best rate is only 660. The interest rate may be a quarter point higher, however, considering the savings on energy bills, the homeowners will benefit much more in a long run because homeowners in a “leaky homes” are spending a lot of money on the wasted energy.
Unfortunately, EEM is very little known in the industry; however, Rojelio believes that the demand for EEM will certainly keep increasing. In fact, he’s on the crusade to educate the homeowners and home buyers so that they can take advantage and make their homes more energy efficient.
“I truly believe in the power of Energy Efficient Mortgage. We all live in this world and have a shared responsibility to make sure that we start to turn the tide of climate change.”
You can reach Rojelio at 562-263-9950, or Instagram @vvelcome
Rochelle "Sheli" Nilsson currently oversees the risk management department for one of the largest remodeling companies in the nation, Treeium Inc. She has been part of the Green Movement since she was a young girl. Being an avid lover of nature and the ocean she is constantly on the lookout for innovative techniques to help reduce the carbon footprint of the company, the operations and individually. Treeium, was one of the pioneers in eco-friendly remodeling by minimizing the affects of building industry, which is notorious to be a major contributor to our pollution. First they digitized their contracts. Second, they partnered with Tree People to plant a tree for every remodel project they do. They set examples to minimize their affect on the environment from power usage, managing the construction waste, etc. They educate the construction workersabout the effects of chemicals and toxicities the workers and communities can be exposed to through construction process.
From Treeium’s standpoint, there are two aspects of green home: One is energy efficiency, which people are more keen for these days because it affects their wallet; then there’s the “healthy home” aspect, which affects their wellbeing.
Now there’s been a huge shift in the industry where many companies are jumping on the band wagon to offer more eco-friendly materials. Plus the workers are becoming more familiar with green building. As the prices of materials and labor are becoming more competitive, the businesses building green becomes more profitable.
By going green, it affects your health, your wallet and our community. Treeium try to be a pioneer in doing the ethical and right thing to do while being profitable.
Get more information on Treeium at: Treeium.com
Stuart Cooley is Professor of Renewable Energies at Santa Monica College and the lead faculty of the Sustainable Technologies Program, where he teaches courses in solar energy and storage, energy efficiency, lighting, and sustainability.
Meanwhile, he and his wife Dede are about to start a green remodel process of their own home! While targeting for net zero, Dede was influenced by watching HGTV and wanted a more modern home. They started out with using an app to simulate the home design, then hired an architect, Kyle Moss, whom Stuart met on a green home tour in Santa Monica.
Some of the green features to be included are: Changing the hip roof to gable roof to allow more surface area for the PVs; Installing the clear story window to allow natural ventilation and daylighting; LED lighting; and most importantly the more efficient HVAC systems such as “heat recovery ventilation.” And on the water-use end, they will install rain barrels to retain the rain water and use for irrigation of their drought tolerant, mostly native plants landscape.
The higher than expected bids from contractors wasn't because of the desire to be green, but rahter about the concern for the time it takes for permit and to build according to the green design. The cities’ permit offices need to catch up with new and different technologies and be able to answer questions quickly. Contractors and architects also need to become familiar with those newer and slightly different systems such as “quality insulation installation” requiring installation be place with no more gap than a half inch.
If you’re thinking about green rebuild, just start the process!
Stuart can be reached at Santa Monica College, Sustainable Technologies Program: smc.edu/stp.
Nick Brown has over 20 years experience in building materials and a passion for green building acquired from his time in the field observing how homes are built. He holds an Economics degree from Princeton and a Michigan MBA, and is certified to perform energy modeling for California Title 24 compliance. Nick and his wife, Holland, who is also passionate about living sustainably, purchased a home in 2013 in Long Beach for them and two growing daughters and renovated it to be a truly “green” home that they call, “Net Zero Nest”.
Nick and Holland had 2700-sq/ft 4 bedroom house where they started their family in Long Beach. After taking green building classes at Cal State Long Beach, they realized things in their house wasn’t quite efficient or healthy. They took on to find a home that they can turn into a green home. They were determined to demonstrate that you could actually create an efficient, high performing home cost effectively.
He shares the resources and approaches they utilized to accomplish their goal such as finding an architect and contractor; how the contractors were actually learning the process of building green including the cost of this project. Also Nick discusses what he would do differently if he were to do this over again.
Find more about Nick’s house at: NetZeroNest.com
Scott Kelly is a full service General Contrator providing Green home building and home remodeling services, he provides Green Building/Energy Efficiency Advising and Verification Services for "existing" and "new build".
Through Building Science and Energy technology he delivers solutions for Near Net Zero and Net Zero residential building professionals.
Upon getting licensed as a general contractor, Scott went through a program called, “Clean Energy Work Force program” offering a number of certifications in building science and green building. This was a time the energy codes were changing in California in phases culminating to the new ordinance that all new California single family homes will have to be net-zero (ZNE) starting January 2020. California started out with Cal Green Code which entailed recycling the building materials, then the code involving limiting the VOC (volatile organic compounds) that leads to off-gassing in building materials such as paints and glues. Then there’s Title 24 Part 6, which mandates energy efficiency at tighter standard. This involves air sealing, super-insulating, dual pane windows, and sufficient ventilations. Scott focuses on the whole house as a system as building scientist and building analyst, which differentiates his services.
While some consumers start to know more about high performance homes, most contractors are still behind in catching up with the new building codes and technologies available to build more green while some younger contractors may be jazzed to learn more about green building.
Scott offers a package where he would work with the G.C.s to install some of the energy efficiency measures so that G.C. would have exposure and experience to integrate those features in their building process.
Scott can be found on his website: KellyGreen.Build
Jan Green, HomeSmart Elite Group, has been a realtor since 2002. Due to the housing market change, Jan switched her focus to energy efficiency in real estate in 2007, earning both EcoBroker & NAR GREEN designations thereafter.
According to Jan, the interesting paradox about green homes is that you keep hearing more about “green products” but people are interested only when the subject is brought up. Apparantly people do not necessarily think about “green homes” per se. Another paradox is that while Arizona is number one in building energy efficient homes in the country, the general public may not be so keen.
The question of whether the green homes would sell for more and faster is really on the realtors ability to market. Jan has seen cases where the green features are not promoted correctly; therefore, did not benefit in the sales. , it is really the realtors job to understand those features and more importantly the “benefits” to help the buyers recognize the values of green homes.
Jan consults her clients who are investors and/or homeowners to convert old building into “greener” properties without adding much extra costs.
Green homes are becoming more of the norm as many states and municipalities adopt new building codes such as in Califonia’s new code as of 202 requiring all newly built home to be net-zero or net-zero ready. It is even more important for realtors to understand those features and more importantly the “benefits” to help the buyers recognize the values.
Although we still have ways to go, it is certainly a great movement to be a part of!
You can reach Jan Green at: www.gotgreen.com
Mark Buhler is a Certified Residential Appraiser with over 25 years of experience in California. Mark has found a niche in the valuation of resource efficient, ‘green’ homes; which are becoming increasingly common. Mark has recently presented on the valuation of solar and green property at Appraisal Institute conferences and state coalition meetings. Mark is also presenting the ‘Accredited Green Appraiser’ continuing education course for Build It Green, and a new course called, ‘Valuation Resources for Solar Photovoltaic Systems’.
Mark shares that “green appraiser” means that an appraiser is educated in “pillars of green” – which are site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, material selections, and indoor air quality, and is able to identify those elements in the properties that they appraise. He also discusses the different ways that appraisers would verify the green elements such as the rating systems and certifications. There are a number of studies done to discern how the green homes affect the values of properties, which shows of premium of 2~9%. It really comes down to a collaborative effort between the , homeowners, realtors, lenders and appraisers.
Also discussed was the new building code in California as of January 2020 where newly built homes will have to be net-zero and how it may affect the values of homes.
Mark Buhler can be found at https://www.cmpappraisal.com/ or https://appraisesolar.com/
Dav Camras is a staunch environmentalist, started his business, HouseSmart Green Solutions after departing from the non-profit sector in 2008. Today, through House Smart Green Solutions and HERSRaterLA, Dav brings home energy efficiency and resourse conservation to homeowners and businesses across the Los Angeles basin. Through home energy consulting, air balancing and special inspections for heating and air conditioning, Dav works to ensure his clients’ homes and businesses are working as efficiently as possible.
Dav explains what he does as a “home comfort and energy efficiency expert,” a.k.a., “indoor climate designer” per his wife. Unlike most contractors, he offers an unbiased solution for people’s comfort and energy efficiency in their homes. He has the trained and critical eyes to look at the complex systems that makes up a house in a wholistic approach to determine how a house can achieve the optimum comfort and efficiency.
Also as a HERS rater, he inspect homes for energy efficiency. HERS (“Home Energy Rating System”), which evaluate the energy efficiency of a house, throughout the U.S. and Canada.
With some interesting actual stories from his experiences including his own home examples, he illustrates why services like his are extremely helpful to determine the most efficient way to heat and cool a home before installing a new equipment such as solar panels.
Dav Camras can be reached at:
www.housesmartgreensolutions.com/
www.hersraterla.com/
Or you can always reach him at: 818.936.9597
Erica Reiner is the owner - principal of Eco Method Interiors, where her company helps families and businesses through a unique eco-friendly approach to interior design. Through her former career in environmental business and environmental education as well as a lifetime of creating and studying interior design, Erica combined her two passions to create this unique business in 2014.
Since then, Erica has helped clients with their health and happiness through design that goes deeper than aesthetics, across the residential, commercial and short-term rental market using the “Eco Method” way. Erica loves sharing her knowledge and has been featured in Better homes and Gardens, Forbes, Apartment Therapy, Reader's digest and more. Looking forward, Erica is working towards leading the home decor and design industry into a greener, cleaner place.
Eco Method is an approach where eco-friendly, non-toxic, sustainable pieces are incorporated to any design projects based on the style and budget by using pieces and products that are cleaner and greener for the particular projects.
Eco Method can be approached from different askpects. Take a dining table for example, a table would be "sustainable" if it is made out of wood materials that are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, manufactured and shipped from local sources; and would be "clean" if it uses water-based finish and non-toxic adhesives.
If you were to do the interiors yourself, start with looking for things that marketed as "better," "eco-friendly," "cleaner," etc., rather than trying to identify "bad" chemicals.
To access more of Erica's wisdom about eco-friendly interior design, find her on Instagram (@eco.method.interiors)!
Robert Fortunato is the President of ForStrategy Consulting, and Owner/Builder of the Green Idea House in Hermosa Beach. He is a trusted advisor to businesses, developers and non-profits, helping them scale solutions that are less costly and better for our health, lifestyle, economy and the environment.
In 2012 Robert designed and general contracted the multiple award winning Green Idea House, one of the first affordable, net zero energy, zero carbon case study houses built with standard construction materials and off-the-shelf technologies, which I got to photograph and writing about in my blog.
His and his wife’s journey began when his son was born and the family needed more space to their existing home they lived. They took the ideas and inspiration from their travel around the world from what they saw how different cultures managed energy, waster, water and toxicity, and wanted to build their house to be better for health, lifestyle, economy and the environment; hence the genesis of “Green Idea House.”
As an economist, Robert thought, “If we use less water, waster, energy and materials, it should actually cost less to build and manage over time.”
He had to find people who were willing to do things differently; from architect (whom he hired because of his credentials for green building design but in the end fired) to contractors who kept going back to their default process. He understood that most of them were operating on the paradigm that “repetition leads to profitability” while he was trying to do it differently that could save money if they were open to it.
So is it possible to build green to generate profit?
Robert and I have a discussion about how that would be possible.
While energy efficiency alone doesn't make your home all green, it is the most commonly integrated element of "green homes" mostly due to the leading edge of building codes in California requiring higher standard of efficiency.
Yet there are so much information to know what would be the best way to upgrade the energy efficiency of your home, what types of incentives there are, what do the solar panel companies actually offer.
Blake Usilton of CleanNRG gives us an update on what's happening in the state and federal levels for energy efficiency; what can homeowners look for when considering of updating their efficiency.
The SB315 Initiative from 2015 mundates the energy we use in California to be 30% from renewal energy by the end of 2019, 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2045. Homeowners should know there are different programs available to make the energy efficiency upgrade more accessible such as Power Ownership Program ("POA"), Power Purchase Program ("PPA") and various types of leasing programs. With POA, the federal government has an incentive known as ITC ("incentive tax credit") through the end of 2019 where you will get 30% of the cost of purchasing the energy upgrade in the form of tax credit. So this is actually a great time to consider taking that action of getting the energy upgrades done.
Of course, solar panels alone don't constitute the "energy efficiency upgrade" as it also involves replacing light bulbs, installing a programmable thermostat, more efficient insulations and window panes, and having efficient roof.
Blake Usilton's organization CleanNRG helps homeowners to identify which program would apply to their homes by simple research of the property and facilitates the installation if the homeowners decide to move forward.
Contact Blake: blake.usilton@cleannrg.org or 760-689-2818
This is the first episode, and I could not start this podcast without having my green home guru, Marla Esser, as a guest.
Marla is THE green home coach and the author of a book, “Living Green Effortlessly, Simple Choices for a Better Home,” and a host of her own podcast, “Green Gab,” which is how I found her. She inspires and educates about how green practices and homes help people to have safer, healthier, more comfortable homes, whether it’s a few green practices in an existing home or remodel or a whole new green home. Her mission is to empower people to live better lives and be part of the solution for our future by taking action in their own homes.
Marla explains what a green home.
It's not all or nothing. It's something you can do a little bit at a time by making smart choices everytime you do something to your home regardless of the types of homes you live in. Green homes come in every shape, size and forms.
There are 6 categories of green homes - you can take: Place Stuff/ResourcesEnergy Water Breathe/AirEducation/Knowledge Kitchen and bathroom are the rooms that we spend the most time, and are important rooms that most people care about when buying or renting. It makes sense to make these rooms more comfortable and healthier. Marla shares tips to make the kitchen and bathroom "green" from some simple, easy steps to the more extensive work.
You can find Marla on her website, podcast, and most social media platforms.