Two interesting and seemingly contradictory records marked this year's Green Build 2008 conference, the annual gathering of the US Green Building Council. First, the Boston-based event drew an unprecedented 28,224 attendees, 25 percent more than last year, including representatives from all 50 states and 85 countries.

The other, more dubious record was set in the financial markets, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid more than 37 percent and the S&P markets closed at lows not seen in 11 years.

How has the green building movement seen so much growth in the face of such financial calamity? The answer was proudly exhibited by the 807 companies that filled the 145,000 square feet of trade show floor space.

At first glance, one might have taken the multitude of products and services on display to be a hodgepodge of price-indifferent means of saving the planet at any cost. A closer look, however, revealed a number of companies offering solutions that offer significant cost savings. And by the way, they're good for the environment.

While some estimate that the demand for "green at any price" to be 5 or 10% of the market, the reality for the green building industry is that in light of the current financial and economic climate, waving the green flag will only be sustainable though a vigorous and clear cost saving emphasis.

This fundamental approach, of "going green by saving green" was embraced by a variety of manufacturers who showcased energy efficiency and conservation products. I visited with key players in the lighting, plumbing and solar industries to learn more about their efforts.

Saving Money with the Lights On

Dimming the lights is an easy way to lower energy costs and extend bulb life. The idea is that people who have dimmers available will lower the lighting levels to save money and create an enhanced lighting mood. In practice, this doesn't always pan out, as people often choose not to use the dimming feature.

Enter EcoDim, a new line of dimmer products from Coopersburg-based Lutron Electronics. When these dimmers are set to 100 percent power, they actually restrict the flow of electricity to 85 percent of full power levels, according to Lutron Electronics principal application engineer Ian Rowbottom. However, the genius of the EcoDim series of dimmers is that you can turn the lights on at full blast, and you're still saving 15% on your energy bill.

How about the visual effect? Company studies indicate that lighting levels can be reduced up to 15% without any noticeable change for room occupants, according to Rowbottom.

This "no brainer" feature is a huge advantage, not just because of the cost savings, but more importantly because of the subtle, psychological benefit of conserving energy without feeling that you've given something up. It's like the tiny plastic shower stopper that restricts the flow of water. The shower head is the same, but your water consumption goes down. You don't see it or think about it, and eventually, you forget it's even there. The EcoDim product line achieves this same important goal - savings without sacrifice.

Let's take a closer look at the numbers. According to the energy calculator on the Lutron.com website, if you had just 8 75-watt incandescent bulbs running for 8 hours per day, you would save $206.73 over five years. This calculation assumes a 10.4 cents per kilowatt hour energy cost, along with a 1,500-hour bulb life and $1.75 bulb replacement cost. Given a street price of $15 to $20 for the dimmer, the project makes sense if you're handy enough to do the installation yourself, or if you can hire an electrician to amortize the installation cost across multiple outlets in your home or business.

Of course, if you're looking for a surefire way to reduce your consumption without any electrical reconfiguration hassle, you could simply replace your 75 watt bulbs with 60 watt bulbs and wham-o, you've achieved a 20% savings. However, the dimmer solution provides some intangible benefits. "The dimmer lets you create mood lighting in the dining room, improve TV viewing in family room and provide night time navigation in the bathroom," Rowbottom says.

The Rush to Flush and Save Dollars

Moving down the hall to the Sloan Valve Company booth, I met Don Yurkovich, central regional sales manager, who introduced me to the High Efficiency Toilet (HET) series of products. The idea behind toilet efficiency is also fairly intuitive. If you can use less water to flush the toilet, you can save money on your water and sewer bills.

Since companies pay to both acquire and dispose of water, any conservation in the bathroom can provide a double dose of savings. Most commercially installed toilet fixtures use 1.6 gallons per flush (gpf), though the industry is migrating towards a 1.28 gpf standard. If you already have 1.6 gpf units installed, the best path to cost savings is to adapt the valves and modify the water consumption, rather then replace the entire toilet unit.

How do you modify the amount of water per flush? "An upgraded dual flush electronic or manual flushometer can reduce your water consumption by 30%," Yurkovich says. These dual flush units, common in airports, are becoming more mainstream in commercial facilities. They have the bright green flush handle with the image of one drop of water on the upper side and a corresponding image with three water drops on the bottom side. The idea here is that different water flows are released for different activities.

A flush for liquid waste (pulling up on the handle) provides 1.1 gallons per flush, while pushing down for solid waste releases a full 1.6 gallons. In theory, the solid waste function (pushing down on the handle) does not provide any water savings compared to a standard valve. However, each liquid waste flush saves a half gallon of water.

In a typical commercial environment, most men's restrooms already contain urinals which consume less water (or perhaps none at all if a waterless urinal is installed). The dual flush concept may have the most potential in women's restrooms since the same toilet is used for both bathroom activities. In other words, a dual flush toilet provides "urinal like" water savings in the women's restroom for liquid waste activities.

Let's again review the numbers by considering a hypothetical women's restroom in a commercial building. Assuming a configuration of 4 toilets, 75 women and 260 work days per year, one could approximate 1.5 gallons would be saved each work day for each woman (based on 3 liquid waste activities per day). This would net 29,250 gallons saved each year.

How much money would that save? The answer depends on what part of the country you live in. In my hometown of San Diego, commercial water costs around $2.606 per hundred cubic feet (HCF) and $3.49 per HCF for commercial waste water fees. Together, the cost for bathroom water usage is $6.096 per HCF. If you figure that each HCF equals 748.05 gallons of water, then the cost per gallon of water is actually $0.008149. Therefore, the 29,250 gallons of water savings in our hypothetical example would actually result in $238.36 in savings each year.

How about the cost of the dual flush valve? According to Yurkovich, the list price of the WES111 Uppercut Dual-Flush Flushometer (a fancy way of saying "toilet handle") is $196.65, while the Royal111 single-flush manual alternative has a list price of $175.50. If you're installing restrooms in new construction, the $21 incremental price is an obvious value, but even in an existing facility, the cost to replace perfectly functioning valves is well worth the savings you'll enjoy in water cost reductions.

In our example with 4 toilets, the hardware cost would be around $786.60 (4 toilets times $196.65 each). For labor costs, assuming it takes a $90/hour plumber about 2 hours plus $100 trip charge to replace the valves, the total cost would be $1,066.60 ($786.60 hardware, plus $280 labor). The $1,066.60 investment would pay for itself in just under four and a half years.

"With simple upgrades on existing fixtures, building owners can enjoy significant cost savings," Yurkovich adds.

Saving Money with Sunshine

For residential deployments with an appetite for a slightly longer payback period, all eyes turned to the Envision Solar booth, where Pam Stevens, chief operating officer, reminded me that going solar can be done cost effectively in clever and relatively smaller form factors.

"We are not a panel manufacturer," Stevens says. "We are architects who design and build innovative structures that integrate solar power." Envision Solar, the La Jolla, California based firm founded by sustainable architects Robert Noble, A.I.A., LEED AP, who is Envision's CEO and Bill Adelson, A.I.A., M.B.A. who is Envision's CTO, earned its stripes with a novel "Solar Grove(TM)" concept that can be used to cover and shade parking lots. According to Noble, "Envision Solar was the first to create branded photovoltaic experiences, starting with its award winning design for the Kyocera Solar Grove(TM)."

At Green Build, Stevens shows me the LifeSystems(TM) product line, designed for residential environments. The LifeShade(TM) model appears to be a perfect fit for the backyard as a patio cover.

The LifeShade measures 12' by 13'6" and is made with Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood. The panel configuration includes eight modules, each producing 170 watts for a total power rating of 1.36 kW DC. This may seem small, but in a residential environment where peak load shaving provides the greatest payback, the lower power production level may actually make the most sense because it offsets your most expensive electricity.

With a $15,400 price point and approximately $1,000 in installation labor costs, the LifeShade is competitively priced with other non-solar patio covering alternatives. The difference with Envision Solar is that your attractive patio structure not only provides shade -- it actually produces power and pays for itself. Can any of your other patio furniture make that claim?

Another elegant feature of the LifeShade is the use of a micro inverter which allows the unit to be connected to the house at any power outlet, as long as that panel breaker is sized appropriately. This means that you don't have to run separate cables to the fuse box for your solar power, resulting in a more simplified installation process.

Assuming that you get an average of eight hours of useful sunlight each day and your panels produce 80% of the rated power output, you can expect the LifeShade system to deliver 3,177 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. Over a 25-year lifetime, this will produce 79.425 megawatt hours (MWh) of power. Given a system price of $11,480 ($16,400 less a 30% federal tax rebate of $4,920), the cost for LifeShade to produce power is around 14.5 cents per kWh. If you live in a city where your peak usage rate exceeds this number, the LifeShade might be a way for you to save money on your electric bill and add an attractive feature to your residence.

"Consumers are looking for ways to save money, Stevens says. "With LifeShade, you can decrease you electric bill and increase your curb appeal."

Saving the Planet, One Dollar at a Time

Reducing energy consumption, water consumption and generating solar power are all ways to lower your carbon footprint and help save the planet. Increasingly, these methods are providing significant opportunities for cost savings and protecting the pocketbook. As a result, the target audience for waving the green flag can extend into the mainstream and embrace even the most wasteful consumers who are just in it to save a few bucks.

The reality for the Green Building industry is that survival depends on finding ways for consumers and companies to save money. It's great to recycle glass bottles into elegant and upscale countertops, and it's laudable to offer fashionable and trendy reclaimed wood flooring products in an eco-friendly manner. However, if the price premium for such products exceeds anything but a tiny percentage over eco-unfriendly alternatives, their ability to penetrate the market is extremely limited.

The successful companies in this economic environment will be the ones who create pioneering new products that are designed to save people money. Their challenge will be to offer value to a mainstream audience outside of Green Build attendees, while still making profits and remaining themselves, a sustainable enterprise.

Comments:

Copyright © 2002-2006, CyberTech, Inc. - All rights reserved.