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General News: Energy Efficiency at Home
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| Simon Gruber organized the conference. |
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| This light bulb can save you money. |
November 14, 2008
Learning about green building was on the minds of more than 200 people who crowded into the 4th Annual Conference on Green Building and Energy at the Inn at Central Valley on Wednesday. The builders, lawyers, bankers, and product manufacturers had all come to hear speakers talk about how to make existing buildings more energy efficient and how to build new ones that take advantage of renewable resources.
The conference was organized by Simon Gruber, an environmental consultant with the Hudson Valley Regional Council who lives in Cornwall-on-Hudson, and by the Orange County Citizens Foundation, which is headed by Nancy Proyect, who lives in Cornwall.
In his opening remarks, Simon Gruber told the crowd that affordable housing can be green efficient housing, too. He pointed out that the production of recycled building materials and the emphasis on energy efficient practices creates new job opportunities for tradespeople and product manufacturers. “It’s a win-win situation,” Gruber said. “You create jobs while saving money and reducing the cost of living.”
One of the avenues of energy efficiency promoted at the conference was the energy audit. New York State has set up a program that encourages individual homeowners and owners of multi-family and commercial buildings to have an energy audit by certified inspectors that will determine where heat and other energy is leaking out, show the cost of eliminating the leaks, then determine how long it will take to pay back the cost of improvements through a savings in energy costs.
The simple chart that a homeowner receives at the end of energy audit lays out the options for each energy-saving step. Solutions could range from adding insulation to pipes and windows to changing light bulbs. Homeowners who participate in the state energy audit program may also apply for low-interest loans and receive certain state and federal tax credits and incentives. A description of the program is available by clicking here.
Jody Smits Anderson of the Dormitory Agency of New York spoke about the health impact of green building. She said that many materials used in building construction and interiors contain chemicals that can be bad for your health and can be costly over time.
Anderson gave an example of choosing between carpet or durable flooring in a house. Not only does the carpet contain chemicals, she said, but a durable floor is more sustainable because the maintenance of the carpet over time will make it a more expensive choice in the end.
Anderson also pointed out that a simple choice of paint colors could impact your energy bill because reflective paints allow for fewer lights, which in turn means that less heat is generated in a room and cooling costs in the summer can be lowered.
Other speakers addressed how building materials interact with energy, like the metal frames that conduct cold inside a home. Ways to lower water usage in the bathroom or to reduce electricity usage by appliances that are needlessly plugged in were also highlighted at the conference.
What became clear to the participants during the day-long session is the growing availability of programs and practices that can reduce energy costs and carbon emissions and cut costs for people in their homes.
The conference organizers offered several online resources for more information. Here are some of the sites:
www.getenergysmart.org The website of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. You will find energy-saving tips as well as descriptions of all the programs for:
* Owners of Existing Homes
* Buyers of New Homes
* Low-Income Homeowners and Renters
* Renters
* Owners and Managers of Existing Multifamily Buildings
* Developers and Owners of Multifamily Buildings
* Teachers & Students
* Shoppers interested in Energy Efficient Products
www.dsireusa.org A searchable website with information about financial incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy in homes and buildings.
www.scpartnership.com/pdfs/Green%20Building%20Products%20Directory.pdf A Green Building materials and Products Directory for the Hudson Valley Region.
www.sustainablehv.org A regional organization devoted to dealing with the climate, energy and economic crises in ways that brings people together, improve quality of life and create a more vibrant local economy.
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