Marketing Genius - An Energy Efficiency Post

Two weeks ago, my co-hort at work attended an energy efficiency marketing conference and came back with this among the many other great tidbits. The link is to Heatballs!! That's right folks...HEAT BALLS!!! You know you want 'em, you know you need 'em. Coming up in 2012 incandescent light bulbs over 60 watts will no longer be available for sale. The reason for the change is to put a limit on how inefficient a light bulb (lamp) can be. This is also the death of the fat tube T12 fluorescent lamps.

This company and the genius behind it decided to see how they could get around the new efficacy rules and I believe they will succeed. Hey, if the Eden Pure, which is a light bulb in a box can sell for hundreds of dollars, why not Heat Balls!?! They are, after all, 95% efficient. The 5% being lost in light!!

Where did he go?

Hey everyone,

I thought it's about time I explain why the posts have fallen completely off. As you know, I had and still have a large list of things to accomplish here at "the ranch". In addition to that, because of my love for energy efficiency and the environment, I'm part of a group that is in the process of starting a non-profit education network. My job on the board is Secretary and a good portion of my free time is being spent disseminating information to the board and our members as we grow our network. By the way, the name of the network is the Mid Columbia Energy and Environmental Network (MCEEN). I'm thinking this endeavor is going to take the majority of my energies for the next several months, at least. We have a very affluent team to get the organization started. We plan on the network to be a "go to" place for information on all energy and environmental education, both residential and non-residential. Our event planner, Tracy Roberts who owns Tri-City Events, is helping put together a website, forum and blog for MCEEN. When it is up and running, be sure to check it out. It should prove to be a great resource for information.

The Green Shop - Trusses and Heating Systems

So you've figured out how you're going to build the shop. If you're like me, you decided to do it yourself and probably went with traditional (in the U.S.) stick framing. Hopefully, you will choose a better alternative than fiberglass batt insulation. If not, remember to go crazy with the caulk and foam, and be extremely anal in doing a "perfect" installation of the batts.

Now for the truss system. This one is easy. It's gonna cost a little extra, but go with what is called a raised heel or energy truss. If you use a traditional truss, you do have a way to do a "better" job of getting the insulation all the way to the edge of the eave, but it will cost more than if you had originally purchased the energy truss. Three years ago, when I started my shop, I didn't know about energy trusses and therefore took the more expensive route. When it came time to spray the foam in my wall cavities, I hung the sheet rock on the ceiling at the eaves and had them also spray eighteen inch in. That is the approximate distance in from the eave I had to go before I could get an R49 (15 inches) of blown in cellulose.

If you opted to build on a slab and plan on a traditional (again, only in the U.S.) heating and cooling system. Think seriously about a conditioned attic. The idea is very similar to what I discussed in "Slab or Crawl Space". You would place the insulation against the roof, not the ceiling and you will not be installing vents. See "Slab or Crawl Space" also for how heat moves.

I installed a traditional HVAC system. I've since learned about ductless heat pumps and plan on installing a multi-split system in my house. I currently heat with propane and, like all fossil fuels, the cost has been rising dramatically and I believe will continue to only go up in price. The system I'm planning on installing will pay for itself in less than five years. That is my house. My shop is another story. Because it is so energy efficient, I'll be holding off until the price of propane goes up another $2.00 or more. In both cases I will be keeping my existing units in place as back up. While these ductless heat pumps are very efficient, they do have a threshold for how cold the air can be and still be able to have heat extracted.

If I was building my shop today, I would install a single or double unit ductless heat pump and have, as back up, a couple electric resistance wall units or a few portable units. We rarely get very much below zero and don't stay there for long.

I hope The Green Shop posts have been helpful to those of you who are building, or have built, a shop. If you are planning on building a house, most of what I've written about also applies. Get your contractors and sub-contractors involved, and on board early on, if you plan on building a highly efficient green house. Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. If I don't know, I know people who do. Also, make sure to check with your local utility to see if they offer free, or low cost, household inspections. There are a few very lost cost measures anyone can do to their house and get a good return on the investment.

P.S. For photos of my shop, check out the Flickr widget in the right hand column.

The Green Shop - Planning ( Slab or Crawl)

Let's go back a minute to the question of slab vs. crawl space. I'm going to get into what is known in my profession as "lost opportunities". If you're going with a slab floor, your "lost opportunity" is getting it insulated correctly, because you can never go back and install it later. In the past the practice has been to make a bed, normally crushed rock, compacted with a vibrator. You might have a contractor that will waterproof the foundation below grade and maybe even install extruded poly-type foam down the side of the foundation walls. I would urge you to also install "blue board", which has an R - value of about 5 per inch under the entire slab. Use at least two inches. This is done to break the thermal coupling between the slab and the ground.

Now would be a good place to explain the three different ways heat travels from hot to cold. I know you've always been taught that heat rises. Hot air rises, heat moves to cold. It does so by conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction is how heat travels when object are in contact with one another. Convective heat transfer is through air movement (hot air rises and displaces cold air, which then has to move down). This is what causes tornadoes. So, you can see that it is a very powerful force. The last is, of course, radiation. Everyone has experienced the warmth from the sun. That is the heat of the sun (a very hot object) moving toward our planet and us (much cooler objects), which then absorb the radiation and become heated.

By creating a thermal break between the concrete and the ground, you will enable the concrete to better stabilize at the temperature you want to keep the shop, say 75 degrees. If you do not break the thermal coupling, the concrete will alway try to reach equilibrium with the temperature of the ground, which in my area is about 55 degrees. That cooled concrete would then radiate into the shop and cause you to use more energy to keep it up to 75 degrees, than had you installed insulation.

Now if you are choosing a crawl space, some of the same rules apply. There are new ideas about how to treat a crawl space. Since (if I remember correctly) the 1940s, building officials and contractors have been required to vent crawl spaces. The homeowner was to close the vents in the winter to prevent pipes from freezing and help stop heat loss through the floors, then open the vents in the summer to "dry out" the space. Time has shown this methodology to be completely flawed.
Especially in the humid areas of the U.S., opening the vents when the heating season was over has let warm, moist air get into our crawl spaces, creating mold problems and wood rot. Search "conditioned crawl spaces" and you can turn up way too many web pages on the subject. Just be sure to do your homework on the subject. Many of those pages are posted by someone wanting to sell you something. For information, stick to those that are for information only. Here are a few sites. Building Science.com, U.S. DOE, Pacific NW Labs & Advanced Energy.

Now, I live in a desert and moisture just isn't ever a problem. The reason for a conditioned crawlspace here is specifically to help prevent heat loss. Usually if you have heat, air conditioning, and a crawl, your duct work is run in the crawl space. Even if you insulate your duct work, a conditioned crawl space makes sense. The heat inside your ducts usually is anywhere between 87 to 105 degrees, in the heating season. If you condition your crawl space, the winter temperatures (with out heating the crawl) will be around 55 to 60 degrees. If the crawl isn't conditioned that can fall to the forties or below, even with the vents closed. The bigger difference between the temperature inside the ducts and the temperature outside, the more force behind the movement of heat.

I think this post is long enough. Let me know if I'm giving too much information or if you'd like me to cover other specific subjects, instead of the whole process of building a energy efficient shop. My next Green Shop post will cover the envelope.

The Green Shop

As many of you know, I've just finished building my shop. It had been three years, in April, since I started the process. Now, I've always been somewhat of a "green" nut, but about two years ago I started getting education for the field of energy efficiency. As far as a job goes, I've hit the lottery. I get to help people become energy efficient, or at least educate people on cost effective efficiency measures they can implement in the residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.

What does this have to do with my shop? Well, as I said, I started getting educated about two years ago. The shop building started three years ago. I missed the opportunity to make better decisions at the beginning of my shop build. As I make the "Shop Building Posts", hopefully, those that are contemplating building a shop will learn from my mistakes and from what has been successful in the building of my shop. I'll try to make the posts in the order of the building decisions you'll have to make. Also, because I'm posting and not writing a book, I won't be going into great detail. If you are building or having problems with the bills or comfort of your existing shop, and would like some advice, feel free to contact me by email or leave your questions in the comments field.