The “National Green Building Standard”, available thru BuildersBooks.com, provides ‘green’ practice that can be incorporated into multifamily and single-family new home construction, home remodeling and additions and site development.

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The standard covers lot design, resource, energy and water efficiency, indoor environment quality, and owner education.

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Currently the first and only ANSI-approved green building rating system, the National Green Building Standard is the benchmark for green homes.

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To view or purchase this publication online, click here

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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on July 6 effectively shut down Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs, which it said “present significant safety and soundness concerns,” and it directedFannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks to take a number of steps to resolve problems with the first liens that are established by PACE loans.

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PACE programs have been embraced by the Obama Administration and state and local municipalities as a means to finance the upfront costs of energy-efficient retrofits for residential and commercial properties. The programs enable the costs for these upgrades to be repaid through a special assessment added to the home owner’s property tax bill. The assessment stays with the property and is transferred to subsequent owners until the retrofit costs are repaid.

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Under the programs, property owners borrow the money from their local government and repay the loans over 15 to 20 years. Funding comes from municipal PACE bonds that are sold to investors.

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PACE loans have run afoul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines because most establish liens that are senior to existing mortgage debt. In the case of a default, the municipality would be repaid for the PACE loan before Fannie and Freddie received any money on the mortgage.

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Some 22 states and hundreds of local governments have been developing PACE programs, with more than $100 million in federal support.

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First publicly raising concerns about the programs in a letter dated June 18, 2009, the FHFA has been working with states and localities since that time to resolve the issue through improved underwriting of the loans and most importantly to get them to accept a junior lien position, which for the most part they have been unwilling to do.

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On May 5, Fannie and Freddie issued letters to their seller/servicers cautioning them to be aware of PACE programs in their jurisdictions and reminding them that programs with liens superior to the mortgage run counter to their Uniform Security Instruments, which govern securities backed by Fannie and Freddie loan purchases.

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The letters did not provide guidance on how to handle existing PACE loans, putting a chill on existing PACE programs until further guidance was provided.

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In its July 6 statement, the FHFA said that it was directing Fannie and Freddie to waive their Uniform Security Instrument prohibitions against PACE loans with a priority first lien that were obtained by home owners before that date.

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The agency also said that Fannie and Freddie should protect their safe and sound operations by undertaking several actions to address PACE programs with first liens.

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This includes adjusting loan-to-value ratios to reflect the maximum permissible PACE loan amount available to borrowers. This varies by jurisdiction, but is typically 10% to 20% of the property value and can be as much as $50,000.

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Fannie and Freddie were also told to ensure that loan covenants require approval/consent for any PACE loan; to tighten borrower debt-to-income ratios to account for additional obligations associated with possible future PACE loans; and to ensure that mortgages on properties in a jurisdiction offering PACE programs satisfy all applicable federal and state lending regulations and guidance.

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It is not yet clear how Fannie and Freddie will implement this directive, but they are expected to come out with guidance for their seller/servicers. They could require that borrowers seek permission from lenders on each lien. They could also tighten lending standards for all borrowers in jurisdictions that have PACE programs.

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Significantly, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation also released statements on PACE bonds echoing the FHFA’s concerns and advising banks that invest in mortgage-backed securities with PACE liens to consider the impact of the lien on the security valuation.

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NAHB has been monitoring developments on this issue, but has formulated no policy on PACE programs. Several home builders associations have expressed interest in these programs, particularly in California and Colorado.

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For more information, e-mail Chellie Hamecs at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8425.

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The City of Santa Monica is hosting a free training session on how to properly install insulation.

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Mark Madison, certified HERS rater, will show you how to install insulation correctly in order to comply with the Title-24 HERS QII (Quality Insulation Installation)

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Santa Monica is considering a requirement that all low-rise residential projects have a HERS verified QII inspection.

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If you are an insulation contractor this is a great opportunity to bring your entire crew to an actual construction site and get hands on training on how to comply with the strict QII requirements.

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If you are an architect or general contractor this will provide a useful education on what to look for and expect from your insulation contractor on your next project.

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Click here to register

1. The Pearl River Tower 2. Solar roof panels 3. Power-generating wind turbines 4. Capturing heat from the sunBy Brian Dumaine, assistant managing editorFebruary 23, 2010: 10:15 AM ET

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(Fortune Magazine) — The Holy Grail of modern architecture is to design a zero-energy building, or ZEB.

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ZEBs use solar, wind, and geothermal systems to produce at least as much energy as they tap from the grid. In some cases, a building’s owner can sell the excess electricity generated by the structure back to its utility, reducing overall demand for power generated by coal and other greenhouse-gas-emitting plants.

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Yet ask any architect and you’ll get an earful on the design challenges of ZEBs. (Skyscrapers don’t have much roof space for solar panels, for example.) In fact, there are only eight nonresidential ZEBs in the U.S. — all of them tiny.

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That didn’t deter Chicago-based architecture firm SOM from trying. It designed the Pearl River Tower, a 71-story skyscraper in Guangzhou, China, that will open this fall.

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China National Tobacco, the owner, wanted a ZEB for its energy cost savings (Pearl River will be 58% more energy efficient than conventional skyscrapers) and the green cred.

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SOM did run into some obstacles. For one, the building was meant to have a geothermal system, but the site didn’t generate enough warm ground water for it to work. Even so, when the building is fully operational, says SOM, it will be the world’s most efficient skyscraper.

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What Gives the Tower Power

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Keeping cool. Tall buildings use most of their energy trying to keep their inhabitants cool. Even in cold climes, towers run their AC systems most days of the year to counteract the heat from lighting, computers, and workers.

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Solar panels on Pearl River’s roof (see image No. 2, above) provide power to perforated metal window blinds that automatically track the sun and open and close to minimize solar heat.

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Tapping free fuel. Pearl River isn’t the first tower to sport electricity-generating wind turbines. What’s unique is that its helical turbines (image No. 3), which are inside four openings on the skyscraper’s face, will generate power in relatively mild winds from multiple directions.

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The turbines, tested in winds as high as 140 mph, will generate up to 4% of the building’s power.

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Beauty is skin deep. The exterior walls of Pearl River hide an eight-inch air gap inside them (image No. 4). When the sun beats through the double-glazed outer skin, the heat — instead of entering the interior — is trapped in this cavity and then rises to heat exchangers on the equipment floors. This, with other features, lets the building use an AC system that is 80% smaller than those in conventional skyscrapers. 

Great interview with Paul Goldberger, who writes about architectural design for the New Yorker magazine.

Click here to listen

Want to get a first hand glimpse of a net-zero energy home that generates all its necessary power from renewable energy? You may get a chance if you live in one of the areas that the Living Zero Home Tour is traveling through. Starting just a week ago in Chicago, the Living Zero Home Tour is showcasing a net-zero energy home featuring energy efficient appliances and building technologies. The home will continue to travel through November so you can experience and see for yourself how energy efficient technologies are integrated and how they can easily lower monthly utility bills as well as your reduce environmental impact.

A number of sponsors have gotten together to build and promote the house including, All American Homes, Planet Green, GE, Engenuity Systems, State Water Heaters, Wyndham Hotel Group and Insignia Electronics by Best Buy. They have built a Zero Energy Home (ZEH), which has been designed and constructed to produce more energy than it consumes on an annual basis. Typically ZEHs are grid-connected and feed power into the grid when it is producing more energy than it is consuming. Contrariwise, the home takes from the grid when it needs more power than it can make. But over a year’s time, the home will produce more energy than it consumes.

This particular home generates all of its power from photovoltaic panels on the roof made by GE Brilliance Solar Power. Only with the help of all the other energy efficient technologies and appliances can the home be net zero though. The modular home was built in a factory to minimize construction waste and also includes a Smart Living System that monitors energy as well as other systems to help alert the homeowner to any potential problems like a leak, clogged filters, excessive energy use, or malfunctions.

All the kitchen and home appliances are Energy Star Rated and supplied by GE. The counters are by EcoTop Counter Surfaces and are made of FSC certified fibers made of a 50/50 blend of bamboo. All the electronics were provided by Insignia, which is the exclusive brand from Best Buy and are Energy Star Rated. Windows and doors are high performance fiberglass made by Pella and Therma-Tru. Other energy efficient products include Icynene foam insulation, Sea Gull Compact Flourescent Lighting, Solatube Daylighting Systems, and a Comfort-Aire Heat Pump. Hot water heating is provided by a tankless and on demand State Water Heater, along with water efficient faucets and shower heads by Delta. And lastly the home was painted with Sherwin Williams zero VOCs Harmony line of paint.

The tour will travel through 16 cities in the United States and concludes in Denver, CO in late November. Click here for exact cities and dates. Let us know if you get a chance to see it as it travels the country. Also if you go visit the home on it’s tour, you enter the Living Zero Home Tour Sweepstakes for you chance to win a 42? Insignia flat screen LCD Energy Star Rated Television, a GE Energy Star Rated Refrigerator or a GE Profile Energy Star Rated Dishwasher.

October 9-11th, Fontana Auto Club Speedway:

All parking at Auto Club Speedway is FREE.  Every vehicle entering the property on NASCAR Sundays must have a color-coded parking pass that corresponds with a designated access gate.  Parking gates open approximately one (1) hour before the admission gates. Parking permits are assigned at the time of ticket purchase and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
	Auto Club Speedway 9300 Cherry Avenue Fontana, CA 92335
Download Map .pdf version

September 30, 2009

California Accelerates its Pursuit of Clean Energy

The nation’s first commercial solar power tower is located in California, in part because of the state’s aggressive renewable energy mandates. Credit: eSolar

California’s commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency got two major boosts recently. For renewable energy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order on September 15, requiring the state’s utilities to get a third of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. The state currently has a 20% renewable power requirement by 2010 for investor-owned utilities only, but the executive order extends and increases that mandate, while also expanding it to include public power utilities and other electricity providers. The governor’s directive calls for the California Air Resources Board to adopt new regulations to implement the renewable mandate by July 31, 2010. Three years ago, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a bill to achieve a 25% cut in statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and the new renewable energy requirement will help to meet that goal. See the governor’s press release.

While making a substantial commitment to renewable energy, the state has also launched the largest investment in energy efficiency ever made by a state., On September 24, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a $3.1 billion slate of ratepayer-supported energy efficiency programs for 2010-2012. The effort will be administered by California’s investor-owned utilities, including Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas and Electric Company, and the Southern California Gas Company. One benefit cited by CPUC is the launching of the nation’s largest home retrofit program. Under the California Statewide Program for Residential Energy Efficiency, the state aims to achieve a 20% energy savings for up to 130,000 homes over a three-year span.

The CPUC will also provide $175 million to encourage the construction of net zero energy homes and commercial buildings. That portion of the funding will help with design assistance, incentives for new buildings that exceed the state’s energy code, and research and demonstration of new energy technologies. In addition, the CPUC program sets aside $260 million in funds for 64 cities, counties, and regional agencies, targeting retrofits of public buildings as well as leading-edge energy efficiency opportunities. See the CPUC press release and the related fact sheet (PDF 30 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

The Make It Right Foundation will unveil a house Tuesday in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward, which was largely wiped away by floodwaters after Hurricane Katrina. The house is different from others in the neighborhood that were rebuilt after the hurricane: It floats.

The house is the brainchild of Morphosis Architects and its founder, Thom Mayne, winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize.

“We rethought the idea of a house in terms of the potential conditions of the flooding that took place in Katrina,” Mayne tells Melissa Block.

He says the designers gave the building a chassis, made it out of polystyrene foam and covered it with glass-reinforced concrete.

“What does that do? It produces a raft; it floats,” Mayne says. “And it’s thought about as a seat belt. I mean, hopefully it never gets used. But when it gets used, it’s important.”

The house is anchored to the ground by two vertical guideposts. At times of flooding, the house moves up the guideposts — up to 12 feet — to prevent it from drifting.

Although there has been no opportunity to test the house in real flood conditions, Mayne says, he worked with structural engineers to develop the prototype.

“We did extensive computer simulations, and we modeled this house for hurricane flooding conditions” similar to Katrina and its aftermath, he says.

Mayne says that when he built the house for the Make It Right Foundation, he wanted a structure that both blended in and could handle severe floodwaters.

“It was a really interesting problem,” he says. “How do you keep a sense of community and the continuity of the neighborhood, and at the same time deal with this very extreme condition of the flooding?”

Listen to the story on NPR

• EnvironmentLA – The City’s official site for information about projects and programs that are making Los Angeles more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power – LADWP offers environmental Green LA programs, including Trees for a Green LA, Energy Efficiency for a Green LA, Solar Energy for a Green LA, Electric Vehicles for a Green LA, Green Power for a Green LA, Recycling for a Green LA and Educational Services for a Green LA.
• Green LA Action Plan – The City’s official plan to improve energy conservation, transition to renewable power sources, and change the ways citizens commute to work and school.
• US Green Building Council-LA – A resource for agencies, municipalities, professionals and companies interested in sustainable, green buildings.
• Building a Green Los Angeles - A plan for reducing the environmental impact of buildings.
• Southern California Gas Company: Energy Efficiency – Tips and tools to help you save energy, save money and help the environment.
• your daily thread – A hub for all things green, sustainable and local in L.A.
• GoToGreenLA.com – Find green events taking place in and around Los Angeles.
• Search the California database of approved electronic waste collectors and recyclers