Our Environment, Animal Tips & the Great Outdoors

Above photo is the Orchard Modern project by CB Design / Build

Energy-efficient construction is a term that’s being used with more frequency in the construction world. With drastic changes in weather due to climate change, more builders and contractors are considering ways to make homes more resilient to extreme weather, while mitigating the effects on the environment and trying to keep the price tag low enough that it doesn’t make your wallet cringe. 

What is energy-efficient construction, exactly? The term refers to designing and building structures that minimize energy consumption by incorporating features such as high-quality insulation, efficient windows, optimized building orientation, advanced heating and cooling systems, and renewable energy sources. Incorporating these features allows for a comfortable living space, while also reducing environmental impact and lowering utility bills. 

Reducing energy use with CB Design / Build

For CB Design / Build (formerly Claverack Builders), a custom home designer and builder based in Columbia County, NY, energy-efficient construction is a no-brainer when it comes to new construction. In fact, it’s often quite effective for major renovations on old construction, too. Many of CB Design / Build’s clients are interested in sustainability but are concerned about the costs. “The small increases in material and labor costs easily pay for themselves over the length of a typical mortgage,” explained Jock Winch, one of the co-owners of CB Design / Build. 

“It really comes down to being a good neighbor,” said Andrew Personette, co-owner of CB Design / Build. “As a fourth generation building company, we understand the long-term impact that we have on our community. Building homes with a high level of comfort and low bills is our way to help build a cleaner, greener future for generations to come.”

One of the ways in which CB Design / Build accomplishes energy-efficient construction is through building passive houses. The Passive House is an energy standard that optimizes insulation and air tightness to give the lowest cost approach to minimizing energy consumption. This includes heating, cooling, lighting, appliances, and plug loads. 

“You start with a super insulated, super airtight envelope. Then, you install a clever little air exchanger called an ERV that gives you constant fresh air while maintaining almost all of your interior heat or cool, depending on the season,” Andrew explained. “Finally, it gets paired with incredibly energy-efficient heat pumps that both heat and cool the house.” 

CB Design / Build utilizes all-electric heat pumps that provide both cooling and heating, with lots of flexibility for zoning. “Using this type of pump is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase comfort and reduce bills, all while getting off of fossil fuels,” Jock said. 

They also go beyond code with insulation, which is a cost-effective way to reduce energy demand and is one of CB Design / Build’s staples for new construction and renovation projects. Finally, they also implement triple-pane windows, which are a go-to for new construction and sometimes make sense for renovations if all of the windows are being replaced and there are other improvements to envelope insulation happening at the same time. 

“We find Passive House construction to be one of the most approachable standards for energy-efficient home design,” Andrew shared. “The concept has been around since the 1980s, and the tools and techniques are achievable with careful planning and basic carpentry skills. With regular updates to NYS Energy Code, we are creeping closer to Passive House energy standard being a requirement, but there is really no reason to wait for the code to catch up. And the real beauty of Passive House is that it can look like anything, from totally historic to super modern.” 

Smarter insulation with Nailed It Building 

Nailed It Building, a full service construction business also based in Columbia County, uses multiple methods to ensure that its construction is as energy efficient as possible, including upgrading windows to make them double or triple pane, increasing solar gain by creating more windows that face southward or skylights to absorb solar radiation, and over-insulating to create a higher R-value (R-value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it; the higher the R-value, the better the thermal performance of the insulation). 

Some of the materials that Nailed It Building uses frequently include hardy materials like concrete; Boral, a brand of composite building materials that includes siding, trim, concrete, and quarry materials that are known for their durability and environmental sustainability; and Rockwool insulation, made from basalt rock, recycled slag, and other minerals. 

Fred Kristjansson, the owner and founder of Nailed It Building, notes that there are many insulation options today that are made from relatively environmentally-friendly materials, such as denim, cotton, and wool. He also learns about products from homeowners – a few years ago, he heard about whey floor coating, a new, eco-friendly wood finish made from a byproduct of cheese. 

“Many of these products are more expensive, but not as aggressive on the environment. The cost is higher up front, but it should be cheaper in the long run,” said Fred.  

Nailed It Building endeavors to build as sustainably as possible whenever they can. “There’s so much waste, it’s just the nature of building. Things aren’t designed to fit everywhere, so you have to cut them to fit. We try to waste as little material as possible.” 

Fred believes that the future of energy-efficient construction lies in better window and door quality and higher quality insulation. “Above everything, you need to ensure that you have top-tier installation quality. You can use the best products, but if you don’t install them well, it won’t do you any good.”

Utilizing fireproof materials with Steve Bluestone

When Steve Bluestone, owner of Roe Jan Brewing in Hillsdale, NY, and founder of Passive Dwellings, first became acquainted with the Passive House Institute of US principles during their second annual conference back in 2007, he was immediately hooked. “Seeing their goal of constructing buildings that measurably achieve a minimum of 90% energy savings over conventionally built buildings in the same area hooked me basically for life,” he said. 

During his time working as a developer, builder, general contractor, and property manager, Steve has constructed thousands of dwelling units in housing development and apartment buildings in New York City and its metropolitan area. He also spearheaded his organization’s drive towards building energy-efficient structures that “far exceeded code requirements.”

“We built many apartment buildings following the Passive House principles. One in particular is the largest market rate passive house apartment building in the country – a 16-story, 249-unit building plus thousands of square feet of retail space located in Westchester County.” 

His passion for Passive Houses inspired him to construct his own nearly 10 years ago in Hillsdale. At the foundation level and for the interior walls of the building, Steve used traditional materials including poured concrete and wood-framed walls. For the exterior walls, however, he utilized a little-known type of concrete block system called autoclaved aerated concrete and for the roof, he used structural insulated panels (a prefabricated building panel made of a foam core sandwiched between two structural facings) covered with a standing seam metal roof. 

“Between the fiber cement siding, the metal roofing, and the AAC blocks, our house is about as fireproof as one can get, and it uses 90% less energy than most other houses of its size in this area. Achieving the ‘prize’ of being the first certified ‘passive house’ using this system in the country was nice, but after the recent bout of fires in California and close by in Great Barrington, MA, it really is time to get the word out about this stuff,” Steve stressed. “The AAC block walls are not only airtight, but fireproof, soundproof, and easy to work with. The blocks aren’t damaged by water, mold cannot grow on them, and mice don’t chew through them to live with you all winter long. You get structure, insulation, fireproofing, and air/water barriers all with a single product. To top it all off, AAC is 100% recyclable.”  

He also notes that his home is incredibly resilient. On the occasions that his home has lost power during the winter months, he noted that the house only lost one or two degrees of temperature per day. “That’s a comforting feeling. I know that I would do a couple of things differently now after living in the house for the past 10 years. For instance, more of the materials would be recyclable than they currently are. Everyday I learn more, and that keeps me going.” 

Indeed, energy-efficient construction is something near and dear to Steve’s heart, and he believes that there needs to be more awareness around using more environmentally-friendly materials to build homes. 

“Until we can figure out how to get to and survive on other planets/moons, we only have one Earth. If we cannot stop polluting it, life here won’t be sustained,” he said. “I started focusing on energy efficiency when we experienced oil embargoes in the 1970s. We realized back then that there were other ways to build and live that didn’t require us to waste so many natural resources. That’s when I got hooked on sustainability. I would say saving energy is the mission statement for my life.” 

In his desire to raise awareness for the cause, Steve cited a statement from the National Association of Home Builders, in which the organization claimed that the average lifespan of a wood framed home is between 30 to 35 years. 

“In many parts of the world, folks build houses that will last multiple generations. We have always had an overabundance of inexpensive lumber to build with, so we tend to build what I refer to as ‘temporary homes.’ The majority of new homes in most of the world are built using AAC. Folks in the USA barely know the product exists,” he explained. “My preference is to build longer-lasting structures that will provide much more comfortable interior environments, and often can be done so at little to no extra cost over regular ‘temporary’ homes.” 

To learn more about CB Design / Build, visit its website cbdesignbuild.us or to learn more about Nailed It Building, visit its website naileditbuilding.com. For more information about Steve Bluestone and Passive Dwellings, visit its website passivedwellings.com.