building codes

On July 17, 2008, California became the first state in the nation to incorporate green building standards into its building codes. The codes, developed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), will be phased in over the next three years.

The standards address the following key issues:

• Energy Efficiency (to be phased in beginning July 2009): The HCD standards require compliance with the California Energy Commission’s Residential Energy Efficiency Standards, which will increase the stringency of existing statewide energy standards by 20 percent. The new standards will make new California homes approximately 50 percent more energy-efficient than homes built to national energy standards.

• Air Quality, Moisture Control & Resource Conservation (to be phased in beginning January 2011): There are 16 features in this category that will become mandatory at the same time as the new 2010 edition of the California Building Code takes effect. Among these features are requirements for low- or no-VOC (volatile organic compound) adhesives, paints and coatings; high-efficiency air conditioning filters to better filter out dust and particulates; and always-on exhaust fans to ensure better fresh air circulation in the home.

• Water Conservation (to be phased in beginning July 2011): The HCD standards require a 20 percent reduction in overall water use within all new homes . While this new water-conserving building code will allow a variety of compliance options, it is anticipated that compliance with this requirement will commonly be met via installation of new super-low flow toilets and showerheads.

Los Angeles and San Francisco have adopted even stricter rules, and the state regulations won't trump these higher standards (this had been a major sticking point in the legislation).

We applaud California for passing this law and hope that other states will follow California's lead.

My husband has been a contractor in California for over 20 years and has built many homes, both ours, and for others. Since he was born and raised in Germany, he has a lot of experience as to how build more efficiently as well as eco friendly. There's a lot of resources on this site and I'm going to take time to research all of it, as we'll be building our first Green Home this year. Hopefully, completely off grid, sewer and water. Any tips and even warnings would be helpful!

Thanks,
JoAnn

Cross-posted from my site. Enjoy.

Well here's a day brightener for me! Unlike chemicals which have TLV's (Threshold Limit Value) guidelines for exposure, mold, being a biological contaminant and something not readily understood at that - regarding mycotoxins, etc. will never be able to be regulated in the same manner as something not "alive". Because we all have unique immune systems, regulating mold from a "numbers" stand-point has simply not been plausible, nor should it be...

Taking the approach seen in the article below, it would seem to be just good old common sense. The majority of the projects I'm personally involved in that have substantial mold issues generally fall into one of three categories: building/design/construction defects, maintenance issues (or lack there of), or catastrophic water events (the minority).

Stop the moisture - stop the mold. It makes sense and cents all around - from a liability standpoint, from a health standpoint, from an investment standpoint.

In my perfect world, I'd also like to see regulation requiring builders to obtain continuing education units as well. One thing at a time... This would definitely be moving in the right direction though.

-Ms. Champion

Science Daily — Amid growing public concern about mold contamination of homes and its associated health effects, a new study is recommending policy approaches for controlling mold in homes that could be used on local and nationwide bases. It is scheduled for publication in the July 15 issue of ACS’ Environmental Science and Technology, a semi-monthly journal.

The study, done by Felicia Wu, Tom Biksey, and Meryl H. Karol compares policies for regulation of mold with those previously developed to regulate two other contaminants in the indoor environment, radon and lead. While federal, state, and local agencies have policies and regulations concerning radon and lead, few state or local policies have been developed for mold and no federal agency has Congressional authority to regulate or develop indoor mold policy, the study points out.

Based on lessons from radon and lead, the researchers recommend policy approaches for controlling indoor mold that rely on building and housing codes, maintenance and rehabilitation regulations, home marketing incentives, and public education on moisture and mold control.

“While it is not yet feasible to develop standards and regulations for acceptable mold levels in the home, guidelines and policies can be developed at the federal, state, and local levels to control moisture and mold in homes,” the report states.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Chemical Society.

http://tinyurl.com/29hw86

Kevin,

I stumbled across your show and the claims made of building green with the home. The partial episode I saw was mostly about the flooring (concrete) and the radiant in-floor heating.

Are you including the enormous amount of energy required to manufacture steel? Not to mention the energy used to mine the ore? Or the fossil fuels burned by the heavy equipment to set the structural steel columns and beams? Your straw bale house is no longer looking so green. I have another question regarding the savings claim in regard to the in-floor radiant heat. I agree on the benefits of the more even temperature dispersion with radiant heat, but ductwork and blowers still need to be installed for the air condtioning system. Good luck convincing today's buyers that the house is so well insulated you don’t need A/C. A good dehumidification system is at least needed in most parts of the country during the summer. So you have the cost and energy consumption of ductwork and blowers for A/C and the cost and energy consumption for the boiler and tubes for the heating system. At least some of these costs are shared with a more conventional system, which I am by no means advocating as the best set up. Just my two cents.

I am curious as to how the show will unfold. I’ll try to catch more episodes.

Jamie