Green Building

It seems that the Albuquerque Metro Area is becoming more aware of Green building concepts. There have been several high end home builders which have incorporated Green builiding techniques for many years. Artistic Homes, a track home builder, has been incorporating a few concepts such as using a high efficiency boiler to heat homes for several years. Now Artistic is getting into Zero energy homes with solar panels to generate electricity for some of their new homes. There is a new home builder of lower cost homes on the West side of Albuquerque building almost Zero energy homes (without solar panels). They are Paul Allen Homes.

When I was a member of the Northwest Washington Building Inspector Association, we would have vendors come speak at our meetings. One of those meetings, a company who sold and promoted isocyanurate spray on insulation spoke. This past week, while listening to a presentation from paul Allen Homes, I found that they are using the same concept insulating homes. This is the most efficient and cost effective method in insulating homes to date.

If you think about the concept, where is the greatest amount of heat loss in a home? Through the penetrations in the walls and roof. Where is the greatest amount of condensation? On the inside surface of the walls,ceiling and floor insulation (in the Albuquerque Metro area, there are few crawlspaces since most homes are built on concrete slabs). In spraying an expanding foam insulation on the inside surface of sheathings and by insulating the outer perimeters of concrete slabs below frost line, you thereby reduce heat loss/gain and prevent condensation which ruins the R-Factor of fiberglass and cellulose insulations (which have been used primarilly since the changes in codes across the country since the '70's).

I am excited to become involved with this innovative builder in saving customers utility costs as well as selling them homes which may garner tax credits and rebates from the State of NM, the Federal Government as well as Public Service Company of New Mexico. Here are some links for websites to search more information on Going Green.

http://www.cleanenergynm.org/
http://www.usgbc.org/
http://www.buildgreennm.com/
www.pnm.com/rebates
http://www.albuquerquegreen.com/
http://www.housingnm.org/