MARKETING GREENIESThis is a featured page

MARKETING GREENIES TO THE A & E'S, BUILDING OFFICIALS, BANKS, APPRAISERS, LANDLORDS AND HOUSEHOLDERS


While in San Diego, I tried to get a green business up and running, that of Alpine Hydronics, which would offer installation of a complete radiant floor heating system, an air-to-air heat exchanger with a HEPA filter which distributed fresh air via 2" PVC pipe, and an AC system which used individual room fan-driven evaporators.
The business never got off the ground: Why? Here's why:
  • The boiler was a waste oil fired unit from Econo Heat and would have cost $4,000 to $6,000.

  • HVAC contractors would offer cheap Day & Night units for as low as $1750. Of course these units would fail after one year and require "expensive" repairs, which made money for the HVAC contractors. A Service Master franchisee in Oceanside had 28 trucks and crews, only two of which did original installations and 26 were making repairs. That tells you a lot about how really bad the original equipment is designed and built.

  • It's not all that cold in San Diego

  • Energy was still cheap as opposed to capital equipment costs.

  • The architects and engineers would just as soon spec a cheap unit as an expensive one, especially those working for large subdivision contractors and spec builders -- pass the problems onto the buyers and pocket the profits.
  • There were no green A & E's, except I found one who was from Germany, but begged off working with me because I was not a source of instant cash flow.

  • There was no public policy favoring green building.

  • The codes and building officials could care less if the building was green, brown or black. I followed the "prescriptive" method in complying with Chapter 24, the CA energy code. I could spec and install a standard HVAC system -- off the shelf-- as an owner builder. BUT had I spec'd the radiant system, I would have had to submit plans signed by a licensed mechanical engineer. So, there was a strong prejudice against new systems in the minds of the County Building Inspection and Permitting Dept.

  • I designed a 3000 sq. ft. house, 900 sq.ft garage and a 640 sq. ft. apartment. I built the garage and granny flat. I had designed and spec'd the radiant system described above. The appraiser for the loan refused to assign any extra value for my system, saying that there is no reflection of value in the market place, meaning that there no comparable sales of the same type of home, with and without the radiant system. Since the boiler was fueled by used motor oil, at least that should have been considered.

  • Because the banks rely on the appraiser, they would not loan extra money on the green energy system.

  • The public was uneducated and would not pay extra for green energy.

So much for green building energy systems in San Diego in the mid-1990's.


I am continuing to build my wikiwebsite, "Straw Bale Builders" at: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com. Please "join" and add your comments and put a link to your website in the "Links" page. http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/USEFUL+LINKS

You might interested in reading my conversations with Charlie Thomlinson, Mayor of Corvallis: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/CODE+%26+REGULATORY+BARRIERS.
My Skype number is: jimmiller5417. Call me anytime as I have my computer on most of the time, or my landline: 541-757-9797 .
I am trying to get a good handle on Oregon building codes for straw bale housing. My efforts with the City of Corvallis is naught. See my correspondence at: http://strawbalebuilders.wetpaint.com/page/CODE+%26+REGULATORY+BARRIERS

Would anyone be willing to work with me on an Oregon state-wide basis to recruit all of the straw bale builders and other green contractors and A & E's to develop a set of "prescriptive" designs for typical straw bale housing? I have some good examples adopted by other jurisdictions which we could probably lobbying the Oregon state building code. The objective is to make the code as green as possible, with many pre-approved alternative systems as we can verify.

We, the green builders, need to engage all members of the building chain in greening our designs and construction materials. For starters, we can cross-link our respective websites. The entry pont for this Wikiweb is USEFUL LINKS. Also found on the TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Best regards,
Jim Miller

Remember this: we do not inherit the earth from our parents; we borrow it from our children.

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SHOWS, SEMINARS, CONFERENCES, COURSES AND WEBSITES

Solar For Real Estate Professionals, September 24, San Jose, CA
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/events/view?id=45543


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