By Mary Ellen Ternes
Survivors of Snowklahoma 2011, can we talk about better insulation and energy-efficient construction? I thought I had insulated windows, but maybe not: my northwest-facing, double-paned “insulated” window let a small but definite drift of snow form inside the glass during the worst of the 60 mph arctic blasts. My son said, “Mom, I think the window was open!” Nope. It was locked.
And while the snow melted pretty quickly in the warm days following the second big winter blast, we shouldn’t forget where we felt the cold drafts in our homes. In the summer days to come, this is where the heat will intrude as well. One way to get a handle on this now is to take OG&E up on its offer of a $50 home energy audit. OG&E will check your attic insulation, home air leakage sealing, wall insulation, windows, lighting efficiency, duct repair and sealing and heating and cooling efficiency. We can save a lot of money on utility bills simply by closing up some gaps, keeping up with our home maintenance and using energy more efficiently.
Going through this exercise, it’s easy to see why energy-efficient home and commercial building construction is becoming more popular. Most people now understand that “green” building doesn’t refer to color, and while few might be able to expand the acronym, LEED (Leadership in Energy Environmental Design) construction is now widely recognized as a new way to construct efficient buildings.
Actually, LEED and the ideas behind it, including those adopted by Energy Star and other efficiency programs, really aren’t new anymore. LEED was introduced by the Green Building Council in 1998, and has become more popularly accepted and implemented ever since. The goal of LEED is to provide a verifiable method of demonstrating that a building, or even a community, was designed and built using strategies to save energy and water, reduce pollution, improve indoor air quality and environment and reduce impacts on our resources.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), buildings in the United States are responsible for 40 percent of nationwide energy consumption, 13 percent of water consumption and 39 percent of carbon dioxide pollution emissions, meaning that there’s a lot of opportunity for green buildings to make an impact in reducing energy and water consumption and avoiding pollution. The USGBC believes greater building efficiency can meet the majority (85 percent) of future U.S. energy demands, and that a national commitment to green building may generate 2.5 million American jobs.
But for those making the decision to build a green, LEED or Energy Star building, the most persuasive aspect of an approach utilizing efficient construction is the rate of return on the investment. Initially, LEED was perceived as an expensive investment with limited return. But now, with greater availability of and competitive pricing among sustainable products and construction materials, more LEED professionals and service providers are available to assist and the initial investment in LEED is lower. As energy costs rise, the return is greater. The USGBC estimates that, on average, an initial investment of 2 percent results in ultimate savings of 20 percent. Also, much like the high resale values for hybrid vehicles, resale values for energy-efficient buildings can be 10 percent higher per square foot than conventional buildings. LEED buildings’ rental rates can exceed $11 per square foot over conventional buildings, and they have over 4 percent greater occupancy.
How is Oklahoma incorporating LEED designs? There have been several widely publicized LEED building projects in Oklahoma City – for example, Block 42 is an amazing urban housing community, Oklahoma City Educare is a beautiful new school… and then there is the incredible downtown Devon Energy Corporation headquarters project (registered, with certification intended). But there’s much more. In 2008, our Oklahoma legislature adopted laws providing for energy and environmental standards for construction, renovation and maintenance of public buildings. In 2009, it created the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC), which adopted new residential building codes. And while OUBCC has not yet adopted LEED standards or the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) energy efficiency requirements, it will consider IECC 2009 next year, with plans for Oklahoma to adopt and implement that code by 2017.
The Oklahoma Sustainability Network wants to help, and has initiated a project called “Bring It Home” to assist municipalities with efforts to incorporate green building standards into municipal building codes. Specifically, the network is partnering with municipalities in adopting green building code standards through adoption of the International Energy Construction Code. Project Leader Jim Roth says, “We Oklahomans are a resourceful people and we understand energy and the environment. The hope of the Bring It Home project is to assist cities with adopting energy-efficient building codes so that home buyers will know they are getting a home that will truly save their families’ hard-earned money.”
That’s what I want to do: save my hard-earned money! With an OG&E energy audit, and maybe a few LEED residential retrofit options, we might all save some money and won’t be thinking our windows or doors are open when they’re really not. We might just be ready for Snowklahoma 2012!
Be Informed
Mary Ellen Ternes, Esq. is a former chemical engineer from both the EPA and industry. She is currently a shareholder with McAfee & Taft and co-chair of its Renewable and Sustainable Energy Industry Group, and is serving a three-year term as City of Nichols Hills Environment, Health and Sustainability Commissioner.
This article was published in the April 2011 issue of Slice Magazine. It is reproduced with permission from the publisher. © 2011 Southwestern Publishing.