Committee Recommendations (details can be found in the main document)

Click here for full report

Recommendation I Recommendation I addresses energy goals only. In general, the recommendation requires that all residential new construction be 30% more energy efficient than existing code (2006 IECC). The committee unanimously agreed energy reduction was the priority and requiring mandatory action was necessary for any effective and measurable outcomes to occur. Requiring mandatory energy performance, utilizing the Home Energy Rating System (HERS), versus mandatory prescriptive methods was considered the most flexible, fair, integrative and cost-effective method to implement a mandatory program. Research indicates home size is the most significant indicator of energy consumption. Regardless of the code prescribed insulation levels and air barriers, larger homes are less efficient in terms of actual surface-to-volume ratios, effective u-values, and envelope infiltration, as compared with smaller, simpler designs. Therefore the committee is recommending performance levels are dependent on home size.

The existing building stock offers the largest and most-cost effective opportunities to decrease energy consumption. Because the majority of buildings in the county were created prior the implementation of the energy code and new construction is significantly more energy efficient than existing building stock the committee prioritized improving the energy efficiency of the existing building stock. To address this priority, additions larger than 300 sq.ft. shall be required Final 7to improve the performance of their home by 30 HERS point or 30%, up to a 70 HERS index score. Renovation or remodels larger than 300 sq.ft. shall be required to conduct a certified energy audit prior to building permit issuance.

Heated drives, pools and spa use energy at a rate significantly higher than buildings and put considerable strain on energy infrastructure. To address large exterior energy consumption the committee recommends an Energy Mitigation Program (EMP) for heated drives and large spas and pools. The EMP requires 50% of carbon based BTUs to be off-set through renewables or in-lieu fees.

Recommendation II

Recommendation II addresses energy goals through the performance based program outlined in Recommendation I and the water, material resources, site, and indoor air quality (IAQ) goals through the inclusion of a BuildSmart Checklist. The checklist is essentially an avenue to educate builders on green building practices and provides an affordable means to distinguish and reward green building efforts. Voluntary implementation of 75% of the checklist allows a home to become a “BuildSmart” home. Within the checklist are a select few mandatory items for all new construction. Each year, the committee recommends incremental and phased inclusion of previous voluntary items to be mandatory.

Recommendation III

Recommendation III address all strategic areas of green building; energy, water, site selection, material resources, IAQ, and innovation goals through the adoption of national recognized green building program that would be mandatory for all new construction and the adoption of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program for additions and renovations to existing homes. The programs for new construction envisioned in this recommendation are the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Green Building Standard certification. Each of the national programs have several levels of certification. The committee recommends various levels of certification which is dependent on home size. The Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program is a tiered system that targets a 30% energy reduction for all remodels or additions larger. Tier-one improvements are mandatory while tier-two improvements are voluntary actions outlined to reach the 30% target. The Home Performance program would be mandatory for all remodels or additions larger than 300’ sq.ft..

This recommendation can stand-alone or be offered as an option to builders/homeowners instead of meeting the requirements of recommendation I or II. The committee suggests that this be adopted as an option rather than as a stand-alone proposition.

The committee also has general recommendations that will facilitate good and efficient building practices such as submittals of mechanical designs prior to building permit issuance and providing building department energy performance expertise and outreach.

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 297

Warning: getimagesize(http://cooper.lunarbreeze.com//%7Eercsv0/images/stories/cflbulb_33ae594a23875196f1f79ccce2fdd5ed.png) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 297

Warning: Division by zero in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 202

Warning: Division by zero in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 216

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 375

Warning: getimagesize(http://cooper.lunarbreeze.com//%7Eercsv0/images/stories/cflbulb_33ae594a23875196f1f79ccce2fdd5ed.png) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 375

The Christmas Day blackout was blamed on a "perfect storm" of ice, cold temperatures and high power consumption.  While there's not much that can be done about the weather, at least one group is seeking ways to reduce energy use.

A group of local governments and nonprofits just landed the largest Office of Energy Resources competitive grant made for energy efficiency.

This week the Idaho OER announced that our region won a $700,000 grant to dramatically reduce energy use, spark local job creation and reduce our carbon footprint.  These funds are part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is being overseen by the state's Office of Energy Resources and will leverage approximately $800,000 in additional funds from the partners.

 

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 297

Warning: getimagesize(http://solarb.msfc.nasa.gov//images/science/impacts/powerline.jpg) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 297

Warning: Division by zero in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 202

Warning: Division by zero in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 216

Warning: getimagesize() [function.getimagesize]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 375

Warning: getimagesize(http://solarb.msfc.nasa.gov//images/science/impacts/powerline.jpg) [function.getimagesize]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /home/ercsv0/public_html/components/com_customproperties/helper.php on line 375

Idaho Power gave a presentation last month on their energy efficiency efforts in the valley. Here's what they presented (click Read More to see presentation):

3rd Draft - December 23, 2009

Residential Program - NEW CONSTRUCTION:

All new construction projects, excluding LEED (with # energy and # water points (state how many points or what level of certification), are required to comply with the following sections. The exemptions listed above must show their intent to meet the requirements at the building permit review stage and receive final certification under the applicable program, prior to receiving a certificate of occupancy.  (Need to determine if any additional programs would be suitable for an exemption.)

Meeting Minutes BuildSmart Technical Advisory committee

January 27, 2010  Old County Courthouse   5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Present: Brain Poster, Alan Richardson, Hermie Havvic, Matt Holland, Seth Westbrook, Mark Goodman, Tim Carter, Alan Stark, Pete Schwartz, Bruce Tidwell, Shana Sweitzer

Old Business:

1. Brian Bennet makes a Motion to adopt January 6, 2010 meeting minutes. Alan Richardson seconds.  Unanimous vote to adopt the January 6, 2010 meeting minutes.

Meeting Minutes BuildSmart Technical Advisory committee

January 6, 2010  Old County Courthouse  5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Present: David Lister, Joe Marx, Tim Carter, Brian Poster, Pete Schwartz, Don Nurge, Bruce Tidwell, Tom Harned, Rick Stark, Shana Sweitzer, Seth Westbrook

Bruce Tidwell makes motion to adopt minutes from December 16th meeting. Brian Poster seconds the motion. Unanimous vote to adopt minutes. Discuss Hailey Green Building and Development Committee presentation to BSTAC on January 20, 2010.

The ERC partnered with 7 local governments to craft a proposal to strengthen energy conservation efforts throughout the region.  Here's what was reported in the Idaho Mountain Express on January 15, 2010.

<a href="/images/pic.jpg" rel="lyteshow[gallery]" align="top"> <img class="boxed" src="/images/thumb.jpg" alt="Description" /></a>

Meeting Minutes BuildSmart Technical Advisory committee

January 6, 2010  Old County Courthouse  5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Present: David Lister, Joe Marx, Tim Carter, Brian Poster, Pete Schwartz, Don Nurge, Bruce Tidwell, Tom Harned, Rick Stark, Shana Sweitzer, Seth Westbrook

Bruce Tidwell makes motion to adopt minutes from December 16th meeting. Brian Poster seconds the motion. Unanimous vote to adopt minutes.

Meeting Minutes:  BuildSmart Technical Advisory Committee

December 16, 2009   5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Old Business

Review meeting minutes. In reality, we are looking at simple payback not ROI. ROI compares investment between two or more possibilities. MOTION: Rick Stark moves to adopt minutes from December 2nd and December 9th meeting with amended changes. Brain Bennet seconds. Meetings moved to first and third Wednesday of every month and expand meeting time to 1 ½ hrs.

New Business

1. Review Rick Stark's Proposal for Additions and HERS requirements.

Comments:

Simple and easy to understand Meets the 30% goal. Seems fair and equitable Need to have a bottom HERS threshold for existing structure. Don't want to punish the guy who built a 60 HERS home two years ago and now wants to add on an additional garage and needs to get his existing sq ft a 30% improvement. 70 may be an appropriate threshold considering that is where is 30% improvement above IECC. What about the guy who is building a garage on? Would he need to improve the existing house? If the goal is to improve existing structures an "exception" does not seems appropriate.

Rick will take comments and bring another proposal forward.

2. Tom  Harned HERS Q&A session:

Energy Audit's;

Energy Audits do not require use of a program, but HERS does. No national standard; varies types of energy audits. Some audits are walk through only while other audits conduct blow door, duct blaster, thermal photography to identify specific problems of the structure. Specific to the needs or concerns of each specific home i.e. cold rooms or drafts Identifies health concerns associated with tightening the BE. Looks at simple payback, does equations by hand Looks at safety and backdrafting

HERS

Utilizes a software program to project performance for new construction and existing construction. Also involves a performance tests to ensure performance projections occur. HERS raters are certified by a national organization. Quality assurance. Code of ethics. Requires three months of coursework and field practicals. Looks at the overall performance of the structure, does not look at one aspect of the structure such a BE tightness or mechanical efficiency. Looks at simple payback, does equations via the software program. Also applies the simple payback as a function of overall performance, while audit assess payback per specific improvement. HERS takes into consideration the local climate and number of heating days in your local Provides a comparison between homes while an audit just looks at how to improve the energy efficiency of the existing home. RESNET looks at energy only while Building Performance Institute looks at health and safety. Provides a projection HERS score based on plans and a confirmed HERS score based on a blower door and duct blaster test.

Does HERS take into consideration snow load building?

Yes,  it can take into consideration extra mass and bridging. HERS gives an R value for everything in a wall. Looks R-value wall by wall, that is why a larger house with many corners can take longer and cost more than smaller simpler designed homes.

Does air conditioning affect HERS score?

Yes, if you don't have air conditioning then your home performs better, consequently giving you a better HERS score if you did have air conditioning.

Does the type of radiant heating get brought into calculations?

No, HERS looks at the source of heat for floor, not the implementation or design.

HERS has a simplified and detailed program.

The simplified has less detail on the mechanical and solar aspects.

HERS provides various types of reports for the homeowner or contractor to make informed decisions, not just a HERS number.  Creation of some reports take additional time by the HERS rating and consequently may cost additional beyond the actual HERS rating.

Examples of reports are as follows:

"Performance Summary", "Emissions Report", Component Loads, Component Design, Air Leakage Report, Economic Summary, Performance Summary

HERS will identify rebates available for various improvements. The rater will have to be aware of these to apply them.

Mechanical equipment and BE are large focuses in the HERS program.

Comments:

Having a County building inspector familiar with HERS and building science will provide additional guidance to builder and help ensure HERS score and suggested energy improvements are fair and consistent.

Can HERs rater be familiar with project to provide suggestions to improve the HERS score by just looking at the plans?

Brian Bennet, YES.

Once the contractors and architects get familiar with HERS they will see "points" when they remodel or create new construction. Improvements are not hidden.

Next Meeting January 6, 2010

Summary and Comparison of Various Options for Additions and HERS:

RS Option:

Requires a HERS for the entire structure, new and existing sq ft, based on the following Existing structure; 30% improvement to current HERS rating. Addition; new sq ft meets new construction HERS requirements based on the amount of sq ft being added. Additions that involve a 50% sq ft increase will be required to meet the new construction HERS sliding scale for the entire home. Two HERS scores are required, one is pre-permit for the existing structure, the second a post-construction performance HERS rating.

Example A: 4000 sq ft home with a pre-addition HERS rating of 200. 800 sq ft addition requires a 70 HERS (per new construction sliding scale). The post-addition home will be required to meet a 128.3 HERS rating for the entire structure.

((4000)(HERS 140)) + (((800)(HERS(70)) = 4800 X

616,000/4800 = 128 HERS for the entire structure

AR Option: Two possible paths to compliance.

Path I

Additions; the new sq ft would be required to meet a HERS rating based on the entire sq ft, per the new construction sliding scale. Existing Structure: no improvement to existing structure.

Example A: 4000 sq ft home applies for a 800 sq ft addition. Per the new construction sliding HERS scale a 4800 sq ft home is required to meet a 58.5 HERS. The sq ft for the new addition will be required to meet a 58.5 HERS rating. No improvements will be required for the existing home.

Path II

Requires a HERS for the entire structure, new and existing sq ft, based on the following formula and the new construction sliding HERS sliding scale; ((HERS Rating for the new sq ft) X (.20)) + ((HERS rating for the existing sq ft) X (.80)) = HERS rating for the entire structure One HERS rating will be required post-construction.

Example A - 4000 sq ft home applies for an 800 sq ft addition;

((80 X 62.5 HERS) + (70 HERS X .20)) = 64 HERS for the entire structure.

Boulder Option: Uses a separate sliding scale based on existing size of the structure and % of structure which is being renovated or % of increase to the existing footprint. Boulder County is currently in the process of replacing this process.

Example A - 4000 sq ft home applies for a 800 sq ft addition. Entire structure must meet an 80 HERS

A presentation to Blaine County's Board of Commissioners and the City of Hailey's Mayor and Council.

Presented by David Neiger, Populus Sustainable Design Consulting, Boulder CO. This is the entire presentation that he have before the County Commissioners and the City Council members.

greenbldghailey

Attending:  Craig Barry; David Hanks; Jen Smith; Shana Sweitzer; Mariel Platt; Tom Blanchard; Jeff Kreyssig; Neil Morrow

Attending: Colleen Daly, Eric Adams; Jen Smith; Shana Sweitzer; Tom Blanchard; Becky Stokes; Craig Barry

Update on the current partners

Efforts will be made to reach out the cities of Carey; Fairfield and Stanley

Attending: Neil ; Diana; Shana; Mariel; Tom; Becky; Angenie; Eric; Craig

OER Update

The recently released RFP was reviewed along with the potential projects.

There was discussion about the Revolving Loan Fund or, more accurately called a Property Assessed Clean Energy program (PACE) and whether this was an eligible activity or not.  Initially we were told it is NOT but subsequently it appears that OER is shifting its position on this and will be amending the RFP accordingly.

 

Attending: Shana Sweitzer; Eric Adams; Neil Morrow; Tom Blanchard; Craig Barry; Kathleen Turner; Becky Stokes; Elizabeth Jeffrey; Mariel Platt; Angenie McCleary Update on EECBG subgrant program

Deadlines:  Open Nov 2; Webinar Nov 10; Deadline Dec 15.

Couldn't make the talk on how the proposed school levy will benefit our school district? Well here's the detailed presentation that all the various costs and benefits that are being proposed: [issuu viewmode=presentation layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml showflipbtn=true documentid=091016160026-9cb9980573f143178a93c5a3f3543b40 docname=101509_blaine_county_sd_levy_support_slideshow username=ercsv loadinginfotext=School%20Levy's%20Eco-Benefits width=420 height=315 unit=px] co-hosted by the Blaine County Education Foundation andthe Environmental Resource Center Thursday, October 15, 6 pmCommunity Campus, Room 301-302

The Environmental Resource Center has been working with the Blaine County School District to help them "green up" their practices for a number of years now. The District has an Environmental Practices Committee to implement "green" initiatives and help advise the District and School Board. In part this levy initiative has grown from both this committee's efforts and the Strategic Planning efforts that the District launched in 2009.

The ERC has been involved with all these efforts over the years and has been greatly encouraged at the positive steps that the School District is now taking to address energy efficiency, sustainability and how these issues-of-a-generation will be addressed within the curriculum.

Come learn about the potential environmental impact of the proposed school district plant facility levy. A national leader in helping businesses and communities become more energy efficient, McKinstry will provide details of the energy audit completed for the district, articulating the cost savings, the plans for each building, and the potential for leveraging community dollars with federal grant opportunities

Learn how over 800,000 square feet of public space in over 8 different schools could be impacted by the levy and how $120 million in infrastructure would be maintained for long-term use through environmentally sustainable improvements.

These proposed changes will help the School District save $300,000 to over $500,000 each year for over a decade, better enable them to direct these savings into student-focused programs, significantly help reduce the District's carbon footprint and provide a wonderful teaching opportunity on sustainability for students.

This meeting is unique to other levy presentations due to the time devoted to the environmental impact of the proposed facility improvements.

For more information go to www.blaineschools.org.

October 12th The Integrated Design Process

Using Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) to obtain greater Energy Efficiency

Presented and Facilitated by David Neiger - Populus Sustainable Design Consulting,

Boulder CO

Community Campus - Room 301/302

Presentation 5:30-6:30PM (open to all)

Energy Modeling Charrette 6:30-8:30PM

(limited space available for non AIA members, RSVP 788-9815 x24)

*3 CEUs will be available to attending AIA members

(Professionals involved in the design and building industry are encouraged to attend)

 

October 13, 2009 Creating a Green Building Program

A presentation to Blaine County's Board of Commissioners and the City of Hailey's Mayor and Council

Presented by David Neiger -

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting, Boulder CO

Boulder City and Boulder County, CO's experience with adopting and implementing a green building program.

5:30-7:00pm

Hailey City Hall - Council Chambers

THE PUBLIC IS ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND!

The City of Ketchum and Ketchum's Community Development Corporation have written letters of support for an Idaho Power "Smart Grid Implementation" proposal.  Smart grid technologies can help reduce the community's energy consumption and overall carbon footprint.

Ketchum Smart Grid Letter of Support (1.59 MB 2009-08-17 10:06:54)

Idaho Power's got a new program that can turn your energy-sucking clunker fridge/freezer into $30 bucks of cool cash for summer fun. And the best part is that they'll even pick it up for you!

Did you know that older refrigerator or freezer can run up your utility bill by an average of $100 a year.

Here's what the Idaho Power website says...

With See Ya Later Refrigerator, Idaho Power will pay you $30 to remove your old unit. Our program partner, JACO Environmental, will pick up the unit for free from your home. Up to 95 percent of components are reused or recycled, keeping them out of the landfill and the environment.

Who Is Eligible?See Ya Later Refrigerator is offered to Idaho Power residential customers. The refrigerator or stand alone freezer must be in working condition and must be plugged in at time of pickup.Based on inside measurements, units a minimum of 10 cubic feet and maximum of 30 cubic feet qualify. Please make sure the unit is empty at time of pickup and designate a clear access path.