Promoting sustainable shelter in Alaska
From The Tundra Drums, Wednesday, February 17, 2010:
Houses in Quinhagak battered by decades of fierce wet winds might soon be replaced by a new model that hearkens back to traditional Native sod houses.
At a meeting last week, village leaders in the Southwest Alaska community accepted a preliminary plan for an energy-efficient home that could be a prototype for other houses in the village.
Click here to read the full story.
From The Associated Press, Friday, February 19, 2010:
The attorney general and researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage are attributing high gasoline and heating fuel costs in rural Alaska to market conditions.
Two independent investigations say small scale distribution over great distances in challenging locations appears to be the main culprit in rural-urban price disparities. The attorney found no illegal activity.
Republican Rep. Jay Ramras is one of several legislators looking at the issue. The Fairbanks Republican has held several hearings on the topic in his Judiciary Committee.
From Alaska Dispatch, Thursday, February 11, 2010:
In terms of punctuation marks, Railbelt natural gas supplies are a bit of question mark, and fuel prices in the Bush are a big exclamation point. So, it’s safe to assume Alaska’s electricity producers and consumers would appreciate a little stability. At least one company wants to transform Alaska’s geothermal resource into a reliable source of electricity, and is hoping for a way around an oddball state law that taxes hot water pulled from state land.
Click here to read the full story.
From MSN.com Real Estate:
Everybody wants to find ways to save money around the house — but who can afford to break the bank on pricey improvements just to save a few dollars, right?
Wrong. These days there are plenty of small home improvements you can make that pay for themselves (or nearly so).
We’ve asked the experts to tell us some of their favorites. Flip through these, then get busy … and watch the dollars and cents start adding up.
Click here to read more.
From The Associated Press, Wednesday, January 27, 2010:
A proposal by Gov. Sean Parnell to suspend Alaska’s motor fuels tax may undermine federal transportation funding, U.S. Rep. Don Young said Tuesday.
In a statement, the Republican lawmaker commended Parnell, also a Republican, for trying to relieve Alaskans’ “pain at the pump.” But he added: “By suspending the state gas tax, the challenge will be greater in convincing other members that Congress should continue its investment in Alaska’s infrastructure.”
Click here to read the full story.
From Alaska Dispatch, Sunday, January 17, 2010:
An Anchorage lawmaker says he’ll file a bill offering middle class homeowners — strapped for cash and still reeling from high energy costs — a back door into energy efficiency upgrades.
We reported recently on the lack of follow through by thousands of Alaskans who started a home energy efficiency rebate program, funded by the Legislature and managed by Alaska Housing Finance Corp. Those who start with a baseline efficiency audit have 18 months to fund repairs, schedule an audit of efficiency gains, and apply for up to $10,000 in state reimbursements. That window is running out for many folks.
Rep. Chris Tuck, an Anchorage Democrat, talked with people in his district and discovered some who have been hit pretty hard by the 2009 economic collapse. The families make too much too qualify for a low-income state weatherization program, but are dealing with high credit card debt, receding retirement accounts and investments, and, at times, negative equity in their homes.
Those circumstances can make it pretty tough to pay several thousand dollars up front for efficiency upgrades, even with a state reimbursement likely down the road, Tuck acknowledged.
Click here to read the full story.
From The Daily Green:
Way beyond shipping container homes, these fresh green buildings are at the cutting edge of style and convenience.
Click here to read more.
Event hosted by Alaska Interfaith Power & Light:
Join Alaska IPL at the Pioneer Park Civic Center on Saturday, January 30th, 2010 from 11 am to 3 pm, for an inspiring community event — One People, One Earth.
This free, family-friendly event will infuse fun, faith, education and charitable opportunities to learn about environmental stewardship and how you, your family, schools and congregations can save energy, resources and money.
Click here for more information.
ASK A BUILDER
By CCHRC Staff
The “Ask a Builder” series is dedicated to answering some of the many questions Fairbanks residents have about building, energy and the many other parts of home life.
Q: What windows are preferred for a passive solar home, double- or triple-pane? With or without coatings? Which coatings? What type of glass? Assuming standard building insulation, what is the sweet spot for percentage of glass area?
A: The idea for a passive solar home is a good one, but offers some significant challenges in our climate.
Based on a 1970’s study by University of Alaska researchers, in Fairbanks, for every month of the year besides December, a net energy gain with south-facing windows is possible, but only when the sun is out.
Given that our winters are very cold and have much longer periods of darkness, the heat losses through windows during the dark periods are much greater than the gains we make when the sun is shining. The solution here is a system of insulated exterior shutters. Then, even here in Fairbanks, you could have a house which benefits from a net solar gain for 11 months.
Unfortunately, a perfect heavily insulated shutter system has yet to be invented, but people have built their own shutter systems in typical Alaska style — anything from putting on a piece of 2-inch blue foam to a raise-able shutter that can be engaged with a hand crank from the inside. Keep in mind that, as with all sources of energy, you will make maximum use of solar gain by having an extremely well-insulated building shell. If you have an underinsulated, leaky house, you won’t get the same results.
In a cold climate, we want a window with a low U-value. The U-value represents the rate of heat transfer through the glass. The U-value is usually listed on a sticker on the window or is available from the dealer.
Currently, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation requires a “5-Star Plus” home in Fairbanks to have a window with a U-value of 0.25 or lower, which typically means a triple-pane window.
When it comes to glass and coatings, because we are primarily interested in optimum thermal performance, nearly all windows geared toward our climate will have some variation of low emissivity (low-E) coating designed to reflect radiant heat. Low-E glass usually has some type of metallic film bonded to one of the faces.
For a window with good insulating value, we want a coating that allows some of the short wave infrared energy from the sun to enter the house while minimizing how much of the long wave infrared radiation escapes from the heated space through the glass. This is a balancing act that is dependent on the types of coatings used, and which side of the panes of glass they have been placed on. Coating technology is improving steadily and it is worth the time to research the performance for any type of window line you are considering for purchase.
When it comes to finding the sweet spot of how much surface area should be glass, this varies too, depending on what you are trying to achieve.
In order to comply with the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation “5-star Plus” home requirements, the total window surface area should not exceed 15 percent of the above-grade wall area. The Fairbanks City Building Department uses the same standard. If you go over 15 percent, you will have to make up for those energy losses somewhere else. Often this means adding more insulation to another part of the building. The location of the glass also factors in: south facing works best while north facing should be minimized.
There is much more information on the subject than covered here, but an excellent resource is “A Solar Design Manual for Alaska” written by Rich Seifert from the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.
The book is readily available and accessible online.
Also, Seifert usually teaches a class on solar design in the spring, which is highly recommended to anyone interested in the concept.
Alaska HomeWise articles promote home awareness for the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC). If you have a question, e-mail us at akhomewise@cchrc.org. You can also call the CCHRC at (907) 457-3454.
From Alaska Dispatch, Wednesday, December 23, 2009:
Massive initial interest in a state program to help people make their homes more energy efficient could be tapering off, even as some areas of the state face the likelihood of increased home heating costs in coming years.
As of Dec. 16, nearly 19,000 Alaskans have started the multi-step Home Energy Rebate Program funded by Gov. Sarah Palin and the Legislature and managed by the Alaska Housing Finance Corp.
They’ve paid for certified technicians to rate their current home energy efficiency and recommend upgrades that would be eligible for a state refund, up to $10,000. But only about 200 people have followed through with improvements and filed their claims, and the window to do so is closing daily for the flood of folks who jumped at the chance.
If this trend continues during the next several months, the program will end up with a financial cushion of funds set aside for improvements that weren’t cashed in on. But it’s leaving some to wonder: In a state with some of the highest energy costs in the nation, where homeowners stood to benefit significantly — exactly what happened?
Click here to read the full story.