SBS has had a wonderful and successful time on the side-order list for the City of Missoula’s Green Blocks energy saving program.

We began work back in the Fall of 2010 by getting 2-inters from the University of Montana’s COT Energy Program and got them fully trained on doing a basic solar site assessment.

Our Team ended up doing over 120 assessments over the course of 3-months last fall.  They braved blazing sun, side-ways rain and blowing snow from October – December.  But, it was well worth it.

This spring 2011 marked the final phase of this project.  The City added about 60-90 participants to get to their total count of 300.  We got ourselves another COT Energy intern for this past Spring and he went out and did about 48 more solar site assessments.

Half way through this phase we saw an 18% REDUCTION in the cost to install solar, plus the state and feds decided to KEEP the tax credits in place for renewable, Northwestern Energy gave us a dozen more $6k grants to hand out to customers in good standing, and the MT DEQ revolving loan fund keeps on chugging along (although they are 8-10 weeks out on funding).  To top it off, SBS starting taking credit cards for deposits.

The wet cold spring made for a slow start, and with the unseasonably cool summer, folks were not thinking about solar.  But with the aforementioned incentives, and a little 90 degree weather, we are in full swing.  Over half of the installs we’re doing in July and August came from Green Blocks leads and SBS is now booked out until September.

Thanks to the City of Missoula for this great opportunity!  We’d love to do it again.

If you’re interested in information about solar – get in touch: www.SBSlink.com or info@sbslink.com.

This is a great, and short, video from TED U, the interactive learning component of The Energy Detective (TED) device.

Here Catherine Mohr shares some quick and valuable information on evaluating simple life choices as they relate to energy and water consumption… paper towels v sponge v washcloth all the way to building a new home.

The Clawson NorthSlope Window, Montana-Made with sustainably harvested Larch and US Glass

Okay, it’s not really our window per se.  But that doesn’t stop us from being excited about SBSs new relationship with the exceptionally rad window.

We are pleased to announce our official relationship as a dealer of one of the most unique, greenest, and most handsome windows manufactured anywhere in the world – the NorthSlope Window by Clawson.  Framed in Treadlight™ larch, harvested only from forest restoration sites, this window highlights the beautiful honey and cinnamon grain and dark pinhole knots of the wood, while giving high performance in energy efficiency and durability.

The NorthSlope Window incorporates a top–of–the–line, energy–efficient spacer system with high–performance, double Low–E glass to offer unmatched thermal performance, meeting Energy Star requirements.  Because these products are manufactured by U.S. regional glass makers, there is the added value of still greater “locally sourced” benefits.  The window contributes toward satisfying several credits under green–building rating systems, including LEED® and NAHB’s National Green Building Program.

Read the rest of the store at Treadlight by NorthSlope Sustainable Wood.

I was emailing recently with Bradley E. Layton  Ph.D., Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Drexel University, after reading his article A COMPARISON OF ENERGY DENSITIES OF PREVALENT ENERGY SOURCES IN UNITS OF JOULES PER CUBIC METER.  We had been bantering back and forth on the concept of simple pay back.  Sometimes if feels like there is really no such thing as simple payback, as we’re not comparing apples to apples.  The goal of his paper is “to provide a new perspective on how to compare energy sources on a more fundamental basis. Finally, the article provides a method of estimating the dollars-per joule for natural resources versus human resources and concludes with commentary on how political decisions may be affected by energy densities and energy costs.”

In the banter relating to the energy analysis SBS gives to a customer after an audit, Layton replied to me:

Dang dude, that’s a lot for one house. Do you give them a “break even” point? I would hate to have to go out and buy an new toilet if I was broke, if I knew it would only save me money on my water bill after I was dead.

Touche!  And right back to simple payback (and his toilet example above).  I agree on the simple payback on a toilet.  I think most folks would.  But we know the value of water and how simple it is to conserve, so we just buy the better toilet without the simple payback analysis.  So how do we get to apples on energy?  Hence, Layton’s article (and my response to his email above.)

Yes, we usually do include pay-back information.

But due to the size of this project and the client’s desires we didn’t feel like we needed to with them.

We’ve also developed some bigger picture financial payback info that looks beyond “simple pay-back” which is typically not a strong selling point of these technologies.

I had a chance to read your article more carefully. Very cool and something we struggle with all the time. (i.e… comparing energy savings between gasoline usage, propane usage, natural gas usage and electricity usage for our customers, each of them using a different measure.)

From a broader picture- here is something to consider: (just very rough notes)

From your article it is so very clear that oil and it’s derivatives are a massively compact and powerful source of energy. As we are forced to transition away from these fuels and from “the age of oil” is there anything on the radar screen technology-wise that offers similar amounts of energy in such a small package with the same mobility? Right now obviously the answer is NO, but can we expect to replace this incredible gift of energy that we have enjoyed for the last 200 years?

From an economic perspective, it is certain that the growth we have experienced in the last 200 years is absolutely tied to the amount of inexpensive energy we have had access to through these liquid fuels. To continue to grow and prosper as a species we must be able to continue to feed at the trough of an INCREASING energy source in a world that shows an ever DECREASING ability to provide this through traditional discovered forms of energy. Is it scientifically realistic to replace the amount of energy consumed currently, and to indeed, increase that level of energy consumption in order to continue to grow? Or are we doomed to run out of energy and see a decrease in growth of the species?

How much of a part does efficiency play in this equation? It seems that we can safely assume that there is generally speaking a 15-20% savings in energy to be had through efficiency measures. World wide we continue to waste large amounts of liquid fuels due to the fact that for so many years the supply was huge and the price was low.  If 15-20% is a safe number for “free, inexpensive efficiency measures that wouldn’t get in the way of growth” than how does that play in the macro environment of overall energy consumed and remaining supply.

STUDY IDEA NUMBER ONE- I suspect, that if one were to look at the overall total of available energy through liquid fuels remaining on the planet, as compared to the growing desire to utilize this energy by the earth’s human population, that we would see a near tragic confluence of graph lines coming in the near future. (20-50 years? or sooner?) Then, if one were to graph in the savings made possible through efficiency and the resulting decreased demand, would things look different? (I hypothesize, not really) Then, if one were to graph in the possible energy savings from current renewable technologies employed on a big scale what would the graph look like then?  Probably quite different, but I’m still not convinced that it can transition us from this oil boom train we have been on for so long, to another train of equal speed and size!

STUDY IDEA NUMBER TWO- Does this mean that we must invent new energy technologies to replace oil and it’s derivatives to sustain our growth as a species? Do we even want to try, given the population of the planet? If we don’t find a replacement at equal price and mobility, should we be working on designing a “soft landing” where the planet’s population will shrink slowly and without major unrest? What does that do our current economic models where shrinkage and non-growth are equated with death?  Can you design a society that is peaceful, sustainable, and healthy in an environment of economic shrinkage?

I’d love to see the first question addressed (simple analysis of the world’s supply of available energy as compared to the world’s appetite for the stuff.) Then so many other questions would come to light.

I’m sure someone is working on this already, if you see something will you pass it along?

Jeff Crouch, President
Sustainable Building Systems, LLC
www.SBSlink.com

As reported earlier in this blog, SBS is committed to tracking its carbon footprint month by month so that we can track both our efforts to lessen the climate altering use of energy by our company, and determine the offset needed to mitigate the emissions we do create.  As our company has been growing, so too has our footprint.

For a small office based business like SBS, the major generators of greenhouse gas emissions are utility based (from natural gas and electricity consumption), vehicle based emissions, and emissions resulting from company related air travel.

Vehicle based emissions comprise both employee commuting and mileage directly related to business activities.  With the season change many of us are biking and walking to work, but business is picking up and the company truck is busy most days hauling personnel, equipment, and materials to our various jobs.  We look forward to the development of cleaner modes of transportation, but in the meantime we try to keep the number of trips to a minimum.

Even though our company business doesn’t require a lot of air travel (6,453 air miles in April), the GHG emission penalty incurred by that activity is substantial (51% of our total footprint).   The effects of burning thousands of gallons of jet fuel in the upper atmosphere combined with the sheer energy needed to launch these modern behemoths into the air creates huge climatic impacts of which everyone must be fully cognizant  as they consider their travel needs.  Air travel is truly a miracle of modern technology, but so are teleconferencing, web based education, and high speed rail (in some locations).  But a certain amount of air travel is a necessary concession for any business operating in today’s global economy, and we are determined to plan each necessary flight with efficiency and economy of movement in mind.

SBS Carbon Footprint Trend - April 2010

Our utility footprint continues to grow despite a seasonal overall decrease in the office utility based emissions.  The reason for this is found in SBS’s growing presence within the office space which is shared with Kibo Group Architecture, and doesn’t represent a significant overall increase in office GHG emissions.

So that’s where SBS stands in terms of its current carbon footprint.  We’re presently offsetting our emissions through ClearSky Climate Solutions based on the footprint we developed during November and December of 2009, with a 25% margin for growth.  Airline travel is so variable that we offset that part of the picture on a quarterly basis after the fact.  In a way we’re caught between a rock and a hard place in regards of wanting to grow the business (with all of its travel needs and equipment hauling) and the ardent desire to keep our own footprint small.  Hopefully with every pound of GHG we create we’re keeping much more out of the atmosphere.

We’ll keep doing our best.  Feel free to get in touch with comment, questions or advice.

Jim Roach
SBS Energy Project Technician
jroach@sbslink.com

The Obama administration has called on Congress to pass a new incentive program for home energy efficiency upgrades called Home star. Created to help bolster the hard hit construction sector and national security by decreasing foreign energy dependence Home star will create tens of thousands of jobs and save home owners billions of dollars in long term energy reductions not to mention green house gases.  Rebates will be provided directly to the consumers and the federal government will reimburse accredited contractors and utilities for efficiency work performed. (SBS does this type of work.)

There are two tiers of the program: Gold star and Silver star.   Gold star is a two-year program that will provide between $3,000-$8,000 for 20%+ modeled savings for home owners.  Homeowners will need an audit by a RESNET HERS Rater or BPI Building Analyst Certified Professional to assess energy savings through improvements before work begins.  Work must be performed by a Gold star accredited contracting company.

Silver star is a one-year program which will qualify homeowners to receive between  $1,000-$1,500 for each qualified efficiency measure, $250 per appliance, with a cap of $3000or 50% of project costs whichever is less. Qualified measures include: air sealing, attic, wall, and crawlspace insulation, duct sealing or replacement, replacement of existing windows, doors, furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters, and appliances with high-efficiency models.  When this bill passes through congress (expected in the next few months) there will be a huge demand for audit and efficiency retrofit work.

The Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) Program Act has been submitted to the House Energy and Commerce and House Financial Services Subcommitees.  This bill Requires: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and implement standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for single-family and multifamily residences; (2) the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to develop and implement standards for a national energy and environmental building retrofit policy for commercial buildings; and (3) the program to implement such policies to be known as the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) program.

Requirements of the REEP program: (1) facilitate the retrofitting of existing buildings to achieve maximum cost-effective energy efficiency improvements and significant improvements in water use and other environmental attributes; and (2) provide financial assistance to states, to be administered through the State Energy Program, for management and accomplishment of the program’s objectives at the individual building level. Authorizes states and local agencies to offer free or low-cost building audits, incentives, technical assistance, training, incentive financing, and other forms of assistance to individual building owners. Requires the Administrator and the Secretary to assist states and local agencies in establishing revolving loan funds or other forms of financial assistance.

The Caulkers Bill – or “Cash for Caulkers” has not passed the House.  We think this is good news… but the fight isn’t over yet.  Next it’s to the senate.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h4pIOjTWTl06XsauqI72MEvbYgqAD9FHJ4003

After a little design and deliberation, we have some new marketing pieces… tell us your take:

This is our one page 8.5 x 11 flyer:

SBS_qualifications (click to open)

This is our tri-fold, double sided brochure:

SBS_trifold (click to open)

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

We’ve decided, in the spirit of good business collaboration, to take our relationship with ClearSky Climate Solutions one step further and really play in the sustainability sandbox together.  After dancing through the customary hoops of basic legalese, we are proud to feature ClearSky’s carbon footprint calculator on the SBS website.

Our carbon footprint friend, ClearSky Climate Solutions

(NOTE: Back in February in this blog SBS announced that it is now a carbon neutral company.  We are achieving our neutrality through carbon offset credits purchased from a fellow Missoula based entity, ClearSky Climate Solutions.)

What does this mean for you?   Well, a couple of things.

First, if you’re just curious about claculating your carbon footprint, you can now do that on our site through the ClearSky carbon footprint calculator.

Second, if you’re looking to work with SBS for an advanced home or business energy audit, some retrofitting work to your structure, and/or implementing some renewable energy (think Solar PV) sources, you are probably going to end up reducing your energy load somewhere in the ballpark of 20%-90%.  But what to do about offsetting that remaining % of energy use?  Well, now SBS can do that for you, too, through the help of ClearSky.

And finally, if you link up with ClearSky through SBS and decide to work with them directly, you get 10% off as an SBS customer.

So, without further abandon, start assessing your home or business’s energy use today, and start saving with SBS and ClearSky!  We’d love to take you “all the way” to carbon neutrality.