Could You Live in a Passive House?

The River Forest passive house discussed in this post we published early in 2013 is featured on the upcoming Green Living and Learning Tour on Sept. 28th.  Read more about it in this article, and plan to stop there on the Tour! Oak Park architect Tom Bassett-Dilley has designed the first certified passive house to be built in the Chicago area.  The new house, built for the Lema family, uses only a small fraction of the heating and cooling energy of a conventional house.

Based on an interview with Tom Bassett-Dilley conducted by Doug Burke

As the 28th certified passive house in the United States the River Forest home represents a small but growing movement.  Bassett-Dilley, who heads the Passive House Alliance in Chicago, predicts that there will be 200 or more in the country by the end of this year.  There are many more passive houses in Europe.

What is a Passive House?

The name “passive” means that these houses use the environment around them as much as possible – for instance, by having lots of south-facing windows to take in the sun's heat in the winter, but with overhangs to shade those same windows in the hot summer.  Smart design reduces the amount of the work the home has to do to maintain comfort.  And a very tight building envelope means it doesn't take nearly as much energy to heat or cool the house.  A house built to the new Illinois code (just revised effective this month) is required to have no more than 5 air changes per hour.  A passive house must have no more than 0.6.  The River Forest house tests out at just 0.38 air exchanges per hour – far tighter than required by either standard.

There still has to be ventilation; a mechanical system draws out moist air from kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry, and feeds in air to the living areas.  Very good efficient heat exchangers retain 85% of the heat.

This produces a very comfortable and simple house, which use about 75% less energy than built-to-code homes to heat and cool.  Over a 30-year mortgage, the heating and cooling savings should at least make up for the slightly higher cost of construction -- about 10% higher, with 18-inch thick walls, thick insulation even under the building, and tight sealing everywhere.  Even with today's exceptionally low natural gas costs, a passive house should still be less expensive to own and operate than a conventional one.  And it is much better for the environment, using only a small amount of electricity in heat pumps for heating and cooling.  There is no need for a gas-burning furnace, nor any air-conditioning system except the heat pumps.

Learn more about this house, including the non-toxic and recycled materials used in building it, how it is laid out, and how it fits into the neighborhood, at Sustainable Chicago.  See also the article titled "The Heat is On - River Forest Home to be area's first certified passive house," in the January 2, 2013, edition of the Wednesday Journal, p. 35.

January Environmental Book Study

Please join us in January to discuss the book, Natural Capital and Human Economic Survival By Thomas Prugh.  This book includes contributions from the founders of ecological economic theory, how it differs fundamentally from the current “classical” theory, plus entropy, throughput, sustainability. How to define and value natural capital. Economic strategies for restoring our degraded natural capital.  The study will be held Tuesday, January 22, 7-9 p.m at the home of Jim Babcock, 927 S. Kenilworth, Oak Park.

To RSVP and for more information call:  Jim Babcock—630-740-0638 or Doug Burke—708-533-2316.

OPRF Community Foundation Presents Grants

The Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation hosted a "Thanksgiving in October Celebration of Giving and Grants Presentation on Thursday, October 25th.  Among many other grants, five organizations were awarded grants through the COMMUNITYWORKS initiative for environmental sustainability. The five organizations and their projects that received environmental sustainability  grants in this round of funding are as follows:

District 97 Irving School Garden Project:  Grant to expand the garden to provide students, families and the community with access to and knowledge about healthy foods and sustainability.

Green Community Connections:  Grant to support the Energy, Waste and Water Campaign, a 12-month campaign to educate, motivate and support OPRF residents to make measurable changes in areas of 1) residential energy efficiencies and alternative energies, 2) indoor and outdoor water management and conservation, and 3) household waste reduction through reducing, reusing and recycling.

Oak Park Development Corporation:  For the Green Business Project which identifies and suppports local businesses implementing and measuring environmentally sustainable improvements in commercial buildings and business operations aligned with PlanItGreen goals (energy, water, & waste outcomes) while being mindful of business's financial "bottom line."

Triton College:  For BizItGreen designed to deliver training to OPRF businesses on how to achieve Green Business Certification and to provide technical assistance and consultative support to OPRF businesses that elect to engage in the process available through the Illinois Green Business Association.

Village of Oak Park:  For the Oak Park Residential Energy and Water Efficiency program based on energy audits, low flow toilet rebates and a shower head and faucet aereator program.

Additional information on the Oak Park River Forest Community Foundation and it's grant-making is available at the foundation's web site:  http://www.oprfcommfd.org

Oak Parker Uses EI2 to Improve Energy Efficiency of Rental Property

Submitted by Doug Burke Energy Impact Illinois (EI2) is a program set up with stimulus money to promote home weatherization and improve energy efficiency.  EI2 certifies contractors, coordinates energy assessments and provides rebates on certain home energy efficiency improvements.  In my case, my wife and I own a two-flat in Logan Square that we thought was pretty inefficient.  Our monthly bill from People's Gas under the budget plan has been $181.  We called one of the EI2 certfied contractors, Green Energy Improvements, and they did an energy assessment at a charge of $99.   They recommended improvements estimated at a cost of $6824 that would save about 25% of the gas cost.  (It also saves electricity for ac in the summer, but our tenants pay that so I don't have the numbers.)

Here's how it worked out.  Right now EI2 will provide a rebate that, combined with existing rebates – in our case, from People's Gas – will pay 70% of the job, up to a limit of 70% of $2500, or a $1750 rebate.  Our job was much bigger than most; 70% of $2500 is only about 25% of the whole $6824 job – but it was still a big help.  For a single-family house, the whole job might not exceed $2500, so that the homeowner would be paying only $750.

So at this point, with the $6824 total cost, we were looking at:

$6824 – 1750 – 99 (the assessment charge is credited to the job) = $4975. 

Not having $4975 on hand, we opted for a loan, facilitated through EI2 and provided by Green Choice Bank.  We needed to put down 10% and borrowed the other 90% in a seven-year loan.  The interest rate is not that low – 8% – but yet another subsidy pays the interest for year one of the seven-year loan. 

The work was done in one short session on August 23^rd to construct a hatch so they could insulate between the second floor and the flat roof, and one long day on September 6^th.  They did a blower door test before and after the job, and now estimate that we should save about 1/3 on our gas bill.  That would be $60 per month, or more than the payments during the first (subsidized) year of the loan.  After that, if gas prices remain the same, the payments would be just a little bigger than the projected savings.  Plus we will have happier tenants since they will save money also.

We expect to get a certificate issued through EI2 that our building is officially green.  To get that, you have to get at least a 15% reduction in energy use.  The Multiple Listing Service, which realtors use, now officially recognizes this certificate. How much should this add to the value of the building?  Here are two different estimates.

1.  Bonnie Marx at Green Energy Improvements said there was evidence that for every dollar of energy savings per year, the value of the building goes up $20. On this basis, for gas alone, the increase would be $60 x 12 x 20 = $14,400. Then add electricity to that and the total increase would probably be in the range of $20,000 or a little more.

2.  A California study claimed that green houses get a premium of 9%, which would probably be more than $30,000.  But then that's California – people probably pay more attention to green stuff there.

If you are interested in doing similar work, you can get the names of contractors from EI2.  The whole thing flows smoothly: the rebate and the loan flow directly to the contractor, with little paperwork on our part for the subsidies, and very little for the loan.  And again, if you get in while the 70% subsidy is available and your job isn't too big, you may not need any loan.  My wife and I are so pleased with the work on our rental propertywe are now preparing to participate in EI2 a second time, at our house in Oak Park.

For more information about Energy Impact Illinois, or to get started, call Pamela Brookstein at 708-252-0623 or email pamela@energyimpactillinois.org.

See also related article and video:  Energy Impact Illinois:  "This Rebate Program Rocks!"

Tighten Up Your House, Save Money and Lower Your Carbon Foot Print!

Department of Energy Stimulus Funds - focused on air sealing and insulation

Chicagoland received stimulus funds from the Department of Energy to help make homes more energy efficient and  help put people to work.  This initiative is focusing on energy retrofits, specifically air sealing and insulation - the most cost efficient and easy way to make a home comfortable, safe, and energy efficient (which means lower energy bills).  To make this do-able and inviting for homeowners, Energy Impact Illinois is offering $99 home energy assessments (typically $500). The contractors who do these assessments have applied to be a part of this project, their work has been repeatedly checked, and they have an extra home energy performance certification.

After the assessment, the contractor gives the homeowner a menu of options detailing upgrades, their costs, and their energy savings over the year.  If the homeowner goes with the air-sealing and insulation option (most cost effective, easiest way to make a home energy efficient), they become eligible for an instant rebate of 70% up to $1750. There are also low interest loans available, both secured and unsecured.

Here's the math

Here is the math, based on averages of work over the last year:

Average cost of work: $2500 Rebate: $1750 Cost to homeowner: $750 Yearly energy cost savings per year: $500

An added bonus to all of this: These energy efficiency upgrades can now be listed on a home's real estate MLS listing. Homeowners in California have been doing this and seeing their home value increase by 9%.  If you are interested in learning more, call Pamela Brookstein ( 708-252-0623 ) or send an email.

Program Background:

This stimulus funding must be used by May 2013, so it became important to figure out the most efficient way to get this money out to homeowners in our communities. A group of not-for-profits, government agencies, and utility companies came together to form an alliance - Energy Impact Illinois - to do this. ( Please note that this program is also promoted by the utilities under the name Home Energy Savings Program.)

Madison Street Makeover Proposal Considered by OP Board

Message from Active Transportation Alliance

On Sept. 18, the Oak Park Village Board will consider a proposal to redesign Madison Street into a three-lane road (two travel lanes + a left hand turn lane) with wider sidewalks and parkways, safer crosswalks, bike lanes, and streetscape improvements. Madison would become less like Harlem and North Avenues and more like two-lane roads such as Chicago and Ridgeland Avenues.

The project would create a safer, greener, more attractive and walkable street, and it would be funded in part with more than $7 million in TIF funds that are dedicated to improvements on and along Madison.

For more information about this project, read Active Trans' Q&A blog post.  send an email to the Oak Park Village Board to let them know that you want a Madison St. that is safer, quieter, more attractive and a better fit for the community.

Why does Madison Street need a makeover?

• Not safe, with 2 crashes every 3 days. Cars speed and weave, and rear-end collisions are common when cars back up behind left-turning cars. A three-lane configuration would be safer because it limits lane changes and traffic flows more evenly and at speeds appropriate for the neighborhood. A narrower street, along with crosswalk improvements, would make it safer for people on foot and bike to cross, including students who cross Madison to reach the four schools within one block of Madison.
• Too wide for the amount of traffic it carries. Four-lane Madison carries the same number of cars (18,000 per day) as Ridgeland (18,000 per day), which is only two lanes and works just fine. Moreover, the improved Madison Street would have a left-hand turn lane at each intersection, whereas Ridgeland does not. Madison would not be narrowed between Home to Harlem and Lombard to Austin, in order to accommodate cars turning onto Harlem and Austin. Traffic engineers say narrowing Madison would not significantly add time to the drive between Austin and Harlem.
• Not good for business and residential development. Four-lane roads work best with big box stores, strip malls and parking lots out front. But the lots on Madison are too shallow and the car traffic too light to attract this type of development. On the other hand, the street is too wide and cars move too fast to attract residential and commercial development that is typical of two-lane streets in Oak Park. Madison’s design doesn’t do either approach well, which contributes to the tired hodgepodge of empty lots, empty buildings and fast food.

Healthy Food vs. the Farm Bill

Written through a collaboration between Karen Ard, Doug Burke and Sally Stovall Most folks in Oak Park / River Forest area understand the central importance of healthy, nutritious food which is sustainably raised, to the well-being of our bodies and the planet.  Our current food system in the US is dominated by corporate agriculture (see Food and Water Watch’s “Farm Bill 101” for details on the few but powerful major players in agribusiness).  Big agribusiness uses processes that are not safe for the animals, the soils or human beings.  These processes include use of genetically modified seeds, chemical pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, and confined spaces for animals.  The food thus produced (even before the major food companies further process it) is damaging both to our health and the environment.

To achieve a diet of local, healthy food, we must currently grow or raise our own food or buy our food directly from local farmers who are committed to using sustainable or organic methods.  This is a daunting task but the more we do it, the more we contribute to creating a mosaic of resources that will ultimately allow us to approach our goal of a truly local and healthy food system.

We have a lot of positive things contributing to growing a healthy, local food system for our area, including growing numbers of home and community gardens; the Oak Park Farmers’ Market and numerous CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) that deliver locally; FamilyFarmed.org -- a local organization that works regionally to support the production, marketing and distribution of locally grown, responsibly produced food; and now, on the horizon, we have the Sugar Beet co-op that will provide a year-round market for local healthy food, as well as education and skill training.

We must take back the farm bill!

But where the rubber meets the road, it turns out that US government policy, reflected in the nearly trillion-dollar Farm Bill, actually works against all of our efforts and ends up contributing to the problem.  If we want to change how Americans eat, and support development of local, sustainable food systems that will make our bodies and the planet healthier, we must to take back the Farm Bill and make it work for us instead of against us. Originally, the Farm Bill was designed to support small farmers.  But it was long ago captured by the corporate forces of big agriculture.  Big agribusiness organizations make up 20% of the farms but receive 90% of the subsidies; meanwhile small growers who produce real food crops like fruits and vegetables get little or no subsidies.  These small farms (80% of farms) get 10% of the subsidies.  The result is huge subsidized fields of corn and soybeans (nearly all genetically modified), which are used to feed animals or as ingredients of our many processed foods.

Every five years, Congress reviews the guidelines of the existing Farm Bill, and comes up with new  ways to allocate the nearly-trillion dollar sum typically apportioned for American agriculture programs.  The current Farm Bill provisions are set to expire on September 30, 2012.  The US House of Representatives Agriculture Committee recently passed a revised version of the Farm Bill, which is moving us in the wrong direction.  See the press release from Food and Water Watch, titled “Farm Bill Fails Farmers and Consumers” regarding the issues in this version of the farm bill.

In order to make government policies and investments support the priority of local, healthy food systems, we need to take back the Farm Bill and make it work for us instead of against us.  We truly believe that this is what the majority of Americans want, so please join with the many organizations and individuals that care about our future generations, and let’s start “wildfires of common sense!”  (EcoMind, Francis Moore Lappe, 2011)  Please join Will Allen, Anna Lappé and Francis Moore Lappé,  Michael Pollan, our own, Jim Slama, and many more chefs and food and nutrition experts,  and local citizens, in calling on congress to stand with us to enact a food and farm bill that protects family farmers, and fairly serves the interests of all Americans.  Click here to add your voice!

Related article from the Environmental Working Group:  EWG Farm Bill Platform

"$hare the Green" with Green Community Connections at GHE - Aug 3 & 4!

Green Home Experts, Friday, 10-5, & Saturday, 9-5, August 3rd & 4th

811 South Blvd. ∙ Oak Park, IL 60302 ∙ (708) 660-1443

Share the Green is Green Home Experts' commitment to supporting the community that supports us.   A fundraising program for area non-profit organizations, Share the Green makes shopping at Green Home Experts good for you, the planet, and a favorite cause.

10% of your purchase of in-stock items on Friday & Saturday, August 3rd & 4th, will be donated to Green Community Connections.  Please print and present this Share the Green coupon at the counter when you check out.  It's a great way to get green products for your hope and support sustainability initiatives in the community at the same time!

It's a great time to be shopping a GHE also!

• Green Home Experts has everything green for back to school--notebooks, markers, pencils, scissors and pretty much everything else!  We're also fully stocked up on wax paper sandwich bags, lunch bags, water bottles, and food containers.
• You can buy your jars in advance of the canning class canning class to be held at GHE on Sunday, August 26th, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. presented by the author of Food in Jars.
• Green Home Experts also has every day items like toilet paper made from recycled paper and cleaning products.  Stock up now!
• You may also be considering a new compost bin or a water barrel to help manage those rare but heavy rain falls.

Whatever you are trying to do to make your home more eco-friendly, Green Home Experts can help, and this Friday and Saturday would be a great time to buy to double the good you do through your purchases!

Green Community Connections appreciates your support, and we appreciate Green Home Experts for giving us this opportunity and for all the great work that they do to contribute to sustainability in our community!!

Get Involved with Sugar Beet Co-op Upcoming Events

Taken from the Bi-Weekly Beet

Upcoming Sugar Beet Events:

Thursday, July 26th, 6-10pm The First Annual Sugar Beet Co-op Gala at Fitzgerald's Night Club -- Support Sugar Beet by square-dancing to the tunes of the Golden Horse Ranch Band!

Sunday, August 11th, 11am-3pm The Sugar Beet Co-op Edible Garden Tour -- Bike with us to visit some of the coolest edible gardens in Oak Park!  More details coming soon.  Contact Cheryl to suggest an edible garden that you know!

See The Bi-Weekly Beet, Sugar Beet Co-op on Facebook (and Twitter), and our website http://sugarbeetcoop.com/ for upcoming fundraising events, classes, and opportunities.  Don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and check out our awesome community blog at Patch.com! Here's a link to our latest post by guest-blogger and author Richard S. Kordesh: http://oakpark.patch.com/blog_posts/the-strawberries-are-the-hook . Speaking of guest-blogging, let us know if you are doing some awesome gardening or other local-food-based things and would like to submit a guest-blog post!

For those new to The Beet, check out our website for more info on our Mission, Vision, and Working Groups. Not only are we working hard on developing Programming and Outreach, we are making connections with farmers, vendors, community organizations, and volunteers. We plan to spend 2013 fundraising in earnest (in addition to much more fun!) and then to open the doors of the co-op by mid-2014.

If you have ideas and/or want to get involved with Sugar Beet Marketing, Fundraising, or Brick-and-Mortar research, please contact:

Marketing and Social Media Lead: Anthony Munoz at mail@apmunoz.com

Finance and Fundraising Lead: Maureen Spain at maureenmspain@gmail.com

Brick and Mortar Lead: Tom Hollinden at tomhollinden@gmail.com

Energy Impact Illinois Offers OPRF Residents Opportunities for Big Savings

Adapted from information provided by Gary Cuneen Energy has been named as the number one environmental concern by Oak Park / River Forest residents in two recent surveys conducted by Green Community Connections. Since the majority of Oak Park homes were built in the early 1900’s, it’s not hard to understand why. Bonnie Marx, owner of Green Energy Improvements, says that according to the company’s estimates 25-40% of a home’s electric and gas costs are wasted on heating and cooling air that actually leaks out of the building through cracks and crevices. Marx says this can be fixed.

At least one Oak Park home has taken advantage of the Energy Impact Illinois to make improvements that will save an estimated $2,408 annually on utility bills and reduce their energy usage by 35%. Homeowners, Gary and Erica Cuneen, worked with Green Energy Improvements and to achieve these significant savings, while also making the building more safe, comfortable, and energy efficient. “Getting this work done by participating in Energy Impact Illinois (EI2) was a no brainer for us. The program helped provide up-front financing which we can easily pay back with the monthly savings on our energy bills. The program was efficient and easy, and the third party review of the work done gave us peace of mind that we were getting the value that was promised”.

Erica Cuneen, a certified Eco-Broker and owner of Beyond Properties Realty Group, added, “Not only is our two-flat more comfortable, but having this work done makes it a more valuable property for buyers should we ever decide to sell. I tell my clients all the time that adding energy-efficient upgrades gives them an edge in the real estate market. I love putting my money where my mouth is, especially when I get it right back in comfort and savings!”

GreenChoice Bank provided the loan to the Cuneens to help them get the work done. Jon Levey, Executive Vice President & Chief Lending Officer GreenChoice Bank said: "GreenChoice Bank is excited about our participation as a lender for the Energy Impact Illinois Residential Loan program. The program offers much needed capital to support energy efficient improvements within our communities.

See also related articles for more information:

http://oakpark.patch.com/articles/new-business-promises-savings http://energyimpactillinois.org/cases/the-cuneens-of-oak-park-receive-llinois-home-performance-with-energy-star-s/ PlanItGreen March 2012 Newsletter