Smart Meters

Back in engineering school, one of my professors was fond of saying ‘You Get What You Measure’.  What he meant was, if you measure and track it, you will make progress.  This is definitely true in industry, where we track our utility usage in great detail, always looking for an opportunity to improve efficiency, and it’s also potentially true at home.  But the problem with your home power bill is, your power meter doesn’t give you much information – it’s hard to read, and it’s a long way from where you use the power.  So you just get a bill every month, and don’t correlate that with any specific activity.  And at our house, we use a fair amount of electricity - it’s our biggest utility bill - but other than constantly going around turning off lights, we can’t really track our power usage.

Enter the Smart Meter industry.  Smart Meter is a general term for the new power meters that give you real time feedback on your electrical consumption.  If you’re really lucky, your power company provides one and you don’t have to buy and install your own, but this isn’t the case in most areas (including mine), so I decided to purchase my own.  I selected a model called the TED 5000-C, from The Energy Detective.  I chose it because it is compatible with Google PowerMeter, which I felt would be a useful tool, and in its way was a powerful vote of confidence from Google.   Also, I liked the idea that it has a handheld display that will show instantaneous usage, allowing me to walk around the house turning things on and off, thereby determining the power consumption of individual appliances, lights, and devices.  The TED works by installing current transducers (your electrician, who should do the install, might call them amp clamps) over the main electrical feed to the house.  There are some competing devices that work by actually reading the meter, which you can install yourself, but aren’t considered as accurate.  Cost: $240, or about two months power bills.

So how does my TED work for me?  Although we’re learning a lot about our power usage, I’m afraid this particular unit is still at the early adopter stage.  A particular disappointment is the handheld readout, which works only within about 5 feet of the transmitter and has a battery life of about 30 seconds, essentially rendering it useless.  I did call and talk to a tech service rep, and he promised a firmware update was coming that would address the issue, but I’m doubtful.  Additionally, the unit uses an arcane plugwire communications protocol that has you running around the house plugging it in different places to see if it will connect.  I did get this to work, but it struck me as technology for technology’s sake, and there’s always at least one hour a day during which no data is available due to problems with communication.

However, the integration with Google PowerMeter is pretty cool.  Here’s a look at some recent usage:

You can really see that we went away for the weekend!  We arrived back Sunday night, and I switched the electric water heater back on.  That uses a lot of power (we’re actually having a solar hot water system put in – can’t happen too soon, and I promise a blog posting).  I don’t know what the spike around 1AM is – maybe the water heater again – but I do know what the early morning spike is.  It’s my coffeemaker, and it’s a getting replaced based on these results.  I had no idea it used so much power!  I should wire it for 240V, like a welder.  I do like my coffee, but this is a bit much.  Another very interesting result is the continuous blip while we’re away – I assume it’s the refrigerator, but I have to track that down.  And the baseline usage or ‘always on’, which probably accounts for the majority of our power bill, is substantial.  That typically consists of computers, televisions, adaptors, chargers and other power ‘vultures’, which use power while in a dormant state.  I have been going around looking for adaptors to unplug, including the one that feeds my internet connection, which doesn’t need to be on all night.  I’ll turn it on when I turn on my coffeemaker.

So, I'm interested in your impressions.  Have any readers tried a smart meter?  Is there a competing model which works better than the TED?  Have you found better ways to monitor your electrical usage?  I will try to post some more screenshots as I identify the power vultures and improve our results.

What grows on a garden roof?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been hearing a lot about garden (or ‘vegetative’) roofs recently.  They’ve been getting a fair amount of attention, and deservedly so.  It’s not a new technology, that’s for sure – it wasn’t even new at the time of Little House on the Prairie - but it’s being applied in new ways.   So just what does it take to make a garden roof – is it as simple as putting a few trays of plants and some sod up on top of your building?

Garden roofing (and I’m generally talking about low-slope or commercial garden roofing in this posting) is broken down into two major categories, extensive and intensive, defined essentially by how deep the growing medium is and how much upkeep is required.  Intensive roofing is more park-like, and can even accommodate small trees (you can think of it as ‘labor-intensive’ along with having a more intense group of plants growing on it); while extensive garden roofing is shallower, and generally requires less maintenance, often just a little weeding or reseeding.

Vegetative roofs often have major advantages.  A growing plant takes in water and releases it throughout the day (this is known as transevaporation), helping keep the roof cool.  And as the weather cycles from wet to dry, a garden roof can have a cushioning or damping effect, regulating moisture and temperature.   The growing medium, which might seem like it’s a fancy word for dirt, is really a light, water-retaining compost mixture optimized for the application.  It’s being asked to do a lot; be light-weight, allow water to drain through it, but also retain some water and be suitable for plant life.  Combining the plants together with the growing medium, you get a system that can keep the roof cooler, help insulate the building, and reduce storm water runoff. 

Seems like a simple, practical technology, and it is.  However, there are a lot of misconceptions about garden roofing: that a vegetated roof won’t last, or at least won’t last as long as a conventional roof; that they’re guaranteed to leak; or are essentially nice-to-do’s.  However, when you really look at it, a properly installed garden roof is no more likely to leak than any other roof – in fact, since the system starts with an ultra robust membrane roof system and the vegetative cover layer protects the membrane from UV and freeze-thaw cycles, the roof system can last longer.  And data shows that in many cases garden roofs are cooler than conventional roofing, even cooler than reflective white roofs.  However, it is true that it can be hard to define a payback from a garden roof, the benefits of  may sometimes accrue more to the community at large rather than to the individual building owner, particularly when thinking of the urban heat island effect.  However, there is one primary benefit of a vegetative roof that can be quantified, and does potentially accrue to the building owner – storm water retention.  When a downpour occurs, antiquated stormwater systems often become overwhelmed.  A roof that retains and then slowly releases water, allowing the system to recover, is desirable.  An extensive garden roof such as GAF’s GardenScapes, with 4 inches of growing medium, can effectively retain stormwater, releasing it gradually.  In some municipalities, this means savings on sewage charges and sometimes even allows for a larger building on the same piece of property, optimizing land usage.

So garden roofs can provide significant benefits.  They don’t even take that much upkeep.  An irrigation system is typically put in place when the system is installed, to help get the plants started.  Properly grown plants from local nurseries, once rooted, are selected to not need much (or any) irrigation, but it’s still important to provide an irrigation system, in case of an extended drought.   Depending on local codes, gray water or collected rainwater can usually be used, if/when irrigation is needed. 

Also, a vegetated roof is one of the best ways for a building project to obtain LEED credits.  There are up to six categories (and even more points, depending on the project) available in LEED 2009 related to vegetated roofs.  This makes a garden roof one of the single best measures a Project Team can include in the design.  For example, the Project Team can earn credits for Protect and Restore Habitat, Stormwater Quantity Control, Stormwater Quality Control, Heat Island Effect, Protect and Restore Habitat, and Maximize Open Space.

So, to answer the initial question, just what grows up there?  Well, if you think about what grows on nature’s roofs – plants that grow on cliffs, with small amounts of soil, and through all kinds of environmental conditions - those are generally the types that work well on roofs.  Most often these are types of sedum or stonecrop, a low-growing, hardy plant.  Other locally adapted plants and herbs can work as well – one of the most interesting things about a garden roofing installation is that your roofing system manufacturer will generally work with a nursery that is close to you, and select the optimal plants for your climate and needs.  As you can see in these pictures, plantings grow quickly and fill in, and they don’t have to be the color green – depending on where you live, many different colors are possible.

 

The GAF team will be at USGBC’s Greenbuild show in Chicago this year, featuring our GardenScapes Roofing (along with other Sustainable products), in one of the cities that has been on the leading edge of adopting vegetative roofing.  We hope to see you there!

How Cool is That?

This week I spoke with Eric Bray, sales manager for Bone Dry Roofing in Athens, Georgia about a large cool roofing job his company recently completed at the University of Georgia.  The architect selected GAF Timberline Prestique roofing in Cool Barkwood.  This is a LEED project, and the project team expects to be awarded points for several elements of the roof assembly.  The design includes vented nail base, extensive insulation, and vented ridges and fascia, all of which, in combination with the cool roofing, will improve energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and reduce urban heat island effect. 

Here’s a graphic explaining how cool shingles work, courtesy of the Cool Roof Rating Council:

 

The Timberline Cool Barkwood is a great looking color, complementing the brick structure well - even though it’s fairly dark to the eye, it still has a Solar Reflectance Index of 29, and the specially coated granules reflect the heat-building infrared portion of the spectrum.

Here’s a quote from Eric: “The University of Georgia has a beautiful campus and energy efficiency has become an important factor in the design of their projects.  So both purpose and appeal have become important. One of the issues with the Energy Star rated roofs is, there aren’t a lot of color options – Cool Barkwood (aptly named for this application) is about the best looking option .  On this job, even from the road, the color looks fantastic.  When choosing a shingle for a project, unless I’m requested otherwise, GAF is what I recommend and will use.  The new Cool Series shingles only adds to my confidence in using GAF shingle products.”

Eric also sent me some progress shots:

  

I also asked if was noticeably cooler up there on the job – working up on a roof in the summer in Georgia, it gets pretty hot.  Eric asked his crew, and they couldn’t absolutely say that it was cooler on the roof – during installation, they didn’t really notice a difference.  This was good to hear, in a way.  The technology is in the granule – otherwise, these are normal shingles with no special accommodations or unfamiliar installation methods required.  However, check out this video we made to see if a fried egg can tell cool shingles! 

Cool shingles are pretty cool, and can mean big benefits to the builder and to the property owner.  How cool is that?

Yes You Can Recycle...

window envelopes.

I’ve always wondered if you can recycle window envelopes.  Since I assumed the answer was no, I’d take the time to open all my junk mail, pull out the recyclable paper, and put the window envelopes in the trash.  But it turns out this is no longer necessary (…and hasn’t been for a while, so I’ve been wasting my time with that junk mail). 

To find out more, I spoke to a recycled paper buyer who buys hundreds of tons of recycled paper for re-processing every week.   Here’s a summary of what I learned:

• The recycling plant soaks the recycled paper in what is essentially a giant blender.  This turns it back into pulp, which is what paper is made from.  After the mix is complete, the slurry is fed through a trommel screener, which is kind of like spinning tubular colander.  The pulp goes through the holes in the screener, and the plastic panels from window envelopes don’t.  So while the window plastic isn’t necessarily desirable, it’s tolerable.
• The only thing that really causes trouble is glue and wax.  Try to remove rubber cement, such as from credit card offers, and tape.  As long as it’s a small amount, it’s OK – but the bane of the recycler’s existence is sticky rubber cement, glues, or waxes in large quantities.  They can plug up the screener.
• Color-printed paper can go in with the white paper.  You can include the paper wrappers copy paper comes in, for example.  If you tear the paper and it looks white, it’s the ink on the surface that’s coloring it and it's OK; if you tear it and it’s colored, like construction paper, it’s called ‘beater-dyed’ paper and it’s not acceptable.
• Cardboard, both the corrugated and chipboard (like cereal box packaging) types are also recyclable, but not in with the office paper.  Cardboard has long fibers, which are desirable.  Chipboard has shorter fibers but is still usable.  Both have longer fibers than office paper.
• Magazines and newspapers can go together, but cardboard should be kept separate.  But magazines are generally worth more than newspapers, so some recyclers might ask you to separate them.
• Small amounts of plastic and metal – like a few staples  – are OK.   
• Glossy paper (like flyers from newspaper inserts) should be put in with the magazines.  Glossy paper is created with a clay coating, and the recycling plants use a de-inking machine which removes this clay coating.
• Phone books, called directory stock, can go in with the newspaper and magazines. 

Generally, office waste paper is made into tissue and towel paper grades.  Recycled cardboard is made into more cardboard, paper sacks, and liner for gypsum board (gypsum board typically has a white side and a gray side – the gray side can use more recycled paper).  Chipboard can be made into more chipboard.  Magazines can be made into all kinds of paper grades, from news and directory to bath tissue and toweling.

I also researched some stats on the industry.  Recycled paper is valuable (just like recycled asphalt shingles) – in fact, good clean sorted office paper could be worth more than one hundred dollars per ton, according to Waste & Recycling News.  No doubt in part because of this, recovery rates hit a record 63.4% in 2009.  And here’s kind of a fun thing – go to this link to create your own personalized paper recycling poster for the office.  You just check the boxes for what items you’re recycling, and enter your name, and it generates a printable poster.

Most GAF locations, including our headquarters offices, recycle paper.  Do you recycle paper at your home or workplace?  Did you know you can recycle window envelopes?

The First Rule of Green Building

Building Knowledge’s Gord Cooke, writing in EcoHome magazine, argues that the first goal of green building should be to create structures that last. Essentially, the point is that if a structure has to be torn down and replaced, an undue strain is placed on our natural resources, even if the building is made of double-aspirated hemp.  He goes on to state, and most would agree, that controlling water is the key to a long-lasting structure.  Simply put, moisture means the onset of rot, and rot is what destroys many building products. 

There isn’t a blower door test – like there is for air infiltration – for water.  You just have to wait for it to rain and see where it drips (although an infrared camera, which runs about $6000, can make leak identification much quicker).  But if a long-lasting structure starts with controlling moisture, then of course it starts with a long lasting roof, and a long-lasting roof starts with attention to installation details.  And some of the installation details that are important to roofing might surprise you.  I’ll be writing about more of these in future blogs, but starting at the top, proper ventilation under the roof is very important.  Yes, the attic (with very few exceptions, for example if you live up there) is the one place in your home that you want to be drafty.  But is there something you can do if you if your home was built with no ridge and soffit vents?  It actually is possible to have ridge and soffit (or eave) vents added by an experienced roofer – in fact, I had this done on a previous home.  The house, an old cape built in the 50’s, had no ridge vent, but it did have soffit vents.  I knew something was wrong when water was actually dripping out of them.   It took my contractor only about two hours to cut away a little material at the peak of the roof and install a roll-type ridge vent (like GAF’s Cobra vent).  It made a marked difference, most notably by reducing the amount of ice damming, and it definitely kept the upstairs cooler as well. 

A ridge vent won’t work with gable vents, however – that will just pull air in from the gables and out the peak of the roof – air will take the path of least resistance.  So you should generally plug or remove gable vents if retrofitting with ridge and soffit vents.    Making sure there is enough intake at the base of the attic (along the eaves or soffits) is crucial to getting the flow you need.

If you’re considering this project, GAF has added a great new product, Cobra FasciaFlow, that can help with retrofitting roofing ventilation to existing roofs that don’t have an eave or overhang.  Undertaking this project can really extend the life of your roof, and reduce your energy bill by preventing your attic from getting so hot.