Join us for Green Homes 101, an introduction seminar to green homes. Learn about green design; how to identify green-washing; how to lower utility bills and be more comfortable in a healthier home or workplace! If you want to understand the fundamentals of sustainable design, join us for a basic, non-technical seminar in high-performance design, materials and systems.

Following the Green Homes 101 seminar will be a tour of the luxury new green home community, Sheldon Crossing, located in the heart of Manayunk. Sheldon Crossing has been recognized by the USGBC and will earn a Platinum LEED certification because of their state of the art construction practices and exceptional building materials. These high performance homes will use less energy, water, and natural resources while offering a healthy environment with improved air, acoustic, and water quality. This revolutionary, eco-friendly development is the first of its kind in the area and includes such features as vegetative green roofs, geothermal heat and solar energy. Light fair food and drinks generously provided by Denise Lehmann and Alex Plessett of Sheldon Crossing.

Location:
4709 Sheldon St., Philadelphia, PA 19127

 Register online.

More and more religious communities – churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and religious schools – are interested in addressing environmental concerns, but are not certain how to get started. This interest in the environment has been accompanied by an interest in green building – a brand new concept to the religious community.

In this two-part workshop we will get to tour the recently completed FriendsCenter designed by UJMN Architects + Designers. The project has just received LEED Platinum certification, making it the first of it's kind in the state of Pennsylvania, and is the first location in Pennsylvania to utilize deep-standing column wells for geothermal heat exchange. The project also includes a gray water recycling system and a green roof.  Christopher Kenney of UMJN and Rob Diemer of AKF will lead tours of the building and will give a follow up presentation.

The second part of the workshop will feature the Rev. Fletcher Harper of GreenFaith. He will describe GreenFaith’s Building in Good Faith project and resource – a web-based resource to educate religious groups about green building and the LEED standards, and to address the questions and concerns that many religious groups pose when considering green building.
GreenFaith conducted research on religious attitudes and questions about green building for two years prior to designing Building in Good Faith. Harper will present a summary of GreenFaith’s findings, along with recommendations about how green building professionals can work effectively to help religious groups make their building and renovation projects models of environmental sustainability.

Cost: $15 for DVGBC Members, $20 for Non-Members, $10 for students

This program has been approved for 2 AIA CE Credits

 Register online by April 16. 

Join us for a night of social and business networking at Yards Brewery. Relax and have fun with green building professionals who are passionate about the environment, renewable energy, green jobs, energy efficiency, and DVGBC.

901 N. Delaware Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19123
April 6, 2010
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

This event is free!

Register online.

Philadelphia City Council will consider establishing Philadelphia's own energy cooperative to harness consumer buying power to offset an expected spike in electricity prices next year.

The full effect of the 1996 deregulation of electric energy is already being felt around the state and will hit Philadelphia next year as rate caps meant to protect consumers expire.

Today, Councilman Darrell L. Clarke introduced a bill that would create a new Philadelphia Energy Authority.

The Energy Authority would serve as a cooperative through which residents, businesses and government could combine their buying power for cheaper electricity offer discounted electricity as an economic development tool, said the city's Consumer Affairs Director Lance Haver.

"This is an important first step to protect consumers, small businesses and the city itself from skyrocketing electric rates that, without any action, would go into effect when the electric rate caps come off," said Haver.

Sonny Popowsky, the state's Consumer Advocate, said similar arrangements are under consideration on the state level, including a House bill to allow an authority to buy power on behalf of its residents.

A Philadelphia authority could find itself competing in a potentially crowded market of commercial power suppliers who are poised to move into Peco's territory when rate caps are lifted at the end of the year.

Under a 1996 state law deregulation the supply of electricity, Peco's rates were frozen until the end of 2010 to allow the company to recover its investments before competition opened up. Peco has a monopoly on the wires and infrastructure that transmits electricity. Customers under the 1996 law can buy the actual power from anyone who generates it. Many consumers don't do this, and Peco becomes the default dealer and deliverer of electricity.

Peco's rates for customers who don't shop around are expected to go up about 10 percent at the end of the year.

In the 23 counties served by PPL Electric Utilities, where rate caps expired on Jan. 1, the utility's base rate went up about 30 percent. Nine power suppliers have entered the PPL market for residential customers – seven offer discounts to PPL's rates, and two offer customers renewable power options at a higher cost.

Under Pennsylvania law, electric utility customers will be free to shop around for companies that generate power, which accounts for about two-thirds of a typical bill. Peco will remain the local distribution company that maintains the wires through which the power reaches customers, and Peco will continue to handle billing and customer service for all residential customers on its system.

While the consumer aspect of the bill was talked up today in city council, it would create another politically appointed, 5-member governing board to oversee the authority. Clarke left blank the section on how the board members would be appointed.

Question: My husband and I want to get an energy audit of our home and are having difficulty locating a company. We live in Aston, Delaware County. Can you give me any ideas on how to locate an independent company that has no vested interest in selling doors, windows, or a new furnace?

Answer: In Pennsylvania, you can start with www.pahomeenergy.com. There are public-utility and government sites in every state that offer step-by-step information on do-it-yourself home-energy audits, but it is probably wise to bring in a qualified professional to do the work.

If you do need to replace the furnace or windows, there are energy tax credits available on materials, not installation, until the end of the year. I've already written volumes about these credits. Just click on http://energytaxincentives.org and you'll find just about everything you'll need to know.

More energy-savings tips. Energy prices are rising about as fast as consumers can reduce consumption, so the goal is to be a little ahead of the utility bills.

The Alliance to Save Energy offers some energy-saving tips tailored to the depth of winter.

Conduct a "draft check." Your heating dollars could be going out your windows, doors, and electrical outlets. Check for air leaks throughout your home; look around doors, windows, fixtures, electrical outlets, wiring, plumbing, and fireplace dampers. Turn it into a family activity. Draft-proofing is the least expensive energy-efficiency investment with the biggest payoff.

Plug those air leaks. Seal leaks between doors or windows (and their frames) with weather stripping and between window frames and walls with sealant or caulk.

Install door sweeps on the insides of exterior doors. Cold air can seep in under doors. Solution: Door sweeps are cheap and keep the draft out. No sweeps available? Even a rolled-up towel or blanket will help. And consider twin or dual draft guards on both sides of doors where you feel drafts.

Open curtains and other window treatments on your west- and south-facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home, and close them at night to make it harder for warm air to escape. If you are purchasing new drapes, consider an insulated lining, which reduces both heating and cooling bills.

Freezing by your windows? If that's the case, and you've already plugged those window leaks and can't afford new high-efficiency windows, consider purchasing a kit containing sheets of plastic film to tape over the inside of your windows. Use a hair dryer to create a tight fit.

Consider insulating drafty electrical outlets. Use light-switch foam insulation pads and wall-jack foam insulation pads on outlets on colder exterior walls.

More from the alliance at www.ase.org.

Spring cleaning. As I write this, another snowstorm has just passed my window, and spring seems ever so far away.

In other words, "Spring? What's that?"

Sarcasm aside, Consumer Reports' March issue offers some spring-cleaning dos and don'ts.

"Most people change the sheets, flip the mattress and vacuum the baseboards, but spring cleaning can be taken a step further to a deep clean," says Pat Slaven, program leader for Consumer Reports. "Take advantage of this time of year to not only organize your home but also save money by tackling the tasks that you may have hired out in the past."

Here are a couple of hints:

Ceiling fans: Fan blades and housing should be cleaned with a damp cloth and all-purpose cleaner or a mix of water and mild liquid dish detergent, unless the care information says otherwise.

Do make annual cleaning easier by dusting blades once a season with a U-shaped brush. The blade fits inside the U, so both sides are cleaned simultaneously.

Don't forget to dry the blades thoroughly. Damp blades attract dust.

Windows: For streak-free glass, apply cleaner to windows with a slightly dampened sponge. Wipe across the window with a dampened squeegee blade, then wipe the blade. Don't clean windows in the sun. Direct sunlight can cause the cleaner to evaporate before it is wiped off.

After the recent bad weather, Mayor Nutter knew that getting people excited about putting white stuff on their roofs might be a tough sell.

"But this is a different kind of material," he said with a brief laugh yesterday.

He was talking not about snow, but about reflective coatings - the kind that could turn Philadelphia's rooftops from a sea of searing black to an ocean of cool white.

Nutter was launching a citywide block contest to promote the coatings, which not only can make a house cooler but also, according to the latest research, potentially can make entire neighborhoods and cities cooler.

Each house on the street that wins the "Coolest Block" contest will get a white roof, plus insulation, air sealing and an energy audit, estimated to be worth from $3,000 to $3,500 per home.

The improvements could lower monthly energy bills by 20 to 30 percent.

The idea of a white roof's cooling a building - like that of a white shirt's cooling a person - is hardly new, although the technology has progressed far beyond mere white paint to materials with even greater reflectivity.

"Cool roofing has been the hottest trend in commercial roofing," said Jerome Peribere, president and chief executive officer of Dow Advanced Materials, which is donating materials.

Last year, white roofs got a boost from Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who said they might slow global warming.

Months later, President Obama publicly announced that insulation was, of all things, "sexy."

"For way too long, we have talked about energy efficiency," said Gil Sperling, a senior adviser for the U.S. Department of Energy. "Now, we actually are starting to do something about it."

He said Philadelphia's contest was the first of its kind in the nation.

Blocks of rowhouses make up 75 percent of the city's housing. On a hot day, the temperature on those flat black roofs can top 190 degrees, which radiates through the structure, said Liz Robinson, executive director of the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia, a nonprofit partner in the "Coolest Block" program.

She called the average rowhouse "a brick box with a black heat collector" - excellent at retaining heat, "lousy at shedding it."

White roofs can be from 50 to 80 degrees cooler.

The coating that will be used for the winning block is an acrylic elastomer that dries to a flexible skin, able to accommodate a roof's normal expansions and contractions. According to the energy agency, the coating could extend the life of a typical asphalt roof by 10 years.

Robinson first began thinking about white roofs in the summer of 1993, when 118 Philadelphians died during a weeklong July heat wave.

Her organization distributed about 5,000 air conditioners. But she knew that most of their recipients could hardly afford higher energy bills. She also worried that overloaded wiring in older homes might pose a fire hazard.

"It felt really schizophrenic," Robinson said.

The agency has since received enough funds to put white roofs on 600 homes. Independent evaluators concluded that temperatures upstairs in them were as much as five degrees cooler on hot days.

None of this surprises Hashem Akbari, a scientist who for three decades has studied the "urban heat island effect."

He and others at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California have shown that because of dark roofs and pavements, many urban areas are from six to eight degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas.

They estimated that white roofs could save Philadelphians $3 million a year in energy costs. In winter, the white roofs would not affect heating costs appreciably, he said.

Now a professor and leader of the Heat Island Group at Concordia University in Montreal, he is trying to organize the 100 largest cities in the world to develop programs to whiten their roofs.

Using new computer models to simulate the solar radiation absorbed - or reflected - by cities, scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., recently concluded that if every urban roof were painted white, the world's cities would be an average 0.7 of a degree cooler on a summer day.

New York - similar to Philadelphia - would be two degrees cooler.

Actually re-coating all those roofs is improbable, conceded coauthor Gordon Bonan, but "the take-home point is that the idea of white roofs is technically sound and can have a cooling effect."

Philadelphia's Greenworks sustainability plan has set a goal of retrofitting 15 percent of the city's homes with reflective roofs.

Councilman Jim Kenney also has proposed a bill requiring cool roofs on all new commercial construction and roof replacements - as California has required since 2005 - and said he would support a tax incentive for residential white roofs.

"It first started out that this is what's good for the environment, and we're all hugging trees," he said yesterday. "But this saves money."

'Coolest Block' Contest

Those interested in entering Philadelphia's contest can find more information at the Web site

www.retrofitphilly.com

The judges will base their selection partly on how many of the residents on a particular block sign the entry. It must also include a short essay on what's special about the block - its history, how neighbors have come together in the past, and interesting people.

The deadline for applying is April 5. The winner could be announced by May 10.

What if every new building in Philadelphia were a green building?  What if everyone had access to the waterfronts, could enjoy safe bike lanes, and could conveniently utilize public transportation?

Zoning codes play a major role in almost every current effort to make Philadelphia a more sustainable city. How zoning codes are created and designated has major implications for the future of our city. Advocates for sustainability, design professionals, and interested citizens are welcomed to come learn more about ongoing efforts and upcoming zoning reforms from city and state officials, national experts, and local practitioners.

Featuring:
• Fran Burns, Commissioner, Philadelphia Dept. of Licenses and Inspections
• Maureen Gutman, Executive Director, the Governors Green Government Council, State of Pennsylvania; Committee Member, International Green Codes Council

Academy of Natural Sciences
19th Street & Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Reception: 6:00 - 6:30 p.m.
Program: 6:30-8:00 p.m.

This week, Mayor Nutter signed Philadelphia's first green building law, requiring that new city-owned buildings of a certain size must meet heightened environmental standards. The mayor and City Council deserve credit for a measure that will improve the city's finances and sustainability.


Heating and cooling city-owned buildings costs taxpayers more than $30 million a year. With the cost of energy going up, this law meets an immediate need to reduce energy costs while meeting long-term goals to minimize waste, storm-water runoff, and water use.

Several years ago, a Pennsylvania Environmental Council report, "Building Green: Overcoming Barriers in Philadelphia," looked at how the city could become more competitive in the area of green development. The report found that the city's shortage of examples of green buildings and green technologies had inhibited the adoption of green building practices. Private-sector developers were often reluctant to risk trying something new.

The report called on the city to lead by example by implementing green strategies and proven technologies on its own projects before asking the private sector to do so. The suggestion was taken up by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who sponsored the green building bill.

Green buildings are designed to lower utility bills, reduce carbon emissions, conserve water, and reduce flooding. Furthermore, studies have found that green offices improve employee productivity, that children educated in green classrooms score higher on standardized tests, and that green homes are selling faster than conventional ones.

The city green building law will help Philadelphia catch up with other cities - including Los Angeles, Boston, and Dallas - that have already committed to environmentally responsible construction of public buildings. As of 2008, Philadelphia had only 30 structures certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. New York had 79, San Francisco 91, Portland 93, and Chicago 130.

This bill will help the city take the lead without imposing any regulations on the private sector. As the city rewrites its zoning code, prepares for a new comprehensive plan, and implements the sustainability goals outlined in "Greenworks Philadelphia," City Council and the mayor may look at tax credits and other incentives to promote green building on a larger scale. While barriers to building green still need attention, this law removes a big one and sets the tone for the future.
________________________________________
Patrick Starr is senior vice president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. He can be reached at pstarr@pecpa.org.

You manuever the controls on your thermostat, hoping for a few more degrees of warmth.

But wait! What if there were a reward for leaving the setting right where it is - or, better yet, for lowering it?

What if putting up with a little chill got you a price break on a butter pound cake split three ways and filled with lemon curd and blackberry and raspberry puree - the hopelessly tantalizing spring torte from Bredenbeck's Bakery in Chestnut Hill?

Or maybe a $10 coupon for native plants or artisanal goat-milk cheeses at Yellow Springs Farm in Chester Springs? Or a bed-and-breakfast package at the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City?

Perks like those are part of a growing list from local businesses hoping to improve their bottom lines by promoting a greener lifestyle.

Rewards for households that recycle are well-known through RecycleBank, which got its start here in 2005.

Now comes what is believed to be a first: a rewards program for saving energy.

Earth Aid, a Washington start-up, enables U.S. residents to track their electric, gas, and water usage online and, by cutting back on it, earn points that can be redeemed at local businesses.

Launched in September, Earth Aid will not dislose how many members it has or the company's financials. Ben Bixby, its cofounder and chief executive officer, said membership was "in the thousands and our rate of growth is doubling monthly."

Though the program has not yet had a formal introduction here, Philadelphia is home to some of its largest reward partners, Bixby said: Of the more than 100 businesses that have signed on, 25 are from Philadelphia or its suburbs, "with many more on the way."

That could be a barometer of not only the growing influence of the sustainability movement, but of just how eager recession-impaired businesses are for a chance to boost sales, said Maria Cain, sales manager at Bredenbeck's, where a few more sweet tooths would be welcome.

Linking with Earth Aid, Cain said, "really puts our name out there to the entire Philadelphia region."

Said Stephen Falvo at Manayunk's Art+Science Salon & Spa, where Earth Aid participants can redeem 300 points for a 60-minute massage: "I think people need to realize that just by supporting local business, they are helping to reduce their carbon footprint and, in turn, keeping the supply chain local."

Earth Aid has developed proprietary software that makes it possible, with consumer permission, to retrieve household utility data everywhere in the country, Bixby said. Once people sign up, their energy use is reviewed and a baseline established. Then the company provides customized advice on how to become more energy-efficient and which rebates and tax credits are available to make the changes.

Participants receive monthly statements from Earth Aid showing how much energy they used and how that compared with the same month in the previous year. Reward points are based on reductions achieved.

"We just want to make it easier for people to save energy, and information does that," said David Burd, Earth Aid's vice president of business development.

Sign-up for households is free "and will forever be," Bixby said. There is also no charge "at this time" for small and regional businesses to offer one reward, he said. Larger rewards-program participants must pay a promotional fee, depending on their size.

Earth Aid also makes money from sales it helps arrange between members and providers of energy-conservation services and products, such as oxygenating showerheads and programmable thermostats.

RecycleBank, the incentive-based recycling initiative now providing services to more than one million members in 20 states and the United Kingdom, was an inspiration for Earth Aid, Bixby said.

One of RecycleBank's founders, Ron Gonen, a Germantown Academy graduate and now a resident of New York, said he was flattered.

Though calling Earth Aid's energy-use tracking program a good idea, Gonen said he was not convinced the business discounts would be as effective a recruiting tool as they have been for RecycleBank. Last year, RecycleBank members redeemed and used more than $1 million in reward points, he said.

Without incentives, people who recycle were getting no benefit from the act other than "feeling you were doing something good" for the environment, he said. Energy savers, on the other hand, can see the benefits of that in cheaper energy bills.

"I'm not sure that you need additional incentives beyond reducing your monthly energy bill," Gonen said.

At Yellow Springs Farm, co-owner Catherine Renzi lauded the idea of rewards - such as the $10 coupon she is offering toward the purchase of at least $50 in goods.

"It's much easier to make [conservation] attractive for people," she said, "when you have a carrot."

Or a free overnight stay at one of Philadelphia's premier hotels.

The Four Seasons, considered a sustainability leader in part because it composts, recycles, and has microturbines on its roof, is offering one bed-and-breakfast package for two, including breakfast in its acclaimed Fountain Restaurant.

To win it, you must assemble the group of friends or family on Earth Aid that collectively saves the most energy between today and April 30.

Building Owners and Managers are currently faced with the challenge of making their existing buildings more energy efficient, while keeping a close eye on capital expenditures in an unstable economy. There are tools available to help you get started, but which ones should you be using?  Energy Star? LEED? This session will demonstrate how both of these tools are an important part of your toolkit and how you can use them to achieve favorable results.

Andrew Kreider from the EPA will give you an overview of Energy Star Portfolio Manager, and Bill Craig from Re:Vision Architecture will review how LEED EBOM (Existing Building, Operations & Maintenance) tackles energy efficiency, and beyond. Marla Thalheimer, Sustainability Manager from Liberty Property Trust will provide an example of how Liberty is using these tools to measure, set goals and track the results throughout their portfolio. Together we’ll look at the advantages, the differences, and how they work together to ultimately create a high performance building. 

Registration Required