August 31, 2008

Overall sustainability of NYC

I apologize for the broadness of this question, but I was wondering about the overall sustainability of New York City. Does its population density compensate for the concentrated pollution? How does it compare in terms of energy consumption per capita to other cities? Rural areas? – Janelle Janelle, The short answer is a resounding YES! Most of the factors that contribute to environmental impact are lower in New York per capita than in less dense areas. New Yorkers drive less, and so use less energy and emit less pollution for transportation. NYC’s transit usage is much higher (50%) than any other American City (25-31% for San Fran, Chicago, and Philly and 15% or less for others). (more…)

Is my sink eco-friendly?

Dear Green Expert, I am rehabbing a kitchen and found a sink I really like that is made of 80 percent granite and 20 percent acrylic and resin. The material is called Silgranit and manufactued by Blanco. Are these eco-friendly materials? The manufacturer’s website says very little on this issue so I’m dubious. Thank you! – Brenda Brenda, Hello. I have not seen this product mentioned as a particularly “green” product, but at the same time I cannot find much that is objectionable about it. I couldn’t find any info on their manufacturing processes, but here are the factors that one should consider and/or find out more about. (more…)

Funding a green roof

Hi, I am a New York City public high school teacher. We are investigating installing a green roof system on our school roof with the help of graduate students at CUNY. Do you know if any of the state or local utilities might help fund this effort? We are having some trouble raising the money for the project. Thank you! Jessie Jenkins Jessie, That sounds like a great idea. I hope you are still pursuing it. Unfortunately, utilities are not offering as many incentives for green roofs as for other things because they are not the most cost-effective way to achieve energy savings. However, the Bronx Borough President has a $2M revolving loan fund energy projects including green-roof projects in the Bronx. And of course I would check with Earthpledge’s GreenRoof Initiative or www.greeninggotham.org for more information on incentives or assistance. Earthpledge also offers grants for some green roof projects. You may be able to find some funding programs through NYSERDA but I don’t believe they have any. Some of the more pronounced benefits of green roofs come from stormwater management, because they help retain water during rain events and prevent it from entering the sewers all at once. So agencies or groups focused on wastewater treatment or watershed protection like NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection or NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Division of Water may also offer incentives. Best of Luck, PS – Since the original writing of this post, NYC passed a tax credit that makes green roofs about 25% cheaper. The tax credit will provide a one-time property tax abatement of $4.50 per square foot of green roof (which is about 25% of the cost of installation for most green roofs) up to $100,000. Inquire with the NYC Dept of Finance for details on how to apply.

Health benefits of green building

I was wondering what some of the specific health concerns there are for buildings that are not created in the “green construction” fashion. What are some health benefits of green constructed buildings. – Liz Liz, This is a pretty basic question, but it’s one that is often overlooked by advocates, who simply assume that green buildings must be better, so it’s good that you ask. Benefits to the actual inhabitants of green buildings generally come from improved indoor air quality, and enhanced lighting. Many buildings use materials with toxic components that slowly evaporate into rooms and interior spaces. Lead paint and asbestos are old-fashioned examples that are not used today, but are still present in many homes and businesses. Vinyl composite tile (VCT) flooring, or paints with volatile organic compounds are more contemporary examples. In poorly ventilated buildings, these substances can accumulate to concentrations that cause health problems over time such as asthma or cancer (a building won’t give you cancer right away, or perhaps even by itself, but many of the substances used in building materials are carcinogenic – i.e. cancer-causing). This also applies to cleaning products with toxic chemicals used inside living spaces. Poorly ventilated spaces can also cause the accumulation of moisture and the growth of mold, which contributes to asthma and other respiratory ailments. Good ventilation and climate control can also help reduce illness by eliminating drafts and areas within the home with drastic temperature changes. Good indoor air quality, combined with better lighting involving more natural sunlight, has been attributed to increased productivity and fewer sick days in office and industrial buildings. Those are some benefits. The opposite, or “health concerns” as you referred to them are not always present in buildings that have not been intentionally built green. However, because much of green building is also about building well (e.g. properly designed and installed ventilation, good envelope sealing, etc), they will be concerns in poorly built structures. Additionally, in cities like New York there is a very strong link between energy consumption and health b/c of the concentration of people around energy production facilities and the presence of older coal-fired plants. The more energy we use, the more pollution is emitted, the more “bad-air” days we have where people need to go inside, etc. So the more energy efficient our buildings are, less energy is used, and the less pollution is emitted, the less bad-air days we have, which reduces health problems such as asthma. Buildings built on brownfield sites also help improve the health of communities by cleaning up a source of toxic substances in the neighborhood.

Solar power usage in NYC

Can you direct me to any information on how individual buildings/co-ops/condos in NYC are using solar power? Does anyone have cells on their rooftops, etc? What is the feasibility of such an endeavor? – Chris Chris, I don’t have recent numbers but as of November 2005, there were 45 photovoltaic (PV) projects in the city generating 1.1 megawatts of power. The feasibility depends on many things, but the biggest one is area and shading. If you’ve got a decent amount of area to put the panels and that area receives a lot of direct sunlight, then solar will probably work pretty well. Definitely have a professional solar installer do a proper shading analysis to determine how much sun you actually get and beware of possible new shade (e.g. growing trees or new buildings). Solar One is a good resource for more information on solar power in New York.

August 30, 2008

Installing solar power in a brownstone

We own a brownstone in Clinton Hill and are interested in installing solar panels but have no idea how to go about it or choose a product or contractor to do this. Do you have any good resources or organizations? – Lai-Wan It’s great that you are looking into this. I recently went to a lecture by Jeff Perlman of Bright Power Inc. so credit goes to him for much of this response. First you’re going to want to look at what type of solar system you want. The two main types are solar heating and Photovoltaic (PV, or the kind that makes electricity). Solar heating panels run a pipe through the panel and run water through the pipe. The water is heated by the sun as it passes through the panel and can be used to heat a building or provide hot water. You probably already have heating and hot water systems in your house and inthis climate, solar really works best for generating electricity. While PV panels are much more expensive, there are more government incentives for them. So you will probably want to go with PV. Next step will be to hire a contractor to assess the potential for solar on your property. It’s not worth the effort and expense if your panels won’t get very much sun. You will most likely put the panels on your roof. Solar’s potential is mostly dependent on shading and it varies over the year as the sun’s angle and the amount of leaf cover changes. Most of the light you’ll be getting will be coming from southerly directions. The shading analysis should give you an efficiency rating describing how much of the available sunlight is actually hitting the spot you want to put your panels. NY State incentives are only available for systems with 80% efficiency or more, so that’s a good cutoff. One side-note on shading is to be aware of what shade might be present in the future. Assuming you’ll want to keep these panels for 25 years or so, look around at what might be growing or is being constructed nearby. Big bummer if someone builds a 12-story apartment tower just south of your brand new solar panels. Look for stuff currently under construction, or prime development lots (large vacant or underbuilt lots). You shouldn’t have to worry about people building on developed properties like brownstones. You can also check with the Dept. of City Planning about whether the area around your house is zoned to allow taller buildings or not. If you do get enough sun, you’ll want to look into incentives. These include State and Federal tax credits, and direct NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) grants. A great resource for state incentives is the Database for State Renewable Energy Incentives. You can also visit www.nyserda.org or the USEPA and DOE websites. Your contractor will likely be familiar with these as well. Get to know these programs well so that you apply for them correctly and maximize their benefits. Once you’ve got your panels, you’ll be able to save on electricity bills. New York allows net metering on residential properties, so if you are so lucky as to generate more than you use, you can get credit on your bill for the energy you pump back in. General tips are to get a good contractor, understand the financial aspects of the projects, plan the rebate applications well to ensure you make deadlines and have the necessary information, and apply for building permits early. Because these are still relatively uncommon projects, it may take longer than usual to get building permits. Also, it may be a good idea to redo your roof if it’s not in really good shape. The expected life-span of a PV system is at least 25 years and if you will require major roof work during that time, you’ll have to dismantle the system. Combining roof work and PV installation also allows the PV installer access to structures within the roof that can be useful for anchoring the PV system. As for specific contractors or systems, I don’t know too much about it, but one person is Jeff Perlman of Bright Power, Inc. Another resource is Solar One, which is an organization that focuses on solar power and it’s environmental benefits. They should be able to recommend specific contractors and vendors. Hope this proves helpful (and not too daunting).

Local suppliers of reclaimed lumber

I’m seeking a small quantity of reclaimed lumber for a project. Anyone in the NYC metro area who supplies reclaimed wood? Thanks for your thoughts. – Bob Build-it-Green in Queens has an exchange network for salvaged and reclaimed building materials and they also stock some reclaimed materials. That’s the best source I know of and they should be able to help you, though they probably will know of others if they can’t.

Will insulating heating pipes improve efficiency?

Hi – I have been trying to get an answer to this for a while but to no avail. In NYC many brownstones are heated with single-pipe steam heating. Often the apts are too hot and people open windows to cool them down. If, instead of opening the window, I put insulation on the heating pipes, does the steam heater output less heat and consequently use less oil? David David, This is a great question. The answer is, ‘Yes, but not much.’ You are right to think that insulating those pipes will make the system more efficient, leading to lower fuel consumption, and it will cool down your apartment. However, the amount of energy saved will depend on the amount of heat lost from the pipes you are insulating and therefore how much heat you are saving by insulating them. The amount of heat saved depends on the amount of surface area insulated. Radiators are designed to lose a lot of heat; that’s how they heat up rooms. So they give off a lot more heat than the pipe you’d be insulating and the total effect of insulating the pipe will be small compared to the amount of energy used by the whole system. So if it’s not a great effort, definitely go ahead and insulate those pipes. They will save you energy and cool your apartment down a little, but it’s not necessarily worth a whole lot of effort or expense. A better idea is to turn off some (or maybe even all) of your radiators. There should be a valve on the pipe leading into the radiator and if you close that valve, steam will stop flowing to the radiator and will instead flow past to other radiators in the building. In this way, you will keep all the heat the radiator would have given off (and the radiator is much better at giving off heat than the pipes) in the system. I have three radiators in my 1BR apt and three hot water pipes that pass through to other apts. Up until this cold snap, I had only one radiator on and relied on the hot water pipes to heat up certain spaces in the apartment. The apartment was still nice and warm, but not so warm I couldn’t sleep at night. Even after it got cold I’ve only turned on one other radiator, and it was more for my cat than myself as I was still fairly comfortable. One note about this though, is to make sure you turn the valve all the way off, or all the way on again if necessary. A half closed valve may cause a bottleneck above which water returning from the radiator can collect. This can trap steam in the radiator. The steam will build up pressure until it pushes through the water, causing the clanging sound you hear in older steam heat systems. Hope this is useful. Steven Lenard GreenHomeNYC

Eco-friendly casegoods

Hello, I am currently selecting furniture for a non-profit organization (I am with an Allsteel dealership) and was wondering if you might assist me in finding environmentally friendly casegoods and seating? Thank you in advance! Elisa Borgatti Elisa, A good place to start are product databases including the following: BuildItGreen NYC which is a C+D waste exchange. Included in C+D waste is furniture. You may be able to find perfectly good office furniture that is being thrown out with a change in tenants. GreenHomeGuide. This is a directory of green products that includes many furniture makers. There is also MadeinNYC.com which is a directory of local manufacturers including some furniture makers. It’s not focused on environmental aspects per se though they will all be locally produced. Good luck! Steven Lenard GreenHomeNYC

Why green power?

Hello, have been considering switching to a green supplier of electricity for about a year or so, however the fact that it is slightly higher than what I’m paying for traditional electricity, is a major deterrent. It was with great interest that I read Anne-Lise Breuning’s testimonial regarding her experience with switching, and wondered how satisfied she was with the switch some 2 years later. I would be interested to read an update or to be able to hear from other consumers who have made such a switch, before taking the plunge. Although, I have to agree with her father who responded “Those bastards! Charging you more for green power, just goes straight in their pockets. They should be charging more for traditional power,” when she advised that she had made this switch. Why would anyone rationally switch given these circumstances? While altruistic motives might suffice for some, it certainly won’t encourage the masses to do so, which is what is required to really make a difference in the adverse effects of traditional energy consumption. I therefore have to conclude that the utilities are less interested in improving the environment than they are in maintaining their exclusive ability to profit from whatever choices consumers ultimately make. Jill You have asked about a really great topic that I’m glad we now get to talk about. Green power is a way for anyone who pays an electric bill to directly impact future energy development and help phase out more harmful energy production technologies. As it is currently set up in New York, most residents can buy green power from 4-6 different providers (Energy Service Companies – ESCOs) with different packages that provide power from different sources, such as wind or hydropower. The ESCOs supply whatever green power you buy from them to the electricity grid. ConEd delivers power from that grid to your house or building, handles your account, and provides customer service. If you buy green power from an ESCO, the transaction is handled through ConEd and shows up on your ConEd bill. There is absolutely no effort required on your part after the initial sign up and you will still be a ConEd Customer, but you can be assured that the green power you buy is actually being produced and is displacing dirtier power that has made up the majority of supply so far. According to another person who recently signed up with ConEd Solutions, signing up only takes a few minutes by phone. I just did it a few minutes ago over the web and it took about 5 minutes (yes I should have done it a long time ago, but at least I’m on board now). A quick tip here is that prices are a bit cheaper on the web than over the phone. For a 3 bedroom apartment, it should range from just a few pennies more per month, to about $5-10 per month more depending on the package. Some of this cost is defrayed right now by a New York State rebate of $25 sent out after three months in the program. You can think of the extra money as paying for the green attributes of energy rather than just paying more for the same energy. Just as you might pay more for an ultraquiet air conditioner because the negative impact of a noisier model is absent, at this stage of our energy infrastructure development, we’re paying more for energy that lacks the negative impact of belching smokestacks, acid rain, and asthma. You can find out more at 1-800-GRN-POWR or at http://www.poweryourway.com/pages/green.html#suppliers. As to your conclusion that utilities care more about profit than the environment, you may be right but I think it’s sort of beside the point. I think the profit motive of businesses is more a fact of life that we should learn live with rather than a sore point we should begrudge. Putting money where our mouths are to support green power leverages that profit motive for environmental interests. While I would like to think it would be a better world if everyone had the utmost respect for the natural environment, I think that is either an unrealistic, or a very long term goal. But we can, in the short term, work toward real environmental change with people who have disparate interests by aligning their various incentives toward common goals. I hope you find this useful.