The Home Builders Association (HBA) of Kitsap County’s Bremerton headquarters — which is about 20 years old — has had an energy efficiency retrofit project under construction for the past couple of months.
Among the improvements are a “cool roof,” which reflects the heat, a superhigh-efficiency hot-water heater, and a heat-recovery ventilation system, which recaptures temperatures from outgoing air.
“What the cool roof does is cut down on heat absorption. In the summer, the building will not overheat,” said Walter Galitzki, owner of Sun Path Custom Construction Inc., who is the project manager on the retrofit. “It also contributes to the building’s longevity.”
Backer rod — a closed-cell foam that is a newer product in the last few years used to fill gaps between joints — has been installed. Some improvement focused on water savings, such as new dual-flush toilets and aerators for water fixtures. In August, some of the work that still needed to be done included the replacement of light fixtures with T-8 fluorescents and a new, more energy-efficient door.
“The goal is to improve air efficiency,” said Galitzki, who is the chair of HBA’s Built Green program. “It’s a leaky building so we’re retrofitting it to make it less leaky.”
In December 2009, the building had 14 air changes per hour (ACH), a measurement of how leaky a building is. The standard for new construction is 6, and the goal of the retrofit was to lower the number to at least 6 ACH. During a blower-door test (which is done to detect air leaks) in August, about half-way through construction, the ACH already measured at 6.5. A third and final blower-door test will be done at completion.
The $114,000 project is being funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant administered by Kitsap County. Because it is considered a county project, the retrofit had to go through the same competitive bidding process as any other project undertaken by the county.
Part of the grant will go toward education, which will include open houses on October 23 and 29 (noon to 4 p.m.) and a virtual tour of the project that will be available on the HBA’s website (www.kitsaphba.org) and shown on computer monitors at the building. The HBA will also create informational resources for homeowners and businesses interested in energy efficiency.
“The whole idea is to create a demonstration project — here’s a building that was built 20 years ago, and here’s some things we can do to make it more efficient,” Galitzki said.
Teresa Osinski, executive vice president of Kitsap HBA, said the partnership with the county was important and the project was an opportunity to create a link between association members and the public’s interest in energy efficiency. With the HBA already a leader in green building through its nationally recognized Built Green program and through its Low Impact Development initiative, the educational piece fits well within the HBA’s outreach efforts, she said.
She said even before the project was finished, she could tell the difference in the level of comfort in the building. “It’s not only an economic benefit, there’s also a quality of life benefit, especially as more and more people are staying in their homes longer,” she said.
Business went on as usual at the HBA offices during the project, with no work disruption — an important aspect, Osinski said, for businesses that may be interested in a retrofit but are concerned about losing workdays. She added that many of the improvements done as part of the retrofit were one-time investments that will never have to be done again.
Kitsap County’s total grant of $2.29 million received from the DOE in December 2009 was part of the stimulus funding. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant also paid for improvement to the Kitsap County facilities, including the installation of a solar hot-water heater at the courthouse and lighting retrofits. Part of the money went toward a new program called RePower Kitsap (www.repowerkitsap.org), a countywide initiative with the goal of reducing energy consumption in 1,550 Kitsap County homes by 20 percent.
A similar energy-conservation program called RePower was implemented on Bainbridge Island and was recently launched in Bremerton. On Bainbridge, more than 1,100 homes already received free energy-use assessments to identify potential improvements, with the goal of reaching 4,000 homes.
The county hired four local contractors to perform the assessments in unincorporated areas. Homeowners have a small out-of-pocket expense and receive a report to help them prioritize energy-saving opportunities, according to Autumn Salamack, Kitsap County’s resource conservation manager. Kitsap Credit Union is offering a low-interest loan to make those improvements, and there are additional incentives for homeowners.
“Anybody in the county is welcome to take advantage of the assessment,” Salamack said. The loan program has income limits but it’s not restricted to low income, she added.
Also under the grant, the county will work with local farmers to help them reduce fuel and energy use, and some grants will be available to the local food suppliers to implement those improvements. The program will kick off in the early fall.
Salamack said the HBA partnership was important as part of this comprehensive effort.
“The educational piece is critical to the success of the retrofit project, to make sure we’re reaching out to other business owners and homeowners, inspiring them and giving them the information, and connecting them with builders,” she said.
“The primary purpose (of the grant) was to create jobs locally and reduce energy use, and help local government and individuals to save money while conserving energy,” she added. “It was instrumental in helping us move forward with some of the projects.”
