To date this column has introduced the concept of
eco-thrifty renovation and explained the first three of seven design principles
that guided us through this process: solar gain, thermal mass and insulation.
I’ve emphasized the concepts of payback period and “low-hanging fruit.” Before
I move on to our fourth design principle – draft proofing – I’d like to take a
moment to review some of the overarching ideas surrounding eco-thrifty
renovation that do not necessarily qualify as design principles. Many of these
ideas run contrary to contemporary perspectives on home ownership.
Before
For example, instead of buying the biggest and best house
with the biggest and best mortgage, we found one that was within our means with
money leftover for the energy improvements I’ve described. In other words, we
opted for a $100,000 (purchase plus renovation) insulated, passive solar home
than a $250,000 house that might look nicer but have no insulation or
substantial solar gain.
After
People say that buying a home is an emotional decision. That
appears to be true, but it also appears to get some people into big financial
trouble. At worst, the failure to meet mortgage payments results in the loss of
the property. At best, meeting mortgage payments over 30 years means they end
up paying roughly twice the purchase price. In other words, a $250,000 home
ends up costing $500,000.
Before
The focus on payback period means that eco-thrifty
renovation is more like operating a business than managing a home. In other
words, the process is often more rational than emotional. But this is not to
say that it cannot also be beautiful. Beauty the eco-thrifty way comes slowly,
often through our last three principles – reduce, reuse, recycle – and through
words of wisdom like those from my friend the solar engineer in the Himalayas,
“Warm is always beautiful.” Beauty also comes through the freedom offered by
not living under a mountain of debt. British economist E.F. Schumacher insisted
that “Small is beautiful.”
After
Small can mean the size of a cozy, little home, or it can
represent the baby steps toward making any home more energy efficient. Those
baby steps are what we call “low-hanging fruit.” The low-hanging fruit that
I’ve described so far include window battens (insulation), plastic window film
(insulation), compact fluorescent light bulbs (electricity savings), and an
extra layer of plasterboard (thermal mass). Nearly anyone in Wanganui could put
the first three of these to use right away and start reaping savings that
represent a greater than 100% return. In other words, the payback period for
each of these is less than one year. Please note, however, that an extra layer
of plasterboard is appropriate for those homes that overheat in direct sunlight
during the months of May – August.
The next idea behind eco-thrifty renovation is having the
fiscal discipline to reinvest the savings from low-hanging fruit in
medium-hanging fruit, which have payback periods between four and twelve years.
Examples of these include solar hot water (electricity savings), pelmets and
thermal curtains (insulation), adding north-facing glazing (solar gain),
removing south-facing glazing (reducing heat loss), and our Schacklock 501
multi-fuel range (heat source on cloudy days and electricity savings when used
for cooking).
We believe that every little bit helps and that the
cumulative effects of all these small efforts make for a warm, dry, efficient
home that is gentler on the planet and the wallet. This approach to renovation
is more about designing for living with
a home than designing for living in
a home. We interact with the functioning of our home on a daily basis, and as
our eco-thrifty renovation winds to an end we are set up for an eco-thrifty
lifestyle where we pay about $20 per year in rubbish fees and eat fresh fruits
and vegetables we’ve grown ourselves. That is the beauty of freedom.
Peace, Estwing
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