Ojai Valley News Blog

Energy-efficient materials touted at open house

By Nancy Gross
An open house Saturday at the Paul Massey and Lynn Coleman residence, still under construction at 1055 N. Signal St., offered visitors an opportunity to talk with a number of experts in green building technology.

The building’s architect, Marc Whitman, was available and spoke with people about his pleasure in designing one of the premiere super energy-efficient homes in the area. Whitman said, “We’re promoting all aspects of this particular house. The owners have gone the extra mile.”

This open house was especially timed to show off the use of a cutting-edge building material called Perform Wall. Stephen Dobbie, renewable energy consultant for California Solar Electric, whose display focused on LED par 30 bulbs that can replace and outperform incandescent lights, told a visitor to be sure to talk with Wade Vernon of Perform Wall Sales and Consulting. Dobbie remarked, “It’s all about the walls today.”

Whitman said, “We’re going to start covering up this block.” This was an opportunity to see the house’s grand, thick and yet elegant skeleton. “I liked it as a designer because I got to sculpt with this,” Whitman adds.

Vernon explained that along with concrete, Perform Wall is made from 85 percent post-industrial pre-consumer recycled polystyrene. In other words, the plant that makes it is located in a district where electronics companies do completion work, and Perform Wall recycles the foam that electronic components are packed in prior to being assembled for final sale to consumers.

Perform Wall is mold resistant with no chemical out-gassing, and sound resistant, reducing interior noise for a low-stress kind of hush indoors. It is highly energy efficient, and has a four-hour fire rating, which is an enormous benefit in fire interface zones such as the Ojai Valley.

Building and energy consultant Tim Broderick came by the open house and asked Vernon, “On supporting the roof, are the blocks taking the load?” Vernon replied, “Every 15 inches there is a 6-inch core of rebar and concrete, vertically and horizontally.” Another visitor, Pat McPherson asked, “Does the foam go in between the blocks?” “The foam is actually integrated into the blocks themselves,” Vernon explained.

Vernon, along with Patrick Lawrence of Lawrence Construction, a Perform Wall installation specialist and builder on this project, also fielded questions about the costs associated with choosing Perform Wall, and the energy savings expected. “We’re seeing 5 to 10 percent premium on our overall building costs,” but costs are recouped in the first two years because “there is no added insulation, and you downsize or eliminate your overall heating and air conditioning needs.” Homeowners who incorporate Perform Wall along with solar don’t need as much wattage from their solar because the walls do so much of the temperature-control work.

Ojai resident William Moses stopped by to see the work in progress. He was one of the influences on Massey and Coleman to build this way, as he built a house on Thacher Road 19 months ago using Perform Wall and other green and energy-efficient methods. “It’s on these 102 plus days you can really feel the difference,” Moses remarked, “It is quite easy to keep cool, and has a great feel for a habitat.” Moses added that “These types of homes are pretty special. Living in it is fantastic. There is a certain stateliness. It is a modern interpretation of an adobe style, it emulates adobe,” which Moses said fits in well with Ojai’s aesthetics, where Spanish-style architecture is common. Moses also asserted that the four-hour fire rating is especially appreciated in zones like ours.

Rather than a typical 6-inch wall, Perform Walls are 10 or 12 inches thick, which is reminiscent of sturdy, cool adobe dwellings in the Mediterranean.

Whitman commented that Massey and Coleman have been the driving force on the project. “We’re fulfilling their desires. As the project proceeds, new ideas about how to make it more energy efficient keep pumping up the standards.” California Door and Hardware’s Jim Roberts and Ken Beisel were on hand to speak about Eagle Windows and Doors, and Frank Layton was there to introduce Fluid Stone to prospective clients. In addition, Steve Lott of Southern California Edison’s Advanced Home Programs gave out information about incentives and rebates for people who build with energy-efficient devices.

Fluid Stone’s Layton said, “The paradigm shift has occurred and the codes are catching up.” He added, “It doesn’t get much greener than Perform Wall and Fluid Stone.” Fluid Stone is natural stone and recycled glass in a non-toxic water-based acrylic polymer. It is decorative, flexible and crack-resistant, waterproof and eco-friendly. Fluid Stone can be used for walkways, floors, driveways, interior and exterior walls, and pool decks. Layton says, “Our products are extremely affordable compared to the toxic waste that’s been sold for years.”

Eagle Windows, the design-oriented division of Andersen Windows, was showcasing a broad palette of colors home builders can choose for window frames, enhancing design and architectural style. With high performance glass and low E-4 glazing, the windows assist in maintaining a home’s energy efficiency. Colors baked onto extruded aluminum over a wood fiber core create windows that Beisel says are “maintenance-free for the most part.”

Architect Dave Intner, who gave the home its Greenpoint rating, as a certified rater through the Bay Area organization Build It Green, said Tuesday that the Massey-Coleman residence right now is tracking 36 to 39 points over code, and this may increase to 49 points over code depending on the approaches to water heating and radiant floor heating that are adopted. The Greenpoint rating, Intner explains, “is a third party verified, holistic and whole building quantified measurement.”For more information, visit whitmanarchitect.com, performwall.com, fluidstone.com, californiasolarelectric.com, socalgas.com/construction/, cadoorandhardware.com, and builditgreen.org.