The GEO announced today that more than a quarter of the new homes built in Colorado during the first half of 2009 qualify as energy efficient energy star homes.  See the press release from the Governor’s Energy Office :

MORE THAN ONE-FOURTH OF COLORADO NEW HOMES
QUALIFY AS EFFICIENT ENERGY STAR MODELS

The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) announced today that ENERGY STAR New Homes accounted for more than 26 percent of the new homes built in the first half of 2009 in Colorado.  Market penetration for efficient ENERGY STAR New Homes (ESNH) continues to grow in Colorado, a sign that homebuilders are a strong partner in Colorado’s New Energy Economy.

Should 2009′s strong start for ENERGY STAR New Homes hold up for the rest of the year, Colorado would see its fifth consecutive year of percentage increases in homes that qualify as ENERGY STAR. Since 2004, the market penetration of ENERGY STAR New Homes has increased from 4.2 percent to 19.4 percent in 2008.

“This shows the commitment of Colorado’s homebuilders – and homebuyers – to our New Energy Economy,” said GEO director Tom Plant. “Even in a challenging housing market, these results show that contractors are building with energy efficiency in mind and embracing the promise of ENERGY STAR New Homes.”

The results also show strong quarter-by-quarter gains over previous years. For instance, Q1 2009 had twice as many homes (32.4 percent) qualify as ENERGY STAR than in Q1 2008 (16.4 percent). The most recent results from Q2 2009 show a 9 percent increase over the same quarter in 2008, up to 22.3 percent from 13.3 percent.

“In Southwest Colorado the momentum toward building ENERGY STAR New Homes is moving toward the tipping point,” said Greg Mantell-Hecathorn, president of Durango-based Mantell-Hecathorn Builders, Inc. and the Homebuilders Association of Southwest Colorado. “ENERGY STAR New Homes provides the name recognition and 3rd party testing that home buyers value and trust.”

Homes meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR label are typically 20 to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes, improving quality and comfort while reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Earlier this year, the GEO announced a long slate of new partnerships with homebuilder associations, community organizations, businesses, utilities and local governments across the state in a major push to support the construction of ENERGY STAR New Homes and advance the New Energy Economy in Colorado.

Recent efforts teaming the GEO and its regional partners for 2009 include more training programs, rebates and mortgage interest rate discounts designed to increase construction of new homes that meet the standards for the EPA’s ENERGY STAR label.

Included in the efforts are recent partnerships pairing the GEO with five Colorado Homebuilder Associations, (HBA):, HBA of Northwestern Colorado, Mountain to Mesa HBA, Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs, HBA of Northern Colorado, and HBA of Metro Denver. The GEO awarded $37,250 in grant funding to the five associations to support ENERGY STAR New Home training programs for homebuilder and industry members.

For more information on Colorado ENERGY STAR New Homes visit www.coloradoenergystarhomes.com

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Interested in learning more about green building, energy efficiency and renewable energy?  The Center for Resource Conservation (“CRC”) has announced that its Solar Week Seminars that start today will be free.  From the CRC:

We have decided to remove the barrier of entry to our Solar Week Seminars, since we want to enrich as many people as possible with information on how to become more sustainable at home.

Please invite your colleagues, customers, prospects, and friends to these events. They are now FREE!!! No need to send me names of your complimentary guests, since they will not have to check in.

Here is the list of seminars (date, topic, location):

• Mon, 9/28, Homeowner’s Have the “Power” on Boulder’s Path Toward Sustainability, CRC
• Tue, 9/29, Sustainable Landscaping for Your Green Home, CRC
• Tue, 9/29, The Energy-Water Nexus in Your Home, Longmont Library
• Wed, 9/30, Seven Residential Green Building Case Studies, CRC
• Wed, 9/30, Weatherization:  The First Step to Energy Efficiency, Louisville Library
• Thu, 10/1, The Future of Renewable Energy Technology, REI
• Thu, 10/1, Steps to Going Solar, Longmont Library

You can read summaries of each seminar here: http://www.conservationcenter.org/e_solarweek_workshops_select.html

Last night the Boulder Green Building Guild (“BGBG”) went beyond carbon neutral at its Building On-Site Seminar (“BOSS”), featuring the Logan Wiggins House 3.

Jim Logan Presents the Logan Wiggins Residence at BGBG's Building On-site Seminar

The event was hosted by Jim Logan (of Jim Logan Architects) and Sherry Wiggins.  The all-electric home, which goes beyond net zero and beyond carbon neutral, was inspired by Logan’s effort to reduce his carbon footprint to a level that would be sustainable for the planet.  With a negative HERS Index score, the Logan Wiggins Home generates enough additional electricity to charge a plug-in electric vehicle.  In addition to describing the high-performance green features of the home, Logan discussed the home’s aesthetic inspiration, which was envisioned as a “box of light.”

The evening included networking, dinner by Sublime Catering and feedback from a panel of experts that included Doug Parker, Sustainability Examiner Boulder County, Craig Christensen, Principal, Engineer at NREL and Ron Flax, Associate and Project Manager at Rodwin Architecture.  The Logan Wiggins House 3 will be featured on the CRC’s upcoming Solar and Green Home Tour on Saturday, September 26th.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

Populus recently had the opportunity to learn more about the work of Associates III, a Denver-based interior design firm that specializes in sustainable interiors that are beautiful, timeless and earth-friendly.

Associates III stands out for its long history of commitment to thoughtful, sustainable design – they’ve been “transforming interiors into home” for almost 40 years!  While the firm has an impressive resume of work throughout the Rocky Mountain region, they have worked on projects globally.  In fact, the firm was recently chosen by Andrew Martin International as one of the top 30 interior design firms in the world (for the fifth time in eight years).

Interested in learning more about sustainable residential interiors?  Associates III has gone the extra step with their commitment to green building and sustainable design, literally “writing the book” on sustainable interiors.  Associate III’s book, Sustainable Residential Interiors, is a green building resource guide for environmentally conscious designers.  It’s especially helpful as a guide to the specific green criteria to keep in mind when specifying materials for building components.

Populus looks forward to bringing you more information about this sustainable interior design firm in the future.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

Today, Populus concluded its third LEED for Homes Intensive Training Class in Boulder, Colorado.  The class is geared toward green building professionals (especially architects and builders) interested in learning more about the USGBC’s LEED for Homes program, those interested in learning green building and building science principles (especially as it relates to durability issues, indoor air quality and energy efficiency), real estate professionals who seek to understand and market green homes, as well as product manufacturers and salespeople who want to better understand how their products interact with green building certification programs.  While the class is an intensive introduction to green building and building science principles, it is also designed for those interested in studying for GBCI’s (the “Green Building Certification Institute”)  LEED for Homes AP (or “Accredited Professional”) exam or Green Associate exams.

David Neiger Teaches Indoor Air Quality and Building Science Principles at Populus' LEED for Homes Class

Populus’ next LEED for Homes Intensive Training Class is scheduled for October 1st and 2nd in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the Marvin Design Gallery by SolarGlass.

Populus is in the process of scheduling our next class in Colorado and will be releasing more details in the near future.  If you live in Boulder or Denver, or elsewhere in Colorado, and have an interest in our LEED for Homes Intensive Training Class, please email Laura Hutchings at Populus (laura@popboulder.com) and we will add you to our interest list and notify you when the next class is scheduled.

For organizations who are interested in scheduling a green building LEED for Homes educational event at their offices, please contact Populus at 303-325-7650.  We offer our intensive training nation-wide and will work with you to tailor our green building educational program to meet the goals of your organization.  Oftentimes this option will be more affordable than sending numerous individual attendees to our LEED for Homes Intensive Training.

Populus has experience training corporate sales teams, municipalities, real estate professionals, architects and builders regarding green building and building science principles, indoor air quality, energy efficiency (including an in-depth explanation of the Home Energy Rating System (aka “HERS Rating”)), and green building materials.  Populus seeks to empower the green building industry with the information required to create healthy, high-performance (whether its ENERGY STAR or Net Zero) green homes.

Populus also has experience consulting with municipalities nationwide regarding performance-based energy codes.  We can tailor our training and consulting services to effectively educate municipalities, code officials and industry stakeholders about the implementation of progressive energy efficiency codes.

If you’re interested in learning how Populus can provide green building education and in-depth coverage of the LEED for Homes program or RESNET’s Home Energy Rating System, contact Laura Hutchings at laura@popboulder.com to find out more.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.