Populus Sustainable Design Consulting offers HERS rating and LEED for Homes™ consulting and training for Boulder and Denver, Colorado. » Energy Conservation

Organic LEDs: DOE Announces Nearly $15 Million for Next Generation Energy-Efficient Lighting

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 23:45:36 +0000

Energy Secretary Steven Chu recently announced nearly $15 million to support eight new research and development projects that will accelerate the development and deployment of high-efficiency solid-state lighting technologies like LEDs and OLEDs. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have the potential to be ten times more energy-efficient than conventional incandescent lighting and can last up to 25 times as long. The projects selected today are located in four states across the country and are focused on advancing core R&D goals, developing new products, and expanding domestic manufacturing capacity to help the U.S. remain competitive in this growing technology market.

Full story

Boulder County EnergySmart Offering Limited Time Rebates Up to $1,000

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:05:32 +0000

Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County residents have a limited time to access new rebates for energy efficiency improvements in their homes.

Through its EnergySmart program, Boulder County is offering up to $1,000 per household in rebates until July 31 or until funds are exhausted. Rebates are for qualifying projects including insulation, furnace replacement, efficient windows and Energy Star appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers and more.

The more than $300,000 in rebates are available to EnergySmart participants only. EnergySmart provides a full suite of services to help Boulder County residents identify valuable energy-saving opportunities. More information and registration is available at www.EnergySmartYES.com or by calling 303-544-1000. Rebate payment takes an average of 6-8 weeks and will be made to qualifying applicants upon completion of projects on a first-come, first-served basis.

The $1,000 in EnergySmart rebates are available in addition to existing utility rebates. EnergySmart also offers 2.5 percent interest “microloans” for up to $5,000 on qualifying energy efficiency projects. More than 1,200 Boulder County residents have enrolled in EnergySmart services since the program launched in early 2011.

“Rebates are generally confusing, but EnergySmart helps people find them and figure them out. We even fill out the paperwork,” said EnergySmart Advisor manager Andy Manzal. “These new $1,000 rebates are really going to get people excited. There has never been a better time or an easier way to make energy efficiency upgrades.”

EnergySmart services and large energy efficiency rebates are also available to all businesses in Boulder County.

EnergySmart is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings grant program and is sponsored in partnership by Boulder County, the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Xcel Energy and the Platte River Power Authority. Residential services are administered by Populus, LLC.

Washington Post: Energy efficiency codes mean lower utility bills, but not all builders are sold

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:16:50 +0000

Interested in energy codes? Check out this article by the Washington Post that discusses the significant effect that energy codes have in keeping housing affordable for vulnerable groups.

Seattle Passes Energy Disclosure Ordinance: “You Can’t Manage What You Don’t Measure”

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:43:59 +0000

Today, Mayor McGinn of Seattle approved a new Energy Disclosure Ordinance. The ordinance, which is intended to identify energy waste and give property owners and tenants tools to improve energy efficiency, was unanimously approved by the Seattle City Council on January 25th. The new ordinance requires commercial and large multi-family buildings to annually measure, or benchmark, energy usage and provide the City with energy ratings to allow comparison of energy consumption across different buildings. City officials have cited the ordinance as a critical strategy for the City of Seattle in meeting its energy goals.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Seattle City Council Chair Richard Conlin. “Energy disclosure is a key first step to tap into the gold mine of opportunities to save energy and money while improving the City’s existing building stock. I’d like to thank all the members of the Green Building Task Force and other stakeholders who helped create this new ordinance that will save energy and create new jobs in Seattle.”

You can read more about the new Energy Disclosure Ordinance here.

Creating a Green Building Program: Watch Populus’ Presention to Hailey, Idaho City Council and Blaine County Board of County Commissioners

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:10:26 +0000

Looking for an introduction to municipal green building programs or energy efficiency codes? In October of 2009, David Neiger of Populus Sustainable Design Consulting traveled to Idaho to present to the Hailey City Council and the Blaine County Board of County Commissioners regarding above-code energy programs and green building codes. The presentation is a great introduction for elected officials and municipalities to the world of green building.

Watch the full presentation on the Environmental Resource Center’s website: Creating a Green Building Program.

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 municipal energy code consulting. In addition, Populus offers an Energy Code Workshop for architects and municipalities, as well as LEED for Homes training. Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

Green Job Creation: President Obama Proposes Home Energy Retrofit Program

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:26:09 +0000

Have you heard of “Cash for Caulkers?” Yesterday, President Obama proposed a home energy retrofit rebate program as an effort to create more green jobs, while lowering energy consumption through increased home energy efficiency.

Want to learn more? See the White House press release and a transcript of the president’s remarks.

Join Populus at USGBC’s Presentation Regarding High Performance Green Homes

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:12:30 +0000

Want to learn more about building green, high-performance homes? David Neiger of Populus Sustainable Design Consulting will be presenting at the USGBC Colorado Chapter’s Monday night REI series in February regarding high-performance homes. For more information and how to RSVP, see the information below from USGBC Colorado regarding this upcoming event:

Please join USGBC CO Chapter for the first Monday event of 2010!!

Monday February 1, 2010

6-8pm at REI

Presenting

HOW TO BUILD AN EFFICIENT & HIGH PERFORMING HOUSE

(aka GREEN, LEED, ENERGY STAR or just BEST PRACTICES!)

This session will focus on what it takes to build a LEED certified home. Whether you are interested in building a LEED certified or ENERGY STAR qualified home or just want to understand how to build an ultra efficient home this session is for you.

Our speakers will talk about different degrees of building “green,” how to get subcontractors on board, how much more it really costs, what kind of time commitment is involved and whether it is any more difficult to build than the standard home we’ve all become accustomed to building.

Speakers are LEED gold homebuilder Sean Smith of Sean Smith & Company and David Neiger of Populus Sustainable Design Consulting.

Sean Smith, Denver builder since 2000, made his start in the renovations and additions market. After moving to new construction, Sean discovered a lack of attention to energy efficiency in the marketplace and decided to make it his forte. He specializes in custom homes and spec projects that are high performing. Having built two LEED for Homes Gold Certified projects in Denver, Sean has another project pending final certification. Sean’s focus has shifted to optimizing energy performance through sound cost/benefit analysis, and by stressing the need for quality control at the ground level on construction sites. Sean’s projects have also been certified under the Department of Energy’s Builder’s Challenge, and the EPA’s ENERGY STAR programs.

David Neiger is a Principal at Populus Sustainable Design Consulting, an energy performance and green building consulting firm based in Boulder, Colorado. David holds an architecture degree from Pennsylvania State University, as well as certification as a RESNET Certified Home Energy Rater, RESNET Green Rater, BPI Certified Building Analyst, LEED AP and a LEED for Homes AP.

David has consulted on well over a hundred single and multi-family projects along the Colorado Front Range and has extensive experience managing LEED projects and working with architects and builders to achieve net-zero and above-code home performance. As a recognized expert regarding home energy performance, David has presented to a variety of audiences and has trained municipalities, architects and builders nationally regarding green building and above-code energy performance. David has served as a Subject Matter Expert to the USGBC in connection with its LEED for Homes program and currently acts as a Technical Advisor on the City of Boulder’s Climate Action Plan Strategy Residential Technical Team.

RESERVATIONS TO ATTEND CAN BE MADE at

http://www.usgbccolorado.org/metro/events-calendar.html

To assure a seat, please register online in advance

CAPACITY ATTENDANCE IS EXPECTED, SO RESERVE EARLY

Populus Teaching Energy Design Workshop in Denver Tomorrow!

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:41:13 +0000

Just a reminder to all of our architects and builders that Populus Sustainable Design Consulting will be teaching its Energy Design Workshop in Denver tomorrow. The workshop is sponsored by the City and County of Denver, the Governor’s Energy Office and the Environmental Protection Agency. Populus’ Energy Design Workshop will familiarize participants with the HERS energy modeling process required for the ENERGY STAR for New Homes program and give architects and builders hands-on experience learning how to achieve above-code home energy performance within a budget.

Currently there are over sixty people registered for Populus’ workshop, but please contact Jack Sinclair at the City of Denver if you are interested in attending: Jack.Sinclair@denvergov.org. You can find more information about the workshop here.

Populus to Teach ENERGY STAR for New Homes Energy Design Workshop in Denver

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:44:31 +0000

We are pleased to announce that Populus Sustainable Design Consulting will be teaching an ENERGY STAR for New Homes Energy Design Workshop in Denver on December 7th. The Energy Design Workshop is sponsored by the City and County of Denver, the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will highlight How to Achieve Above-Code Home Energy Performance within a Budget. For more information, including how to RSVP for this free workshop, please download the Energy Design Workshop Brochure.

Free DOE Webinar on America’s Model Green Community

Populus Sustainable Design Consulting — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:08:06 +0000

The Department of Energy Building Technologies Program is hosting a free webinar on green home building and Greensburg, Kansas:

DOE Webinar November 23—Greensburg: America’s Model Green Community in Their Own Words

November 12, 2009

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Program is offering a webinar on Monday, November 23, 2009, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EST titled “Greensburg: America’s Model Green Community in Their Own Words.”

This webinar will provide an overview of how Greensburg, Kansas, a town that was nearly destroyed by the largest tornado on record, found new life and purpose rebuilding as “America’s model green community.” Hear from city and government leaders how decisions were made to rebuild with the largest concentration of LEED^® certified buildings in the world, and where the town is headed today.

This webinar is geared toward federal agencies, state energy offices, renewable energy and energy efficiency associations, architects, residential and commercial builders, planning firms, and homeowners. The presenters will include:

Bob Dixson, Mayor, City of Greensburg

Kelly Estes, President, BTI-Greensburg John Deere Dealership

Darin Headrick, Superintendant, Greensburg Schools District USD 422

Daniel Wallach, Executive Director, Greensburg GreenTown

This webinar is free of charge, but you must register in advance to obtain a URL for the presentation and call-in phone number. Learn more about the webinar.

Visit the Building Technologies Program Web site for information about research and development of technologies and practices to achieve the goal of marketable net-zero energy commercial and residential buildings.