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COSC and Demo Homes in DM Business Record

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Business Record

May 10, 2008

Lynnae Hentzen, executive director of the Center on Sustainable Communities, talks with a reporter outside a vacant River Bend house that will become one of three green demonstration homes. Photo by Duane Tinkey

Low-income houses to model "green' techniques

BY JOE GARDYASZ

Building a "green" home, one that's environmentally friendly and energy-efficient, doesn't have to be expensive, says Lynnae Hentzen, executive director of the Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC).

COSC is working with the cities of Des Moines and West Des Moines to build two demonstration houses and renovate a third to serve as "learning laboratories" for contractors, nonprofit housing agencies and the public on green building techniques.

"Not only did we want to make sure that green is out there for affordable homes," Hentzen said, "we also wanted to work with selected agencies that are already building in these neighborhoods."

Hentzen co-founded the nonprofit COSC in February 2005 to provide green building education, with a goal of making sustainable construction a common practice statewide. Funded through grants and other contributions, the organization hosts workshops, green home tours and other educational events.

Home Opportunities Made Easy Inc. (HOME Inc.) will serve as the developer and general contractor for the West Des Moines demonstration house, which will be located in Valley Junction. In Des Moines, Community Housing Development Corp. will renovate a city-owned house as well as build a new one. Both will be located in the River Bend neighborhood on the city's North Side.

The initiative was spearheaded about a year ago by West Des Moines Associate Planner Linda Schemmel and Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie.

"We started thinking about it in our (Mayor's Task Force on Sustainability) and tried to figure out what we could do to demonstrate to people what it's all about," Cownie said. "People think of far-out projects in Popular Science, but we want to show them that in everyday life and in affordable housing that it's possible to build green, to remodel green, to have a more environmentally friendly house ... that costs less to operate, not only on a first-cost basis, but a life-cost basis."

The entire design and construction process will be documented to track the costs of the materials and building techniques chosen. The builders will also conduct workshops during construction to demonstrate various energy-saving building techniques. Once the houses are completed this fall, they will be made available for public tours for several months before being sold to low-income families, Hentzen said.

"We'll have lots of elements identified within the home so you can get a better understanding of what it means to do some of these green things," she said.

Among the financial and in-kind sponsors of the project are the Greater Des Moines Community Foundation, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Principal Financial Group Foundation. Also involved are Metro Waste Authority, Gilcrest/Jewett Lumber Co., Menard Inc., Windsor Windows & Doors and MidAmerican Energy Co. Hentzen said $92,000 has been budgeted to conduct the educational portion of the program.

In addition to workshops and open houses that will be scheduled at each house, Cownie said the green building processes will be videotaped and made available on the city's cable TV channel (Channel 7).

Each of the new houses will be worth approximately $150,000, but will be sold for less than that by using low-income housing subsidies.

Greg Moeller, a builder with Hubbell Homes and chairman of COSC's builder advisory council, said many elements of green building are "really common sense," such as properly sizing the structure so that lumber isn't wasted.

The process also considers energy-efficiency details, from properly sizing the heating and air conditioning units to taping the ductwork to reduce air leaks.

"Rising energy costs are an incredible burden to our client base," said Pam Carmichael, executive director of HOME Inc. "So we're looking at what makes sense for the houses and makes long-term sense for our clients."

The nonprofit organization works with low-income families who want to buy homes, and builds between five and 10 houses each year, typically on vacant lots within existing neighborhoods.

HOME Inc. will base the West Des Moines house on a house it built in Des Moines, which will allow comparisons of energy costs.

"One of the things we're looking closely at is (whether to install) a geothermal system on a house this size, because it is a very small unit. It may work on townhomes."

Carmichael said her organization plans to incorporate lessons learned from the first house into a second house it will build next summer.

At the same time, Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity is partnering with COSC to build a green demonstration Habitat house near the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The organizations are working with the current Leadership Iowa class on the project.

The project will be open during construction, but a family will move in immediately upon completion.

"We're hoping this actually takes us to a new level where we can be more sustainable and green for our houses," said Lance Henning, executive director of the Habitat chapter. "We've always been at the front end of standards, and we hope this is going to raise the level of what we're doing."

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COSC on Welcome Home T.V. show - Central Iowa's Guide for Living

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COSC FairFIELD Trip in DM Register

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Green projects could take root here, ecovillagers say

Near Fairfield, residents harvest sun, wind, rain; lawns are edible

July 12, 2007

Lynn Hicks, Register Business Writer

Fairfield, Ia. - About 30 people cool off in Stacey Hurlin's living room as temperatures outside soar toward 90 degrees. Chilled air streams out of the vents, and a ceiling fan swirls above.

The cost of this comfort: almost nothing.

Hurlin lives off the power grid, in a solar- and wind-powered "ecovillage" north of Fairfield that sustains itself by growing organic food, collecting rainwater and recycling sewage. Living richly - with high-speed Internet and flush toilets - can be economically and environmentally sound, ecovillagers say.

"I'm amazed at how easy it is to live off the grid," said Hurlin, who moved to Abundance Ecovillage a year ago. "I'm appalled that it isn't happening more."

As a haven for followers of Transcendental Meditation, Fairfield is fertile ground for such a project. But some homebuilders and sellers say the market for off-the-grid developments is growing in central Iowa.

"Absolutely," said Susan Webster, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in Des Moines who specializes in selling green homes. "Buyers are out there, but developers are not ready to go there."

Demand for environmentally friendly home developments is fueled in part by rising energy costs and concerns that fossil fuel-hungry homes contribute to climate change.

But there are many shades of green. The best-known project in central Iowa is Hubbell Realty Co.'s conservation communities in Waukee, Grimes and Carlisle, which incorporate native prairie landscaping and stormwater management.

Webster and others believe there is room for projects that go further, even off the grid.

She wants to establish green developments in Warren County, but she's butting against zoning ordinances that require two-acre lots and neighbors concerned about high-density projects.

Developments like Abundance Ecovillage cluster homes into smaller lots and use the rest of the land for common areas, such as orchards, greenhouses and ponds. Smaller yards mean less lawn maintenance and the resulting environmental damage.

Abundance Ecovillage forgoes grass turf for an "edible landscape." Grapevines cover trellises in front of homes. Yards are filled with hardy kiwi, gooseberry, native plum and other varieties selected to thrive in southeast Iowa's hot summers and cold winters.

"It's a radical thing, growing food where you live," said Lonnie Gamble, founder of the ecovillage.

Gamble, an electrical engineer by training, lives a couple of miles away on a farm that serves as a testing ground for the ideas he's incorporated into the ecovillage. He hasn't paid an electric bill in 15 years, he says. He powers his old Mercedes-Benz sedan with sesame massage oil recycled from the Raj spa in nearby Vedic City.

But a green lifestyle needn't be Spartan, he argues.

"Our showers are just as hot, and our beers are just as cold," Gamble said.

He shows off one ecovillage home - a 3,600-square-foot house with five bedrooms and four baths - that uses 100 kilowatt-hours of power a month. A typical home might use 1,000 kilowatt-hours, Gamble said.

The home's annual power bill: $300 a year in propane, used as a backup to solar and wind power.

The secret is conservation, Gamble said. The homes use efficient compact fluorescent and LED lighting and power-sipping appliances. Earth tubes - a low-tech version of expensive geothermal systems - keep the homes cool.

Alternative energy can be economical, Gamble argues, if power is used more wisely.

The ecovillage includes five houses now and has sold three other lots. Gamble envisions 21 homes, plus 10 families in multifamily buildings. Homes, which are built with locally milled lumber, are averaging $100 per square foot to build, Gamble said. That's similar to entry-level homes in the Des Moines area, builders say, and much less than custom building.

Gamble was not a professional developer, and he said the six-year-old project has taken longer than expected.

"It's changed from a for-profit venture to a labor of love," he said. But others have proven that green developments can have solid returns, he said.

Weldon Abarr, co-owner of Iowa Home Crafters, a custom builder based in Ames, visited the ecovillage this month with other members of the Center on Sustainable Communities, a Des Moines-based nonprofit that promotes green building.

He was impressed that Gamble was able to find economical ways to build homes and use alternative energy. But he said central Iowa homeowners need more awareness and education before an ecovillage can take off.

Hurlin, who moved to Abundance Ecovillage last year, said she thinks the ecovillage concept could work anywhere, even in the Des Moines area. She's a recent convert herself: After her last child left home, she and her husband decided they were finished with five acres of mowing and sold their 4,800-square-foot home in Fairfield and moved into an 850-square-foot house.

She plugs into high-speed Internet on her laptop. Thick walls and insulation keep down her bills for propane, which she uses for heating and running the dryer and stove.

She hasn't given up much, she said, and has found unexpected benefits to living off the grid.

"It's hard not to be smug when a storm goes through. We can see the lights go off in the city from here," she said.

Executive Business Editor Lynn Hicks can be reached at (515) 284-8290 or lhicks@dmreg.com

Advice for green development
Lonnie Gamble’s advice for developing green neighborhoods:

• Developers should partner with builders who can build spec homes. Gamble and his partners decided not to build homes, only to provide the land, energy systems and other infrastructure. Some people reserved lots but didn’t follow through, holding up the project. “If you build spec houses, people will buy them,” he said.

• Use the alternative technology yourself before selling it to others.

• Consider building developments inside an urban area to minimize sprawl and enable people to live without cars.

• Plan on a long build-out time and lots of time educating prospects. “People may have a hard time envisioning a pleasant, high density, car-free environment,” he said.

Panora development planned
A New York couple wants to create an off-the-grid housing development near Panora.

Mary Ann and Rob Litchfield hope to break ground next year on farmland they inherited. The initial project could begin with 25 to 50 acres and grow much larger, Mary Ann Litchfield said.

The project, on Iowa Highway 44 six miles east of Panora, could integrate solar and wind power, permaculture — a type of sustainable agriculture and landscaping — and other elements they’ve learned from Abundance Ecovillage in Fairfield and other green developments.

The Litchfields, who are retired in the Finger Lakes area of New York, plan to move to the area and build a straw-bale home from oats grown on the property.

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COSC in DM Business Record

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Group strives to raise profile of green building
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Jason Hancock, jasonhancock@bpcdm.com

When Lynnae Hentzen moved to Des Moines three years ago with her husband and three kids, she wanted to remodel her new home to make it more "green."

"I guess I'm a lifelong environmentalist," she said. "My father was a professor of biology."

But at the time, she said, that type of construction, which emphasizes energy efficiency, resource conservation and indoor air quality, wasn't possible in Des Moines.  "You saw it in commercial and government buildings, but it wasn't available in the residential market," Hentzen said. "That market needed an advocate."

So Hentzen, along with friends Beth Hicks and Chaden Halfhill, formed the Center on Sustainable Communities to try to become that advocate.

"We actually had a kickoff dinner with our families at my house in November of 2004 and the three of us started meeting weekly at La Mie (Bakery and Restaurant) beginning in January 2005 to form our mission and strategy of how we could best serve communities across Iowa," she said.

Now, COSC has a core group of builders, suppliers, lenders, appraisers and real estate agents who see the value of green building and want to help raise awareness of the growing trend in the residential market.

"The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," Hentzen said. "But there are challenges, as we're asking people to rethink business as usual."

Hentzen, who serves as the organization's executive director, said the best thing about green building is that everyone can find something good about it.

"If you or your child has asthma or allergies, improving the air quality of your home is a big deal to you," she said. "If you're a strong environmentalist, this is obviously going to appeal to you. And if you're just worried about the bottom line, making your home more energy efficient will save you money."

Hentzen and her family have finally been able to begin turning their home green, with the master bedroom and bathroom complete and the kitchen under way.

"You have to go in steps," she said. "If you try to make your home completely green all at once, you will get overwhelmed and do nothing."

Little things can also help make your home green, Hentzen said, such as changing to more energy-efficient light bulbs, sealing duct work and looking closely at the products you buy to see what has gone into making them.

Content © 2007 Des Moines Business Record

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COSC Executive Director Receives the MWA Environmental Stewardship Award

Each year Metro Waste Authority (MWA) recognizes exceptional organizations and individuals as leaders in environmental stewardship. This year, Lynnae Hentzen was honored to receive this award for efforts focusing on residential green building education and as co-founder of COSC.

Congratulations also go to Lance Henning, Executive Director of the Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity as they are being honored for the success of Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Marianne Gelb, honored for her efforts as a City of Des Moines Park and Recreation Board Member.

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COSC in DM Register

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COSC in DM Juice

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New Green Products page

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COSC Announces Shaklee's "Giving Profits" Program

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Home mortgages going 'green'

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COSC in Des Moines Business Record Article

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Remarkable Building Leeds the Way to a Sustainable Future

Walk Softly Columns by Linda Mason Hunter