>

>

The Providence Journal / Frank Gerardi

PROVIDENCE Build a better environment.

Insulate. Ventilate. Mechanically update.

But before that, consider attending the Home Show. It’s Wednesday through Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

The theme is “Think green.” That means designing and equipping new houses and retrofitting old ones for energy efficiency.

“It’s such a natural for the Home Show,” says Roger Warren, executive director of the Rhode Island Builders Association, the show’s presenter. “People are looking toward environmentally friendly construction.”

If you look, you’ll find lots of people and products for that at the Home Show, which involves 300 vendors and 100,000 square-feet of exhibition space. Much of the show is standard stuff: fences, cabinets, alarms. If it’s in or around a house, it’s here.

You’ll also find a series of seminars, on such things as reverse mortgages and landscape design. But given the environmental times, one seminar is of particular appeal: “What is green building and how do I accomplish it?”

There are two sides to this seminar: old houses and new ones. And there are two experts leading the talk, one for each age of house.

Dan Paquette is the president and founder of Green Works, an eco-friendly construction consulting firm in Middletown. He’ll be talking about new construction. And Wayne Ferri is a residential energy specialist with RISE Engineering in Cranston. He’ll be talking about old construction.

What follows is a brief preview of their talk, which is Saturday at 3 p.m.

Program preview

Going green means using less energy.

“It’s planning, designing and building the home to minimize the environmental impact,” Paquette says. “That’s the definition we’ve created.”

The “we” is the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). This spring the organization is expected to approve a new set of comprehensive energy-efficient construction guidelines, years in the making: the National Green Building Standard.

The standard covers myriad subjects, from water use to indoor air quality, energy use to site development. But Paquette, who last month was among the first group of people to receive the NAHB certification as a “green professional,” can summarize the standard simply.

“It’s not about tricks. It’s just great design and building materials.”

For instance, it’s not just the type of windows used (high insulation), but their placement: on the sunny sides of a house.

“We have much better technical ways of dealing with energy conservation: super insulation, great windows, mechanical systems and whole-house ventilation systems,” Paquette says. “We can build energy-efficient, tight houses that are very comfortable.”

Back in the ’70s Paquette was building houses in Rhode Island during that decade’s energy crisis. He was involved in active and passive solar heating, and, he reports, the construction of the state’s first underground house, in Middletown.

“All of the technology has caught up. Today, it is far more rewarding and easier.”

Energy conservation, Paquette says, begins before building, with planning, which will dictate the types of materials to be used.

“Once you put energy-efficient systems in place, you’ll use less energy, regardless of what the fuel source is: oil, gas, wood. You’re going to spend less energy on your house. The other benefit will be a less drafty house with improved air quality.”

Insulation is also instrumental in saving energy, and money. You can increase the thickness of rolled insulation. You can spray in foam insulation between rafter and stud bays. And you can also use structural insulation.

“You can actually build the house out of insulation. You use structural insulation rather than traditional framing.”

An energy-efficient house, Paquette says, is “task one.”

“Once you’ve accomplished that, then supporting that house with a renewable energy — wind or solar — makes great sense. Those are nice add-ons to a building that’s tight with a good mechanical system and good ventilation.”

Some think going green means going lavish. Paquette says that’s not the case. A house built, by design, with state-of-the-art energy-saving features costs nominally more than one without such features. However, he says, reduced fuel use of 20 percent to 40 percent on the energy-efficient house quickly recoups its cost.

“I think going green will become standard fare. I think people will turn their focus toward it and ask their builders to include these elements in the house they want to live in.”

Retro-fitting old houses

Most people do not build houses from scratch. They simply move into existing ones.

To these people, Wayne Ferri of RISE Engineering has been giving free energy-saving advice for 23 years.

“Our business is predicated on the retro-fit. We never get calls to go into a new house. We look at an existing house and look what we can do to it.”

That look, called an energy audit, is free. RISE, which is a private company, is paid by National Grid to perform the audits.

“It’s to their advantage for you to use electricity wisely. A bigger power plant isn’t good for anybody.”

When Ferri visits a house, he looks for ways where energy can be saved: the type of refrigerator, window and light bulbs used.

“We look at the shell of your house and see how energy leaks out. We look at the heating system. You may have an energy-efficient house, but you may have a monster in the basement.”

One of the most fundamental recommendations is to add insulation, rolling it out in the attic and pumping it into the walls. RISE can then carry out the work, if the homeowner chooses. Then a year later, RISE will return to inspect its work, using an infrared camera.

“It almost looks like an X-ray. You can see all the studs and the insulation or the lack of it. That’s when we say ‘Oops, we missed a spot.’ If we find a hole, we’ll go back and fill it.”

While RISE gives the audit, which includes an estimate on the cost of the proposed work and the energy costs it would save, a homeowner can contract anyone to do the work.

“Our audit is designed to give you a shopping list of things to do and in what order. If you have an 80-year-old house with 80-year-old insulation, you can rely on us to list the priorities.”

While cost savings will vary from house to house, Ferri says some savings are readily apparent to all. For instance, compact fluorescent light bulbs will use about 70 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs; and replacing a boiler that’s 75 percent efficient with one that’s 95 percent will yield a 20 percent savings.

A house without insulation in its walls, Ferri says, could save 25 percent in fuel by adding insulation; and if there’s no insulation in the attic, that could save 35 percent.

“When people have an audit, they will see real numbers.”

Ferri remembers numbers from the first house he audited 23 years ago. It was a modest one-story ranch that used 1,000 gallons of oil a year. After the RISE audit and remediation, it uses 500 gallons a year.

“That’s thousands of gallons saved at that one house. How many tons of carbon emissions have we not put into the environment because of that one small ranch?”

One person can make a big difference, Ferri says. And practicality can come with no cost to aesthetics.

“When we’re done with a house, no one will see that we changed it. You can walk by the old Victorian the next day and you won’t know that we insulated the walls. We don’t want to ruin the character of an old house.”

The Home Show, which began back in 1948, offers more than just information, services and materials about houses. It also offers spa treatments, book signings and cooking demonstrations. There are also presentations about beer brewing.

“We don’t do everything green,” says Warren, the show’s organizer. “And I don’t believe they’ll be doing green beer. It’s just something of general interest.”

The Home Show is at the Rhode Island Convention Center, One Sabin St., Providence, Wednesday through Sunday. It’s open Wednesday and Thursday, 2 to 9 p.m.; Friday, 2 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $10, $8 for seniors, $3 for children, 6-12, and free for those younger. For more information, visit www.ribahomeshow.com

brourke@projo.com