Get rid of that hot-water tank in your basement. Toss it right out.
“It’s the last thing you want,” said Norman Cook, adjunct professor of construction at the Community College of Rhode Island, who this fall will teach a series of classes for professionals and amateurs alike on the latest techniques in “green” design and construction for residential and commercial buildings.
Offered by the Division of Lifelong Learning at the Knight Campus in Warwick, on Wednesday evenings from Sept. 24 through Oct. 22, the classes are based on well-accepted , national energy-efficiency standards adopted by the U.S. Green Building Council and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, Cook said.
The sessions focus on what Cook called the “envelope” or physical structure of a building, including the windows and doors, incorporating the most environmentally friendly and energy-efficient practices for such construction features as plumbing, heating, electrical systems and insulation. “How should I build a house in today’s economy?” is one of the questions Cook said the courses will address.
Although similar courses he has taught in the past have drawn many professional architects and engineers, Cook stressed that the new series of fall classes are open to do-it-yourselfers and average homeowners who want to increase the energy efficiency of their own homes. “We definitely want the homeowners,” he said.
Even professionals, however, can benefit from a refresher course. Cook noted how doctors, for example, are required to keep up their training in the latest medical techniques over the years, but such is not the case for builders. Most builders, he said, use the same techniques developed decades ago even though much has changed, especially the cost of energy. To meet modern needs, “they have to change the science of the building,” he said of the professional designers and builders.
Consider that hot-water tank, for instance.
Most buildings have hot-water tanks that heat water day and night so it is ready when needed. Such a device is on the edge of extinction, Cook indicated. An instantaneous or on-demand water heater “heats the amount of water you need when you need it,” Cook said, “so you’re not wasting energy the rest of the time.” He said the device, available in retail stores for about $600, works in minutes and can hang on a wall in the bathroom or kitchen, no bigger than a wall telephone.
Other tips Cook will discuss in the classes include:
• Most boilers attached to heating systems are only 35- to 40-percent efficient, Cook said, so about 60 cents of every dollar is wasted. A “condensing boiler,” he said, has a loss of only about 2 cents on the dollar and is available at retail stores at a slightly higher cost than regular boilers. “But that’s not the question,” he said. “The question should be: ‘What will that save me?’ and a condensing boiler will pay for itself very quickly.”
• “Rigid insulation” will outperform pink fiberglass every time, Cook said, because “glass is a lousy insulator, it’s very inefficient.” The rigid variety resembles insulating foam, but comes in a “solid rigid block” that Cook noted has been treated to inhibit fire, vermin and mold.
• Never buy a light bulb again, by switching to what Cook called “solid-state lighting” or Light Emitting Diodes (LED) that are like transistors, generate no heat and never have to be replaced. Solid-state lighting can be used with existing lamp fixtures without modification, according to Cook.
• When painting the walls of a nursery or kitchen, use intumescent paint because in the event of fire the paint “will foam up like shaving cream and won’t allow the walls to burn,” Cook said. The fire-resistant paint sells for about $30 per gallon and is available at most paint stores, Cook said. •
To learn more about the classes, check the CCRI Web site at www.ccri.edu/lifelong.
