Home Green Homes

“I’d like to describe what we do as wellness integrated living. That is actually the foundation and inspiration behind our book. Since it is so difficult to disseminate this information. A lot of people shot at Whole Foods, but they don’t even know or think about the house, “Is my house healthy?” like it’s just not something that’s on top of people’s mind yet. So I think that’s really going to be hopefully pivotal as far as educating people, which is part of our mission.” With so many building materials out on the market, it's hard to know what's going into your family's home. JS2 Partners Healthy Home Builder is doing something no other builder is doing. They are creating better living through healthier building, using exclusively non-toxic construction materials and design methods in our custom homes. Jen and Rusty Stout share their story about how they came to recognize that each homeowner has their own needs and unique sense of style, how they came to specializes in healthy home building & design in the Austin, TX area and surrounding Central Texas Hill Country region, and how they ended up writing a book, Healthier Homes, to spread the knowledge.

“I am an interior designer. I call the architect who calls the contractor. We all call landscaper because we’re all obsessed with plants right now. But all day we’re working in tandem in a circle. So I thought everyone needs to be involved here. What does it matter if I spend all my time trying to source responsibly and bill my clients may be a little extra for these efforts […] if the contractor just goes in and throws everything in the landfill anyway? So why did we do that? We need to close the gap like close the whole circle.” Katie Storey is an established interior designer based in San Francisco, who had an epiphany when she realized her work was big contributor to a massive waste problem generated in the world, particularly in the design and building industry, despite her own personal practice in conscious living. One of the resources that awoken and inspired Katie was Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the date when humanity has used all the biological resources that Earth regenerates during the entire year. She founded The Good Future Design Alliance, a community of design and building professionals committed to reduce waste to “forge a radical new path.” She shares how this fast-growing network of design leaders are shaking up the industry with access to cutting edge tools to help them meet their professional low-waste goals, and invites designers, architects, general contractors, landscapers as well as manufacturers to join the movement.

“My modeling shows that the number one thing you can do to reduce the carbon footprint of your house is to switch from gas water heater to heat pump water heater.” As an energy consultant with Build Smart Group, Nick Brown, helps homeowners, builders and developers to design energy efficient and sustainable homes and buildings and ensuring they meet the California energy code. On this podcast, Nick shares why heat pump water heater is the best solution when replacing existing gas water heater or designing new buildings. Up to about 10 years ago gas water heater was standard, and came the gas tankless water heater became popular, but now the current heat pump technology makes the heat pump water heater a better choice in terms of energy efficiency; hence, reducing the carbon footprint. Nick offers the insight on how the heat pump works to make it more efficient compared to other options we have for water heater as well as some tips for what to know about replacing the unit to heat pump. Nick recommends for consumers to check the Switch Is On site to learn more about home electrification including more information about the heat pump water heater and other appliances; how to find the contractors to install, and about the available incentives.

“We are kind of in a new world order now. People are just loving driving electric. A study, a data showed that once you entered that market even if it’s plug-in hybrid electric, which is I have, you don’t go back so much. You don’t go back to gas car. You stay electric.” Zan Dubin Scott, a communication specialist of ZDS Communications, one of co-founders of Plug-in America and the co-founder of National Drive Electric Week, is a passionate advocate of electric vehicles since the beginning. Zan shares the current market condition as of 2022 with a brief reference to the history of electric vehicle industry including what’s going on in the infrastructure that supports the driving needs. While there are many more electric vehicle models available today than ever, Zan says it may not be a good time to acquire EVs due to the shortage of inventory affected by a number of factors. Yet, if you’re more concerned about reducing carbon footprint today and have extra cash, Zan says to go ahead and get one by all means. There are some really cool EVs that you can get today. Also, there are still federal tax credit as well as rebates available. California residents can check what’s available at DriveClean California website.

“To me permaculture is really planning. It’s a road to sustainability. And I will add that may be not commonly used but its part of it is resilience.” Ruth Meghiddo, AIA, of Meghiddo Architects, founded Farm Urbana in 2014 with the vision for cities to become prosperous and sustainable. Ruth’s passion for urban farming began decades earlier, as a student at UCLA. There, she published a pioneering thesis in sustainability, “Agriculture in Urban Environments: City and Farm Romance.” Her background in architecture and urban design inspired her to create edible garden solutions. She became a Certified Permaculture Design Consultant. She draws from permaculture design the agenda of natural green living and create the urban framework for consciously designed local farming landscapes to provide sustainable and resilient cities. They are keen to incorporate the element of farming into the built environment, connect to nature, and activate local communities around growing fresh food and a healthy lifestyle. Ruth discusses history of permaculture, the principles and how she envisions permaculture to be a provide a roadmap to sustainable urban living for all people.

“Chefs don't like it. It’s not gourmet way to cook. … I won’t cook on gas any more. And in my private chef life, I literally bring my induction hub to my fancy clients’ kitchen if they don’t already have induction because it cooks better, faster and more accurate.” Chef Rachelle Boucher (a.k.a. “The Appliance Whisperer”) of Kitchens to Life is a celebrated national cooking appliance trainer, private chef, influencer and event expert with over twenty years of experience creating custom training programs, activities and hands-on workshops for appliance brands, architects, designers, developers and end users to help them choose, use and enjoy modern cooking appliances and technology. After an adventurous career as a top private chef for celebrities such as filmmaker George Lucas, rock band Metallica, legendary sports celebrities and many other luminaries, Rachelle was recruited into the home appliance industry. She quickly became a celebrated corporate chef, trainer, and consultant with Monark Home, Sub-Zero & Wolf, Miele U.S.A. and many others working to showcase cooking technology such as convection, induction, speed cooking, steam cooking and more. This experience grew into a passion for electric cooking appliances which inspired her to become a leading advocate for electric kitchens and home electrification. Chef Rachelle has exceptional local, national, and international relationships with cooking appliance manufacturers, vendors, dealers, architects, designers, builders, influencers and industry groups including ASID, AIA, NKBA, NARI and experts in related fields. She is working tirelessly to bring electric kitchens to the forefront with her partner Robert Roth with their new venture, “Kitchens to Life” whose mission is to “Elevate the electric kitchens conversation, engage stakeholders with today’s inspiring cooking options and facilitate the adoption of kitchens electrification for performance, people and planet.” Rachelle recently joined forces with Building Decarbonization Coalitionto further the movement to electrify kitchens where abundant resources for electrification is available.

“We shouldn’t imagine that we’ll just get a $20,000 home loan and decarbonize the whole house. We could do that, but that’s not the most common way. More common, like you said, people are gonna have something that’s breaking or just broke, and they need to replace it. Now is the time to spend the money and I’m going to get an electrified version. That means like a 8-year horizon. You can get the whole house like by 2030 and that would be great for the planet.” Sean Armstrong is the Managing Principal of Redwood Energy and has worked for 25 years in building electrification, designed the retrofit and new construction of more than 10,000 all-electric residences for disadvantaged populations, co-authored five practical guides to building electrification, provided legal and technical support to dozens of gas bans nationwide, helped develop the 2016/2019/2022 and 2025 Title 24 California Energy Codes, and has received sustainable design awards from the United Nations, the U.S. Department of Energy and the SoCal Building Industry Association. Together Redwood Energy has led the design of more than 1500 units of Zero Net Energy, all-electric affordable housing, and 200 all-electric market rate residences. They provide Title 24 modeling, design support and Utility Allowance modeling to create cost-effective Zero Net Energy housing. Their projects range from cottages to high rise residences, commercial spaces and large facilities. Publications of comprehensive resources by Redwood Energy based on their extensive research are available on their website.

What you need to do is to talk to somebody that understands it all, that can look at and understand what’s going on in your home and help you decide what aspirational approach or what would be possible, and then back down as necessary. And you’ll get the best possible result. Passive House (Passivhaus) represents today’s highest energy standard for building performance with the promise of reducing the operational energy consumption of buildings by up to 75% in California, while providing superior comfort and extreme indoor air quality – all with minimal additional upfront investment. When coupled with renewable energy systems, such as solar PV, Passive House puts zero net energy within easy reach. Passive House is a proven standard, already applied to more than 100,000 buildings in all climate zones and is growing exponentially. [passivehousecal.org] Jay dissects the Passive House in an understandable way, offers an insight of what makes a passive house, benefits and how to have passive house. To watch the interview with Jay's presentation, go to YouTube channel.

“We have maximum above ground size limit for the homes. Sometimes cities or HOAs would have minimum size limits, but we have maximums. The reasons are two-fold: One to maintain the human scale so that we don’t have enormous homes. Also because one of the easiest ways to make homes more sustainable or to building in general is to limit their size.” Mulberry Grove in Moab, Utah, is a community developed by an architect Kalen Jones and his associates on a 20-acre of land with 42 lots developed in mid-2000s. This unique community was designed with an intention to make it sustainable and pedestrian centric residential community providing open space and connection to nature. It was developed as HOA giving the authority for HOA to manage the infrastructure and providing “green building program” as a guideline for the property owners to build on the lots. Kalen discusses the brief history of the development and some of the features that makes this community unique and sustainable. The slideshow is available here. For more information, contact Kalen Jones at [email protected].

“We now have a much evolved scope of how we are thinking about creating a better places for people to live, and looking at how to create regenerative neighborhoods that are truly creating more energy, more thriving lives for folks that more equitable, more vulnerable that helping address issues of climate resilience.” To facilitate new ways of thinking, Build It Green convenes stakeholders tackling challenges around housing in California. By enabling collaboration across silos, we can collectively start to envision the regenerative housing ecosystem we want to see—one that meets the interconnected needs of individuals, communities, and the environment. Hannah Bruegmann, director of initiatives, shares the brief history of the genesis of Build It Green and about the different programs Build It Green developed and operate over the years and how each can benefit the home building industry, building professionals as well as homeowners. The resources she mentions include CalGreen for the updated California building code as well as Switch Is On where consumers can check on the incentives available for energy upgrades.

“I realized that I had to take the matters in my own hand. So it’s not just research the materials and the fixtures, and all the nice end product finishes. You had to make sure there’s no VOCs in your cabinets and flooring, and beyond that. I realized I had to research all the mechanical pieces and what goes behind the walls. It was frustrating but I realized if I didn’t do it, I’d be making a huge mistake.” Lisa is a Director Sustainability at Metrolink with a long history in the sustainability field. A few years ago, Lisa and her husband decided to remodel their home and committed to walk the walk of living a sustainability by converting their home into a “green home.” Decabonization, by eliminating the gas line and electrifying the home was the major element of this project. She shares how she went about achieving this and about the challenges she had to face as well as some of the specific choices she made in doing so.

At certain points I think a lot of the building owners and management companies see the writing on the wall coming with policies changing not only at city level but also at state level with benchmarking, and conservation code is coming out, stretch code is coming out that they’re going to need to basically comply with within the next 10 to 20 years, next two decades. In a lifetime of a building, that’s pretty short. So they need to start investing now, and if they have free help from a local non-profit, then they are going to jump on it. So that’s kind of what our selling point has been there. But then also we are encountering a lot of building owners who do care about their tenants. USGBC-LA’s The Green Affordable Housing Program (GAHP) was developed to support all Angelenos in having healthy, efficient, and resilient places to live, work, and play. This program delivers green community resources to disadvantaged communities and historically underserved neighborhoods that are energy-inefficient or burdened with pollution sources that are hazardous to communities’ health. The GAHP provides owners and residents of multi-family properties located in the Eastern San Fernando Valley with strategies for reducing energy and water costs, and greenhouse gas emissions. The Green Affordable Housing Program provides: Tenant Workshops in English and Spanish covering sustainable practices & occupant health to help reduce utility costs; Enrollment assistance with LADWP programs and rebates; Guidance through a menu of efficiency & electrification options to facilitate building retrofits; Subsidized installation of innovative new green building technology to reduce utility costs and gas emissions; Air and water quality monitoring provided at no-cost. Workshops for both property owners and tenants will be delivered at 20 selected multi-family properties. Participants will also receive a toolkit with resources on sustainable practices and occupant health, programs and rebates, tips on water and energy savings, building retrofit support and more!

“Anytime moisture is in the house, it not only can create a potential for mold growth or mildew, it can raise the humidity levels drastically based on what’s going on and how long it’s been going on, and that can actually create a very unhealthy environment inside the house.” Amanda Klecker is a Certified Building Biology Practitioner and Certified Professional Inspector trained with the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Amanda is passionate about helping homeowners create their own healthy living environment. Over the last few years, Amanda has become a green living expert in terms of keeping a healthy house. She is constantly involved in learning about the newest found toxins and solutions for healthy living. Amanda offers a wide variety of resources on her website as well as via Instagram for homeowners, homebuyers, and real estate agents to identify health issues in home environment and tips and ideas for creating healthier living.

“What I envision is where everybody has healthy homes regardless of your income, your age, your ability, your race of gender whatever it may be. Everybody has access to clean, comfortable home that’s energy efficient, that’s run of clean renewable energy that’s not wasting any necessary resources. I really think that’s possible. It’s possible even now. It’s not 20 years from now, but it’s possible right now. If you want to make that happen, we can absolutely make that happen. That’s my message. You know when there’s a will, there’s a way. I completely believe in that.” Avideh is a Southern California based licensed Architect specializing in sustainable/regenerative design. She believes that though buildings are primarily a matter of tectonics, they emerge from and contribute to social and ecological systems. While she has previously served as co-facilitator of the Living Future Los Angeles collaborative, as well as co-chair AIA Los Angeles Committee on the Environment, she is currently on the steering committee of the AIA California Climate Action Committee, leading AIA CA's efforts on embodied carbon. I also sit on the board of directors of USGBC-Los Angeles chapter. Avideh shares of her history and passion that led her to where she is today professionally, and her experience as an owner/founder of ZEROHOUZ, which is her personal journey to renovate a small 99-year old home in Signal Hills into a regenerative home as an example of what can be done. Avideh has partnered with Building Decarbonization Coalition to utilize a campaign called, “Switch Is On” that educates the general public about the importance of home electrification.

"We can talk about your particular situation and what’s best for you. Don’t ever get confused. Clients (home owners, buyers, investors) should recognize that they are the drivers. Everybody else is merely tools to help you get where you’re going. But you need guidance sometime to help you learn just what you can do and then you can make a qualified decision." Mike Young is a 203K consultant, who has helped homeowners, home buyers as well as investors to achieve their goals for their new home visions. As a 203K consultant, he works with lenders who offer FHA 203K loan, which is a loan that includes renovation loan, which upon completion of the renovation work, becomes commonly used FHA loan, 203B. His job is to inspect homes to identify what can be done to improve the property structure-wise, cosmetically as well as energy efficiency wise to come up with a scope of work to put out for bids. Once the borrower selects the contractor based on their bids, 203K consultant would act as an liaison between the lender, contractor and the borrower to assure smooth construction process and underwriting process.

The new research has shown that when the humans are connected to nature in interior spaces, their blood pressure goes down, their serotonin level goes down, they got the dopamine kick in the brain that’s the happy hormone, and you end up with 15 to 20 % more creativity, happier wellbeing, 15% more productivity, and people want to be there so your attendance is higher and people would linger longer in the interior space, so you can see people kind of gravitate towards nature in any space. They are happier and more curious. So you have happier and healthier occupants. Macelle Albelda is a biophilic designer, currently the Vice President of Sales for GreenMood Acoustical Moss Walls. Macella explains what “biophilia” means and its brief history, what are considered “Biophilic” design elements in the built environment and the benefits of them offering practical tips for people to integrate in their living space to live happier and healthier life even when living in the urban environments.

Net-Zero homes and energy efficiency, everyone knows that language. But materials are something people are just learning about. They are really getting pushed to the front. I think everybody knows that USGBC, International Living Future Institute, and Healthy Product Declarations. There’s this push the materials, and in so doing the green homes forward. Kate Bachner holds an MA in Contemporary Art from the Sotheby’s Institute and a B.A. in Art History from Emory University. She has studied the principles of sustainable building and healthy materials at NYU and the Parsons School of Design. She has earned her LEED GA, WELL AP, and LFA. Kate is also a licensed real estate agent in the state of California. Her new venture, Wise Matter, marries Kate’s deep knowledge of healthy building products with her refined eye for art and curation to create a home that is beautiful from the inside out. Kate shares her journey of coming from the world of art to being in the world of green building and real estate, and why she chose this path. She reflects on her experience and knowledge from working with homeowners and developers as she offers some insight into what are the current challenges and prospects in creating more healthy homes.

After we had an energy audit done, we knew why some rooms in our home was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. In addition to our propane furnace approaching the end of its life, we needed to improve the energy efficiency of the home before we even consider of getting solar panels on the roof. Henry Francois of Gundlach’s Services from Bakersfield talked through the energy efficiency improvement project of our home. Based on the findings from the energy audit, they replaced the furnace with 96% efficiency unit; added cellulose insulation in the attic; repaired fallen insulation and placed Tybek paper to keep the insulation from breathing in the crawl space and caulked the ceiling to seal the air leak from outside and attic. Henry explains some of the logistics and the objectives of each of the work done. He offers some insight into how to prioritize the work that may have greater return of investment and result in creating more comfortable homes. In order to get this work done, we utilized an unsecured financing specifically designed to provide energy efficiency improvements through GoGreen Financing, and was able to obtain a loan called, REEL (Residential Energy Efficiency Loan). You must use the contractors who are vetted and registered in their network to qualify for the loan.

"There are many things inside our home that people can focus on before you even get the solar." Before homeowners rush to get the solar panels installed on your roof, it is recommended that the "envelope" of your home be inspected to make sure the energy is not being wasted. Carl Reese, a general contractor and building inspector with many qualifications, discusses what energy audit also known as "home performance evaluation" recently and why homeowners and home buyers should have one, and what measures you can take to improve the energy efficiency of your home and reduce the utility bills as well as the indoor air quality. Carl suggests the first thing the homeowners can do is to change the light bulbs to LED, which would reduce the energy bill by up to one quarter. If the home tends to be dusty and/or you sneeze a lot in the house, that's a sign of air leaking into the living area from the attic and that the duct works should be looked at by HVAC professionals. Improving the insulation and sealing air leaks, which can be done relatively easily and inexpensive, alone would have more immediate return of investment.

“Banks love it because they know after the mortgage a lot of people’s next payment is utility payment. So if they see that you’re gonna have a home without $200 or $300 monthly utility payment, the banks would make the asset more valuable and to the new buyer it’s neat to get a net zero home and it’s more exciting for them.” Steve Nauert, a mortgage broker with Green Mortgage Advantage, as well as real estate broker, offers various mortgage products that allow new home buyers as well as home owners to take on a mortgage that includes the funds to get home improvements done for energy efficiency upgrades. We discuss the advantage and benefits for both the lenders and the borrowers of these mortgage products and why consumers should consider.

“We care about the home owner, and we care about the environment. We’re trying to lower emissions into the atmosphere where we’re trying to build it. We’re conscious, eco-conscious. So we care about sustainability, and we care about the toxins that are in your home. We don’t want VO2 emissions going off in your living space. The real heart of my messages are that we care.” - LeAn Fortunate Homes builds well thought-out carefully designed homes with love. Their design includes a functional floor plan, tasteful finishes, and the best top-of-the-line Green Building Techniques. They create a WIN-WIN-WIN because they create passive income for investors, a wonderful home for the owners, and reduce the impact on the earth.

… regenerative real estate can go as deep as regenerative design by looking at why are we considering the rain that falls on our roof storm water whenever it is the precious vital resources, and why are we powering our homes with fossil fuels that are extracted and degrading whenever we can be pulling from the earth and the sun and free resources, and why are we degrading mountain tops and far away landscapes whenever we can use local non-toxic materials that we know are beneficial to our health and we can do it in a way that is beneficial for the economy and ecology. That’s really the basis of the regenerative real estate. Neal and Alissa Collins are the founders of Latitude, Regenerative Real Estate. They created this community of real estate agents across the boundaries of states and countries through eXp Realty who are pursuing something more than the traditional transactional real estate business and finding ways to do good in our world with passion projects where they can actually face the issues of the world and help solve them by intertwining the personal values in their businesses. Their focus is the wholistic approach to home living beyond finding dream homes for buyers or selling homes at the best price with short amount of time. These "Change Agents" dare to be different from most real estate professionals and dedicated to the message of how to prepare our built environment for 21st and 22nd centuries as culture creators and leaders.

“…The National Association of Realtors, research shows that since the pandemic one in six homebuyers are purchasing multigenerational homes, which is bigger, accommodates grandparents who live with us and young kids. So this new ‘full house family dynamic’ can also lead to increased energy usage, obviously, and consequently, increasing our utility bills.” Dennis Stinson is the Vice President of Sales for Fujitsu General America, a national manufacturer with distributors in local communities across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean leading a team of sales professionals, selling well over $300M of Fujitsu products. At Fujitsu, Dennis has held the responsibilities of Regional Sales Manager in the Mid-Atlantic and The Director of National Accounts. Dennis discusses the following topics in the light of post-COVID lifestyle and dynamics. What tips can you give for the homeowners to make their household conducive to all the activities? What are the tips that homeowners can implement to minimize the utility cost? What are some of the latest technologies and/or practical tips for homeowners? What is the “Strategic Electrification of America”? "Today it's actually less expensive to put in a more efficient system, because of the incentives coming back. It is cheaper to go more efficient in many places in United States.” Go to Eco Rebate Finder on FujitsuGeneral.com!

Joseph Gentile, Vice President of Real Estate at Pearl Certification "According to the Department of Energy, 25% of homes are sold undervalued every year and what are those homes have in common? Well, it's energy efficient features. If you went up to a buyer and said, “Would you like to live in a house that had less dust, less bugs, less mold, costs less money to run every month, and it was more comfortable. Would that appeal to you?” Of course, every buyer would want that but articulating that is very difficult in the real estate transaction. So they combined together all these features and considered a high performing home. They said, okay, what can we do to help highlight these features to bring them to the forefront of the transaction and that's what Pearl Certification is. We are a marketing program for real estate agents..." Joseph has spent the last two decades leading efforts in the Real estate services industry. He is fluent in all aspects of franchising, sales, operations, and management, and has taken those skills to Pearl Certification, a nationally recognized company that brings the value of energy efficiency to the real estate transaction by helping homeowners recoup the value of their high performing investments at the time of sale or refinancing. Here are the talking points: History and background of Pearl Certifiaction Criteria for Pearl Certified homes What are the benefit of getting certified How the certification help to qualify and quantify the values of certified homes Other similar certification programs for homes?

“The pandemic has done for energy efficiency and sustainable building practices in one year what we have been trying for 20 years.” CR Herros Regina Marston is a passionate marketing executive with over 20 years of experience leading and directing the marketing and advertising activities for a variety of companies and organizations. Regina has experience in leading the marketing efforts for national homebuilders, land developers, high-tech startups, restaurants, healthcare, architects, wineries, solar providers and electric and water utilities. She has led marketing campaigns for large-scale residential master planned developers and homebuilders across the nation. Maria Meeuwisse brings more than 20 years of experience in advertising and marketing for the homebuilding and related industries on both the client and the agency side. Maria has created and managed successful integrated marketing campaigns for a variety of verticals, including homebuilding, retail, construction, high-tech, and master planned developments. Both have been heavily involved in promoting green building practice in wide spectrum. Being on the marketing end, they’re on top of what’ happening in the industry. Why this transition of idea from “green home” to “healthy home”. What is the definition of a Healthy Home.Why your next home purchase should be a healthy home.The benefits of Indoor Air QualityThe benefits of an Induction CooktopWhat are the most important message for me as a green realtor to be conveying? Engage Marketing:

"...if somebody were to ask me, what would you do first? energy efficiency is always the first thing that you should do, because you want to reduce your home load or your home energy load before you put on panels..." Ruby Rose is a seasoned building industry professional with 1 O+ years experience specializing in affordable housing projects. Ruby Rose graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a Bachelor of Architecture. She has gained industry experience through her work in architecture, construction, and sustainability consulting. She holds several certifications including LEED AP BD+C, Certified Energy Analyst, Certified Green Building Professional and a Green Rater. Ruby Rose, as an energy consultant, guided teams to successfully secure funding and implementing sustainability features required for Third Party Certifications and Utility incentive programs. She certified over 30 projects as LEED or GreenPoint Rated. Ruby Rose currently supports Southern California Edison as a Senior Advisor assisting developers and builders and promoting· decarbonization programs and resources. • How utility companies such as SCE have worked with government levels to create programs that incentivize the homeowners to improve their home living through energy efficiency upgrade to electrifying? • How much of the SCE Power supply is from renewable source? • Rebate programs and/or different rate plans? • Other tips to reduce the power usage and more importantly the bills? • What are the incentives that would motivate them to build homes that are more efficient and clean?

"...you get the best value when you're designing this way (using the rating systems) with a green home, this intent to finding the most durable building materials and then also the types of equipment and finishes and so on, that will be as efficient as possible over the long term." Alison Kendall is a California licensed Architect and LEED Accredited Professional with specialty in Building Design and Construction. She has a Masters of Architecture and Masters of City Planning from University of California at Berkeley, where she taught Environmental Design and Energy Efficient Architecture. She is also a GreenPoint Rater for New and Existing single and multi-family dwelling and a Building Performance Institute Building Analyst specialized in energy efficiency. She has taught sustainable architecture and planning to students and professionals in California and in France. She founded Kendall Planning + Design as Sole Proprietor in 1997 in the San Francicso Bay Area and relocated the practice to Santa Monica in 2003. Alison discusses the purpose and benefits of the two primary rating systems, LEED and Green Point Ratings using the illustration of her current townhouse project in Culver City, what these certification systems address in their rating process. We also discuss the challenges and prospect for the rating systems in the state and nation levels.

The biggest progress of Green Building is that more people recognize the value of green building; and the biggest challenge is it's not enough people yet. Mary Love is the Broker-In-Charge for her real estate company, Love The Green, as well as her property management company, Town Mountain Properties. She is also President of Mary Love Consulting Firm. With a long list of qualifications, Mary has been inspiring, training and teaching for over thirty years, and is affectionately called, the “Grandmother of Green.” She presents facts and detailed information with a sense of humor and great passion. Mary’s love for nature and humanity has guided her to be one of the top presenters in the Green Building Industry. Mary believes that individual actions create massive change when done with purpose and intend. Her motto is, “A little bit of something is a whole lot better than nothing.” Mary sees the world as one big Green Project and her passion is helping everyone understand how we are all connected. Here are the talking points: What was it like 30 years ago to be talking about “green homes”?I imagine things are quite different now compared to back then. In your observation, what is the biggest progress in the business of green homes and what is still the biggest challenge in your work?What do you think is the most effective term to use to describe the homes you and I are promoting? “Green,” “eco,” “healthy,” and/or “high performance.”?What is your advice for me to reach more of the right people who would be more receptive of the idea of “green,” “healthy,” or “high performance” homes?

“…the comparison isn't so much about the rate, it's about your house, and what other alternatives you have.” William Brown is the National Renovation Sales Manager at Finance of America Mortgage, LLC. He brings a depth of knowledge and insights, gained over time, with more than 20 years of experience in construction trades and 15 years in the mortgage and housing industries. During the past 10 years, he has built and managed renovation and construction ops for two national lenders which served retail, wholesale, NDC and delegated origination channels. Close to 8000 renovation or construction loans have gone through his operations centers. Each received project management support to assist the borrower, mortgage adviser, realtor and contractor prior to closing, and high touch draw administration services post-closing. In the interests of improving the product throughout its lifespan, William has also written product guidelines, training, and marketing materials for all participants in the renovation loan process. Talking Points: What are renovation loans?What types of “green” mortgages are available for consumers?Can you explain HomeStyle loans, Green Choice, and EEM?What are the advantages of “green mortgages” as opposed to conventional mortgages?In this unprecedented time of low interest, can “green mortgage” compete with other products? William Brown contact info: [email protected], 317-371-6127

Chris Stratton and Wen Lee moved into Wen’s childhood home, which was built in 1963. Wen has a background in environmental studies and education, and Chris in building science and architecture. They decided to convert this very typical suburban house into a Net-Zero sustainable house via DIY, which took almost 4 years in total. This was a house in a suburb of Pasadena with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, which looks a like typical suburban ranch style house from the outside. It was a pretty like standard house for this era and it was in fine condition but it wasn’t very energy efficient. There was very little insulation and the air conditioner and furnace were oversized. Their goals were for Chris to learn about the process of home renovation; to reduce the home's carbon footprint (hopefully to net-zero), make it more efficient, pleasant/interesting, and comfortable; and finally to achieve financial viability in terms of value and also reduced living costs. See their blog: frugal happy

Home is where we get healed and energized. Deanne Dalton, a founder/design and project manager for Eco Design and Build Studio. Her purpose is to "Bridge design with a state of well being" She has been designing since she played Barbies as a child. While in college as a nutrition major she fell in love with her Art History class and changed her major to structural design and also received an interior design and landscape design cert. She has been designing homes, small Commercial TI and Landscapes for 37 years. Gardening is a passion of hers and therefore she is very in touch with nature. It wasn't until she was construction manager on homes that she was a witness to the daily waste and trash that our industry produces. It was then that she knew she could only design for the planet and focused on passive design for homes/structures and rain gardens for the landscapes. Outdoor kitchens in California really enhances the quality of our lives and planting a landscape with low maintenance plants with a kitchen garden compliment and softens the hard surfaces. Some tips and ideas for consideration of wellbeing at home, especially during the pandemic: Kitchen garden: minimum a herb garden to grow food to reconnect with natureOutdoor kitchen with solid coveringsIf you don’t have an outdoor space, have potted plants on windows, or other indoor plants inside to purify airBring mirrors inside to reflect more lightsCreate a meditation space – also consider gardening as a form of meditation

“Looking at what is our furniture made of and understanding the importance of good quality indoor air will ensure that we experience wellbeing in the spaces we live and work in.” Originally from Paris, Sophie Castro, an interior designer, a LEED Green Associate, studied Interior Design at the Parsons School of Design New York City. She thrives to create well balanced, healthy, and beautiful spaces, committed to eco-friendly and sustainable interior design, considering indoor air quality, energy conservation, and how furniture and furnishings are made of. Here are some take away from the conversation: EPA reports the average American spends 87% of their time indoors - likely more in the time of pandemic. It’s the foremost importance to ensure the indoor air quality. The starting point is to ask “what are things made of?”Whenever you bring new items into your home, leave it outside or in an empty room and keep the windows open for several days.When repainting, make sure to use zero VOC paint.For flooring, consider: FSC Certified wood, reclaimed wood, cork, and Marmoleum; or tiles with post-industrial recycled content.For rugs and carpets: Natural fibers such as wool, cotton, silk, natural grasses with non-toxic backing and adhesives.For counter tops, Vetrazzo (cement or resin mixed with pieces of recycled glass), Paperstone (mixture of recycled paper with non-petroleum base rsin.)Great resources to find sustainably oriented materials: GreenBuildingSupply.com

"We need to radically reconsider what home means, and what’s beautiful and healthy." - Mariam Mojdehi MAAM, founded by Meredith McDaniel and Mariam Mojdehi, is a collaborative design studio specializing in architecture and interior design. They believe good design is rooted in sustainability and resilience. Taking a pragmatic approach, they look for opportunities to incorporate sustainability into all their work, which might be in systems that you cannot see, insulation, water treatment, etc. as well as finishes. Their work aspires to not only "be less bad" but to actually improve our environment. The idea of “less bad” is an approach to materials and manufacturing that considers more cyclical view as oppose to linear of extraction, manufacture, use, and disposal, which reframes our mindset to look for opportunities to use the waste of one system that would become fuel to another. “Carbon sequestering materials” removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores as either liquid or solid. While there are traditional building materials and techniques that help to sequester carbons, there are many new innovations and technologies: ex. hempcrete, strawbale, cellulose, Blue Planet concrete, CarbonCure.Building industry is doing a good job of improving their products. It is our responsibility as architects to specify products. Once we help them understand what’s at stake for individuals, especially from the health perspective and it is for their own good and for their subs, everybody starts to get more invested and it becomes a win-win situation.

“Planting a native garden has endless upward spiral of benefits to homes, schools, communities and environment.“ Cassy Aoyagi is a LEED accredited practitioner, a board member of the USGBCLA and president of FormLA Landscaping, a full-service design+build and maintenance firm. She believes LA’s authentic, native beauty can save LA - from drought, fire, flooding and slides, all while improving our health and economic resilience. During more than 20 years in business, Cassy’s firm, FormLA has added nearly 1.5 million square feet of authentic, native habitat to Los Angeles, ranging from Tujunga to Playa Del Rey, western Malibu to the San Marina foothills. That involved removing about 200,000 square feet of thirsty lawn – the rough equivalent of 40 football fields or 750 tennis courts! Cassy offers various observation and practical tips in the topic of sustainable residential landscaping: Current trends in the residential landscapes: Downward spiral effect of having lawn: “Cost savings out of lawn can amount to college tuition after 10 years.”Benefit of planting a native garden.Actionable and simples tips to start:If you don’t have a yard, planting a window garden with something edible or something that attracts butterflies can be a good investment for you, especially for kids to learn.A few tips for fire-prevention.

Norma and Alan Williamson are a husband / wife team who in 2003 renovated their home into an energy efficient solar home. As it generates more energy than it consumes, it is technically a zero energy building. Alan is a certified Building Performance Institute technician and photovoltaic specialist with 20 years of experience. Norma is a retired teacher, environmental project leader, and was named 2020 Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia from Assembly District 58. ​For several years, from 2004 – 2008, they opened their solar, net zero, energy efficient home to the public for the annual National Solar Tour, sponsored by American Solar Energy Society. On one Saturday, they received 250 visitors, which led them to an invitation to submit an article on their home to Solar Today magazine, which became a cover story. Let’s hear from you for the general audience why “Net Zero Energy”?When you bought your home in 2003, were you already planning to do the net-zero conversion and looked for a property with that in mind?We can see all the details on your website about what you did to transform your home from the ‘60s, but can you please briefly tell us some of the key elements you did in your make-over process?Did you do all the research in deciding the technology to implement, sourcing the materials, vendors and contractors? And how was that process look like?You have been actively promoting this concept of retrofitting existing old homes to net-zero or near-net-zero. Tell me about where you have been presenting and how the audience is responding.I've been trying to promote the idea by trying to reach the builders who are flipping old homes, but I find it hard to convince them from the investment stand point from time and money standpoint. Do you have any suggestion?

Audrey Sato is a licensed architect in the state of California and Principal at Sato Architects, Inc. and has specialized in residential design since 2008 and founded Sato Architects, Inc. in 2010. She is a LEED AP, and is committed to green building design. Growing up in Hawaii, she gained an appreciation for the beauty of nature and the importance of community. Here are some talking points: Her clients appreciate that she is knowledgeable about sustainability, and they want to build a home that’s healthier and better for the environment. They’re not necessarily looking for plaque or label. They do want help with materials that have lesser impact on the environment or what’s most durable.For the sustainable remodel with limited budget, she wanted to make sure to integrate some of the principles and not just look at everything from a cost perspective, and it made sense to spend money on certain features. For example, if you spend more on efficient heating system and insulating the house right up front, there will be a lot of cost savings in a long run. They also spent more money on windows because that would make a huge long-term impact. The use of rapidly renewable products make a big difference in not taking old growth or resources, cork and bamboos were used for flooring.Some challenges when remodeling an old home like this one to make it a “green home” but not break the bank are that contractors may be familiar with new materials that they don’t know how to handle them.With strategy not to dump as much as possible, they salvaged a lot of materials and donated to Habitat for Humanity. You can find Audrey at satoarchitects.com, or @audreysatodesigns on Instagram!

Based on the studies, we’re about 3 years away from gas powered cars leveling off and no longer having growth though they will still be selling. By 2025, a third of all cars will be electric, and by 203, 50% or more will be electric. David Eagle, founder and CEO of CURRENT EV, is an Emmy Award Winning TV Producer/Director, a Green Technology Entrepreneur and an electric vehicle, solar power/charger expert. David was an early adopter of both EVs and solar power, has owned numerous EVs including one of the first Nissan Leafs sold in the U.S. His home is powered entirely by solar, which charges his electric vehicles with a charger installed in his garage. Through the extensive contacts he has established with Los Angeles automobile dealerships, and via his relationships with various organizations like Plug-In America and the Electric Vehicle Association, David has become an expert on negotiating the best deals for EVs, chargers and solar power. During the 1st year that CURRENT EV’s car-shopping website has been active, he has transacted an impressive number of EV leases and purchases for CURRENT EV customers. How did an Emmy Award Winning TV producer/director turn into an electric vehicle expert?What’s happening on the market?Configuration of his soiar powered lifestye?What are the Incentives for consumers to go green with our choice of low to no emission vehicles? What are landlord required to do when tenants want to install a charger?What is your forecast for the trend in general?

"If you're not taking climate risk into your investment strategy, you're really missing out." Ben Stapleton is an LA native who brings a creative mind and consultative approach to a wide range of projects with a focus on building teams and designing programs to deliver impactful results. As Executive Director for the U.S. Green Building Council - Los Angeles, his current work is based on coordinating an ecosystem leveraging the built environment as the entry point and connective fabric to help create a more sustainable society for all. I noticed you have a real estate license and have worked with real estate investors. Assuming it was commercial real estate, but can you briefly tell me about that experience: i.e., what were your roles?Do you have any ideas or suggestions to mitigate some hurdles so that more developers would use green materials because those flippers and developers are the ones that creating a lot of homes in our city, and if we can incentivize them to build green, we will have a great impact. On the personal note, I understand you just moved into a new home. What are the measures you’re implementing in your home to make it more green?

If you live in Southern California, most likely you're eligible for rebate. Kim O'Cain is the President of O’Cain Consulting, a small, woman-owned consulting firm in Santa Monica, CA providing water conservation planning, public policy and outreach services to public agencies and businesses. Kim has more than 18 years of experience developing and implementing water conservation and efficiency programs and policies, including managing the City of Santa Monica’s water conservation unit. Kim implemented the first landscape rebate program, water neutrality ordinance and sustainable landscape ordinance in California. She taught the Sustainable Landscape Program continuing education courses at Santa Monica College, and is currently an Adjunct Professor at SMC teaching water sustainability courses. Here are the topics we explored: While you were really spearheading the water conservation issues at the institutional level, it comes down to us residents. You implemented the landscape rebate program. Tell us how you got it going, what you had to do to bring awareness of homeowners, and where you think it stands throughout California?Since I met you, we’ve had a few devastating fires in our area. One of our clients in Malibu did lose their home completely in Woosley Fire. While it is a loaded topic, but what do you think we learned from those fires? You work with municipalities to come up with programs around water conservation. Do you have any programs that’s worth mentioning for our audience? Find your local information: www.socalwatersmart.comI share the interest and joy of camping, cooking and traveling with you. At personal level, what are some of the things you do to ensure you are living a greener life?

It's a value proposition both on the cost savings and potential time savings for the overall budget. PlantPrefab is the nation's first prefabricated design and manufacturing company dedicated to sustainable construction, materials, processes, and operations. It was spun out of LivingHomes, a sustainable design development company responsible for dozens of award-winning prefabricated homes, including the nation's first LEED Platinum-certified home under Amy's direction. Amy Sims is a founding member of LivingHomes and currently the Director of Design for PlantPrefab. Over 10 years of experience in commercial office, sound studios and retail/restaurant design, allowed Amy to develop a core set of skills to apply to the start up of a studio dedicated to prefabricated structures. We explored following topics: Prefab homes are becoming increasingly popular these days. Can you briefly define what “prefab homes” are, and perhaps explain the difference from what’s known as “manufactured homes”?Are most or all “prefab homes” considered “sustainably designed”?Are your customers mostly home owners building new homes for themselves or do you have a sizable business from developers? What are the benefits of building prefab as opposed to the conventional way of building?How does the process look like for PlantPrefab? Do your customers have to know they want to do prefab before they purchase the lot, or can it be an after thought?What is your sense of the future of prefab homes and sustainably designed homes in coming years?

“For a resale value, new buyers are very interested as all those things pay benefit back to the owners.” Todd M. Lynch, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, is a Principal Project Planner for UCLA Capital Programs, with specialty in sustainable design and construction of new buildings and major remodels, from initial studies through construction and into post-occupancy. Todd has helped many campus projects achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System. He teaches Architecture and Sustainability at UCLA, and a Board member for the USGBC-LA. While Todd is actively involved in sustainable design and building at institutional levels in several professional capacities, he is also a principal architect for a private practice of Sharif Lynch Architecture. Can you briefly explain what LEED AP means for architectural professionals?If a home owner or property owner wants to design a new home, what would be the benefit of hiring LEED AP architects?How would a LEED AP architect design a home differently than architects who don’t have this accreditation?You are quite involved in the sustainable design and building at much larger scales than a single family homes through UCLA, what is your sense for the current trend for green home designs? Do you think it is getting to be more in demand? If so, what is the factors that are making green homes more in demand? If not, why is it?Here’s a question I ask everybody. Do you think designing and building a green home, even if it’s a renovation of an existing house, is necessarily more expensive – not considering the savings through the energy efficiency and reduced medical cost? Reach Todd Lynch at: [email protected]

Beate Kirmse is a fellow Green Realtor in Palos Verdes, orinally from Germany. After working with architects and contractors as an energy and green building consultant for a few years, she became a Realtor® and got her Green Realtor designation. In addition, she is also a LEED AP Homes, WELL AP, and Certified Passive House Consultant. Originally, Beate thought about green homes to be how the building should be anyway, saving resources like water and energy, wondering why we had to make it into a label or niche product. In her mind, green building is just knowing how to build a good building. When she and her husband decided to renovate their 1948 ranch style house in Palos Verdes Peninsula, they wanted to use hempcrete, the non-toxic and organic building material made of hemp, and soon learned these good products are still not as understood. Benefits of using hempcrete other than being non-toxic and organic are that it makes great insulation, which keeps the house healthy and comfortable. So for people who are highly sensitive, this is a huge benefit. Beate is also a certified Passive House Consultant. “Passive” in passive house really means using as little mechanical systems as possible to keep the interior comfortable by focusing on the envelope of the house: i.e., roof, walls, and floors. By following passive house system, you’ll only need a tiny air conditioning or heater to keep the temperature in your home always comfortable and constant. It really cuts down the mechanical and creates a very energy efficient house. If you wrap your house around right, then you have a very comfortable and healthy home. Beate also installed the Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV) system, which circulates fresh air all day in the house contributing to being healthy home. Find Beate at KirmseHomes.com.

Rojelio comes with a wide range of qualifications: licensed real estate agent, California Mortgage Loan Originator, City of Los Angeles Power Generation Steam and Turbine Engineer, Certified Refrigeration EPA 608 Universal, Registered home improvement salesperson, AND designated ADU specialist. Rojelio dissects the little known FHA mortgage, EEM. EEM stands for Energy Efficient Mortgage. EEM was developed by HUD in the 1980s as a part of FHA loans. It has some unique components that makes it attractive such as it allows 5% over the appraised value and 6% additional allowance for DTI (Debt to Income) ratio, which gives consumers more power to purchase and do the energy efficiency upgrade. Application process is the same as any other home loans except the property needs to be inspected by HERS rater (home energy rating system) before and after. As it is a FHA loan, the down payment required is 3%, besides the FICO score required to get best rate is only 660. The interest rate may be a quarter point higher, however, considering the savings on energy bills, the homeowners will benefit much more in a long run because homeowners in a “leaky homes” are spending a lot of money on the wasted energy. Unfortunately, EEM is very little known in the industry; however, Rojelio believes that the demand for EEM will certainly keep increasing. In fact, he’s on the crusade to educate the homeowners and home buyers so that they can take advantage and make their homes more energy efficient. “I truly believe in the power of Energy Efficient Mortgage. We all live in this world and have a shared responsibility to make sure that we start to turn the tide of climate change.” You can reach Rojelio at 562-263-9950, or Instagram @vvelcome

Rochelle "Sheli" Nilsson currently oversees the risk management department for one of the largest remodeling companies in the nation, Treeium Inc. She has been part of the Green Movement since she was a young girl. Being an avid lover of nature and the ocean she is constantly on the lookout for innovative techniques to help reduce the carbon footprint of the company, the operations and individually. Treeium, was one of the pioneers in eco-friendly remodeling by minimizing the affects of building industry, which is notorious to be a major contributor to our pollution. First they digitized their contracts. Second, they partnered with Tree People to plant a tree for every remodel project they do. They set examples to minimize their affect on the environment from power usage, managing the construction waste, etc. They educate the construction workersabout the effects of chemicals and toxicities the workers and communities can be exposed to through construction process. From Treeium’s standpoint, there are two aspects of green home: One is energy efficiency, which people are more keen for these days because it affects their wallet; then there’s the “healthy home” aspect, which affects their wellbeing. Now there’s been a huge shift in the industry where many companies are jumping on the band wagon to offer more eco-friendly materials. Plus the workers are becoming more familiar with green building. As the prices of materials and labor are becoming more competitive, the businesses building green becomes more profitable. By going green, it affects your health, your wallet and our community. Treeium try to be a pioneer in doing the ethical and right thing to do while being profitable. Get more information on Treeium at: Treeium.com

Stuart Cooley is Professor of Renewable Energies at Santa Monica College and the lead faculty of the Sustainable Technologies Program, where he teaches courses in solar energy and storage, energy efficiency, lighting, and sustainability. Meanwhile, he and his wife Dede are about to start a green remodel process of their own home! While targeting for net zero, Dede was influenced by watching HGTV and wanted a more modern home. They started out with using an app to simulate the home design, then hired an architect, Kyle Moss, whom Stuart met on a green home tour in Santa Monica. Some of the green features to be included are: Changing the hip roof to gable roof to allow more surface area for the PVs; Installing the clear story window to allow natural ventilation and daylighting; LED lighting; and most importantly the more efficient HVAC systems such as “heat recovery ventilation.” And on the water-use end, they will install rain barrels to retain the rain water and use for irrigation of their drought tolerant, mostly native plants landscape. The higher than expected bids from contractors wasn't because of the desire to be green, but rahter about the concern for the time it takes for permit and to build according to the green design. The cities’ permit offices need to catch up with new and different technologies and be able to answer questions quickly. Contractors and architects also need to become familiar with those newer and slightly different systems such as “quality insulation installation” requiring installation be place with no more gap than a half inch. If you’re thinking about green rebuild, just start the process! Stuart can be reached at Santa Monica College, Sustainable Technologies Program: smc.edu/stp.

Nick Brown has over 20 years experience in building materials and a passion for green building acquired from his time in the field observing how homes are built. He holds an Economics degree from Princeton and a Michigan MBA, and is certified to perform energy modeling for California Title 24 compliance. Nick and his wife, Holland, who is also passionate about living sustainably, purchased a home in 2013 in Long Beach for them and two growing daughters and renovated it to be a truly “green” home that they call, “Net Zero Nest”. Nick and Holland had 2700-sq/ft 4 bedroom house where they started their family in Long Beach. After taking green building classes at Cal State Long Beach, they realized things in their house wasn’t quite efficient or healthy. They took on to find a home that they can turn into a green home. They were determined to demonstrate that you could actually create an efficient, high performing home cost effectively. He shares the resources and approaches they utilized to accomplish their goal such as finding an architect and contractor; how the contractors were actually learning the process of building green including the cost of this project. Also Nick discusses what he would do differently if he were to do this over again. Find more about Nick’s house at: NetZeroNest.com

Scott Kelly is a full service General Contrator providing Green home building and home remodeling services, he provides Green Building/Energy Efficiency Advising and Verification Services for "existing" and "new build". Through Building Science and Energy technology he delivers solutions for Near Net Zero and Net Zero residential building professionals. Upon getting licensed as a general contractor, Scott went through a program called, “Clean Energy Work Force program” offering a number of certifications in building science and green building. This was a time the energy codes were changing in California in phases culminating to the new ordinance that all new California single family homes will have to be net-zero (ZNE) starting January 2020. California started out with Cal Green Code which entailed recycling the building materials, then the code involving limiting the VOC (volatile organic compounds) that leads to off-gassing in building materials such as paints and glues. Then there’s Title 24 Part 6, which mandates energy efficiency at tighter standard. This involves air sealing, super-insulating, dual pane windows, and sufficient ventilations. Scott focuses on the whole house as a system as building scientist and building analyst, which differentiates his services. While some consumers start to know more about high performance homes, most contractors are still behind in catching up with the new building codes and technologies available to build more green while some younger contractors may be jazzed to learn more about green building. Scott offers a package where he would work with the G.C.s to install some of the energy efficiency measures so that G.C. would have exposure and experience to integrate those features in their building process. Scott can be found on his website: KellyGreen.Build

Jan Green, HomeSmart Elite Group, has been a realtor since 2002. Due to the housing market change, Jan switched her focus to energy efficiency in real estate in 2007, earning both EcoBroker & NAR GREEN designations thereafter. According to Jan, the interesting paradox about green homes is that you keep hearing more about “green products” but people are interested only when the subject is brought up. Apparantly people do not necessarily think about “green homes” per se. Another paradox is that while Arizona is number one in building energy efficient homes in the country, the general public may not be so keen. The question of whether the green homes would sell for more and faster is really on the realtors ability to market. Jan has seen cases where the green features are not promoted correctly; therefore, did not benefit in the sales. , it is really the realtors job to understand those features and more importantly the “benefits” to help the buyers recognize the values of green homes. Jan consults her clients who are investors and/or homeowners to convert old building into “greener” properties without adding much extra costs. Green homes are becoming more of the norm as many states and municipalities adopt new building codes such as in Califonia’s new code as of 202 requiring all newly built home to be net-zero or net-zero ready. It is even more important for realtors to understand those features and more importantly the “benefits” to help the buyers recognize the values. Although we still have ways to go, it is certainly a great movement to be a part of! You can reach Jan Green at: www.gotgreen.com

Mark Buhler is a Certified Residential Appraiser with over 25 years of experience in California. Mark has found a niche in the valuation of resource efficient, ‘green’ homes; which are becoming increasingly common. Mark has recently presented on the valuation of solar and green property at Appraisal Institute conferences and state coalition meetings. Mark is also presenting the ‘Accredited Green Appraiser’ continuing education course for Build It Green, and a new course called, ‘Valuation Resources for Solar Photovoltaic Systems’. Mark shares that “green appraiser” means that an appraiser is educated in “pillars of green” – which are site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, material selections, and indoor air quality, and is able to identify those elements in the properties that they appraise. He also discusses the different ways that appraisers would verify the green elements such as the rating systems and certifications. There are a number of studies done to discern how the green homes affect the values of properties, which shows of premium of 2~9%. It really comes down to a collaborative effort between the , homeowners, realtors, lenders and appraisers. Also discussed was the new building code in California as of January 2020 where newly built homes will have to be net-zero and how it may affect the values of homes. Mark Buhler can be found at https://www.cmpappraisal.com/ or https://appraisesolar.com/

Dav Camras is a staunch environmentalist, started his business, HouseSmart Green Solutions after departing from the non-profit sector in 2008. Today, through House Smart Green Solutions and HERSRaterLA, Dav brings home energy efficiency and resourse conservation to homeowners and businesses across the Los Angeles basin. Through home energy consulting, air balancing and special inspections for heating and air conditioning, Dav works to ensure his clients’ homes and businesses are working as efficiently as possible. Dav explains what he does as a “home comfort and energy efficiency expert,” a.k.a., “indoor climate designer” per his wife. Unlike most contractors, he offers an unbiased solution for people’s comfort and energy efficiency in their homes. He has the trained and critical eyes to look at the complex systems that makes up a house in a wholistic approach to determine how a house can achieve the optimum comfort and efficiency. Also as a HERS rater, he inspect homes for energy efficiency. HERS (“Home Energy Rating System”), which evaluate the energy efficiency of a house, throughout the U.S. and Canada. With some interesting actual stories from his experiences including his own home examples, he illustrates why services like his are extremely helpful to determine the most efficient way to heat and cool a home before installing a new equipment such as solar panels. Dav Camras can be reached at: www.housesmartgreensolutions.com/ www.hersraterla.com/ Or you can always reach him at: 818.936.9597