 Dr. Charles Kibert |
Charles J. Kibert is a Professor and Director of the Powell Center for Construction and Environment at the University of Florida. He is co-founder and President of the Cross Creek Initiative, a non-profit industry/university joint venture seeking to implement sustainability principles into construction. He is co-chair of the Curriculum and Accreditation Committee of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and helped create the first ever student chapter of the USGBC for which he serves as faculty advisor.
His research interests include sustainable development and construction, deconstruction, environmental impacts of construction, construction and demolition (C&D) debris recycling, and construction ecology and metabolism . He was the lead author of the first edition of the highly successful publication "Greening Federal Facilities" available on the website of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (www.eren.doe.gov).
He is the author of Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery (John Wiley & Sons, 2005). He was the editor of Reshaping the Built Environment (Island Press, 1999) and lead editor of Construction Ecology (Spon Press, 2002).
Green Answers
Q. I enjoyed reading the article on green building on Florida Trend's new web site. I'm wondering what role solar hot water heating plays in today's "green" thinking?
It seems to me that solar hot water on individual homes (any structure for that matter) offers one of (if not the) most cost effective investments in energy conservation.
My brother has been struggling in this industry for years. We installed big, ugly systems in the 1980's. He has developed attractive systems that are simple enough for do-it-yourself installation. I do some marketing for him and I'd appreciate it if you would look at my web site and let me know what you think of his systems and how we might find a larger market for them. http://www.FloridaSolarHotWater.com/. Thank you for your consideration.
Best wishes,
Dave Rich
A. Your question about using solar energy for hot water heating is a very good one! Congratulations to your brother for developing a low cost solar hot water heater that can be installed by a capable home owner.
The good news is that with rising energy prices solar hot water heating is once again becoming cost-effective. Florida's 2006 Energy Act provides for rebates of $500 for solar hot water heating systems certified by the Florida Solar Energy Center. Information on how to obtain this rebate can be found at the FSEC website: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/news/press/enews/2006/2006-04-R1_Energy-act.htm.
In addition he Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) provides for a Federal tax credit of 30% of the qualified solar system expenditures up to a maximum tax credit limitation of $2,000. According to FSEC, for a family of four, the typical hot water usage is 70-gallons per day, consuming 3990-kilowatt-hours per year to heat the water electrically, or $399 per year worth of electricity at 10? per kilowatt hour. A solar water heater should save between 50% and 85% of the hot water portion of the monthly utility bill, or $200 to $300 per year for a family of four, if the backup element is kept at 122? F. Consequently for a qualified installation costing about $4,000 you can expect to receive a $500 Florida rebate and a $1,200 Federal tax credit.
At the upper end of performance the simple payback is about 7.5 years. For a $3,000 installation the tax credit is $900 and with the Florida rebate the payback is a little over 5 years. See http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/solar_hot_water/homes/index.htm for a detailed description of the ins and outs of solar hot water heater performance. Good luck to your brother in his efforts to provide reasonable cost solar technology to Floridians!
Q. Is there a market today or a developing market in Florida for recycling building de-construction or tear-down materials? And how successful has UF been in recycling raw materials in deconstruction?
Mary Kelly Hoppe, Tampa, Florida
A. The University of Florida deconstructed 14 houses and a church in a past research effort to determine the technical and economic feasibility of taking apart buildings, recovering components for reuse, and reselling them for new construction or renovation projects. The results of these projects indicated that deconstruction was indeed technically and economically feasible, given that time was available to disassemble the building. There is at least one outlet for used building materials in Florida, Reuser, Inc. in Gainesville. The University of Florida did partially deconstruct one building, Hume Hall, and the recovered brick was used in some retaining walls and a signage wall for Rinker Hall. Recovering brick is generally not economical because of labor costs and the difficulty separating the mortar from the brick. Today's Portland cement mortars are stronger than the brick that they bind together into a wall. For houses built 50 years or more ago, the quality of the wood is generally good and the recovery and resale of wood is economical. The University of Florida has done research to recertify certain types of recovered dimensional lumber which would allow it to be used in new construction. Otherwise these recovered materials can be only used in Do It Yourself (DIY) projects. There is high demand for interesting architectural components from older buildings and these are readily resold. In general there are not sufficient incentives and government regulations that support deconstruction and as a result there is not significant activity in this arena. In Portland, Oregon the local government supports the development of infrastructure that provides deconstruction training and jobs as well as the development of businesses that both disassemble buildings and resell the components. Whether this happens in Florida is an open question at present!
Q. At a recent conference of the USGBC Gulf Coast Chapter, Michelle Kauffman of MK Designs, presented on Prefab Green and the advantages of modular housing. The designs and concepts are stunning. My question is this: Can prefab green be affordable and have enough structural integrity to withstand the rigors of our Florida climate including the occasional lashing from hurricanes? Put another way, do we have the technology and design know-how today to develop affordable (even low-income) prefab green housing that's also structurally sound and safe?
Mary Kelly Hoppe, Tampa, Florida
A. Prefabricated or modular construction is becoming more acceptable because of the wide variety of homes and buildings that can be constructed out of the kit of components available from several major manufacturers. Modular homes can be more economical, more energy efficient, and actually have zero-waste because they are made in a highly controlled factory setting. You can also imagine that the precision of construction and the fit of walls, doors, and windows will be far greater than field constructed buildings. So the answer to this question is a definite yes! Another issue that modular construction helps address is the growing shortage of workers in construction industry. Fewer skilled craftspeople could lead to higher costs and lower quality for site built homes. Factory built modular homes and buildings could at least in part address this labor issue while being greener and lower cost at the same time.
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How to contact Dr. Kibert
Charles J. Kibert, Ph.D., P.E.
Holland Professor
Powell Center for Construction & Environment
PO Box 115703
Gainesville, Florida 32611-5703
USA