Once at a building conference I heard about the results of a study on air quality. The study said the air quality inside the average new home in rural Wisconsin was 8 times worse than the air quality outdoors in New York City. This made my head swim. How could it be true? And then I heard more, and read more, about how toxins and pollutants can build up inside a home, and if there’s poor ventilation, reach unsafe levels in the air. Rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases have been on the rise in this country, and while industrial pollution is certainly a factor, the way houses are built and furnished is probably a bigger factor in the decline of respiratory health.

How can a home be less toxic? Conceptually it’s very simple—reduce the nasty stuff inside and bring in plenty of fresh air. Practically, though, it’s not that easy. On the material side, builders have gotten away from good old-fashioned building materials like solid wood, plaster and stone, and for some good reasons: they’re expensive and poorly insulating. But when these materials are replaced with particle board, fiberglass, vinyl, and synthetic carpets, the home buyer is spending less money and probably using less energy for heating, but at the same time volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, and other toxins have been introduced to the interior air. And in an effort to reduce energy use, builders have been trying to make buildings more air-tight and less drafty, thereby improving comfort as well as the utility bill. However, the combination of the tighter envelope and the off-gassing interior finishes is what leads to sick people in Wisconsin (and other places).

With the advent of “sick building syndrome,” architects and builders are hopefully becoming more aware of what is being put in houses and taking steps to ventilate properly. It is now relatively easy to find out if a building material is air-quality friendly. Several ratings agencies exist to test and determine the safety of various materials; an architect can specify formaldehyde-free or low-voc plywood and paints; natural linoleum is available as an alternative to vinyl flooring; people should know better than to put carpeting in a damp basement, and so on. On the ventilation side, agencies such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers studies indoor air quality and issues standards for rates of ventilation. They have formulas for determining how much air to bring into the house over time to ensure adequate fresh air supply.

More specifically, in the homes G•O Logic builds, we install a complete, ducted, mechanical ventilation system that delivers fresh air to bedrooms and living spaces and removes stale air from the kitchen and bathrooms. The incoming air passes through a heat-recovery unit that transfers almost all the heat from the outgoing air to the incoming air, which means there’s very little energy penalty for healthy ventilation. We determine the proper ventilation rate based on accepted standards. For example, in the 1500 square-foot model home, we will ventilate at a rate of 70 cubic feet of air per minute, continuously. This means the entire volume of air in the house will be changed once every 3 _ hours, ensuring healthy air quality for a family of 4 or 5. The air flow is very low and generally delivered to points in the house where it’s not noticed, so one never feels a draft. And on the material side, we specify only low- or no-voc materials and finishes. The floors are either polished concrete or solid wood; cabinets are formaldehyde-free. The building is incredibly air-tight, which helps tremendously in the energy-efficiency and comfort of the home, and when coupled with the ventilation system, results in a home that’s both super-efficient and healthy to be in.

Matt O’Malia and Alan Gibson of G•O Logic presented: Smart Houses Don’t Just Stand There at the Juice 2.0 conference last Friday. The following powerpoint was used for the presentation.

Juice 2.0 “Building Maine’s Innovation Networks” will include a number of economical leaders of technology, design, art, natural resources, history, government, education, and more. The Juice Conference in Camden, Maine provides networking opportunities for these leaders to share ideas towards building a more prosperous state.

Matt O’Malia and Alan Gibson of G•O Logic will present: Smart Houses Don’t Just Stand There. Their presentation will explore a collaborative design and construction process with a goal of producing affordable net-zero houses. G•O Logic is considering future performance, natural resources, and building science, when initiating new design. Join G•O Logic as they discuss improving future home performance in Maine.

For more information please visit: www.juiceconference.org

Speech for PowerUp America- MidCoast Clean Energy Jobs Day

May 2009

My name is Matthew O’Malia of G•O Logic. G•O Logic is a design build collaboration that I started with my partner, Alan Gibson. In this company we have brought together my technical German architectural education and Alan’s many years of green building experience- in order to build the next generation of sustainable, energy efficient homes. I am here today to speak about how the Clean Energy and Security Act will help Maine, and how G•O Logic is already on board to implement the changes in building performance proposed by the Act.

G•O Logic designs and builds homes that are targeted to be 10 times more energy efficient than standard construction, and we build these homes at costs working families in Maine can afford to build, and more importantly afford to pay for heating in the future. In simple terms, a 10 times more energy efficient homes saves an enormous amount of money and energy- Saving around $90,000 in heating costs, 22,000 gallons of heating oil, and 285 tons of CO2 over thirty year mortgage. Now imagine if all new homes in Maine were built to this standard.. I can assure you, the global energy crisis would begin to look very different. In Belfast, we will be building this vision next year, in a sustainable development of 36 homes at the Belfast Area Cohousing and Eco Village…

As a small business owner, I see a huge opportunity in the state of Maine to provide quality, energy-efficient housing that people can afford to build and heat. I also see the opportunity to generate local, skilled jobs to meet that demand. But to move the current economy and people’s awareness to where this future can be realized, intervention is necessary.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 is the type and scale of intervention that is required to realize this vision.

The key components of this legislation that benefit Maine businesses such as G•O Logic, include:
Updates for new construction to the National Model Building Energy Codes and Standards. Which would require a 30% improvement of energy efficiency now, and a 50% improvement of energy efficiency by 2016, with the eventual goal of creating net zero buildings.
One key requirement in the Act is that all improvements made to buildings must be cost-effective over the life-cycle of the building.

Now, how realistic is it to improve energy efficiency by 50% in a new home? Entirely realistic! G•O Logic has developed home designs that reduce energy consumption by 90% for space heating, and 80% overall. These houses look and feel like custom-designed, conventional homes. The energy-efficiency comes from very basic, design improvements—thicker walls with a lot more insulation, better passive-solar utilization, and an air-tight envelope coupled with a heat-recovery ventilation system. These homes are cost-effective because, even at today’s energy rates, the simple payback on the improvements is only about 10 years.

This legislation also creates an entire market for new green jobs. It provides funding for existing homes in Maine to have an energy audit. Based on that, a plan of action will be created and implemented to improve each homes performance. The higher the energy performance achieved in the renovation, the greater the tax incentives become. So now when I look at the thousands of old homes in Maine, I see an emerging market for green jobs that are local, skilled, and valuable to the economy.

This legislation also provides funding incentives on a state level to achieve the goals of energy-efficiency in all new construction. And the higher a state performs on reaching these goals, the higher level of federal funding the state will receive. And given the industrious and hard working nature of the people living in Maine, I think Maine will be in a great position to reap the rewards of this type of incentive plan.
Finally, this legislation proposes to create a building energy performance labeling system, with the purpose of providing home owners both the insight into a homes long term energy costs, and place an increased value on high energy performing homes. It is the same thing as monitoring miles per gallons on cars. Soon each home buyer can evaluate their choices with new important financial information. For G•O Logic, this is welcome legislation, finally there will be a federal certification establishing home energy performance, which will spur on the demand for energy-efficient homes.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act that is now before the Senate can open new doors to future green jobs, a green economy and energy security. G•O Logic, among other innovative companies in Maine, is ready to help lead the way, with the skills and vision necessary to implement this ambitious plan. Supporting this bill provides the support for a green future in Maine.