Matthew O’Malia discusses the importance of the current energy policy being debated by the Senate, and how change is necessary to realize the benefits of a green economy and green future!

“Buildings consume 40 percent of the energy produced in the United States, more energy than all of the cars on the roads today. And while automobile fuel efficiency is seriously debated as a path to save energy and money, building energy performance has not received as much scrutiny, even though we have the tools and technology to create super-efficient buildings today. A strong renewable electricity standard will mean these tools get used and these jobs created to make our buildings more efficient and begin to build the foundation of an American new energy economy.”

Read the whole editorial here: http://www.rollcall.com/news/36132-1.html

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.

At G•O Logic, we know we can build super energy efficient, beautiful homes at an affordable price. None-the-less we have always had trouble finding the right words to really express what the affordable thing is all about; Inexpensive, cheap, low cost, reasonably priced, affordable- those terms all seem to imply that the quality of our homes might suffer in order to keep the first costs (or construction costs) low. When in fact, that is the exact opposite of how we design and build! We do not use cheap alternatives like vinyl siding and vinyl windows- we don’t even use anything less than triple glazing! We build homes that are durable, great to live in and will save a huge amount of money and energy in the long term. But a G•O Logic home does not cost more than most standard construction because of how we have unified the design and construction of our buildings. But how can we really express that concept?!?
I have a motto when it comes to building performance and sustainability: “when in doubt, look to the Germans”. And so I did. In the most Recent issues of Detail, Review of Architecture, 2009, series 4, the entire issue is based on Kostenguestig Bauen, or “Cost-Effective Building” (not a bad term). The editorial article for that issue, titled “Cost-Effective Building Means Sustainable Building” (no doubt something was lost in translation), by Dietmar Eberle, is an excellent explanation of the very concept that we have been struggling to express… The concept being the delicate balance between first costs vs long term costs, assuming the building will be used long into the future. Cost-effective therefore relates not just to how inexpensively a house can be built, but what is the most effective use of our resources today and in the future… (It seems that in the US we have real trouble with that idea of planning for the future.) In reading the article, Mr. Eberle brings up a few good values that we share at G•O Logic as well.
1. Not too small! Building the absolutely smallest house for the sake of costs or material saving does not make sense. Cleary we should live with less, but reacting too far in the opposite direction is also a mistake. Take public housing projects- they are not being taken down because they are a delight to live in. Creating a floor plan with space and flexibility to accommodate various uses today and in the future is key. Overly small and specific space planning does not gracefully accommodate changing needs and results in obsolescence in the future.
2. Build the best shell! As designers and builders we cannot control how people live in the homes we build. We can, however, control how well the building shell will perform in the long term. Today millions of houses are being retrofitted and upgraded to make them more energy efficient. We knew the energy thing was coming since the 70’s, but conventional wisdom insisted, “why bother with building for the long term, when you can build dirt cheap today”? Alas, now all these homes are having expensive and rather ineffective retrofits being done to their shells- it costs less to do it right the first time! In addition, the building shell is the most expensive long term investment that a home owner will make… and like any financial investment, why not put your money in one that will perform well and save a bunch of money in long term?
3. Be local! The US is a big country with a huge variety of climate conditions. The way we design and build has everything to do with the local climate, and the specific climate is the one factor that will not change over the building’s lifespan- if it was cold last winter, it will be cold the rest of the winters as well. Not accounting for the most basic realities is crazy.
So how do we describe our homes: Affordable?, cheap? Inexpensive??? I think I like the sound of cost-effective. It makes sense for the planet, and it makes sense financially to do the right thing!