division of work between existing and new built

0 views
Skip to first unread message

Ines Koch

unread,
Feb 23, 2018, 3:31:29 PM2/23/18
to ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use
Hi to all of you - especially dealing new built

Our subgroup (dealing with retrofitting existing buildings) met last Tuesday and we have following suggestion:

We think major remodels could be more stringent and therefore could in many areas be addressed in a similar way as new builds. 
Major remodels usually have many walls open, will often put in new electric wires, main panels, HVAC system, lighting ect. We have therefore an opportunity to demand more then for smaller retrofits.

Could you take this into your group and whenever you recommend something for new build - could you please also check if this could be good for a major remodel and demand it as such.

The only areas which are difficult (impossible or very costly) in a major remodel to improve in the same way as in a new build are some higher insulation values for wall, ceiling and floor. Because a wall in an existing building is usually 4" and not 6" as in a new build, same for roof and floor framing. And achieving a super high air tightness of the whole house will be tricky as well - since usually not all walls are opened up.

But HVAC, lighting, EV charger/ PV ready and other measures will be equally possible.

thanks
 Ines (for the existing building subgroup)





chirjiv anand

unread,
Feb 23, 2018, 8:03:45 PM2/23/18
to Ines Koch, ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use
Hi Ines,

We can definitely check with the existing buildings group when we make a recommendation that could fit major remodelling  scenarios as well. Let’s discuss more on Friday. 

Thanks, 
Chirjiv 
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ESTF-2-Buildings-L...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ESTF-2-Build...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse/CAEQhBsWPCx6c7nY383vPUCCTvtP_KMVbS4H6i9OfYkjY6%2B0OXg%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Marianna Grossman

unread,
Feb 24, 2018, 5:55:11 PM2/24/18
to Ines Koch, ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use
Actually, Kevin Bates shows that by adding insulation to the outside of the walls you can upgrade exterior surfaces and increase insulation without sacrificing any interior space! 
You would need to install new windows with higher insulation factors, but that is important for a ZNE home or office anyway!

Genius!

best regards
Marianna

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse+unsub...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse/CAEQhBsWPCx6c7nY383vPUCCTvtP_KMVbS4H6i9OfYkjY6%2B0OXg%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.



--
Marianna Grossman
Founder and Managing Partner
Minerva Silicon Valley
Twitter: @mgrossmanSV; @MinervaVentures

Ines Koch

unread,
Feb 24, 2018, 9:29:54 PM2/24/18
to Marianna Grossman, ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use
Almost everything is feasible - the question is if the city should/can require i since it is very expensive. (insulating on the outside means new windows and new siding/trim, maybe an extension of the roof)

Palo Alto requires for residential: CalGreen + Tier 1 for remodels of a size more than 1000 sqft (at the moment, 2016 code cycle). They require for new construction CalGreen + Tier 2. They have a performance based standard - which means they do not require a specific R-value for the wall insulation. 
But overall the house performs better than Title 24.

I suggest that we set highest standard for the new built.
And then a higher standard for major remodels (eg. above 1000 sqft for residential, and ?? sqft for multifamily, and ??? sqft for commercial)

- Ines



On Sat, Feb 24, 2018 at 2:55 PM Marianna Grossman <mgro...@minervaventures.com> wrote:
Actually, Kevin Bates shows that by adding insulation to the outside of the walls you can upgrade exterior surfaces and increase insulation without sacrificing any interior space! 
You would need to install new windows with higher insulation factors, but that is important for a ZNE home or office anyway!

Genius!

best regards
Marianna

On Fri, Feb 23, 2018 at 12:31 PM, Ines Koch <inesit...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi to all of you - especially dealing new built

Our subgroup (dealing with retrofitting existing buildings) met last Tuesday and we have following suggestion:

We think major remodels could be more stringent and therefore could in many areas be addressed in a similar way as new builds. 
Major remodels usually have many walls open, will often put in new electric wires, main panels, HVAC system, lighting ect. We have therefore an opportunity to demand more then for smaller retrofits.

Could you take this into your group and whenever you recommend something for new build - could you please also check if this could be good for a major remodel and demand it as such.

The only areas which are difficult (impossible or very costly) in a major remodel to improve in the same way as in a new build are some higher insulation values for wall, ceiling and floor. Because a wall in an existing building is usually 4" and not 6" as in a new build, same for roof and floor framing. And achieving a super high air tightness of the whole house will be tricky as well - since usually not all walls are opened up.

But HVAC, lighting, EV charger/ PV ready and other measures will be equally possible.

thanks
 Ines (for the existing building subgroup)





--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ESTF-2-Buildings-L...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ESTF-2-Build...@googlegroups.com.

Mike Balma

unread,
Feb 25, 2018, 12:22:23 AM2/25/18
to Ines Koch, Marianna Grossman, ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use
Not sure if the new building is considering incentivves for all electric buildings.  Some cities did this for solar, you would get additional square footage allotment than normal if you installed solar.  The incentive only lasted three to five years to help jumpstart the industry.  

If we could identify an incentive that didn’t cost the city anything, however it was valuable to a builder, that could get significantly more all electric buildings.


Regards,

Mike Balma

chirjiv anand

unread,
Mar 2, 2018, 1:56:35 PM3/2/18
to Mike Balma, Ines Koch, Marianna Grossman, ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use
Thanks Mike, The incentive idea is great and has come up multiple times now. I will add it as a recommendation and work further on it. I think, your recommendation, on utility tax should be applied to new buildings too. Please pass on any other ideas you come across on incentives for new building electrificiation.


Hi Ines, The goal we are going for in net zero (energy/ carbon) reach code in terms of the highest standard for new building at this point. A higher standard than that for remodelling existing will need some exploration but where possible we can target for at-least net zero (energy/carbon) in a major remodelling case. We will re-explore this topic whenever a new recommendation for new buildings is made.


Thank you,


Chirjiv

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse+unsub...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse@googlegroups.com.



--
Marianna Grossman
Founder and Managing Partner
Minerva Silicon Valley
Twitter: @mgrossmanSV; @MinervaVentures

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse+unsub...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse@googlegroups.com.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ESTF-2 New/Existing Buildings and Land Use" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse+unsub...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ESTF-2-Buildings-Landuse/1301144233.5533838.1519536129845%40mail.yahoo.com.

For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.



--
Chirjiv Anand
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages