I’ve discussed Energy Monitoring in previous posts:

• Home Energy Monitoring
• Home Energy Monitoring – Update 

I have now purchased and installed my own TED Model 1001 energy monitor so I thought I’d share my thoughts.

Energy Detective Details

The Energy Detective (TED) is a fairly simple device – a measurement unit installed in my electrical panel transmits real-time power consumption data to a LCD display.  The display unit tracks peak levels and can display power in kilowatts (kW) or dollars as well as the line voltage.  Here’s what came in the box:

You’ll notice the USB port on the LCD unit – I paid an extra $40 for the TED Footprints software so I can log and view data on my PC.  More on this in a moment.

Installation was fairly straightforward, as long as you don’t mind mucking around in your electrical panel.  I won’t go into detail – you can read the instructions and muck around at your own risk .  If you’d rather avoid the hassle an electrician could easily install this in less than an hour.

Next there are a few setup steps on the Display Unit – you can enter electrical rate details which allows TED to display in dollars (and $/hr).  It works well with the Austin Energy 2 tiered rate model and seasonal rate change. 

Living with The Energy Detective – My Review

I’m not going to say that TED changed my life, but I certainly enjoy having it.  I’m kind of a data addict and TED allows me to measure and track my power consumption.  The first hour or so after I installed it were spent turning on all of our lights and appliances and monitoring the change in kWh.  Kind of nerdy, but an enlightening experience.

For anyone considering the TED, I would highly recommend the Footprints software.  It allows me to connect the TED display to my PC and log the data.  This has been very useful for tracking the performance of our HVAC system as well as monitoring our use-patterns.

All of the above information has helped me to live more efficiently and consider the costs of leaving a light on, or even baking brownies…

Baking with TED

Last weekend I baked a small pan of brownies in our electric oven.  Brownie ingredients are pretty cheap (chocolate, eggs, butter, etc.), but I was curious as to the cost of the ‘embodied energy’ (at least my oven’s contribution).  So I pulled up the TED data for the afternoon, here is a snapshot:

Here is a PDF of the full-size chart: TED-Baking.pdf

This graph shows a lot of good data.  The TED takes a measurement every second, so the x-axis shows the time I spent baking.  The blue plot is the power consumption (in kW) – this is what we’re after.  The red plot is the voltage (RMS) of the power lines – interesting mainly to see the power quality from Austin Energy and to see it drop as I draw more current.

First – Wow!  My oven takes some power!  The plot jumps up about 5 kW when the oven started pre-heating.  I checked my owner’s manual and it turns out I have a 5 kW heating element – this supports the measurement data.  It’s also interesting to see how the heating element turns on and off to maintain the 350 degree temperature.  This is basically the same control algorithm used by your average thermostat – simple but effective.

Also notice the two ~ 2 kW spikes around 2:40 pm – this was when I used the microwave to melt the butter/chocolate mix.  Here’s a closer look at this section of the plot (oven pre-heat and microwave):

With the TED power measurement for each second, I can calculate the total power consumption for baking the brownies.  This is the area under the blue plot in kilowatt-hours.  To be fair I’ll remove the ~0.6 kW base level as this is due to the lights, computer, fridge, etc. in the house. 

So there you have it – Thanks to TED I know that baking brownies required 1.67 kWh of power, which cost me about 12 cents.

Conclusion

You get the idea – The Energy Detective is a neat way to learn more about how you consume electricity, which should help you to be more efficient in your consumption.  I think installing TED is a great idea for builders – costing less than $200 it’s very affordable feature and it can immediately measure/demonstrate the effectiveness of the home and its systems.  Of course TED can eventually pay for itself by helping to reduce wasted energy. 

What do you think?  Is the TED providing worthwhile data or is this too much information?  Share your questions or comments below.

This is the fifth post about my modern remodel in Austin, Texas. Click here for all ‘My Remodel’ posts.

Note – I’m way behind on ‘My Remodel’ posting.  Bear with me as I catch up.  If you have a specific question or interest feel free to send me a note – ryan at inspiredaustin.com.

Also – I’m going to gloss over the financing and permitting aspects of the process.  While these are critical and can take a lot of time, I don’t think it makes for exciting reading.  My general advice in this area – work with architects/lenders who are very familiar with the process.

Phase 1: Free/Paid Demolition via Craigslist

Prior to construction, we lived in our house for over a year.  While it wasn’t it great shape, we knew there were many items that could be reused.  Craigslist to the rescue.  We quickly sold our appliances and several light fixtures along with some of our furniture.  Great!  But we still had several items that could be reused and would be expensive to demo – like concrete pavers, wire fence panels, and our old garage:

The answer – list them on Craigslist for free.  But be warned – this will result in an onslaught of calls and emails.  We got rid of the pavers and fence within a few hours of the posting.  People were happy to dig them out and take them away.  Several people came by to look at the garage but found that the trees on our lot would prevent extraction.  In any case – materials removed free of charge that won’t end up in a landfill.

Phase 2: Selective Demolition and Extraction

Next we started true, messy demolition.  While we considered going with Habitat for Humanity’s DeConstruction service, our builder had a strong relationship with another contractor who’s price couldn’t be beat.  He also sorted and recycled materials so it was an easy choice.  The crew first went through the house and removed all materials that could be re-used.  These ended up at habitat for humanity mostly – some I think the men may have detoured to a local flea market.  In any case – not a landfill:

If anyone is interested in the mustard-swirl colored cultured marble countertop with inset shell sink it may still be available at the Re-Store.

We were also able to sell our 50 yr old wood windows on Craigslist to a man restoring a similar home in East Austin – he was pretty excited so I probably didn’t charge enough for them.  I was just glad to find them a new home:

Phase 3: Structural Demolition

And then the walls came down.  It was neat to see them sort the lumber they had removed – some of it we reused on site (50 yr old lumber is stronger and straighter than today’s 2×4, or so I’m told), and smaller pieces are taken to be re-used as concrete form stakes.

The rest of the materials were taken away in dumpsters – which you can sort for recycling as well.  They can even recycle busted up concrete.  Finally we were left with the shell of our home, ready for a new addition.  Here are some photos:

Stay tuned for another exciting post on ‘My Remodel’ – A New Foundation.

There are a couple of interesting housing-related articles in the Statesman today.  First, an article about how green features are being used to help sell homes in a tough market.  Here is a snippet:

Hybrid homes become a selling tool

First came the push for fuel-efficient cars. Are fuel-efficient houses next?

As builders look for ways to move homes in a lousy market, they’re increasingly taking their cue from carmakers and turning toward energy efficiency as a selling tool…

Several Austin projects are mentioned (in addition to other areas).  A referenced study suggests that builders feel that ‘green’ homes are easier to market.  I’ve talked to a few Austin builders who agree with this sentiment.  The bottom line – the market is driving builders to implement energy efficient features.  See the full article here: Austin American Statesman – Hybrid homes become a selling tool

The other article (from the Wall Street Journal) talks about the growing popularity of “Design-Build” firms.  Rather than hiring Architect A for design and Builder B for construction – more firms are offering both services.  Here is a snippet:

When the architect is also the contractor

… This architect-as-contractor model, called design-build, had already been gaining new traction at the highest echelons of the housing market, as clients seek ways to execute cutting-edge designs without the headaches often associated with such construction. Membership in the American Institute of Architects’ design-build community has nearly tripled over the past five years, and teachers at several architecture programs across the Midwest report that enrollment in design-build classes has doubled…

Here is a link to the full text – definitely worth a read: Austin American Statesman – When the architect is also the contractor.  The article does a great job of covering the benefits to the client and the firm – as well as several examples.  I had no idea the AIA banned this practice until 1979!  As far as this trend – Austin has our share of great design-build firms like Cottam-Hargrave, KRDB, Clayton-Levy-Little have built amazing projects around town.

I’m a big fan of Google Sketchup.  It provides an immense amount of power that is accessible through a very intuitive user interface.  We have used it extensively in planning our remodel for everything from space planning to dimensioned cabinet drawings and material studies.

Google’s creation of the 3d Warehouse, which made models easily shareable and searchable, magnified the utility.  For example, when pondering appliance options, we were able to find Sketchup models and see how they would look in our kitchen in a matter of moments.

For Sketchup tutorials, see links here – Design your Dwelling Competition.

However, many people don’t realize that the functionality of Sketchup is extendable.  Like Firefox, users can install plugin’s to add completely new capabilities.  One fun example is Sketchy Physics, which adds a configurable physics engine:

IES Sketchup Plugin

Now for a more on-topic plugin – the IES Sketchup Plugin “Enables Environmental Performance Analysis directly from SketchUp Model”.

It allows empowering energy, carbon, daylight and solar analysis, and much more to be undertaken at the touch of a few buttons, right from the earliest stages of the design process, where the maximal difference to sustainable design can be achieved.

Share in the comments if you have an interesting use for Sketchup and/or you’ve tried out this plugin.

via Inhabitat

This is the fourth post about my modern remodel in Austin, Texas. Click here for all ‘My Remodel’ posts.

With our remodel design in hand (see previous post – Designing our Central Austin Remodel), we were ready to begin the search for a builder.  This was probably my least favorite step in the process, and yet probably the most important step in ensuring the success of our project.

As with Our Central Austin Home Search, we first thought about the characteristics we were looking for in a builder to make sure we were efficient in our search.  Here is our list (in no particular order):

• Affordable and available in our timeframe
• Good references and relevant experience
• Experience remodeling older homes
• Detail oriented
• Creative problem solver
• Open to trying new technology
• Interest/experience with efficient (green) building
• Experience with/interest in modern design
• Understands architectural vision and can interpret details
• Interested in/excited about our project
• Fun to work with

Most of these are fairly obvious, and some not entirely critical.  We were hoping to find a builder with an interest in modern design, but this was not a deal breaker.  It was more important that we were confident in their ability to execute the architect’s vision on time and on budget.  Of course we had to be able to tolerate spending a lot of time together as well.

In generating our list of potential builders we tried to stick with those who came recommended by friends and neighbors.  We ended up with about 6 solid options based on this input.  The first three were eliminated quickly based on availability and one firm who only builds their own designs.

The Low Point in the Builder Search

We were a little discouraged at this point, but we pressed on to the remaining three.  We finally got a meeting with the first of these, who we’ll call Builder A.  Builder A does a lot of work in Central Austin and therefore has a lot of experience in remodeling older homes.  We had seen their work on a home tour and were generally impressed with the quality.

Of course we were very nervous for the meeting, as this would be the time that a real dollar amount would be assigned to the project.  During the meeting Builder A reviewed our drawings, asking questions about how we would like certain details finished out.  After about an hour we left, Builder A promising to send us an estimate by the end of the week. 

After two weeks and no word from Builder A, we were a bit discouraged – strike four.  When we finally received a voicemail from the builder’s assistant a few days later he gave us a very high rough estimate (1 significant digit, about twice what we expected).  Clearly they weren’t interested in the project, which is fine.  However, the high number certainly didn’t help our morale.

Close but no cigar

For our 5th try, we spoke with a builder that came highly recommended by a good friend.  Nana Kim designed and built her own house in South Austin.  The design is very well done and the builder did a great job in executing the details.  If you’d like to see this home in person, be sure to buy your 2008 AIA Tour Ticket.  Here is a sneak peek of Nana’s front door (I love the wood):

So we met with her builder, Larry Anderson.

Larry was extremely helpful, taking the time to talk us through the costs of various aspects of our project.  He has done several similar remodel/addition projects and had a lot of data at hand, which was helpful to give us a rough cost estimate.  This was much more detailed than the single number we received from Builder A, and much more in line with our expectations.

Unfortunately Larry was in very high demand, and booked for the next 12 months!  So back to the drawing board…

One last try

We had one more builder that came highly recommended from an acquaintance.  We also had a favorable impression of their work based on their entry on a previous Green Homes tour.  However, this builder was a bit different – it would require my wife and I to manage the project.

We met with Mark Pritchard of UBuildIt several times to discuss our project.  He was very helpful and gave us a fairly detailed cost estimate, which was inline with our expectations.  However, in the end my wife and I decided that we wouldn’t be able to dedicate the time required to manage the project at the level we wanted as we both work full time.  What now?

Modern Design Build to the rescue

At this point I was frustrated and telling any friend who would listen about my fruitless search for a builder.  One of these friends decided that he could do something about it.

Modern Design Build is a small company in West Austin that does a lot of very high end projects.  They don’t really advertise, staying busy based only on referrals.  Their reputation for stunning design, flawless construction and excellent customer service precedes them. 

They are outstanding with details, here is an example.  Have you ever seen jobsite sign like this:

However, Modern DB mainly works in West Austin (West of Mopac, to Lakeway and beyond), and on much larger projects than my remodel.  They focus on pools, landscaping, and outbuildings but have experience in residential construction. 

But I had two things working for me – I have known the owner of the company for many years and he has always been interested in efficient (green) design and construction; and they had an opening in their calendar that matched my schedule.  Woo hoo!

So Modern DB superintendent Michael Dickson took on our project.  We were very fortunate here as Michael has significant experience working with many architects and builders in Austin.  He grew up doing cabinet and trim work on high end homes around town and went on to build several homes in West Austin.

Michael reviewed our plans quickly and noted many details that my wife and I hadn’t even noticed.  He discussed several implementation details with our architect on the spot.  We could tell that he was very interested and excited about the project, it was both impressive and encouraging.

A few days later Michael gave us detailed bid and rough schedule.  We met a few more times to iron out details, but there was really no question.  Michael and Modern DB were by far the best fit for us.  They completely understand the design vision of our project and they produce an extremely high quality product.  Michael is great to work with and made many suggestions to help us get the most for our money.  Here he is in deep thought:

Needless to say, we are extremely satisfied with Michael and Modern Design Build (we are about 3/4 through the project – I’m way behind on blogging!).  I would highly recommend Modern DB to anyone considering a remodel, a new home, or a pool.  They are of the highest integrity and I couldn’t be happier with our house thus far.