The state of Kansas has many energy-efficient home partners
The state of Kansas has many programs and partners ready to assist in building or converting to an energy-efficient home. They also boast a model for "green" living in the town of Greensburg that is recognized worldwide. In 2010, 934 Energy Star qualified homes were built in Kansas, and a total of 2,526 since the program began in 2004. Based upon national averages, the energy reduction from the qualified homes built in 2010 is equivalent to eliminating emissions from 458 vehicles, saving 2,768,376 pounds of coal, planting 757 acres of trees and saving the environment 5,429,342 pounds of CO2.
Incentives Encourage Builders
Partnering with the state of Kansas in 2004, Black Hills Energy launched a program to offer tiered rebates to builders for homes that qualify under the Energy Star guidelines. This takes into account general performance, heating and air conditioning (HVAC) and water heater efficiency. Some energy-rated appliances also qualify. Seventeen new builders joined the growing partnership in 2010, bringing the total to 67 participating builders.
Deerfield Neighborhood Becomes Guinea Pig
Westar Energy launches electricity "smart meters" in Lawrence, Kansas.
Becoming the first neighborhood in Lawrence, Kansas to use smart meters, 1,500 customers of Westar Energy in Deerfield received letters informing them that they would be trying out a technology to track of the amount of electricity used.
The plan is to eventually install smart meters in every one of Lawrence's 45,000 homes. Half of the funding for the $39 million SmartStar project will come from a federal grant. The meters will monitor energy usage by the hour.
Westar received the federal grant in March 2010 and began to set up the infrastructure that will connect Lawrence's smart meters to a computer and software hub in Topeka.
Energy-efficient Windows Conserve Heat and Air Conditioning
Besides meeting qualifications, energy-efficient windows must be properly installed
Meeting local codes is required for a window to be designated "energy efficient." Since every locality has their own energy code requirements, it is always a good idea to verify the the local code. Products qualified for the Energy Star seal almost always meet or exceed standards. Kansas is considered a heat dominant area, but it's also mixed, so it needs to comply with both heat and cooling standards. The NFRC (National Fenestration Rating Council) label appears on all products related to openings, such as windows, that have qualified as Energy Star products.
Study Selects Most Efficient Window
Conducting a study based on a 2,200 square-foot house in Wichita, Kansas, with a ratio of approximately 15 percent window to floor, the Center for Sustainable Building Research compared the annual heating and cooling costs for six different types of windows. This did not include any changes in the HVAC units. The most efficient was a window with triple glazing with low-E coating, meaning low solar gain, an argon gas fill and a nonmetal frame that has been thermally improved.
Greensburg Becomes Model Town
Thanks to a charitable nonprofit organization named GreenTown, Greensburg, Kansas has made an incredible comeback from a devastating tornado in May of 2007. The town has been reinvented as a sustainable building and green living community --- a model now recognized around the world. The mission of GreenTown is to educate, so that energy-efficient building and living is appealing and accessible to all.
