“Energy Efficient Homes: Profit and Conservation Opportunities”
Tuesdays
Newcomb Hall 414,
Taught by Myron Katz, cost: $696.
This course is open to Tulane students and the general public. Architects, engineers, builders, AC, insulation & roofing contractors, building and building code inspectors, lenders and investors, attorneys, physicians, real-estate and insurance agents will $PROFIT$ from this survey of the many business opportunities associated with energy efficient home design and construction.
Sound home design focuses upon Health, Safety, Durability, Comfort & Efficiency. The student will become familiar with SEER, Duct-leakage, infiltration, dehumidification, solar heat gain coefficient, effective R-value, advection, etc. Off-the-shelf technologies like compact fluorescent, radiant barrier, desuperheater, occupancy sensors, hydronics, etc are applied to residential construction in novel ways. Government incentives like energy efficient mortgages, HERO, tax credits, public benefit funds, and marketing programs like EnergyStar, GreenLights, etc, demonstrate the public’s commitment to growing business in this sector. Recent awareness of deteriorating indoor air quality, e.g. mold, sick buildings, allergy, Legionella, ventilation and uninsurability has created headaches for homeowners but also new business opportunities. Most of these problems can be avoided by sound building science concepts like unvented attic, rain plane, adsorbtion, vapor pressure, relative humidity, flashing, etc. The student will learn to compare value via energy audits, energy ratings, internal rate of return, cost benefit analysis, present value of future energy savings, negawatts, etc. The course will be customized to the enrolled students’ needs and interests. Continuing Education Credits may be available for certain professions.
“The Earth’s climate can be protected not at a cost but at a profit,” Amory Lovins 1998.