Page 4 - Green Builder April 2017 Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE

By Matt Power
The Inside Scoop Editor-in-Chief

Products Are Greener Than Ever, but

Comfort-Obsessed Consumers Keep Binging

Home size, consumer psychology and proliferating gadgets undermine what should

be a great American success story.

Y SOME ACCOUNTS, the building The list of “better” products goes on and on.
industry should be celebrating Part of the problem is home size. Since
its progress. Despite the fact that the recession, the market has drifted toward
homes built since 2000 and beyond ever larger homes, with ever-larger luxury
Bare about 30 percent bigger than amenities. And let’s be honest: Many luxury
those of decades prior, they consume only products are far too wasteful. There are
about 2 percent more energy. According to the notable exceptions, such as Liebherr’s new
U.S. Department of Energy, new homes—53 narrow refrigerator.
percent of which are built in Southern The market has shifted away from starter
climates—use 21 percent LESS energy to homes, and that’s not a good thing either.
heat and cool than older homes. But here’s the Partially occupied vacation and second homes
catch: They use about 18 percent more energy account for as much as 38 percent of new
to power electronics, lighting and appliances. permits, at a time when global warming seems
Thus, despite decades of advances in to be spiraling out of control.
building products, the environmental impact But some will argue that the market is just
of a typical home is getting worse when it giving consumers what they want. As a friend
should be sliding comfortably toward net zero. remarked to me recently, “We have become a nation obsessed with
Who’s to blame for this unwelcome scenario? Manufacturers? comfort ... we keep consuming and looking for more.”
I don’t think so, Kohler just came out with a 1-gallon toilet. Huber I think she’s right. And that dead-end quest for the perfect Italian
now offers a version of ZIP sheathing panels with super-insulating marble countertop is not only wiping out half the species on the
qualities. Smart thermostats cut heating cost by up to 20 percent. planet, it’s doing nothing for our state of mind. As Scientific American
discovered, difficult tasks bring meaning, which is far more important
(and less fleeting) than happiness.
In the pursuit of perpetual comfort, people tend to fall into what
author David Owen calls The Conundrum. It refers to the fact that
as products become more energy efficient or “green,” people tend
to feel entitled to acquire and use more of them. The buy low-flow
toilets, but install five new televisions to ease a fear of being alone.
The products in this issue are some of the most innovative and
game-changing I’ve ever seen. But without bringing homebuyers to
heel, the industry will keep losing ground on efficiency. It’s time for
some tough love: Here’s why your home size matters. Here’s how to
make your vacation home produce more energy than it uses. Here’s a
discussion of comfort versus meaning. What kind of life do you want?
Will your comfort-centric home make that more likely—or less? GB
Ebb and flow. Despite increases in the size of homes since 2000,
the amount of energy used per house is nearly the same as in 1999
or earlier. Scientific American: “A Happy Life May Not Be A Meaningful Life,”
CREDIT: U.S. ENERGY INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION http://bit.ly/1gDeI8C

2 GREEN BUILDER Special Awards Issue 2017 www.greenbuildermedia.com

2 GB 0417 Editor's Note.indd 2 4/12/17 1:57 PM