Contributed by Aaron Fairchild, CEO of Green Canopy, Inc.
I recently read the PSBJ article by Rachel Lerman on elephants under the corporate table. In the article she recapped an interview between Joe Wallin of Davis Wright Tremaine and Dan Levitan, the founder of Maveron. It was striking to hear Levitan, a venture capitalist, talk about not underestimating the importance of a “holistic team where there are no elephants under the table.” He noted that the most agile and high-functioning teams have love, respect, and appreciation for each other.
It sounds like Levitan is a millennial at heart. Corporate America is changing rapidly. The 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s Mad Men era of, “do as you are told” and heavy, top down management is a thing of the past. And as this interview illustrates, the importance of healthy corporate cultural development can no longer be denied. The millennial generation has been given a bad rap and pointed to as entitled and fickle job-hoppers, however my experience is that inside every top caliber talent, whether they were born before or after 1981, exists a millennial mind and heart.
"When the right cause is coupled with a great cultural framework, magic happens."
High functioning people need to be inspired to work hard. As Elon Musk recently said, “Putting in long hours for a corporation is hard, putting in long hours for a cause is easy.” In addition to having a cause that inspires, high functioning people need to feel respected in order to contribute their all. Furthermore, they will not work for a team that they themselves cannot respect. Just look at the non-profit world. Nonprofits are all about great causes yet, we all probably know at least one or two that can never seem to live up to their potential. Having a great cause or purpose in today’s corporate America isn’t enough… creating inspiration at intersection of people and the cause results from a deliberate focus on corporate culture.
When the right cause is coupled with a great cultural framework, magic happens. Think of that framework as a tapestry of shared values. Everything from who washes dishes in the corporate kitchen to how board meetings are run… those values present themselves to the rest of the team. If there is misalignment or inconsistency, no matter how noble the cause, the ecosystem of the organization will begin to break down. Respect and love for each other is so important.
Equally important is trust, where confident leaders motivate not through the force of their egos, but by letting go of control and empowering their team to take responsibility for their own decisions. Having autonomy is a must for top tier talent (micro-managers suck) and talented people are the very people that we all want to work with. Good managers will let go of control beyond what feels comfortable and play to the strengths of the team. Playing to someone’s strengths is simply another way of saying, don’t ask people to do what they are not good at. If a team member was hired for a job that they are not good at or interested in, then management should recognize their complicity and move the individual into a role that they are good at and interested in mastering.
Lastly, when thinking about the insights of people like Levitan, consider how far we have come in managing top talent in America, and then consider just how far we still have yet to go. Thankfully, the millennial mind has been born and is demanding more from corporate America. It demands that managers earn the right to retain top talent… top talent isn’t only interested in money.
The problems we face as a nation and as a species balancing on stressed and changing ecosystems are pressing to say the least. Establishing corporate cultures that are designed ultimately to respect people and play to their strengths is a must for the successful businesses of the future, and a must for a fragile species in need of corporate solutions that address resource scarcity on a planet in transition.
I met my wife, Susan, 14 years ago at a Chamber of Commerce meeting. I was a banker and Susan was forming a non-profit mentorship program for at-risk youth in south Seattle. She was attending the meeting to recruit mentors and came away with a lot more than she anticipated. We lived very different lives at the time however we shared similar values of social and environmental justice.
Over the course of the next several years I continued to feel juxtaposed in life. I was working to make money, and really wanted to be making a difference. The juxtaposed feeling culminated in meeting another couple on a hiking outing in 2003, when I was asked what I did for a living. When I responded that I worked in banking, the couple immediately looked at Susan and asked what she did for a living. When she said that she worked in the non-profit sector, they quickly struck up a conversation leaving me feeling like a third wheel. Ugh… it was time for a change.
I guess I share many of the attitudes of the millennial generation, meaning I am far from alone. I am ambitious and demand a lot from an employer in order to earn my respect and retention. I am fine working long hours from the office and from home if I am inspired, and I believe in perhaps a naïve notion that I can live an aligned life.
When I reflect on my own experience and look out at the world around me I see the intersection of two major factors that are driving our company, Green Canopy, and the future of business:
1) The prevailing cultural attitude of the “millennial” shared by so many born before and after 1981, and;
2) Society’s hard charging transition into a new world paradigm of severe resource constraints and climate upheaval.
The success of Green Canopy and other companies is limited only in our ability to positively respond to these two things.
The first of these requires that we inspire our employees and earn the right of their respect and continued employment. And whether the business of an organization is about addressing environmental challenges head on like Green Canopy or not, the most successful businesses of the future will intentionally conduct their operations in the most resource efficient manner possible. Simple, yet oh so difficult.
“At Green Canopy we recognize that we are firmly planted with everyone else somewhere along the spectrum of hypocrisy.”
After the culminating hike in 2003, I spent much of my time trying to create alignment in my life by finding ways to apply my skills and experiences toward environmental issues. That eventually led me to quit working at my father’s bank in order to start my own enterprise. And in 2008 I shared an idea I had recently been mulling on with a longtime friend. After a short period of time Sam and I began developing the plan and finding the right partners that would lead to starting Green Canopy over one year later.
At Green Canopy we recognize that we are firmly planted with everyone else somewhere along the spectrum of hypocrisy. Our mission is to inspire resource efficiency and – while we are extremely intentional and deliberately try to always make the most resource efficient and less environmentally harmful homebuilding decisions – we have yet to perfect our efforts in building the utmost in green and resource efficient homes. Sometimes we are faced with no other alternative than to make the less resource efficient or more wasteful decision. It sincerely frustrates the team when this happens. We certainly have green building design and development standards that we never sacrifice, but the cruel realities of market-based economics sometimes force our hand. And yet many times these very same constraints open up new possibilities. However, at the end of the day we are far from perfect. So when I talk about our company it comes from a position of deep humility and a desire to inspire others to take action.
Inspiring at the intersection of the prevailing cultural attitude and the new world paradigm of severe resource constraints is clearly tricky. How we go about it at Green Canopy is through delivering – for our employees – what Daniel Pink has written heavily about: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Intentionally building a company designed to deliver these three essential things to its employees took a lot of thought and dedication to cultural development. As a result of our culture we cannot help but to give employees autonomy to make their own empowered decisions, the ability to master what they are already interested in, and a binding sense of purpose. Inspiring at the intersection happens right there, with the binding sense of purpose. Developing a cultural framework that allows every employee to meaningfully engage in addressing that purpose is part of the work.
When Susan and I reflect on the journey of the last decade and the sacrifices that we have made as a family to get here, we know that it was well worth the struggle. We are aligned through our work and in our day-to-day lives and we are proud that through this career we are making a meaningful and lasting difference. Also, despite the hike and my feelings of career shame, my banking skills definitely come in handy at Green Canopy. The future of business requires innovation on every front, including capital.
The inaugural Empower Happy Hour this past Wednesday was an amazing success . Thank you for coming and helping to advance the discussion! And a special thanks to our co-host, Climate Solutions, for providing such a compelling topic to anchor the event! We had maybe 100 people attend and I spoke with several folks that were very appreciative for the opportunity to come together around the topic of the evening. We will certainly do this again.
Many conversations were held addressing the question, "How can clean energy gain broad support as an engine of shared prosperity and sustainable economic opportunity?" Many conversations spun out from this question to tackle neighboring themes. Here are some responses I heard from the evening:
“Democratizing capital to allow the non-wealthy to invest in clean tech companies and solutions."
“ Tie social welfare programatic funding to clean tech incentives or taxes or messages, etc. Create a ‘What's in it for me’ by connecting government programs to help the poor to our clean tech solutions of the future. "This program partially paid for by wind power wind falls..." you get the idea.
“ Educate, educate, educate... and start educating our children about our environmental challenges at the earliest ages possible."
“ Demonstrate through stories how the clean energy economy helps builds the middle class, and offers family-wage jobs and more sustainable livelihoods than those tied to fossil fuels."
“ Share and explore solution stories from oversees in the developing world that can inspire similar approaches here in the United States."
Green Canopy has a special mission to inspire resource efficiency in residential markets, and it certainly is an inspiration to us to see a crowd come together to advance the discussion around topics that align with our mission. Thanks again to everyone for coming – and please join the conversation on Facebook #EmpowerHappyHour.
Contributed by Krystal Meiners, Marketing Manager for Green Canopy, Inc.
View this project on Houzz. It is 38 degrees and sunny in Seattle – a forecast that is quite unusual for the Pacific Northwest. Despite the chill, I step into a home that is warm, cozy and filled with light. I love it. I know I say this about all of our Green Canopy Homes – but this one is truly a green dream home. Miriam is amazing.
Today I am meeting Ryan onsite. He is one of our most talented PM’s and is churning this home out nearly one month ahead of schedule. Impressive, Ryan ;)
Before we get started – it almost goes without saying - the most special thing about Miriam, is the interior courtyard. We both enthusiastically agree. It is an amazing and quiet meditative space in the very heart of the home. The entire project seems to be planned around this space. The path from the front door to the courtyard makes me think of a conch shell – with a circuitous flow from the public entry and entertainment areas, spiraling inward to the heart of the home.
Ryan gives me a tour of the home and we talk about the project and the components that help us achieve that Green Canopy VIBE. Value –Innovation – Beauty – Efficiency. Every Green Canopy Home grows from these 4 roots.
Value
Neighborhood – This home is walking distance (Walkscore 80) to both Seattle Children’s and U-Village as well as some cute local shops on 55th.
Energy Savings - With the power of an 18kW Heat Pump unit blowing overhead – a 32 degree day in Seattle is unnoticeable indoors. AND with a test-out score of 15,000kWh/year this home is definitely going to be a money-saver!
Beauty
We already said it once – but here it is again. INDOOR COURTYARDS ROCK YOUR SOCKS OFF! Literally! We joked that you could enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning in your birthday suit, but no one could see you... basically you’re inside, but you are really outside! Fun.
Highest Ceilings Ever. Move over downtown lofts and luxury condos… we have 20’ ceilings in this home too.
That’s quite the fine façade. A mix of materials, color and the right proportions give this modern home a humanscale touch. Modern architecture often gets a lot of slack for being too “monumental” but Miriam not only has a dynamic façade but the massing is similar to other homes on the block. It makes for an eclectic but appropriately scaled home on the street that reflects similar massing and structures without copy-catting or invoking the “neo-crapsman” builder style
Innovation
New Stair Spec! Its always exciting when our PM’s are able to create win’s for the company that can be repeated over and over again throughout our homes. This spec combines precast concrete treads with reclaimed beams from another Green Canopy Home. It’s a bit more expensive but the installation is faster. WIN
Re-envisioning a courtyard - Green Canopy was fortunate to salvage this homes original footprint – which is how we managed to get the inner courtyard in the first place! The original floor plan was a U-Shape with a courtyard that opened onto a full yard – we closed the loop, so to speak, and enclosed that fantastic space.
New bamboo closet systems! Pretty and renewable!
Energy Efficiency
The original home on this lot tested in at 22,000kWh and tested out at 15kWh. While that is an impressive transformation – Ryan, who is also our HVAC guru, has created a personal goal to have his homes test out at 14,000kWh. Go Ryan!
All of homes have the bells and whistles of the Energy Efficiency Seal - the 4th root in our 4 Roots. It also has some additional features that are pretty cool: Convection cook-top range (a product that seemingly works via magic and was created by wizards); As well as Bottom-loading freezer. Why is this efficient? The short answer: Cold air sinks – when you open your freezer air escapes more easily if it is up top. Period. We are just keeping the air where it wants to be.
Miriam is an all-around classy and unique home – that was recently snatched up in our new Presale program.
Happy Holidays!
So blogging during the summer was a bust for Green Canopy – clearly. I can offer any number of excuses, and I will, but let’s first just say that reading blogs about residential real estate, building, the economy or any number of relevant-to-work-not-pleasure topics while on vacation is not something that Green Canopy endorses anyway. We hope you all had an amazing summer. And now that you are gearing up for the holidays and getting back into the swing of working, school, shorter days and rainy weather that keeps you inside and perhaps on the computer longer – we hope that you will come back to our blog.
There is a lot going on at Green Canopy and we are now considering switching things up a bit with the blog. We are going back to our roots. Our 4 Roots to be exact. Instead of focusing solely on the real estate market we will be blogging under the themes of Value, Innovation, Beauty and Energy Efficiency. Every Green Canopy Home grows from these 4 Roots and we are working hard to develop a program that defines each of these and answers the question “What is a Green Canopy Home?” Many of you may have read about our 3 Roots and our Brand Pillars, V.I.B.E., and this is something that we have decided to simplify and combine into one cohesive concept. We want to put our work out there in a way that is transparent and inspirational in a message that comes from our whole team and not just the geeky marketing genius that is me. I will be interviewing our project managers, photographing and documenting our projects and process to share with the world. Sure this has been done before – but not by us. And so what? We have a story to tell and a lot of cool behind-the-scenes shenanigans to share. Join us!
6 Reasons why Green Canopy did not blog this summer:
Umm… the weather. More time spent outside digging in the dirt and enjoying the Emerald City in the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Best. Summers. On. The. Planet.
Too much going on. Green Canopy moved from Fremont to Georgetown (there is still a draft blog about this sitting in the queue - and while it was fantastically funny, it just never got released or finished – email me if you are interested in reading a draft blog about our move).
Too much going on Part 2. We launched a number of things this summer including Green Canopy Custom, our Presale Program and have been working on the Green Genius Awards behind the scenes. A lot to blog about without a lot of time.
Alder Fund. In case you haven’t read about this here is the Press Release from a couple of weeks ago. Green Canopy was busy this summer raising millions of investment dollars (literally) to fund the construction of our homes so we can keep churning out the good work!
Children and babies and family and fun. While it may look like Green Canopy never stops, having just purchased our 50th property (GO US). We do stop and make time for family. I could take a moment to blog in the evening when I get home – but sometimes the weather is just too perfect and a family walk is more exciting than a blog. Not to mention – our very own VP of Operations is now a new DAD! Congrats to him and his family. We really cannot wait until he returns. Our CEO can hardly manage without him.
And the 6th reason why we did not blog… Well, let’s just chalk it up to Growth. We are growing. We are hiring, we are getting bigger and better and bolder than ever before. We are succeeding and we are rocking Seattle’s socks off. We are building homes as well as relationships and making the tides rise because that’s what we, as builders, do during the summer to help us get through the winter.
So stay tuned for the good and the bad to come through the seasons.
Thanks!
The Green Canopy Team
Contributed by Krystal Meiners, Marketing Manager for Green Canopy, Inc.
Even though I am the Marketing Manager for a builder (AKA the Marketing GENIUS or self-proclaimed M-architect) – I don’t pretend to know the many nuances and facets of the WORLD of real-estate marketing and I don’t pretend to assume that we do a great job of it ourselves. What I do know is that we try really hard, and working with agents has given us a 1-up. From what I can tell marketing for real estate can get pretty complicated – and the rewards of your efforts are not always measurable.
To do it well, real estate agents have to be graphic designers, web designers, bloggers, social media gurus, public speakers, PR aficionados, salesmen(women), community activists, construction experts, design experts, neighborhood experts… the list certainly goes on.
What I also know – is that Agents have a world of tech at their fingertips to make their jobs “easier” (harder) and “less complicated” (super complicated). There are a million different ways to connect with clients and my feeling (totally un-researched) tells me that most of this is happening online.
In an effort to understand this phenomenon and to try and keep up with our Agent associates I have been trying to do more research. One of our Certified Energy Agents recently kicked this my way, and I have to say – I LOVE IT! These guys are apparently pretty hot in the real estate biz and they host an outrageous Google Hangout (yes people use Google Hangouts! WTF) about Real Estate Marketing. Their live video chats and interviews have been translated into iTune’s #1 Business Podcast - and for good reasons.
Chris Smith is entertaining and whip-smart i.e. not boring at all. So, take a minute or 45 and Watch/Listen/Learn about what you could be doing to boost your marketing efforts from these pros at the WaterCooler. Their live show airs every Wednesday evening at 9:15 EST and if you can figure out your Google+ Account, you can join them or watch them here.
You can also catch all of the past episodes on their Youtube Channel.
I have been writing for months now about the lack of supply in our market. As a result of the limited supply the market made a radical shift around this time last year from a being a buyers’ market to being a sellers’ market. Currently it is not uncommon for us to receive multiple offers on our homes, or for them to sell over our original list price. This begs the question, how long can this last?
Inman reports that homebuilders are beginning to kick it up a notch and build more homes in response to the lack of supply, and yet 90% of home sales in the U.S. are existing home sales, or re-sales. It is my belief that, in Seattle, the market will continue its heated rate of appreciation fueled by the supply constraints; however it will slowly taper off as home values continue to climb. When existing homeowners begin to realize greater equity, they will begin to have the ability to sell their home and use the proceeds to buy a better home. As more and more homeowners contemplate selling and begin to take action, the lack of supply will gradually disappear and supply and demand will equilibrate. When that comes to pass home appreciation rates will level off and normalize.
Given that Seattle has an unemployment rate under 6% it is hard to say just when supply and demand will come into balance. This is still one heck of a desirable town to live in and it seems like the majority of our homebuyers are coming from out of town for job related reasons. As the local unemployment rate continues its decline toward full employment, home values will continue to rise fueled by more demand than supply. Given this influx of homebuyers into the area we could be realizing an appreciation trend line that will outpace the rest of the country for months to come.
There are a million reasons. Period. What a hassle. Period. BUT… Can it be done?
In celebration of Bike to Work Month/Week/Day here in Seattle – I thought I would challenge Agents (especially our greenie followers) to challenge their notions of why it is impossible to be a bike commuter in this line of work (i.e. real estate).
I recently read an article in Wired Magazine about some tech-guy out of Portland. I have no idea what the article was about – but I do remember one of the interview questions. The reporter asked if Portland was indeed like the show Portlandia. Hilarious show, right?
And his answer was: “It’s pretty close to the real thing.” He goes on to state that his most “Portlandia Moment” was reading a bike blog that was discussing a new tow-able hot tub. Commenters were excited about the possibilities and even went so far as to discuss mobile midwives being a primary user of the tow-able hot tub! (WTF?)
While the blog comments also dive into other harebrained uses for the tow-able hot tub, I am left scratching my head. If Portland has Bike to Work Midwives, why can’t Seattle have Bike to Work Real Estate Agents? Why is this idea so far-fetched?
In comparison – it seems like a pretty doable business model and maybe even a clever way of making a sale.
Imagine it: You’ve got a client couple (maybe even relocating from Portland) who work at Googlezon and want to see a few homes in Ballard. You meet them at the home on your bike, help them unload theirs from their Suburu Outback, look at the home and muse about the neighborhood. Then you take them to the next home while stopping to sip some water in a nearby park, muse about how awesome it is to be so close to the park. Onward to the next home! Talk about the bike lanes, then finish off near Burke Gilman for a beer at Populuxe Brewery and grab a bite from their food truck Fridays! Wow, Ballard is awesome via Bike! Let’s buy that super energy efficient home and save money on Energy and Gas! We <3 Seattle! All without having to circle Ballard at 5pm to find parking (that in itself is a huge time-saver)!
Here is a sample map using several available Green Canopy Homes! Lucy, Dinah & Maritime Lofts.
I asked our resident cyclist, Canuche (who bikes or runs to work EVERY DAY, like a total goon) what are some tips for Agents who may want to try out some different wheels for Bike To Work Day this Friday.
Here are his tips for making this doable:
Plan in Advance: Plot out your course and see if your client would be up for it!
Don’t go overboard. Maybe you want to show two houses in the neighborhood/maybe just one? Maybe you show them a place and you bike to a coffee shop to talk about it.
Bring Water: In a reusable bottle, of course.
Don’t overthink it: You don’t need a lot of gear to have a relaxing time and you don’t need to look like you just finished the Tour-de-France when biking 1 mile between homes.
Don’t invite the clients: Maybe this is just something you do for yourself – to stay fit, be healthy and enjoy the competition and the FUN of Bike to Work Month.
While Portland is CLEARLY number 1 on the country’s most bikable cities, Seattle is still in the top 10 (according to Walkscore). Bike to Work on Friday or Any DAY in May! You can find more tips for Biking here, at Cascade Bicycle Club. They are The producer's of the Bike to Work Challenge here in Seattle and can help anyone get started!
If our construction guys can do it…. So can our agents, right? (Yes, some of Construction Project Managers have been biking this month!)
Since issuing our last newsletter titled, NetZero Doesn't Sell, we have received all manner of responses. I have yet to experience such impassioned communication resulting from one of our newsletters.
Some of the responses have been positive, most have not.
The not good...
"I don't believe a 'few weeks' as you indicate below should be the litmus test for sales and most importantly should not be verbalized to the community..."
"I think to say that 'net zero doesn't sell' when we have very few examples of true net zero energy residences in the greater area is irresponsible..."
"I don't think you should make universal statements based on a sample size of two..."
"I think you can say..." this or that thing
"I don't think you should..." make this or that statement
And so on.
The good...
"Keep speaking your truth"
"Thanks for sharing even when the news isn't the best for you guys or maybe what we want to hear, good for you."
Comparisons and references have been made to the Bullitt Center, zHome in Issaquah, and Bainbridge Island NetZero project. Assertions made about premiums for green homes and buildings. I sincerely respect and appreciate the responses our newsletter has generated. For this reason I am responding with an explanation of our intentions.
Green Canopy's mission is...
to inspire resource efficiency in residential markets. By "residential markets" we mean homebuyers, sellers AND all players in the real estate market: Real Estate Agents, Lenders and Investors, and builders. We strive extremely hard to accomplish our mission by paying close attention to what is required by the market to be inspired. When we titled our newsletter, Netzero Doesn't Sell, we were only referring to the project that was referenced in the newsletter, and that project only. We did not offer comparisons to any other project. We made a declarative statement referring to our project as a note of caution and optimism for other builders... green efficiency does sell, but promoting this project as NetZero hurt its salability. As stated in the newsletter, "netzero in Seattle doesn't sell quickly." As a builder in a red hot real estate market we cannot afford to have projects linger. The longer a home sits verses comparably priced product negatively impacts the overall market perception of the home, driving the price down beyond our control.
My observations:
The hyper or deep green efficient homebuyer in today's market is still an outlier. Very few certified LEED for Homes have been offered for sale in this market and fewer still netzero homes. This suggests that there is little demand for super deep green homes on behalf of homebuyers, otherwise this simply would not be the case. This does not suggest that the deep green buyer doesn't exist. They absolutely do exist, and they are minority players in the larger market.
My conclusions:
Green Canopy will continue to target the larger market, not the outliers, by offering green efficient homes that inspire along our brand pillars: value, innovation, beauty, efficiency. In targeting the larger market we hope to help transform the market. Demonstration projects such as zHome and the Bullitt Center are incredibly helpful in demonstrating to the market what is possible. I am thankful for these projects. They create awareness and incrementally increase demand. However, the typical builder cannot afford to build demonstration projects due to the combination of the additional cost and risk... getting out in front of the market, selling product to outliers, is not a recipe for success for a market-based, for-profit company regardless of the sector.
The challenge for Green Canopy is to build and remodel homes that: (1.) buyers want to buy (2.) allow us to have a sustainable profit margin and (3.) inspire resource efficiency... all at the same time. Remove any one, or all of these criteria and building the project gets easier and is typically the role of either government, well-intentioned non-profits, or non-mission driven companies. If Green Canopy can consistently deliver on all three of these criteria we will enjoy a sustained competitive advantage for years to come and perhaps one day claim success in our hope to transform the market to consider green efficiency when homes are bought and sold.
Sincerely,
Aaron Fairchild, CEO
Turns out deep green efficiency is good enough without all the bells and whistles of solar
Green Canopy has recently completed our first ever, new construction project. We were ambitious and the results were beautiful for this new twin development in Tangletown. We literally reached for the stars - Sol and Solange are on target to be the first NetZero, LEED Platinum, 5 Star BuiltGreen homes on the market in Seattle. With all of those certs - these beauties are bound to get snatched up! However - we have learned that in Seattle - no matter how well engineered it may be - Solar just doesn't sell quickly. Several hundred people came through our open houses and have toured our listings since going live a few weeks ago - more than we have ever seen. And our greatest feedback..." the net-zero part is not essential. We just like your work and 'deep green' is certainly good enough."
In response to that, we recently lowered the price and re-listed without the Solar panels. Let the market rule!
We are proud to highlight a dialogue with two of our wonderful Energy Agents this month, Kris Murphy and Daniela Dombrowski. They will be listing our first ever NetZero homes, Sol and Solange!
1) Both of you have taken very different paths to becoming real estate agents. How has your background prepared you for this?
Kris – My degree and early work experience was in the hospitality field, so customer service has always been the central focus of my career. Following that I worked for a software development company in a client services capacity. The technology and customer service skill sets have provided a very solid foundation for real estate. The industry has become extremely “techy” in the past several years; however the need for customer service skills will never go away.
Daniela – My educational background is in art and architectural history as well as languages. However, like Kris I ended up in the software industry (12 years at Microsoft) working with vendors around the world on the internationalization of Microsoft Office products as a localization program manager. Therefore, Kris and I approach real estate very much from a very systematic project management method with the goal to let nothing in the complex web of tasks fall through the cracks. “Death by Flow Chart” if you get my drift …
2) What gets you excited about Seattle Real Estate?
Seattle is in the throes of change! Between light rail, rezoning, new architecturally interesting dwellings and the whole “green” movement, there is never a dull day. We pride ourselves in being Seattleites, embrace the urban village lifestyle, and are excited to be part of all the on-going and coming changes as the city continues to evolve. Growing up in Germany which is a model for green and energy efficient building methods, Daniela is excited to see these changes (finally) coming across the ocean.
3) How do you differentiate yourself and your brand?
Nothing gimmicky. We have worked extremely hard to build the track record we have today, and pride ourselves in extremely high standards which are reflected in everything we do. When potential clients see our on-line or printed materials, or walk through our listings, they immediately see the difference in both detail and quality. We understand that leaving out small details can cost our clients many $$$ and we take that responsibility seriously.
Real estate to us is as much art as it is a science. Anybody can look up sales data, hire a stager and a photographer and put a listing on the MLS but to us every client and every home is unique and from the choice of the stager to the meticulous choreography of the photos - of the home as well as the surrounding area attractions such as parks, schools, coffee shops, grocery stores and coffee shops -we attempt to capture the essence of each home and the lifestyle that goes along with it.
At the end of the day, we pour our hearts and souls into what we do (sometimes to a fault ;-) and have a lot of fun working together – despite the sometimes heavy workload there is a lot of laughter around every day. This love & passion for what we do inspires & transpires to our work. So really our brand is who we are as people and human beings.
4) How does green and energy efficiency make an impact in your work as a Seattle Real Estate Agent?
We are always striving to expand our knowledge in these areas. Once you learn about the impact green features have on an individual and a community there is no turning back. We find that the green knowledge finds its way into all real estate conversations even if just advising a client on how to make their old drafty (yet charming) home more energy efficient and making them aware of the many resources, programs & incentives that are available. We find we are a much more valuable resource to our clients and spheres having this knowledge and we feel very fortunate to live in a city that promotes and supports these principles politically and like to see Green Canopy pushing these issues forward.
5) What does success look like to you in this market?
That’s very simple: Extremely satisfied and happy clients that come to us with any real estate need, concern or questions they may have and that feel compelled to refer their friends, family and neighbors to us because of the great experience they have had in working with us. That’s why the majority of our business comes from personal referrals and we plan to keep it that way J.
6) You both think outside of the box. What are the most creative projects you have taken on and how have they panned out?
A few years ago, we had the opportunity to market a home of significant architectural history. The home was built in the 50s by a visionary single woman who was the head of the Interior Design Department at UW for almost half a century (from the 20s to the 60s). She is credited with founding the Northwest Contemporary style by bringing “Modern” to the Northwest and merging it with local materials and Eastern themes. She camped on the land for many seasons before breaking ground to find the perfect orientation of the home, and the finished product was very “Frank Lloyd Wright” in style. You felt as if the structure simply grew out from the ground; that’s how well it was integrated in the surrounding landscape.
This was a very unusual home for this particular neighborhood, so it was important that we ventured outside the usual channels to find our audience; and find them we did. We had 60 brokers show up for our opening broker’s lunch/open house. We took a chance, knowing this property was very special, and found ours comparable in different neighborhoods. Our list price was approximately $300,000 over the neighborhood expert’s pricing recommendation and it sold almost at that price. But more important than the final sales price, it was a true honor and pleasure to have the opportunity to delve into such an important part of local architectural history. That is also why we love working with Green Canopy on their projects and see dilapidated properties restored and reinvented for the 21st century.
7) What do you see in the future of the Seattle Market and the real estate profession?
Smaller footprints, sustainable materials, low maintenance, simple clean lines, increased energy efficiency. “Green” will eventually go mainstream and become the new building standard. Clients are already asking for these features; they don’t want to spend their whole wad on their dwelling but also do other things such as travel or have another little cabin in the mountains or on the water, be part of an active community where they know their neighbors rather than being locked behind gates. At the same time, they want high quality materials that will stand the test of time and be responsible with the earth’s resources for a better future of the planet.
8 ) Please highlight a project you’ve done with us; whichever one you get the most excited talking about!
We are super excited about the upcoming Twins project in Tangletown. Having a new construction, single family, net zero project in the neighborhood where we live and work, really gives us something exciting to talk about. It involves more learning for us and in turn provides an opportunity to do educational community outreach about a deep green project powered by solar energy. Sol and Solange we can’t wait to show you to the world!
Contributed by Aaron Fairchild:
While we have been certain of our business model for two years, apparently we haven’t been certain about who we are. J
From our retail brand name, to our websites, to our legal entity, to the shareholder base, to our corporate location, so much of our company has changed! The result is that we are rolling into 2011 refreshed, recharged and ready. We are now located in Fremont, as a C-Corporation holding a homebuilding company named Green Canopy Homes with roughly 20 shareholders. The changes have established a highly resilient, well funded and determined group, with a healthy following of fans and supporters.
2011 brings with high hopes and expectations combined with plenty of unknowns. We anticipate our local real estate market to remain relatively flat and for interest rates to be higher. We believe that the NWMLS will have new check boxes to list energy performance scores among other make-sense sustainability features. We hope that the City of Seattle will announce the coming of an ordinance requiring all homes to have energy performance scores assessed at the time of sale. We are certain that 2011 will see increased awareness of the benefits of energy efficient homes, which will translate into shorter sales cycles for Green Canopy Homes. Lastly, keep an eye out for Green Canopy to expand its business offerings and impact in the residential market.
All the best to you in 2011!
Contributed by Sonja Gustafson:
One of the great things about home building is the lively stream of passers-by who offer encouragement, ideas, and remarks about the project. By far the most encouraging comments from people who stop are along the lines of “we’re so glad you didn’t tear this down and build a skinny tower” or “we appreciate that you’re keeping the original style.” Thanks for that!
And when we painted the exterior of the house, this too generated a stream of comments from neighbors and visitors. The color scheme was a mix of a vibrant green with an orange/red accent. A few of us on the team were pretty enthused about the colors, but on the construction site the comments ranged from “I love it!” to “truly horrid” and even a clever “Oh, but I thought you wanted to sell the house.”
Oh. Whoops.
Back at the G2B Homes office, we began a vigorous discussion, which in itself generated Sam’s recent blog post about our color choice. But despite the fact that we actually liked these colors, we needed to address the obvious issue that many neighbors - people who would be living near and seeing this house every day - did not. That matters to us. We didn’t want to present a product that would distract discussion from that which we get most excited about: driving efficiency in existing buildings while ensuring quality, innovation, value and good design.
There were pros and cons to re-painting. Obviously, the pros would be that we could remove a barrier to market acceptance (“make it look better”). The cons were significant: not only was this going to cost us time and money, it also meant covering new paint. The obvious wastefulness in this was troublesome to us. We are, after all, a BuiltGreen builder, and now faced the tension between waste and an attractive, salable product.
So we decided to bring the debate back to the neighborhood. If we really needed to make a change, why not engage the very people who had a strong interest in the aesthetic of their surroundings? We printed up flyers, got up on Facebook, invited people to engage, and held a neighborhood open house to let them decide the new color! Over 40 people showed up, took a look at our swatch display, and voted. The winning color is great – we didn’t vote ourselves, but it was our favorite – and it is going to go up soon.
This entire debate – both within the team and with the local community – was so valuable and engaging that we are going to offer neighborhood input in every project. We will select a palate of options and then take it out to for a vote (before the first coat!) The result is neighbors participating in the improvement of their community. What fun!
We’ll continue to use tools to help make the process fun and efficient. If you want to follow the action, be sure to become a fan on our G2B Homes page on Facebook.
Contributed by Sonja Gustafson:
What is Your Monster?
Last night was a beautiful Halloween evening; the sky was clear, the air crisp, and my neighborhood was alight with various ghosts and goblins going from door to door. Then today came with gloomy grey skies and drenching rain, and we are faced not with the costumed monsters of our children, but the more terrifying specter of a cold, dark autumn.
This reminds me of a recent podcast I listened to where the narrator was working with his 5-year old daughter to caulk their home’s windows against drafts coming in. The daughter watched silently as he ran the caulk along the window seams, and as their work progressed, finally asked, “Daddy, do you really think this will keep out the giraffes?”
I love the thought of that girl working out the problem in her head: there are giraffes that want to come into our home! Daddy is trying to protect us! But really, how can this silly gummy stuff keep those monstrous animals out of our house?
Maybe we all have huge monsters in our minds that are keeping us from imagining how simple it really is to “keep out the giraffes.” Or maybe it’s difficult to imagine how something as simple as caulk can make such a big difference in the comfort of a home. And yet, take a look at the chart below to see how many areas of our home can be made more weather tight with the some simple attention. Each of these represents an opportunity to make your home more comfortable while saving money on utility bill.
Now wielding a caulk gun to ward off the drafts is not the only way to fight the energy monster, but it is one of a number of simple things you can do today to make your home more energy efficient. In the spirit of easily keeping out the giraffes/monsters out of your home, here are 5 simple things you can do to ward off the cold and save on your energy bills:
5 Things You Can Get Done Today
Buy caulk. Then read this tutorial on how to fix leaks in your home. (You can schedule the work for this weekend!)
Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120°F.
Install a programmable thermostat for your heating system.
Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle – let them dry overnight tonight!
Use a power strip for your computer accessories, phone chargers, and other “vampire” devices and turn off the strip when you leave the room.
If after completing this list you are ready to take on more energy monsters, you should consider having an energy audit conducted on your home to more thoroughly determine ways to make your home perform to its best. (Seattle City Light customers can get a discounted audit here) You can contact your local home performance expert (Washington users can search here to find an energy auditor) to help you with next steps.
And then you’ll be keeping out those giraffes
Contributed by Sam Lai:
Is there such a thing as a Green Premium?This is one of the more controversial topics in the residential green development realm. From the residential green and energy efficient advocacy perspective, we all want the answer to be unequivocally "YES! There is a HUGE premium." Numerous consumer surveys comport that a majority of Americans want green homes. But I’m not so sure the "Green Premium" is the most accurate way to describe positive consumer response.
Let's start from what most people think of when we say "Green Premium." For example, Joe the builder just finished up on an Energy Star-certified and 4 Star BuiltGreen-certified home. Joe's home is at the tip-top of the local market in terms of marketable appealand functional utility. There are plenty of conventional high quality homes that have recently sold in the immediate vicinity of similar design, appeal & functional utility for $815k, $822k, $830k & the highest sale in the area $835k. Joe and his real estate agent decide that the home might be worth about $830k if it wasn't green. But they decide that because there is a "Green Premium" of 6% based on a recent research study, the market value of the property should be $880k. The definition of "Green Premium" from this example is the premium a green home yields above the competitive market. This is a great way to not sell a house.
The question of whether or not there’s a “Green Premium” reminds me of a scene in a mockumentary movie “Spinal Tap”, where guitarist Nigel asserts that his guitar amplifier goes to eleven.
Every market has an upper threshold whether you call it 10 or 11. From a valuation or banking perspective, if a home is superior to the rest of its market it is overbuilt because at some point the market stops responding. Although most consumers in America desire green characteristics in their next home today doesn't mean that they throw all other deciding factors aside. Green characteristics are weighed alongside all other distinguishable marketable characteristics including price, functional utility, aesthetic appeal and quality.
Speaking of quality, how does the market distinguish quality in residential homes? I would assert that our homes can be seen as an emblem of the leading cultural values of the moment. In 1999, common characteristics for what was considered high quality new construction home would be 5,000 sq ft of living area, master suite with whale size soaking tub, “drive-through” shower and of course a gourmet kitchen with Viking range and Sub-Zero refrigerator. Shifting values of our time are reflected in the kind of quality buyers are looking for today: energy-efficiency, ‘quality over quantity’ and low-toxic finishes.
So, is there such a thing as a “Green Premium?” Or, does it go to 11? Sure, call the “tip-top” whatever you want. We believe that green characteristics will continue to be the hallmarks of quality in residential homes into the future. We just need to remember that people primarily buy homes for location and you can’t just slap on a “Green Premium” and expect the market to agree. Do you agree?
Contributed by Aaron Fairchild:
Buckle up, there will be turbulence
“Plunge in Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears” WSJ article said the following about the national real-estate market on Wednesday, August 25, 2010:
“Sales of previously owned homes fell 27.2% in July. . . Lowest level since (NAR) started tally in 1999.”
“Economists say sales drop…means another drop in housing prices is on horizon.”
“High unemployment and meager wage growth and falling home equity means depressed consumer spending.”
In the same WSJ issue the editorial page reported that national homebuilders’ stocks rallied on Wednesday as the news of the decline in home buying was announced. Apparently investors believe the time for getting into the real estate market is now, when home prices and employment rates are at or near their bottom.
Is there really a “National Real-Estate Market”?
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics the Seattle area unemployment rate in June was 8.6% and holding steady. Employment in our region is anchored by desirable jobs in growing sectors of the economy. We live in a beautiful part of the world with plenty of water, mountains and forests. People continue to move here as the map published by Forbes (June, 2010) illustrates below. Red lines indicate a net migration away from the city, black indicates net movement into the city.
The last time we saw more people leaving than coming to our state was in 1982 and demographers expect growth in this region to continue as unemployment, poor economies, water shortages, and desertification continue to push people out of other regions of the country. Additionally, homes in Seattle are more affordable today than they were during the period of our local depression, where 1 in 8 people were unemployed, from 1969 to 1973.
How does all this affect G2B?
Less Competition at Acquisition
G2B continues to believe that in the near to mid-term, property values will remain flat or rise only with the rate of inflation. This will shrink margins for investors who look to buy and hold. The uncertainty in our real estate market will continue to drive nervous investors and speculators to the sideline leaving less competition for acquisitions of fixer properties in neighborhoods where G2B thrives.
More Competition at Sale
This situation continues to play to G2B’s strength. G2B differentiates its homes in the direction the market is trending. G2B designs comfort, quality, energy efficiency, and green into existing homes in neighborhoods with a strong sense of community. G2B’s differentiating design appeals to the values that homebuyers are demanding. The current market conditions only enhance G2B’s edge when competing for precious homebuyers.
Knowing the Market with Deep Experience
G2B knows how to accurately value homes at acquisition and sale. Having compared and evaluated over 15,000 homes in Seattle’s good and bad times gives G2B the strategic edge needed to exploit opportunity in uncertain markets and create additional value.
We are certainly living in interesting economic times. Turbulence and uncertainty provides opportunity for smart moves and strong profits. We are excited about this market and extremely well positioned to thrive!
Contributed by Sonja Gustafson:
This spring, after only 7 days on the market, G2B Homes entered into a sales contract for The Sequoia House! The final sales price was within .05% of our listing price, so we essentially were able to command our price – an excellent indicator of market response to our product.
As a team, we couldn’t be more thrilled with the fruits of our efforts at taking a neighborhood eyesore and turning it into a lovely jewel of green and efficiency. Not only is it aesthetically beautiful, the house was certified 4-star BuiltGreen and energy testing revealed a tripling of its per-square-foot energy efficiency!
I could go on and on about The Sequoia House (and encourage you to view our cool Before/After video here) and our innovative, sustainable approach to reviving homes in vibrant neighborhoods.
But what I’d rather reflect upon is the affect this project has had on our team and the full complement of specialists and tradespeople who worked on this wonderful home. From our beginning “charette” meeting where we invited various experts to the house to give us their perspectives (captured in this KUOW radio story), to the local Eco-Building Guild seminar on air sealing, to the house color vote where 40+ votes were cast by engaged neighbors, the home became a place where people could come to imagine, design, learn, teach, and otherwise get involved in sustainable building. Some 86 tradesmen and women plied their skills during the course of construction, many of whom learned about advanced drywall approach, rain gardens, or solar hot water for the first time and can now employ these skills with future clients.
And it won’t be the last time. Our team at G2B has proven to itself and to the market that our approach of turning existing homes green in healthy urban neighborhoods works. It really works - seven days to sales agreement, solid pricing, happy homeowners, and energy savings of 15,000 kwH/year certainly support this point!
We are eager to get working on another home, and another, and another still. Our team has spent the past weeks documenting best practices, finding ways to be even better next time, and getting ourselves ready to roll. We are heading out to the investment community to raise the funds necessary to operate our company and bring it to scale.
And I just want to say what a joy it has been to work on this project with such talented and passionate people. It’s a joy to make this one home consume a mere third of the energy it otherwise would. It’s a joy to have created not just a house, but a home that a community has touched. And it’s a joy to be working on sustainable, energy efficient housing in an era and community where these ideas matter.
Contributed by Canuche Terranella:
Peter and Kristi live in a 1915 un-insulated Craftsman house. In the first months in their new home they kept their thermostat at 68 degrees. In December, with their first energy bill, they learned this behavior costs $350/month. Oh the financial pain!
Energy efficiency improvements are motivated by pain. Energy pain comes in two varieties: financial and comfort. Most energy models are based on customers like Peter and Kristi making energy improvements to reduce wallet pain. As soon as they’ve insulated their home they will continue to keep their thermostats at 68 degrees but consume less energy. These models point to great reductions in energy demand based on customers with financial pain installing cost effective weatherization and insulation measures. If utility companies can use rebates and incentives to encourage customers like Peter and Kristi to invest in improvements to their homes it will be as good as investing in new power generation equipment to keep up with demand. The assumption is that the pain of high utility bills will motivate investment in energy efficiency improvements and decrease energy demand.
Another possibility, however, is that their twins, frugal Keith and Patsy, might choose to put off the efficiency improvements and instead turn the thermostat down to 50 degrees and put on a hat and scarf for dinner. This choice shifts the pain from financial to temperature discomfort, a challenge for the traditional energy models. When utilities predict savings from improvements to homes incentivized by rebates they don’t usually predict what happens when Keith and Patsy finally make energy improvements and take off their sweaters.
After saving for a year frugal Keith and Patsy install attic insulation and weatherize their home. Now they can turn the thermostat up to 68 degrees. Their energy bills are a much more reasonable $100/ month but they are consuming more energy than they were when the thermostat was at 50 degrees.
This results in what building scientists call the rebound effect. The rebound effect describes the difference between the actual society wide energy savings after energy efficiency improvements are made and energy savings as predicted in the lab models. Sometimes the rebound effect can be so large as to even result in an increase in energy used across the society. The UK Energy Research Center studied this effect and pointed to human behavior as the key component of the rebound effect. While seemingly counterintuitive, the examples above make the point clearly for residential customers.
The commercial impact is even more striking. If a local bike manufacturer invests in a new, more efficient, welding process and can therefore produce bike frames more profitably, then it will likely build more bikes. More bikes mean greater electricity use and a net increase in demand to the utility.
Does this mean we as a society should stop investing in energy efficiency? I’d say no. The bike manufacturer is now making more bikes every month for less energy per unit. More bike production means more economic activity for the region. Peter and Kristi have a higher quality of life in their home and are likely more productive members of society as a result. The utility company increased the efficiency of the energy used in both cases. Overall the demand for energy may be higher but the benefit to society per unit energy used is improved. Incentive decisions must measure society benefit in addition to energy savings to decide which new efficiency programs to fund.
G2B Homes makes smart efficiency improvements to homes to help families find the sweet spot where energy savings and comfort create lower operating costs and a higher quality of life.
Post contributed by Aaron Fairchild:
Doing good for society and the planet and being profitable at it isn’t easy, nor does it come about without a healthy dose of daily tension. At G2B Ventures, the tension we deal with comes with our mission, which is to drive energy efficiency in existing buildings to the greatest extent possible while continuing to make solid, for-profit, self-sustaining decisions. Last week a segment on G2B and our program of buying distressed homes and driving energy efficiency was aired on our local NPR affiliate, KPLU. The day after the segment I received some emails that challenged us on our efficiency work. They didn’t doubt our approach; they challenged the need to replace the windows and tightened up the home in West Seattle to prevent leaks.
Whenever you put yourself out there in the way we have done so far, you have to be open to feedback and criticism. G2B is not only open to it, we encourage and welcome it. So I thought I would put the email discussion out there and available for everyone to understand what goes into these sorts of decisions. So without divulging the source, the concern with windows relates to the imbedded carbon associated with simple replacement verses refurbishment as witnessed through a life cycle assessment. In many cases the embedded carbon associated with replacing windows can be much higher than the efficiency gained through new windows. The second concern is the indoor air quality issues that come from and older house that has been tightened up and is not well ventilated, potentially causing mold/rot problems. The G2B response to these concerns can be read below:
“Restoring the original windows in the West Seattle home was not an option. We had five different types of windows from different vintages, with many of those cracked or not sealing due to the house settling over time and through multiple earth quakes over its 100+ year life. Once the house was lifted and leveled-out, at least one window broke in the process and many others became dysfunctional and couldn't open preventing egress. We are happy to point out that in our next house we will receive Built Green Certification and dramatically improved energy performance, while NOT replacing the windows.
"As you know, “sealing up air gaps” is a common phrase used in building performance, but obviously it’s not as cut & dried as running around the outside of the house with caulk guns and 2part foam. Using the West Seattle house as an example: exterior rigid foam acts as an additional drainage plane and reduces thermal bridging between framing members, but horizontal seems are loose, ‘Z’ flashed with building paper for moisture vapor escape. We had ship lap for exterior wall sheathing to deal with, so the wall needing to breathe is one of multiple problems to address. Attics are vented of course, and special care was taken to fir out the vaulted ceilings to create additional space for ventilation. Insulation is largely blown cellulose. And finally, airtight barrier is at the drywall with air sealing at light switch and outlet boxes, penetration & physical air sealing in joist bays, below the knee walls if blocking is missing. You are correct that mold/moisture is an issue in old homes, and frequently this occurs due to condensation at the cold/hot junctures inside the wall cavity due to a lack of insulation.
"G2B Homes does NOT approach each project with a cookie cutter and pre-planned approach. This is the challenge with existing building rehabilitation. We try to be thoughtful and deliberate and in addition to the G2B institutional knowledge we work with some of the best residential building science folks in town to help inform each project.
"I hope this helps address/alleviate concerns. We are very dedicated to this discussion and have it on-going with every project. Our intention is to be mindful of these issues and to transparently create thoughtful solutions. We want to set the bar as high as we can, but we may not always get it right. We are human, makes mistakes, and as you know the market will only allow for so much efficiency to be profitably pushed into projects.”
Contributed by Sonja Gustafson:
Here at G2B Ventures, driving efficiency into existing homes is our core mission. Locally and nationally, residential efficiency has increasingly become top of mind to homeowners and politicians alike, for a variety of reasons ranging from wanting a more comfortable home, to reducing our carbon footprint, to creating jobs, and of course, saving a few bucks on our utility bills.
We all agree that home efficiency is good, but how do we know what good is? I intrinsically understand when I change out an incandescent bulb for a compact fluorescent one my energy usage goes down.
When my husband and I renovated our 1920s home in Wallingford, we spent some extra money on better insulation and windows, so I know that our home should be pretty snug, energy-wise. We also selected sustainable materials and replaced the old boiler with an efficient radiant heating system.
So when I learned about the Energy Performance Score, a systems-based rating methodology that provides a sort of “miles per gallon” rating for a home, I thought it would be a great way to measure the success of our remodel. Given our excellent windows, high R-value insulation, and several smart home measures (including those CFL bulbs) to manage our home lighting, I was feeling preeeetty confident that we would get a good score.
So when my EPS came back with a score in the red zone (green is good, red is bad), I was shocked. Red zone?? My green home? How could this be?!
After looking through the report that accompanied the EPS, it became abundantly clear why my house scored above the Washington target of 25,100 kWh/year. You see, we live in a home that was built in an era where energy was not considered a valuable resource worth conserving, when the only constraint (for the original owner) was lot size. Our home sits on a double lot, and so the original owner built a rather generously-sized home. And when we did our big remodel, we chose to add a family room and a guest room for our frequent visitors who stay with us for weeks or even months at a time.
That remodel, while focused on maximizing the energy efficiency of the home, increased the overall square footage, which is the single biggest reason my home now scores so poorly in energy consumption.
So despite the fact that we used some of the greenest methods and materials available in the marketplace at the time of our remodel, the fact is: size matters. And now we have proof. Although we live in a home remodeled with energy efficiency in mind, it still requires an abundant amount of energy simply due to its large size. I’m not sad to have a house this large; it is a warm and welcoming place that has offered shelter to a motley crew of friends and family.
But the EPS doesn’t lie. Despite my deep commitment to sustainable homes, I have to admit that while my house uses energy efficiently, its size drives up our energy consumption, and, therefore, my EPS or "MPG" rating. It bothers me to hold this up to the light of objective measurement, but at least now I have tools like the EPS to take a closer look, to learn more deeply about the various pieces that make my home green, and incorporate them into my work and life.