Living in Las Vegas presents many challenges, including adjusting to extreme temperatures and learning to conserve water and energy in a desert environment. Anyone who doesn’t like the heat is probably not going to enjoy being in southern Nevada. It doesn’t take long for the attraction of gambling, bright lights and all types of recreation to wilt once the 110+ temperatures begin to radiate. But many decide that living under the hot sun is worth the trade-off. And life can be made more bearable by technological advances in home building, as well as landscape techniques that blend horticulture with conservation.
Energy Efficiency Help
The U.S. Dept. of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both work to ensure that developers build energy-efficient homes, which can help desert dwellers save money on air conditioning bills in the summer. In addition, Washington, D.C.’s Fannie Mae and Housing and Urban Development agencies have joined the fight to help homeowners save water, electricity and money. Locally, several new-home builders are leading the charge when it comes to energy efficiency and utility cost savings. In particular John Laing Homes, Pardee Homes, Pulte Homes and Silver State Development have been working with Fannie Mae’s Energy Star program, touted as “comfortable homes that protect the environment while saving at least 30 percent on heating and cooling bills.”
Fannie Mae’s Charlene Peterson notes that smart growth, energy, water and location efficiency are issues that dominate the housing industry. Earlier this year, the agency agreed to work with the EPA to encourage builders to construct homes that exceed the Model Energy Code for energy efficient homes. Further, Fannie Mae and the EPA launched an ad campaign to promote builders who are involved in the effort. Peterson noted that according to Fannie Mae’s statistics, “Energy Star homes can reduce energy costs as much as 30 percent. Features that make the homes energy efficient, as determined by an energy rater, include use of solar energy, rainwater harvesting systems and blow-in cellulose insulation, which is made from recycled material and provides improved insulation efficiency.” It’s Fannie Mae’s contention that buyer incentives in purchasing energy-efficient homes will result in rewards for builders, who will benefit from improved marketability and sales. It seems to be working.
Fannie Mae puts its money where its mortgage is by offering to guarantee loans to borrowers who purchase energy-efficient homes. Loan programs allow buyers to come into the marketplace with 3% down, which can come from various sources including appliance manufacturer rebates. The projected energy and water savings are added to the buyer’s income level. And more flexibility on credit scores is allowed due to community lending focus.
Pardee homes in the neighborhoods of Presidio, Crescendo and Riviera in Seven Hills, and Palacio in Green Valley, received praise from Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Mark Ginsberg. Ginsberg was quoted as saying Pardee’s homes, which are 30 percent more efficient than those built only to code, offer “an incredible service at no extra cost for features that will save the home buyer money for years to come.” Pardee’s involvement in Energy Star includes windows that offer a decrease in ultraviolet light to reduce fabric fade; utility cost savings; and quieter homes due to vinyl framed windows. A Pardee spokesman said the homes also assist in reducing pollution and keep homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
At Cool Ridge Estates, built by Silver State Development, homes use concrete and foam to qualify for Energy Star and Comfort Wise designations. Company President Gil Martin said his homes are built with pour-in-place concrete and an insulating foam wall system. He said the process helps reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 40% compared to traditional wood-frame housing. “A truly energy-efficient home starts with the basic construction,” Martin said. “While there has been a lot of emphasis placed on energy-efficient appliances and other such devices, real savings have to start with the construction itself.” He said the insulating foam is not affected by moisture, won’t settle or sag and has “the highest R-value known,” as high as R-40, compared to what he said are typical homes with R-13 to R-23 ratings.
Pulte Homes agrees Energy Star offers advantages to consumers, as does another program, Building America. Dave Beck, vice-president of construction for Pulte, said, “We take a systems engineering approach to home construction and look at how systems relate to each other. Energy Star rates homes at 3, 4 or 5. Most of our homes are at 5. With Building America, you [try to] hit a prescribed energy usage, that’s your goal. They have a chart that rates the home.” Beck said most builders around the nation subscribe to the Model Energy Code and can advertise energy-efficient homes. But there are differences in that program compared to those with higher standards such as Energy Star. Some of Pulte’s features are standard CO2 detectors, fresh-air fan recycling and improved indoor air quality. Praising the Fannie Mae guidelines, Beck said, “If I can save someone money in utility bills, that allows them more purchasing power … our goal was to build an energy-efficient home without adding costs.”
In time, Beck found that offering such homes improved sales. Under the Engineered for Life program sponsored by Louisiana-Pacific Corp., “We are able to give a written guarantee for the home owner for a two-year period guaranteeing heating and cooling will not surpass a certain amount as determined by the size of the home.” Beck said Pulte looks at “the actual thermal envelope of the home. In the average home, insulation is wall insulation going across the ceiling line. The air conditioning is in the attic space. So we moved the insulation from the ceiling line to the roof line” to increase efficiency and reduce losses from duct leaks, he said. Pulte, like other participating builders, went to a vinyl window and dual panes to keep cool air inside the home.
Older Homes Need Help, Too
Buying a new, energy-efficient home makes desert living comparatively easy for the buyer. More difficult is retrofitting an existing home that may be 10, 20, or 30 or more years old. There are many such older homes in the Las Vegas market, but existing owners and buyers of such housing are not relegated to sitting back and accepting energy loss and exceedingly high bills.
Nevada Power responds to customers who phone in with energy conservation questions, and also has outreach programs that go into the community rather than wait for an invitation. Jim Nolan, a customer energy consultant for Nevada Power, said users can save money by retrofitting. “It depends how much of a capital improvement they want to make in their home,” he said. “If the air conditioning is as old as their home, [the AC unit] would be the first thing I’d recommend replacing. Get a proper air quality testing in your home and replace your old AC with a new AC unit. The old air conditioner is not built to operate as efficiently as the newer ones.” Nolan said units are rated by their Seasonal Energy Efficient Rating, or SEER. An older home might have a seven-SEER unit, but newer units can rate as high as 14. “Users average about seven percent savings for every one SEER rating improvement,” he pointed out. Nolan said as a rule of thumb, new units cost $800 per ton of air conditioning. (One ton of AC is used to cool 400 square feet of home.) Typically units sell for around $1,000 a ton, but he said lower prices are frequently offered. Tonnage refers to removal of hot air and replacing it with cool air.
He also suggested sealing a home by placing weather stripping around the door and windows. “All 20-year-old homes have single-pane windows,” he said. “We suggest double-pane windows. Unfortunately the payback may not be there. [But] if you plan on staying in the house for seven to 10 years, the windows will pay for themselves.”
Programmable thermostats are also suggested. “They adjust to temperatures throughout the day,” Nolan said. “He said there is a wake-up temperature, another during the day when typically no one is home, and then a third resetting just before the family gets back from work and school. “It tends to pay for itself,” Nolan said of the unit. Other suggestions are solar screens over windows exposed to direct sunlight, or solar film on the windows.
The proper landscaping can save money, not only on water, but also on cooling costs. “Shrubs around the house can act as an evaporative cooler to transpire moisture during the evening hours allowing breezes to blow across and keep the home cooler,” Nolan said. Trees can also give air conditioners some assistance by shading the house from the desert sun.
Saving Water
For early desert dwellers, wasting water could be a life-threatening mistake. In modern times, it is expensive for the individual homeowner, and costs the community in infrastructure projects and growth problems. Doug Bennett, conservation manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, has a list of projects that he said can improve energy and financial savings in existing homes. Exterior use of water is one of the first things to be examined. “Water used outdoors is never recovered,” he said. “It’s gone.” His department will make house calls and inspect swimming pools and landscaping and suggest methods for conservation improvement.
Landscaping to conserve water, called xeriscaping, is more than just tossing rocks in the front yard and planting cacti in the ground and waiting for it to grow. Proper xeriscaping involves planning and design, soil improvements, low-water-use plants, and appropriate irrigation and maintenance. Front and rear yards will generally look better and save more money if different types of water-saving plants are considered for each, said Bennett. The front yard, for example, might sustain plants with seasonal color that complement the architectural style of the home. The rear yard, however, might be better served with low-water use trees that provide shade. Other areas such as walkways, concrete paths and service walks, can be flanked with mulch, shrubs that use minimal water, or even non-plant “hardscape” elements.
People new to the desert may be surprised to discover the great variety of desert plants that use little moisture. A list prepared by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior includes Texas Ranger, Yucca, Sage, Acacia, Mesquite, Palo Verde, Cassia and Lantana. The Las Vegas Valley Water District maintains a Desert Demonstration Garden at its headquarters to show off the many attractive, desert-friendly landscaping options.
While it can take some time for newcomers to learn how to live in the desert, at least there are many sources of information about how to cut down on cooling bills and conserve water. Taking some time to investigate them will pay off in increased comfort and decreased utility costs.
