ENVIRONMENT
Consider the alternatives
By Janet Eastman
Thursday October 2, 2003
A LOT of what's new in eco-friendly homes has been around forever: milk-based paints, sunflower-oil sealers and natural stones. The products are just more accessible now. A non-methylene paint stripper that smells like oranges is on the shelves at Home Depot, lumber cut from managed forests is sold at Lowe's Home Improvement stores and more electricians are installing residential-size solar panels, especially those that produce surplus energy to sell.
When Alison Pollack started Earth Friendly Interior Design in West Hills a decade ago, clients had to be persuaded to go green. Now, she says, "They know what we're talking about, they know they have choices and they want to learn more."
Pollack says it costs more to install some environmentally sound products, but they pay off over time. Natural, untreated wool carpet has a price tag that's double that of synthetic nylon but it lasts more than twice as long and doesn't contain polluting adhesives.
"Think long-term," counsels Pollack, who designed an Earth-kind nursery on display through Nov. 2 at the Assistance League of Southern California's Design House in Hancock Park. Hand-painted silk panels drape the nursery's windows; fast-growing alder wood was carved into cornice boxes; and nontoxic, baby-safe finishes were brushed onto furniture. The crib has a hemp fleece blanket that's as soft as cashmere and a mattress filled with organic cotton and wool clipped from free-range sheep.
"Decorating this way is a prescription for health but it doesn't have to look like a hospital," says Pollack. "A lot of people are surprised that a room can be natural and have high-end design elements."
Here's a rundown of some of the products being used by people concerned about toxins, man-made chemicals and the Earth's depleting resources:
* Solar energy: It didn't take a blackout in the East to remind people that depending on the utility grid is not only costly but sometimes unreliable. Californians have been drawn to solar power since the 1970s, long before the digital traffic boom raised demand. But electrician Max Balchowsky of Solar Electric Energy Systems in sun-baked Palm Springs still sees a surge in serious callers whenever there's an energy crisis.
Californians are fortunate because there are energy rebates for cutting back on power use, lowering prices for materials and offering the option to sell excess solar electricity back to the utility from rooftop solar systems plugged into the electrical grid. These "zero-energy" homes are constructed and positioned on property to make them as energy efficient as possible. They also have a photovoltaic, or solar-electric system, that makes more power than needed.
The cost is about $30,000 for the system before rebates for a 2,500-square-foot house, says Cecile Warner of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colo. Information on rebates, which vary by city, is at www.dsireusa.org.
Installer Balchowsky says the system he sells is best for power-sucking mansions with 7,000 square feet or more. It costs from $40,000 to $80,000, but rebates and utility bill savings get owners to the break-even point in seven to 11 years. The Appraisal Journal says that every dollar cut from annual utility bills by an added energy system bumps up the value of a home by $20.
Also emerging are co-generation systems that use solar and a natural gas or a propane-fueled engine to make electricity, cool the air and heat water. Vector CoGen in Carson City, Nev., makes a $15,000 unit that is small enough to be tucked behind shrubs. While not completely eco-friendly because it still slurps up fossil fuels, it reportedly cuts utility costs about 50%.
In the future, homes will have systems that use electricity from solar cells to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. When it's needed, the stored hydrogen will be sent to a fuel cell, where it will recombine with oxygen from the air to make electricity to power homes and cars, says Warner.
For more information, (303) 275-3000; www.nrel.gov.
* Building materials: Builders, nudged by clients and conscience, are using more materials that are sensitive to the land. They're working with lumber harvested from "managed" forests that preserve tree and brush cover, streams and animal habitats. They're putting in formaldehyde-free fiberglass insulation, cotton insulation made from denim scraps saved from landfills and particle board of wheat straw.
Eco-Products in Boulder, Colo., through its Web site (www.ecoproducts.com) sells roofing made from recycled plastic and rubber that looks like slate or shake, recycled plastic pellets and wood chips transformed into decking, and insulated concrete blocks that replace wood and reduce heating and cooling costs.
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* Flooring: Instead of slow-growing oak, fast-sprouting, pesticide-free bamboo is being used to cover floors. Other wood suppliers are converting reclaimed pieces, such as slats used in Guinness barrels, into sleek floors. Cork from bark makes sound-absorbent, cushioned floors without having to cut down a tree. Interior designer Pollack has used naturally finished sheets and tiles of cork in "burly, swirly patterns" as well as brocade-patterned carpet made from recycled soda bottles.
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* Paint: Milk-based paint from ancient recipes has a thick texture, dries fast and contains durable animal protein. Vegans prefer paints with sunflower, saffron and soybean oil.
The shelf life for zero-VOC paints -- those without volatile organic compounds -- isn't as great as conventional paints with preservatives, but the paint lasts on surfaces as long as water-based ones, says Pollack. Flat and semi-gloss zero-VOCs are sold at All Valley Paint in Reseda, Dunn-Edwards, Sherwin-Williams and other paint stores.
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* Fabrics: Instead of synthetic fabrics that are bleached or chemically treated, the eco-savvy use hemp, silk, wool and organic cotton for linens, draperies and upholstered furniture.
Bland off-whites that made everything look like a potato sack have been replaced by colors in every shade, says Pollack. Her suppliers boil fabrics in kettles with dyes made of vegetable pigments and semi-precious stones. Colors darken when washed, turning golden greens into gray-olives.
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* Window treatments: Wispy bamboo and straw shades bring the outside in, and are easier to maintain than draperies. Just wipe with a dry cloth, eliminating the need to take them to chemical dry cleaners.