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(This is the ninth in our series of reflections on real construction decisions for one of our local projects: The Bishop Passive House)
We all know that insulation can make a difference in keeping the cold out of our homes and buildings, even with California’s fairly mild climates. It turns out, it can do a whole lot more!
As we’ve noted previously on this blog, climate action in the building industry had been focused, appropriately, on reducing the operational carbon of our buildings through efficiency and renewable energy. However, science and recent number-crunching indicates we must shift more attention to reducing the embodied carbon of our buildings as well. That’s the carbon emissions related to extracting, producing, and transporting building materials, and the biggest contributor is concrete.
That doesn’t mean we can, or even would want to, eliminate concrete, but we can be more strategic to lower the carbon emissions.
Last month’s presentation by Paul Poirier was on “Electrification and the 2030 Commitment”. If you missed it, you’ll have a chance to catch this month’s talk: “Natural Building and a Changing Climate” by Sasha Rabin, a local advocate working with Quail Springs and Earthen Shelter. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 19, 2021 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm and is free to the public.
In Balance Green Consulting and Cairn Collective recently teamed up with Santa Barbara AIA to host an hour-long virtual hard hat tour of Bishop Passive House. For an up close look at insulation, windows, ventilation, monitoring and more, check out the Bishop Passive Housing Virtual Hard Hat Tour video.
