County continues to green

In an inaugural survey released on the eve of Earth Day, the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Fairfield County reported 85 percent of its members are involved with green building and remodeling in some capacity and that a third of members”™ projects will go green in the future.

Nearly six in 10 clients of association businesses are requesting that green products be used in their building or remodeling projects ”“ despite an even higher number perceiving such products as being more expensive despite the energy savings they offer over time.

On May 15, a tour of Nate and Etta Kantor”™s new house in New Canaan ”“ “Connecticut”™s greenest home” ”“ is being offered by the Connecticut Green Building Council, the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and by People”™s Action for Clean Energy Inc.

Nearly 85 percent of HBRA members surveyed said they want more up-to-date information to pass along to their clients about federal tax credits, incentives and rebate programs that are available for building green; and 65 percent said they want more education and accreditation opportunities in green building and remodeling, specifically in the areas of insulation and air quality, and in what constitutes green products for the home.

Nearly 40 Fairfield County professionals have received the “Certified Green Professional” designation from the Home Builders Association of Connecticut Inc., including Peter Fusaro, owner of Greenwich-based Preferred Builders Inc. and a member of HBRA”™s green building committee. Fusaro said that while Energy Star appliances and LEED construction standards get most of the press, the most widespread green building product may be spray foams that are being applied in place of insulation.

“I”™ve been going to the homebuilders show the past two years in Las Vegas, and every year it”™s been about ”¦ spray foams,” Fusaro said. “Any little gap in fiberglass, and you get air from the outside coming in.”

Still, it is the federal Energy Star appliance efficiency program that has by far the best recognition among homeowners, with more than half of HBRA member clients aware of the program. Last month, the office of Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced it is expanding an Energy Star rebate program to include certified water heaters as a result of basement flooding in Connecticut from a pair of March storms. The rebates range between $100 and $400, and cover purchases retroactive to April 1.

The state appliance rebate program, funded by more than $3 million in federal stimulus funds, began Jan. 25 and also covers purchases of energy-efficient washers, refrigerators, freezers, heat pumps, room air conditioning units and central air systems. Since the start of the program, more than $400,000 in rebates has been issued on nearly 4,800 appliance purchases. Clothes washers and refrigerators account for more than 90 percent of items purchased.

At deadline, it was unclear what impact the March storms had on employment among home renovation professionals pressed into service for repairs from flooding and crashing trees. The construction sector added 400 jobs between February and March, according to estimates by the Connecticut Department of Labor, but sector employment remains 4,600 jobs below its levels of a year ago, the second-worst performance of any industry tracked by DOL after professional, scientific and technical services.