PICS reports: “The risk of defaulting on a mortgage is 32% lower for homeowners that live in energy-efficient homes, according to a new study by the University of North Carolina – Center for Community Capital. The study, “Home Energy Efficiency and Mortgage Rates,” is the first to try to quantify the connection between a home’s energy efficiency and default risk of the homeowner. To assess whether residential energy efficiency is associated with lower default risks, the report is based on a national sample of about 71,000 single-family home mortgages, and takes into account loan, household, and neighborhood characteristics. The report finds that more efficient houses are associated with lower default risk and concludes that money saved on energy costs is a factor explaining the lower default risk. It stands to reason that because owners of efficient homes save money on utility bills, they can therefore put those savings toward mortgage payments.

The findings of this study suggest that the US housing market may be well served by considering rules that would improve the accuracy of mortgage underwriting through ensuring that energy costs are considered in the mortgage underwriting process. One approach has been adopted here in Canada already. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers a 10% premium refund on its mortgage loan insurance program, as well as an extended amortization period, to individuals who use CMHC-insured financing to purchase energy efficient homes. The stated purpose of the program is to promote energy conservation and provide initiatives that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Provincially, British Columbians are saving energy and money through participation in the LiveSmart BC program, which offers more than $7,000 in rebates in 54 different areas for energy efficiency. FortisBC’s PowerSense program also offers rebates and financial incentives to make upgrading to energy-saving technologies more affordable.”

Ready to travel from Nelson to Vancouver, meet like-minded building people, and answer questions about Mandala Homes.

Lars Chose and Rachel Ross of Mandala Homes will be attending the BUILDEX show Feb. 13th and 14th, 2013. at the Vancouver Convention Centre. We look forward to meeting you!

The readers of Kootenay Business Magazine have selected Mandala Homes as one of the Kootenays’ best!  Find the news in the September/October 2012 issue of Kootenay Business Magazine.

Whether you are building a new Mandala home or wanting to improve the home you are currently living in, there are a few simple actions you can take to make your kitchen more green, naturally. 

WHEN YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR NEW MANDALA HOME: Your designer will work with you to decide on the best orientation for your climate for the different rooms of your new home. The Magnolia 2300 (pictured above), features a due East orientation for maximum natural sunlight in the kitchen.

BUILD IN NATURAL VENTILATION: Include an opening window next to the stove in your home design and your have a natural method for ridding the kitchen of cooking fumes. A  nearby outdoor room offers low energy consuming comfortable eating space and natural cross ventilation can keep your smelling fresh and clean.

CHOOSE NON-TOXIC FLOOR, COUNTER, CUPBOARD FACE FINISHES: The food you eat comes in contact with the kitchen counter tops and the air in the entire house is affected by off-gassing from the VOC’s found in the standard finishes used in construction. It’s extremely important to choose non-toxic and non-VOC finishes like beeswax, Land Ark and Vermont Natural Coatings. An added bonus is that these finishes smell like honey and citrus. Wonderful!

CONSERVE PRECIOUS WATER: When you are rinsing dishes or changing water temperature, rather then running potable water down the drain, catch the water in a stainless steel bowl or dish tub and reuse it to water plants, soak dirty pots, wipe counters, etc. Reuse water that you cooked vegetable in in soups and stews.

CHANGE YOUR OLD LIGHT BULBS: Good lighting is crucial for kitchen safety, energy savings and the comfort of your eyes. Kitchens are also a high-use room in the home. So, the best place to begin replacing your old incandescent light bulbs with new energy saving LED and CFL bulbs

LEAVE YOUR OVEN DOOR OPEN: In cool months, after baking, be sure to prop your oven door open when you are finished baking. This simple act ensures that you can use the residual warmth from the oven to heat your home.

GROW LOVELY HERBS ON YOUR WINDOWSILL: Plants grown indoors contribute to cleaner air, less toxins in the home environment and a happier, more beautiful home. When these indoor plants are edible , it gets even better! Choose a sunny sill and start with easy herbs like;  thyme, basil, mint, bay leaf, and rosemary. Be sure to rinse your herbs before eating.

The oldest forms of indigenous shelter were often round in shape. (Think the Southwest USA Hogan, Mongolian Yurt, North American Teepee and the Greek Tenemos, among others.) Why did our ancestors choose to build round? Because the ovid shape — eggs, earth, tree trunks, and stones — is what they saw reflected in the surrounding natural environment. And, as usual, Mother Nature knows best. There is some nifty natural science that makes round buildings more comfortable, more energy-efficient and safer — especially if you combine the ancient shape with modern materials!

Wind and tsunami waves move naturally around a round building rather than getting caught at (and potentially ripping off) corners. A rounded roof avoids ‘air-planing’- a situation where a strong wind lifts the roof structure up and off of the building.

There are dozens of interconnected points in a round home. These are sites where builders can connect parts of the building together. In the olden days, the connecting materials were rope, vine and hides. Modern materials are  engineered components– like a center radial steel ring,  steel brackets, Seismic and hurricane ties, bolts and steel cables. These connect the structural pieces and give the building a unique combination of flexibility and strength– qualities which causes them to be significantly safer in severe weather conditions like earth quakes, extreme winds and heavy snow­fall.

There are many interesting (and green) features that make this home special. For instance, Ross and Chose rave about the benefits of living in a round home, a concept that is born in part from their interest in the green, slow home movement which stresses creating homes that are healthy, comfortable, and gentle. [Note, however, that it did not take them long to build the house as it is a pre-fab home, though this method ensured their impact on the local environment was minimal.] They describe living in a round structure as feeling embraced by the space, which complements their creative endeavours and feelings of tranquility.

The home is built with 10” thick walls, 3” of Rockwool insulation, and highly efficient windows. And it is heated during the winter using a soapstone hybrid stove made of cast iron, which is extremely clean burning and produces a lot of heat with very little fuel (especially given the passive nature of the home’s design). Plus, it burns for a long time (5 hours), and continues to heat the home for several hours thereafter for comfortable, even heat throughout the day and night.

The 1.5 acre property also features four Mandalas (round buildings). In addition to the house, they have also constructed a 300 square foot round studio, a round garage, and a round greenhouse. And though this home doesn’t meet Passive House standards (which would be far more rigorous than ENERGY STAR), it does use passive house design concepts to achieve even greater energy efficiency for heating and cooling.

Many characteristics contributed to this beautiful home’s ENERGY STAR Qualification:

• Ener­Guide Rat­ing of 84
• High per­for­mance build­ing enve­lope, includ­ing R66 ceil­ing and R34 walls
• Domes­tic water heat­ing sys­tem approximately three times more effi­cient than a stan­dard system
• Heat recov­ery ven­ti­la­tor for fresh air with min­i­mal heat loss
• ENERGY STAR qual­i­fied prod­ucts, includ­ing win­dows, doors and lighting
• Plumbed and wired solar-ready
• Grund­fos Magna cir­cu­la­tor pump
• Radi­ant floor heat­ing and heat sink
• Day­light­ing emphasized
• Com­fort Wall sys­tem (mono­lithic air barrier)
• Plat­inum ICF foundation
• Ther­mal mass for heat storage

All ENERGY STAR Qualification features were verified by a third party. This means that a Certified Energy Advisor did an assessment of the home to test and verify that the home meets ENERGY STAR for New Homes specifications, as well as EnerGuide Rating for New Homes.

Check out their blog if you’d like more information about ENERGY STAR Qualification.

by Maryruth Belsey Priebe at Yellow Blue Designs  July 3 2012

Rachel Ross (left) and Lars Chose (right) at their Six Mile home which they designed, built, has achieved a high Energy Star rating.
Sam Van Schie photo

By Sam Van Schie — Nelson Star
Published: June 14, 2012 2:00 PM

A Nelson area home builder has created BC’s first Energy Star-qualified house.

Lars Chose, founder of Mandala Homes, designed the home with his partner Rachel Ross. Built on their property at Six Mile, the couple lives in the home and uses it as a demonstration model for Mandala.

As the name suggests, all Mandala homes are round, which Chose said makes them naturally energy efficient.

“There’s less wall space, which means less surface area to lose heat through,” Chose explained.

The main difference between his house and the 65 other Mandala homes built since the company’s inception in 1995 is the thickness of the walls. With 10 inch walls instead of the standard six inch, Chose’s house has room for much more insulation.

And every appliance in the house, as well as the heat pump, water heater and ventilation system, are all Energy Star approved. The wood stove in the living room is built from soap stone to maintain its heat for seven hours after the fire burns down.

“If it’s 20 C in here when we go to bed and turn all the heat off, it will be 19 C when we wake up in the morning,” Chose said.

EnerGuide rated the home 84 out of 100, exceeding the minimum rating of 80 required to qualify as an Energy Star home. Homes built to code are generally rated around 65, and to get into the 90s a home would need to be completely off grid.

But more than just being energy efficient, Chose and Ross agree there’s something distinctly calming about being inside the curved walls of their Mandala, with natural light flooding in through a skylight and a wall of windows offering a panoramic view from their living room as well as passive solar benefits.

“I notice the way my body moves through this house. I feel lighter and more relaxed, and definitely very creative,” Ross said. “I never thought I’d use the word empowering to describe a home, but I do truly feel empowered knowing every part of this house we designed ourself.”

While home building projects are notorious relationship-killers, Ross notes the speed in which Mandala homes can be constructed takes a lot of the stress off. She and Chose moved in last March, just five months after they poured the foundation.

“If anything, building the house brought us closer,” Ross said. “I see this home as a container for a healthy relationship and a healthy family.”

Chose and Ross will be hosting a home tour of their Mandala this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 3234 Heddle Road in Six Mile.

All are welcome, no reservation required. In addition to showing their house, they’ll also tour their Mandala-style artist’s studio, greenhouse and carport.

http://www.nelsonstar.com/business/159102205.html