Program engineers durable structures

     By Scott Gulbransen
     View staff writer
      Joe Lstiburek has spent his professional life studying buildings and why they sometimes fail.
      As a forensic engineer, Lstiburek has turned his efforts away from studying how buildings fail to making them more durable and a safe place to live and work.
      Lstiburek has created the U.S. Department of Energy-approved building specifications for GreenStone's Engineered for Life program, which is featured locally built in Pulte Homes.
      The Engineered for Life program was designed to build safer, healthier and more energy efficient homes for the same cost of existing homes that do not have the energy saving features.
      "People have the misconception that producing an energy-efficient home costs more money to produce," said Lstiburek, the owner of the consulting firm Building Services Corp. "In reality the ingredients that make up an Engineered for Life house reduce the cost of the product so it will not cost the buyer more than a house without the system."
      The Engineered for Life program assists residential builders in utilizing the principles and procedures of building science to build homes that use less energy, are more durable, safer and more comfortable.
      Building science is the study of how the various components and system structures blend together. The Engineered for Life homes carry a building science stamp of approval which means they are built according to strict guidelines.
      The benefit to the home buyer results in a better living environment and cheaper cooling and heating bill, Lstiburek said.
      "Because we design the systems in the house to work together more efficiently, we can guarantee the cooling and heating bills for two years," Lstiburek said. "To make sure we live up to our word, we provide an added level of training to builders and contractors and test the home throughout the construction process."
      Engineered for Life bases its building technology around something called "systems thinking." The design and building technique considers all components, or systems, within the house. Those include the frame, insulation, duct work, windows, heating and air conditioning, to make sure all work together. When all are in harmony, the home is a healthier and more energy efficient environment.
      In Las Vegas, Pulte Homes has committed to the Engineered for Life program announcing that all of its homes, beginning in 1999, will be incorporated into the new home construction program.
      "Engineered for Life differentiates our homes in this market," said Steve Petruska, division president for Pulte Las Vegas. "GreenStone's program allows us to deliver a more comfortable and energy efficient home than our competitors while adding benefits such as noise reduction, pest control, fresh air ventilation and carbon monoxide detectors."
      GreenStone Industries, a subsidiary of Louisiana-Pacific, markets the Engineered for Life product nationwide. But only a handful of builders in a few states have begun pilot programs to build new homes with the state-of-the-art system.
      "Right now we have some projects in Chicago, Gainesville, Fla., and Las Vegas," said Lstiburek. "Las Vegas presented the perfect environment, with its temperature extreme, to test out these systems and it has been very successful."
      According to Lstiburek and GreenStone, Engineered for Life homes see an average heating and cooling bill reduction of 30 to 50 percent, meaning a house that would usually rack up a $100 cooling bill during the summer would see that reduced to $70 and maybe even $50.
      "That reduction has been very predictable and that is why the program has been successful," Lstiburek said. "The next step is to get the mechanical side involved and we could even reduce some heating and cooling bills by 80 percent."
      To have Pulte Homes, Las Vegas' third largest home builders, commit to Engineered for Life has Lstiburek feeling proud.
      "The environmentalist inside of me set out to have this conserve energy and save the ozone layer," Lstiburek said. "But it is affordable to the builders and business has been very receptive to it."
      The reason builders like Pulte like the Engineered for Life program is its cost effectiveness. While the program might call for more expensive windows or more expensive heating and cooling duct work, the end result saves the builder money and allows them to pass on other amenities to home buyers.
      "You might spend $700 more per house as a builder on windows but that allows you to use a smaller air conditioner to cool the house," Lstiburek said. "That air conditioner saves the builder $1,000. So the builder builds a more energy efficient home for $300 less than before. It makes sense to do the right thing."
      The improved air circulation and better home construction also leads to a healthier environment for everyone living in the home.
      "So many people fail to realize the ramifications of the environment they live in," Lstiburek said. "Engineered for Life homes allow you to breathe easier and in turn live a healthier life."
      Pulte Homes currently offers two developments in Summerlin which include the Engineered for Life system.