New association lobbies for greener building codes

A new alliance among home builders, manufacturers, and energy companies has formed the Building Energy Efficient Codes Network. The association is so new it does not seem to have a Web site, but here is an article about the new organization, and here are two other articles on BEECN and its agenda.
From the latter:

Basically, BEECN is lobbying for national legislation that would require a series of energy-efficiency improvements over 2006 International Energy Conservation Code: a 30% increase in energy efficiency for all new residential and commercial buildings starting in 2010, a 50% increase by 2014, and a net-zero-energy standard by 2030.

Natural lighting boosts retail sales -- at least it did in 1999!

I was browsing the Web, following interesting links, and I came to a company -- Entech Solar -- that makes skylights for commercial businesses. And that led me to a link at the bottom of that page, on Skylighting and Retail Stores. (If you want to read the report, you have to go there and click on the link yourself, since I was unable to embed it.)

That research report, in PDF format, had some interesting results, including these:

Skylights were found to be positively and significantly correlated to higher sales. All other things being equal, an average non-skylit store in the chain would likely have 40% higher sales with the addition of skylights, with a probable range between 31% and 49%. This was found with 99% statistical certainty. After the number of hours open per week, the presence of skylights was the best predictor of the sales per store of all the variables that we considered.

and also

Informal interviews with shoppers repeatedly confirmed that the vast majority of shoppers were not aware of the skylights. The questioner, looking just like any other shopper, would approach a shopper and ask: “May I ask you a question?” The response was universally affirmative. We then asked, “What do you think of the skylights in this store?” The typical response was to look up, look puzzled, and then say, “That’s funny. I never noticed them before.” Out of 42 interviews in 10 skylit stores, only three shoppers could be found who were already aware of the skylights. Two of those volunteered that they had only noticed the skylights because their small child had pointed them out on an earlier trip, while looking up at a balloon or other bright object.

and also

A store with skylights is observed to have a sales index higher than an equivalent store without skylights. This is clearly the largest effect of any of the variables considered, (at B=+1.55). It is possible that there may be other reasons that the skylit stores are performing so well as a group. In our site visits, we made every effort to try to identify other characteristics of the skylit stores that might contribute to higher sales, but we did not find any obvious candidates. However, that possibility should always be kept in mind when examining these results.

and this

These results show that adding skylighting to the average non-skylit store within the chain would be likely to improve its performance by 40%, with a probable range somewhere between 31% and 49%. Thus, if this non-skylit store were averaging sales of $2/SF, then its sales might be expected to increase to between $2.61 and $2.98 with the addition of a skylighting system.

But here's the biggest caveat -- the study was conducted in 1999! Ugh. I have a call in to the research company, and I'll post any updates I hear about. The research was sponsored by the utility company PG&E, which encourages me, since a utility company would not, I think, preferentially seek out research that suggests decreasing electricity use. Food for thought.

Reviewing eco-friendly bug repellents

Wenona Napolitano of Eco Childs Play reviews a range of green products designed to fend off the buggies. Interesting.

Sustainability in the home

Mainstream attitudes toward sustainability -- especially in everyday living -- are getting greener and greener. Take this essay on Sustainability in the home. And as consumers look for eco-friendly solutions, retailers should not dismiss the opportunity of offering shoppers the products and services that let them do so economically and easily.

Incandescents: Reports of death greatly exaggerated

The New York Times has a very interesting article on new technology designed to make traditional incandescent bulbs more energy efficient -- enough so that they will likely meet government mandates on efficiency that otherwise would require switching to CFLs.

Normally, only a small portion of the energy used by an incandescent bulb is converted into light, while the rest is emitted as heat. Deposition Sciences applies special reflective coatings to gas-filled capsules that surround the bulb’s filament. The coatings act as a sort of heat mirror that bounces heat back to the filament, where it is transformed to light.

Indeed, the incandescent bulb is turning into a case study of the way government mandates can spur innovation.

Philips Lighting’s Halogena Energy Savers is a line of bulbs now on the market that uses this technology. These are available now at Amazon and Home Depot, according to the Times, but evidently not yet on the Home Depot Web site.

Does vinyl flooring cause autism and defects in kids?

Darned if I know! But if you sell or make vinyl flooring, you should know that reports, like this one, reported in Treehugger, are linking product to genital deformities and autism.

The DIY Spirit lives on

Reusing parts, making do with materials on hand, and can-do ingenuity -- surely these are the hallmarks of the true green home improvement spirit! In that vein, please enjoy this link to a blog devoted to fixing it yourself: There, I Fixed It.

Weatherization report tells how retailers use tax credits to drive sales

Here's a special report by the staff of Home Channel News on energizing sales at retail by making the most of the weatherization incentives in the recent stimulus package.

For many Americans, the new tax incen tives provi de the perfect justification they need to replace drafty windows and doors; add insulation to the attic; or install a new, energy-efficient water heater. These incentives are targeted to the retrofit market, providing remodelers — and their suppliers — some much-needed revenues.

Full disclosure: I'm the managing editor of Home Channel News.

Green wood-like product extends reach

Lifetime Lumber makes a wood-like building product out of 65% recycled material, including fly ash. The composite boards can be used to score LEED certification points and are very fire resistant.

Anyway, the company just announced that it has reached an agreement with distributor Duraforce to offer the product in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Survey: 41% of retailers say sustainability is "key"

Prenova and Chain Store Age magazine have teamed up to produce a free report on sustainability and energy issues for retailers. You have to register with some basic data before you can download the PDF, but it's worth it. Here are a couple excerpts:

Without question, sustainability is a serious concern for retailers, regardless of the sales volume of the chain or the number of stores. In the survey, the largest percentage of retailers, 41.2%, said that sustainability is a “key component” of their strategy, and 38.6% said that sustainability is “important but not one of our top priorities.” Only 3% said “sustainability isn’t something we worry about.”

Why are the smaller-sized retailers slower to formalize their strategies? Is it simply that larger retailers have more resources to dedicate to the initiatives? Of those surveyed, only 13.9% of respondents — generally the larger-sized retailers — say that their sustainability strategies fall under the responsibility of an “energy management department,” whereas the majority of smaller retailers seem to parcel out the responsibilities to disparate groups, including facilities management, construction and finance.

Full disclosure: I'm the managing editor at Chain Store Age.