A smart home is a happy home

Save money & the environment, too: Six easy steps to make your home more energy efficient

Not to depress anyone, but do you remember the cost of gasoline just 15 years ago? In 1998, drivers spent about a dollar for a gallon of gas. Prices have skyrocketed so much since then that we’re all nostalgic for the good old days of the ’90s.

A similar price increase is underway with the cost of home energy. A growing population combined with a lack of new power plants to support it caused the Texas Public Utility Commission to raise the wholesale electricity price cap by 50 percent last summer. No one can predict exactly how the energy market will be affected in the long term by this cap increase, but if there is one tried-and-true business practice, it is that cost will be passed on to the consumer.

Naturally, one way to fight rising home energy costs is to make your home more energy efficient. There are countless ways to do this, but what really works? You could call an energy expert to audit your house and tell you what you need to do, but many times these “experts” are simply salespeople in disguise — there to tell you what you need, which happens to be everything they sell.

If you’d rather not replace your windows, at least go through and seal up any drafty ones.

Here are some of the most effective things you can do to make your home more energy efficient before those high bills of the summer starts rolling in:

Windows
One of the biggest ways homes lose energy, especially older houses, is through leaky windows. If your windows resemble a sieve, you may want to think about replacing them.

In Texas, the most important factor in a window is the solar heat gain coefficient. The lower the SHGC, the less heat gets transferred through. If you’ve ever lived through a Texas summer, you know that you want the SHGC as low as you can get it. You can also stop heat transfer with solar screens, but they obstruct your view as well as darken your home.

If you’d rather not replace your windows, at least go through and seal up any drafty ones. Not only will windows without proper seals let air in, they will also let air-conditioned air out. While you’re at it, you might as well weather-strip your doors too.

Attic insulation
Ever stepped into your attic during the summer? Yuck. That gross space sits above your head all year long and can push your energy costs up, which is why it's important to have a properly insulated attic. There are several ways to insulate your attic space; the key is which method is best for you.

The easiest and least expensive way to insulate your attic is spray-on cellulose insulation. This is what most attics have, but the question is if you have enough. In a hot zone like Dallas, you want to make sure you have at least 15 inches of insulation in your attic.

One popular form of attic insulation these days is radiant barrier, but there have been several questions about whether it makes enough difference in your energy bill to be worth the extra cost. Most experts agree that a foil radiant barrier is much more effective than a spray-on barrier. If you decide to get radiant barrier, make sure whoever is installing it knows what they’re doing since it won’t work nearly as well if it isn’t installed correctly.

In a hot zone like Dallas, you want to make sure you have at least 15 inches of insulation in your attic.

Then there is spray foam. Foam is considered possibly even more effective the radiant barrier, but the issue is again cost.

One thing to consider when getting attic insulation is the location of your interior air conditioning unit. Many homes have the unit up in the attic, which the dumbest possible place because it’s in the hottest part of the house. If you have a unit located in your attic, it's probably worth the cost of radiant barrier or spray foam.

Attic ventilation
Along with insulating your attic, make sure there is enough airflow going through the space. This not only circulates hot air from your attic, but it also keeps the attic space dry. You don’t want moisture in your attic, because that can lead to mold and mildew in your home.

There are several ways to ventilate your attic space, but the key is airflow. That means you need to pull new air into your attic and old air out. Generally, the way to do this is to have soffit vents on the eves of your home and some sort of vent, turbine or fan at the top of the attic. Make sure your vents aren’t obstructed and your fans or turbines are actually working.

If you’re handy with a tool kit, you can install soffit vents yourself. If you’re like me and are just as capable of ending up in the emergency room as you are successfully completing a home project with power tools, hire someone do it for you.

HVAC unit
How old is your air conditioning unit? Just because it’s running doesn’t mean it’s working properly. Obviously, replacing an entire air-conditioning unit is costly. Before you go that route, check that your HVAC system is the right size. Homes often have the wrong size unit.

If your energy bills are incredibly high, your HVAC system could be the culprit.

Secondly, you want to check the SEER rating on your unit. This measures how efficient it is. As of 2006, the federal government mandates the air conditioners need to have a SEER rating of at least a 13. The older a unit gets, the less efficient it gets. If your summer energy bills are incredibly high, your HVAC system could be the culprit.

If you can’t spend the money needed to change out your system, check your ducts to make sure there aren’t any leaks that lets your air conditioning seep out before it gets to its destination. And always make sure you change out your air filters every few months. Not only will that make your unit run more effectively, it will also get rid of allergens in the air.

Light bulbs
Most people know that CFL and LED light bulbs use less energy than the regular incandescent counterparts. According to energystar.gov, you save an average of $6 per year, per light bulb with efficient lighting. That may not sound like a lot, but go through and count all of the light bulbs in your home.

If you find 20 light bulbs to change out, you should save $120 a year. Remember that you get what you pay for, so make sure the bulbs your buy are the best fit for your home. Don’t just buy up the cheapest bulbs because you could sacrifice quality in doing so.

Little things that help
Check your electrical outlets and light switches on your exterior walls. Often times they leak, so put foam gaskets behind them. It’s inexpensive and it can help. If you have an attic hatch that is located inside of your house, you might want to install an attic tent so that your air conditioning doesn’t go up into your attic.

Finally, check your hot water heater. If your water gets extremely hot, to the point where you can’t stand touching it, turn down the water heater because you’re paying to heat water to a temperature you aren’t even using.

Paying your monthly energy bill will never be pleasant, but by making your home more energy efficient you can avoid having a downright scary moment when you open your mailbox.

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Brad Seal is a former energy auditor who specialized in creating energy efficient green homes.

Leaky windows can lead to higher energy costs.

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they're durable, too

3D-printed Houston housing project cements a more affordable future

Courtesy of Cole Klein Builders

Homes in Zuri Gardens are a hybrid of 3D concrete and traditional wood construction.

Houston is putting itself front-and-center to help make sustainable, affordable housing a reality for 80 lucky homeowners in a scalable housing community that will hopefully catch on nationwide. Recently, developer Cole Klein Builders partnered with HiveASMBLD to pioneer what’s touted as the world’s first large-scale, one-of-a-kind, affordable housing development using 3-D printing technology, merging robotics, design, and sustainability.

Located across from Sterling Aviation High School, near Hobby Airport, Zuri Gardens will offer 80 two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes of approximately 1,360 square feet situated in a park-like setting, including walking trails and a community green space.

Homes in Zuri Gardens will hit the market in early summer of 2026. Final pricing has yet to be determined, but Cole Klein Builders expects it to be in the mid-to-high 200s.

Interestingly, none of the homes will offer garages or driveways, which the developer tells CultureMap will provide a savings of roughly $25,000 - $40,000 per home.

Instead of parking for individual units, 140 parking spaces will be provided. Ideally, this small-town-inspired design will provide opportunities for neighbors to meet, connect, and build community.

Each two-story home is comprised of a ground floor printed by HiveASMBLD, using a proprietary low-carbon cement alternative by Eco Material Technologies that promises to enhance strength and reduce CO2 emissions. The hybrid homes will have a second floor built using engineered wood building products by LP Building Solutions. Overall, the homes are designed to be flood, fire, and possibly even tornado-proof.

The Zuri in Zuri Gardens is the Swahili word for “beautiful,” a choice that is fitting considering that the parks department will be introducing a five acre park to the project — with 3-D printed pavilions and benches — plus, a three acre farm is located right across the street. The Garver Heights area, where Zuri Gardens is located, is in what’s classified as a food desert, which means that access to fresh food is limited. Residents will have access to the farm’s fresh produce, plus opportunities to participate in gardening and nutrition workshops—that’s a win for everyone.

With the novelty of Zuri Gardens, it’s no surprise that the neighborhood already has an 800 person waitlist, but with stringent buyer requirements, it’s unclear how many of those 800 will qualify. Developer Cole Klein Builders created Zuri Gardens in partnership with the Houston Housing Community Development Department, who provided infrastructure reimbursements for the roads, sewer lines, and water lines. In return, CKB agreed to push the purchase prices for the homes as low as possible.

Zuri Gardens also received $1.8 million dollars from the Uptown Tourism Bond, 34 percent of which must be used with minority owned small businesses. Qualified buyers must fit a certain area of median income according to HUD guidelines, and must be owner occupied at all times — so no property investors or short term vacation rentals will be allowed.

“They’re trying to bridge that gap to make sure there is a community for the homebuyers who need it — educators, law enforcement, civil workers, etc.,” Cole Klein Builders’ co-principal Vanessa Cole tells CultureMap. “You have to go through a certification process with the housing department to make sure that your income is in alignment for this community. It has been great, and everyone has been really receptive.”

Cole has also brought insurance underwriters to visit the site and to help drive premiums below regular rates for Houston homeowners since homes in Zuri Gardens are not built to traditional standards — claim risks for one of the 3-D homes are extremely low. Tim Lankau, principal at HiveASMBLD, notes that the 3-D hybrid design allows for a more traditional appearance, while having the benefits of a concrete structure: “That’s where the floodwaters would go, that’s where you can hide when there’s a tornado, and that’s where termites would eat. So you get the advantages of it while having a traditionally-framed second floor.”

It’s important to note that Zuri Gardens is not located in a flood prone area, nor did it flood during Hurricane Harvey — being flood proof is merely a perk of a cement house. The concrete that Eco Material Technologies developed is impervious. The walls are printed into hollow forms, which house rebar, plumbing, and accessible conduits for things like electrical lines and smart house features. Those walls are then filled with a foamcrete product that expands to form a “monolithic concrete wall.”

David McNitt, of Eco Material Technologies, explains that his proprietary concrete is made of PCV, and contains zero Portland cement. Instead, McNitt’s cement is made from coal ash and is 99 percent green (there are a few chemicals added to the ash). Regardless, it’s made from 100 percent waste products.

“This is a product that has really been landfilled before,” says McNitt. “It’s coal ash, and it’ll set within 8-10 minutes. It’s all monolithic, and one continuous pour — it’s literally all one piece.”

Eco Material Technologies’ concrete product is impressively durable. A traditional cinderblock wall will crush at around 800 psi, while this material crushes at about 8,000 psi.

“It’s ten times stronger than a cinderblock wall that can withstand hurricanes,” claims McNitt. “I don’t think you’d even notice a hurricane. It’ll be really quiet inside, too — so you won’t get interrupted during your hurricane party. It’s way over-engineered, it really is.”

The second story is built using weatherproof and eco-friendly products by LP Building Solutions. Their treated, engineered wood products come with a 50 year warranty, and their radiant barrier roof decking product blocks 97% of UV rays, and keeps attic temperatures 30° cooler than traditional building materials. These materials, combined with the concrete first floor, will keep heating and cooling costs low — something the folks at HiveASMBLD refer to as “thermal mass performance.”

Courtesy of Cole Klein Builders

Homes in Zuri Gardens are a hybrid of 3D concrete and traditional wood construction.