Guest editorial by Jonathan Kraatz, Executive Director USGBC/Texas and Robert Pegues, Quality Assurance Manager, Single Family Division, TexEnergy | Us-EcoLogic
LEED, Leadership for Energy Efficiency and Design, is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings.
There are several LEED certification levels ranging from the most basic LEED-certified (40 points) to LEED Platinum (80 points), the highest LEED green building certification. LEED scores are based on six primary categories ranging from seven to 38 points each with an additional 10 points for regional priority and design innovation.
Using LEED can seem daunting to the uninitiated. Each pathway to certification is unique and nuanced for each project, but there are some general rules and guidelines that can help anyone interested going down the path to sustainability in the built environment. Here’s a brief description of the nine categories:
LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION (LT) – Location, location, location! Site selection is a critical component in any LEED project. Avoid flood plains and choose locations or communities close to local transportation and parks if possible.
SUSTAINABLE SITES (SS) – make sure the construction site is protected. Erosion control is key! Protect your construction site with erosion blankets and silt fencing. Planting trees not only beautifies your project, it also helps with permeability, reduced heat island effect and reduced heating loads by shading. Choose landscaping that is non-invasive and drought tolerant and consider reducing turf where possible. Borate is a great non-toxic pest control that can help your project keep the bugs away (and also counts toward some LEED credit).
ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE (EA) – Energy Efficiency and design. The foundation of LEED is energy efficiency, which is expressed in a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating. The building thermal envelope and mechanical systems are two sides of the same coin, but each needs to be addressed separately.
For efficient thermal envelopes, design starts with advanced framing, exterior insulated sheathing, high performing windows and doors, and grade 1 insulation installation. ENERGY STAR’s thermal bypass checklist is your friend here.
For the mechanicals, consider tankless water heaters, 90 AFUE furnace, 16 SEER for cooling, inline mechanical ventilation fan and LED lighting. All of these components thrown into modeling software, shaken then stirred, will help your project meet ENERGY STAR requirements and a lower HERS index. Make sure an HVAC designer is on board to provide whole home load, system selection and distribution layout and flows.
WATER EFFICIENCY (WE) – Water Efficiency and design. Closely following Energy Efficiency, this category looks at the ongoing use of resources and focuses on water saving design feature both inside and outside of the home.
For efficient water use, focus on water efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings like low-flow faucets and fixtures and tankless/on-demand water heaters that can save water that would be wasted waiting for the desired water temperature.
Outside of the home, look for ways to reduce water needed for irrigation. This does interact with choices made in the Sustainable Sites section with regard to landscape selection and plantings and can also be achieved through rainwater capture and water recycling from domestic sources.
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES (MR) – Recycle, Reduce, Reuse… and durability
Order local products and construction materials where possible. Avoid tropical woods! Use the ENERGY STAR water management checklist and choose environmentally preferred products. Use advanced framing like California corners, ladder blocking, space roof rafters and floor joists 24 inches on center. Grab those detailed framing drawings and order just the right amount of lumber to reduce waste, which translates to lower waste hauling. Fly ash in concrete yields a greener, more durable finished product. Finally, consider using recycled carpet and pads or 100% hard flooring.
INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (EQ) – a cleaner indoor environment is a healthier indoor environment.
There are three steps to achieving healthy indoor living spaces:
Seal off and separate any possible contaminated sources. Typically, the main culprit here is a garage, combustion appliance zones and tracking in dirt. Seal off and separate the garage and install carbon monoxide (CO) monitors adjacent to the door. Create a space for easy shoe removal at the front or back entry. Determine the radon zone and install radon mitigation measures in high risk zones.
Install kitchen and laundry room exhausts and ENERGY STAR bathroom exhaust fans according to ENERGY STAR’s performance guidelines. Choose an inline mechanical ventilation fan to supply outdoor air and lower energy use to ENERGY STAR compliance.
Choose HVAC filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) rating of 10 or more. The higher the MERV rating, the better the filter is at trapping specific types of particles. For extra credit, consider two-stage or multi-stage HVAC equipment with dehumidification capabilities.
INNOVATION (IN) – new and improved! Get credit for using cutting edge practices. All projects must receive a preliminary rating. A verification team will review the project plans, design and identify specific scopes of work for each key member of the team. There is also room for additional credits for measures not covered within the current rating system.
REGIONAL PRIORITY (RP) – special credits for your neck of the woods. Choose from U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) list of additional regionally specific credits to help your project earn up to four credit points.
ON-SITE RENEWABLE ENERGY Solar’s benefits are closely aligned with the underlying goals of LEED: encouraging decreased carbon emissions, reduced reliance on traditional energy sources, improved air quality, better building decisions and ultimately a more environmentally responsible future for us all. The number of LEED points awarded in the Energy and Atmosphere category for solar is determined by the percentage of the project’s energy costs that are offset by on-site renewable energy.
Whether you’re a seasoned sustainability practitioner or just starting to dip your toes into the LEED pool, following these guidelines can help you navigate the complex world of green building and ensure your project attains LEED certification.
Jonathan Kraatz is the first Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council/Texas Chapter. In 2016, he facilitated the merger of four USGBC Texas chapters. Previously, Jonathan served as the Executive Director for the USGBC North Texas Chapter.
Robert Pegues joined the TexEnergy | Us-EcoLogic team in 2015 and holds the position of Quality Assurance Manager in the Single Family Division. Through his time with the company, he has become credentialed as a LEED for Homes Quality Assurance Designee, LEED Green Rater, National Green Building Standards (NGBS) Green Verifier, HERS Quality Assurance Designee, RESNET Rater Trainer, HERS Rater, and IECC Residential Inspector and plans examiner. Robert has also had an active role in development and advisement of the LEED for Homes version 4.1 protocol, LEED for Homes Production Builder certification review process, Energy Star 3.1 protocol, and 2018 IECC through North Texas Council of Governments Energy and Green Advisory Board.
This year, the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) National Solar Tour is featuring more than 60 locations nationwide, including homes and businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Because of COVID-19, the national and all local tours will be virtual. We caught up with Rosa Orenstein, J.D., Executive Director of the North Texas Renewable Energy Group (NTREG) to learn more about what NTREG has planned for its 2020 Tour on October 3. Here’s that conversation.
Q: Despite the pandemic’s effects on life as we knew it, including annual Solar Tours, let’s talk about NTREG’s 2020 Solar Tour. How long has NTREG been doing this tour?
A: In 2009, NTREG member Paul Westbrook listed six homes for the DFW Metroplex Tour on his personal website. By 2015, the list (now on the DFW Solar Tour website) had grown to more than 50 homes and commercial sites, making it the second-largest Solar Tour in the U.S.!
2019 DFW Solar Tour workers
Q: That’s some true braggin’ rights! What about this year’s tour with COVID-19? What did you do to switch gears from an in-person to a virtual tour?
A: Not surprising, we had to completely change our thinking and processes to go virtual for 2020. For example, instead of showcasing more than 50 sites, we’re only showcasing 10 sites. We’re also having two Solar 101 video presentations narrated by the hosts. Volunteers from Dallas College/Northlake Campus, the Tour’s Terawatt sponsor, will edit the videos so they’re tight and crisp. On October 3, Solar Tour Day, NTREG will run those videos continuously on its YouTube channel. Also, each of the 10 sites will hold public Q&A sessions at specified times throughout the day so the public may still participate.
On the plus side, we saved a little on the up-front costs; we won’t need as many t-shirts or signs or advertising outside online advertising. Our DFW Solar Tour website, currently being updated, will be up and running by early September. Challenges for sure, but the 2020 Tour is definitely coming along nicely. We’re all excited about this year’s Tour.
Q: What criteria does NTREG use to accept homes and businesses for the tour?
A: Generally, participants who want to showcase their homes or businesses sign up through the DFW Solar Tour Website. The Solar Tour Committee reviews each of those sites and determines which ones will serve both the educational mission of NTREG and the sharing of the enthusiasm and challenges which the homeowner has encountered in the installation and performance of their system. Over the years, we’ve had very good applicants that fulfill the criteria to be accepted. Rarely has NTREG turned away a proposed site.
DFW Solar Tour 2019
Q: Besides this year’s 180 to go virtual, what other things have been some of your biggest challenges?
A: Throughout the years, the biggest challenge has always been raising the funds to cover all costs and finding enough volunteers to staff all sites. This was especially difficult in 2018 when we had 52 sites! Since we like to have about three volunteers for each site, that means increased costs for t-shirts, signs, marketing, advertising and, of course, volunteers. It was a logistical challenge, but our volunteers and Solar Tour Committee weren’t deterred. As if those inherent challenges weren’t formidable enough, throw in a tornado on the day of the Tour and you can see why 2018 will go down as one of, if not the most difficult years for our Solar Tour.
The other big challenge has been finding underserved and underrepresented communities to participate. We’ve undertaken aggressive efforts to increase participation from vulnerable communities and people of color, but clearly we’ve not made anywhere near the progress we would like to see and are aiming for. We still have work to do.
Q: That said, talk about some of your successes.
A: That’s easy. Our biggest success has been the participation of so many homes and businesses around the DFW Metroplex. We’ve had sites almost as far south as Hillsboro, as far north as McKinney and as far west as Weatherford. More recently, we have begun to see some results from our outreach efforts to vulnerable communities and people of color. As I mentioned, we’re still not where we want to be but we continue to increase our efforts.
By Katherine Searcy, Chair, TXSES Board of Directors
The Texas Solar Energy Society’s mission is Equitable Access to Solar Energy for Every Texan. Green building enables the efficient use of solar energy by reducing the total energy needed for a home or business, which in turn reduces the size of the required solar photovoltaic system. In this way, green building is foundational to and interwoven with the widespread adoption of distributed solar. This issue of the Solar Reflector focuses on green building: the requirements for residential green building certification, accessory dwelling units, and solar home tours, both locally and nationally.
Green building encompasses not only energy efficiency and renewable energy, but also water efficiency, healthy materials, and regionally appropriate design. The nationally recognized green building rating system, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), provides a holistic framework to evaluate and incorporate these myriad components into a building’s design. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) administers the LEED program. Our first article, written by the Texas chapter of the USGBC, highlights the key requirements to obtain LEED certification for a home.
Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are small, secondary structures located on the same property as a primary dwelling. These charming structures can increase urban density and offer flexible living arrangements. In our second article, Alan Barley shares strategies for getting the most out of these small spaces and for ensuring they are as energy-efficient as conventionally sized homes.
Our final article highlights several green building home tours: our very own Cool House Tour, the American Solar Energy’s National Solar Tour, and the North Texas Renewable Energy Group’s (NTREG) DFW Solar Tour. The Texas Solar Energy Society is excited to share the 2020 Cool House Tour in a virtual format on Sunday September 27 from 2 to 4 pm. We hope you will join us!
The 2020 Tour marks the 24th year that TXSES has collaborated with Austin Energy Green Building. This year, we’ll highlight three distinct building types: a rural homestead, an urban accessory dwelling, and an affordable multifamily community. This lineup emphasizes that thoughtful design can deliver healthy, green homes for a variety of contexts and budgets. The virtual tour will include live discussions with the teams involved in each project; we hope that these conversations, along with the virtual tours, will retain the enjoyment and educational benefits of an in-person tour. The tour content will be available after the event day, enabling more people to experience and learn from the tour. There’s still time to register!!
The Cool House Tour is part of the National Solar Tour (nationalsolartour.org), which is coordinated by our parent organization, the American Solar Energy Society. The National Solar Tour will occur from September 28 through October 4. Homeowners and business owners across the country will share inspirational examples of solar integration and green building. Our chapter, NTREG, will hold their DFW Solar Tour virtually on October 3.
With all the uncertainty we are facing collectively, I find it reassuring to connect with the inspiring people and projects highlighted in this Solar Reflector. I hope that you, too, will find inspiration and useful, shareable ideas for your home, business, and community. As always, we’d love to hear your inspiring solar stories and your ideas for how TXSES can help improve equitable access to solar for every Texan. We look forward to hearing from you.
Guest blog: Katherine Burk Cheema is a West Texas native and a proud Texas Longhorn Alumna. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, paddle boarding and kayaking. All opinions are her own.
I found my way into solar by way of the software industry. I grew up in West Texas around the boom and bust of the oil and gas industry. The innovative and cutting-edge nature of the solar industry appealed to me, and I was drawn in by the job-growth engine for the economy which I assumed equated to better energy access for all– especially for Texans. The growth of the solar industry matched with a career in high tech appealed to me as a pairing that would stay relevant and competitive for the next fifty years. I was highly motivated and ready to launch my career in solar.
As someone who had worked in the tech industry for many years, I had grown quite accustomed to being one of the few women in the workplace (and one of the even fewer women in leadership). But perhaps nothing could have prepared me for the gender homogeneity of the solar industry. If you work in solar, then you probably already know that the state of diversity in our industry is dire.
The National Solar Jobs Census of 2018 found that of the more than 242,000 solar workers nationwide, women represented 26.3% of the workforce. Representation of women in technical roles like installation and engineering is even more alarming. Early on in my career, I had more than my fair share of interactions with male peers in the space that made me question if I was going to be able to carve out a space for myself in the industry.
Ironically, I often meet solar professionals who tell me how hard it is for them to find skilled and qualified candidates for roles at their firms. Sourcing and retaining solar professionals are a widespread problem in the industry.
In 2018, roughly 26% of solar companies reported it was “very difficult” to hire qualified workers, an 18% increase from the previous year. Seemingly innocuous hiring strategies like limiting your top of funnel to individuals with experience in the industry can yield unintended consequences like this supply/demand imbalance. By eliminating our bias in the recruiting and interviewing process, I believe we can overcome this serious challenge that our industry faces.
If you are committed to increasing the gender diversity of your team, let’s talk some table stakes: hiring women means you have to pay them a fair and equitable wage relative to their male counterparts. There is a 26% gender wage gap in the solar industry, as men are more likely to earn higher wages than women at all position levels. About 37% of men fall in the wage bracket of $31 to $74 per hour, compared to only 28% of women.
But it isn’t enough to just attract talented women to your team – you must provide professional opportunities and skills to retain them. Employers must create and foster an environment that motivates women to build a career at your company. This is why initiatives like equitable family leave policies that ensure women never have to make the choice between starting a family or advancing their careers are so crucial.
Chances are that if you’re reading this article, you’re less likely to be a woman or person of color. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be a change agent. In fact, numerous studies show that sentiment in the solar industry is evolving, albeit slowly. Recent data suggests that a growing percentage of solar companies are establishing strategies to make their workforces more diverse. The percentage of firms reporting a strategy to increase the representation of women increased from 14% in 2017 to 24% today, as just one example.
There’s a lot of work to be done in the solar industry to address these challenges, but I’ve never been more optimistic that the best companies in the space will tackle these issues head-on with innovative solutions. Despite the adversity I’ve faced in the industry as a woman, I never once have regretted my decision to join it and am excited to witness what the future holds.
From the outset, I knew that 2020 would be a year of great change for TXSES. After more than a decade of service, our previous Executive Director, Lucy Stolzenburg, retired, and the organization welcomed Patrice “Pete” Parsons to the helm.
In February, the Board of Directors held a strategic planning retreat to steer the organization through the next three years. The Board has increasingly emphasized expanding our reach to a wider, more diverse Texas audience, and we are very excited to share our updated mission:
Equitable access to solar energy for every Texan.
We hope to educate and inspire every Texan to adopt solar energy as part of an equitable 100% clean energy future. With renewed enthusiasm, we kicked off the year with an intention to expand our online presence, our chapters, and our capacity. Little did we know just how much change 2020 had in store for us.
The coronavirus pandemic has upended our lives, businesses, and communities. Nationally, the solar industry lost thousands of jobs, particularly in the residential market. Despite these hardships, signs of life remain, and the industry may be showing early signs of recovery.
In the Austin area, I’ve heard that many solar businesses are weathering the storm, and Austin Energy continues to approve projects and conduct inspections at near pre-COVID pace.
In light of our current cultural strife, now more than ever, it’s important to support our communities by serving all of our neighbors; by providing relevant information through inclusive, welcoming environments; and by listening.
We are finding creative solutions and silver linings. We are adapting the Cool House Tour to a virtual format, rescheduled for September 27, 2020. Though we’re disappointed that we won’t get to see you in person at the Tour, we are excited that more people may be able to attend on the day of the event or afterward!
As part of our goal to reach more Texans, we intend to increase our online content, and the virtual Cool House Tour is one step in the right direction. Additionally, TXSES has expanded our outreach on social media. If you haven’t already, please follow and engage with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We also hope to expand our chapters to more cities across Texas this year.
We want to hear from you: how can we help your community, your business, and our state achieve an equitable 100% clean energy future? We can do this together.
By Hanna Mitchell, Program Director for Solar United Neighbors of Texas
While demand for solar is growing across Texas – and some Texas cities have recently doubled down on their investments, going solar may still feel out of reach for millions of Texans. And while the cost of solar has dropped dramatically in recent years, the typical profile of a solar owner is someone who owns their home and has upfront capital or decent credit.
For those who rent, move frequently, or own a home that is completely shaded or without contiguous roof space, community solar may be a worthwhile option to reap the benefits of local solar electricity without putting panels on your roof.
So what is community solar, anyway? Since the term is frequently misused, let’s start by clarifying what it’s not: community solar is not a “green purchase program,” which generally rely on the trade of Renewable Energy Credits and come at a premium. Community solar isn’t a bulk purchase program for homeowners.
Community solar, also known as shared solar, allows people who are enrolled in the project to get their electricity from a solar array that may be either on or offsite but is generally close to where people are using the electricity. For a deeper dive into community solar programs, check out this guide from Solar United Neighbors.
While Texas does not explicitly legislate community solar programs as you can find in sixteen other states, the complex nature of the Texas electricity market offers a patchwork of community solar options that complement rooftop solar and the potential for many more options to evolve.
Much of the community solar currently available in Texas is offered through municipal utilities and electric co-ops. Check with your local electricity provider(s) to see if community solar is currently available or will be in the future.
So to recap, community solar functions as a form of distributed generation that complements rooftop solar and is available in some parts of Texas. In practical terms, you may see several different models available that allow you to buy solar electricity from a shared array.
Under a subscription model, people may sign up to buy their electricity from the community solar array, ideally at a cost equal to or below the current rate they are paying for electricity. Under an ownership model, people or organizations may buy shares (e.g., in increments of kW) and receive a credit on their utility bill for the amount of money that their share in the project is producing. This is called virtual net metering.
Beyond local availability, there are some factors to think about when shopping for a community solar program. You may want to consider who owns and operates the project, which can determine how the benefits are shared with subscribers.
You will also want to review your monthly energy use, how much you pay for it and how much of your consumption you would like to offset, if that option exists. And finally, you will want to look over the terms of the contract so that you know the length of the agreement and payment schedule
Courtesy Solar United Neighbors
From a policy and development standpoint and although community solar has the potential to improve equitable access to solar, not all community solar programs are created equal. Whether or not the program is a good economic option for consumers, either in terms of lower rates or recouping expenses, is one factor. The ease of subscribing and unsubscribing is another consideration.
And as with any community-sited project, it is important to build stakeholder input in project planning and decision making – especially from those that the project is designed to serve so that there are real community benefits. For more information on project siting, check out this summary of recommendations or this guide to project development from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Expanding distributed generation and access to solar in Texas will take a multi-pronged approach. The good news is that community solar can be an avenue for growing more solar energy jobs, improving grid stability and offering an option for more Texans to go solar.
As Program Director for Solar United Neighbors of Texas, Hanna works to bring solar to more Texans. For the better part of a decade, she has organized for environmental and social change.
Jonathan Kraatz is the first Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council/Texas Chapter. In 2016, he facilitated the merger of four USGBC Texas chapters. Previously, Jonathan served as the Executive Director for the USGBC North Texas Chapter.
Robert Pegues joined the TexEnergy | Us-EcoLogic team in 2015 and holds the position of Quality Assurance Manager in the Single Family Division. Through his time with the company, he has become credentialed as a LEED for Homes Quality Assurance Designee, LEED Green Rater, National Green Building Standards (NGBS) Green Verifier, HERS Quality Assurance Designee, RESNET Rater Trainer, HERS Rater, and IECC Residential Inspector and plans examiner. Robert has also had an active role in development and advisement of the LEED for Homes version 4.1 protocol, LEED for Homes Production Builder certification review process, Energy Star 3.1 protocol, and 2018 IECC through North Texas Council of Governments Energy and Green Advisory Board. 
The Texas Solar Energy Society’s mission is Equitable Access to Solar Energy for Every Texan. Green building enables the efficient use of solar energy by reducing the total energy needed for a home or business, which in turn reduces the size of the required solar photovoltaic system. In this way, green building is foundational to and interwoven with the widespread adoption of distributed solar. This issue of the Solar Reflector focuses on green building: the requirements for residential green building certification, accessory dwelling units, and solar home tours, both locally and nationally.
Guest blog: Katherine Burk Cheema is a West Texas native and a proud Texas Longhorn Alumna. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, paddle boarding and kayaking. All opinions are her own. 
