Eco-Activist Joins Pursuit for Top Green Ranking

From left, Jeff Fischbeck, Darren Moore, Ed Begley Jr., and John Fischbeck with a roof-mounted solar array at 990 Ocean Front. Actor and environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. visited 990 Ocean Front last Thursday to lend some promotional cache to a builder’s determination to obtain LEED platinum certification for the ocean-view dwelling.

Builder John Fischbeck, the president and founding partner of Tresor Properties, said, “Our goal, in this environmentally sensitive zone, was to build the most over the top LEED home ever created. We want to be the innovator in bringing high design to responsible building. It is easily perceived as very granola and we are not that. This is high-end, best of the best.”

Among the home’s environmental features are photo-voltaic solar energy, Forest Stewardship Council-certified sustainable lumber, super efficient insulation and windows, fly ash mixed into the concrete (which increases tensile strength and diverts the coal byproduct from landfills), and a home automation controller that manages temperature, lighting, shades that raise and lower according to the position of the sun, and Jacuzzi controls.

“You can see who just rang your doorbell, and control every switch in your house from your iPhone,” said Fischbeck.

Even so, obtaining the coveted rating isn’t assured. The U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design rating is dictated by third-party verification of a structure’s environmental strategies. LEED has four levels of certification, topped by platinum.

The existing home on the site being developed by Fischbeck was 85% deconstructed; components were taken apart for re-use as opposed to demolished and trashed.

Darren Moore, host of “Alter Eco,” an ecological lifestyle and makeover show, joined Begley, who hosts “Living with Ed,” a TV show on sustainable living, and has been a proponent of environmentalism for decades. Their interest focused on the installation in the home of a solar water heating system made by AO Smith, which will draw 70% of its energy from the solar arrays on the roof, and a highly efficient Cyclone gas water heater back up system. Dave Chisolm, an AO Smith manager, said water heating is a home’s second largest consumer of energy, after heating and cooling.

Begley has a smaller version solar water heater in his home and cut his gas bill in half.

“In 1970 I did the cheap and easy stuff first, like energy efficient lights, and insulation. That lowered my bills. Fifteen years later I could afford better insulation in my attic. Then 20 years later I could afford solar electric. It’s gradual but there are things we can do to start,” said Begley.

Initial high costs deter people from building homes with energy-sipping fixtures, which over the long term pay for themselves, he said. “Really it’s chump change over the life of a home, if you do it right, with passive solar, big insulation and other things.”

Another local builder, Gregg Abel, agrees, saying energy-efficient choices cost 10 to 15% more than conventional methods, but only on certain items, like insulation, windows, and roofing, not the whole house.

“We find it pays itself back. Most clients are willing to give it a go,” he said.

Fischbeck thinks so, too, though the higher costs trim his own profit margins. “But our goal isn’t to squeeze as much money as possible out of every project. Our goal is to innovate,” he said.

Fischbeck thinks the responsibility for green building should be shared. “The city should offer homeowners and builders incentives. The City Council should get behind it,” he said.

Some cities, like Boulder, Colo., offer residents tax breaks for various environmental home features, but Laguna Beach is not one of them.

“Incentives don’t have to be monetary. They could be an expedited plan check, so you go to the front of the line,” Fischbeck suggested.

Abel said some city building policy offer builders a carrot, but not a financial reward. “They are encouraging us to do solar panels and do the right things. There isn’t an incentive for it; you basically get a hand shake and a good job, but they encourage it,” said Abel, who built a Victoria Beach home 10 years ago whose water bills dropped 60% because he installed a watering system with sensors tied to a weather satellite.

“There is a movement across the country. Young architects want to see it done. They want to be responsible,” Abel said. “The old timers like myself tend to get stuck in a rut and some of them just don’t like to change. But luckily I’ve got young guys in my office that remind me its time to change.”