ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND BUILDING GREEN

Background

Gary Reid has been concerned and involved in developing energy efficiency codes since 1972.

Gary Reid chaired a committee that developed the first energy efficiency code in the United States.  This committee was under the sponsorship of the Home Building Association of Oregon.  This code became the State of Oregon code and eventually the National UBC (Uniform Building Code) energy code. 

Gary Reid was appointed to the State of Oregon Energy Conservation Board and participated for several years.

Gary Reid participated in all of the available projects for energy conservation and solar energy.  Gary Reid received a major grant to study energy conservation which was used to bring the best experts together to examine possible innovative ideas for energy.

The years between 1970 and 1980 were periods of exploring active and passive solar in residential construction.  In the late 1970s, Gary Reid built a passive solar heating and active solar hot water heating home of 1187sf, 3 bedroom/2 bath home as part of a design competition.  It sold in the first hour of the public open house.

In 1980, Gary Reid built a passive solar and energy house for the 1980 Street of Dreams that was a showcase of ideas with the most advanced technology available in the housing industry.  "You can conserve energy and still have good design," contends Reid.  Among the energy devices he has included in the plan are a passive solar south-facing living room, skylights that open to allow for circulation, and double insulated glass.  By selecting a sloped corner lot, Gary Reid was able to bury the back of the house to create a pleasant design bringing the ground level with the kitchen window while allowing the garden at eye level.  The front of the house is almost entirely glass.  Reid emphasizes that every piece of glass to the south is a heat gain in every month. 

In 1985 Gary Reid Homes was commissioned by the American Wood Council to build a demonstration house to feature wood and energy-conserving features.  The foundation was made of pressure-treated wood, and wood windows were used throughout.  The walls were 2x6 to allow extra insulation with a 1" of foam R5  sheathing on the exterior under the lap cedar siding.  The framing was "advanced" framing allowing sheet rock to run behind the partition walls as one of the features.  A special system called "air-tight drywall" using foam tape to seal the house to reduce the air exchanges per hour was employed.  The test results were below 0.5 air changes per hour.   An air-to-air heat exchanger was used to provide adequate ventilation with a minimum of heat loss.  A "russian" style masonry fireplace with cast iron circulation design was used to retain and distribute heat. Passive solar gain was stored in the concrete with ceramic tile floors in some south-facing rooms.  The deck design and trellis were featured in Sunset magazine. 

Gary Reid recently chaired the Built Green committee for the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County during the development of the Built Green Certification process.