By J. FERGUSON
Arizona Daily Sun
http://www.azdailysun.com/
Sun Staff Reporter
Thursday, December 06, 2007

Complying with the city's energy efficiency standards to build a home will cost an additional $1,050 next year, far less than the $15,000 once feared by the building community.

The Flagstaff City Council has settled on a broad outline of the 2006 international energy conservation codes but has removed a costly section related to dual plumbing systems.

The remaining mandatory items, including the use of compact fluorescent lights, better wall insulation, programmable thermostats and jacketed water heaters, would cost about $1,050 per home, said Ed Larsen, the city's chief building official.

Vice Mayor Scott Overton, a builder himself, suggested Larsen's figures were on the conservative side and will likely cost homeowners more. He could not to suggest an alternate figure following Tuesday's council meeting.

Overton said he was happy that the amount is far less than the $15,000 he once suggested.

Which isn't to say Overton was satisfied with the heavily negotiated energy codes.

"I still think that there are items in the code that are dictating how people should live," Overton said.

He said he would have preferred to see the codes be voluntary, with incentives put in place to encourage use of energy-efficiency devices.

'GOOD FIRST STEP'

Councilmember Al White said the compromised energy code was a good first step, despite the removal of codes mandating the installation of a dual plumbing system to redirect gray water for irrigation. "It is a a step in the right direction," said White. "But we could do a lot more, we haven't even addressed (the insulation of) windows."

But White said the estimated $650 million cost of a pipeline to pump water from Lake Powell to Flagstaff should make mandatory dual plumbing systems, thought to cost up to $3,000 per household, an easy choice.

How to effectively manage gray water has dominated most of the council discussions on energy efficiency standards.

Councilmembers have argued over every angle of the issue, from the added cost to affordable housing to whether it was necessary in light of city's encouragement to use xeriscaping on local lawns. For the moment, the council has been instructed to report back on gray water systems in 30 to 60 days after meeting community groups, primarily independent builders and the Northern Arizona Building Association. It is unclear when the requirements for gray water systems would be put into place if the council mandates their use this spring.

Overton says at least one of the new rules, a limit of one traditional fireplaces, could become a "sleeper issue" for the community.

He says that the limitation makes sense for an average-sized home, but in a large, 5,000-square-foot home, a home buyer should have the option of having more than one.

The restriction only applies to wood-burning fireplaces, which are inefficient compared to their gas-burning cousins. No restrictions exist on the number of gas-burning fireplaces.

J. Ferguson can be reached at 556-2253 or jferguson@azdailysun.com.

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