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Rebates for energy efficiency renovation
The US House of Representatives passed a bill that will give homeowners cash for renovating their homes with better insulation and energy-saving doors and windows. The Home Star bill would have US$5.7 billion to pay for improvements over the next two years.
The programme would provide rebates of up to US$3000 for specific energy-efficient improvements in homes. Up to US$8000 would be available for homeowners who conduct comprehensive energy audits of their homes and implement measures that reduce energy use throughout by more than 20%.
The bill is separate from an energy tax credit of up to US$1500 that was part of the 2009 economic stimulus act. The Home Star bill moves to the Senate now.
The National Association of Home Builders supports the initiative as it would increase employment in the remodeling and home improvement sector. Improving the energy efficiency of the existing housing stock would create jobs to the sector, which was seriously affected by the recession.
The programme¡¯s potential impact on the tropical hardwood sector is difficult to estimate, but it is clear that the focus of home improvements would shift towards energy efficiency projects in the coming two years. This may reduce demand for products used in other types of remodeling, including flooring, millwork and outdoor decking.
Green Globes rating system to become an accredited national standard
The Green Globes rating system for commercial buildings, which is administered by the Green Building Initiative, has been approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to become an accredited national standard. The standard will now enter a limited pilot phase, accepting applications beginning 1st May.
From the wood products industry perspective, the standard¡¯s materials and resources section is of interest because it now incorporates life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA considers materials over the course of their entire lives in terms of impact indicators, including embodied energy, solid waste, air and water pollution and global warming potential. Design professionals will now be able to compare alternate design scenarios and building assembly choices by using an LCA software tool. Wood products generally perform well in LCA compared to other building materials in similar building types.
The software tool provides LCA results for hundreds of common building assemblies, including exterior walls, roofs, intermediate floors, interior walls, windows, and columns and beams. The results take into account: resource extraction and processing, product manufacturing, on-site construction of assemblies, all related transportation, maintenance and replacement cycles over an assumed building service life, structural system demolition and transportation to landfill.
More information is available at www.thegbi.org.
Tropical lumber prices
Demand for Ipe and Jatoba increased with the arrival of the spring building season. Availability of Ipe is low and Ipe prices from Brazil have been mounting since November 2009.
Prices for Sapele increased from last period as there is good demand from all markets while supply is difficult. The supply situation is not likely to improve much with mills booked until the end of 2010.
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