| JULY
23, 2007
They’re going to see Renaissance Homes’ Karl Lange coming.
At least that’s the hope of the Lake Oswego-based residential builder Renaissance Homes as it adds a visible symbol to underscore its commitment to environmentally sound use of building materials and building practices at its neighborhoods here and in Bend.
Lange, Renaissance’ manager of building science, recently took possession of a 1979 Mercedes G Wagon which has been painted “environmental” green and converted to run on Bio-diesel. Emblazoned with the “Living Green” logo of Renaissance’ green building program, Lange will use it in his day to day work as well as displaying it at such special events as the Renaissance Homes Concerts on the Lawn in the amphitheater at McMenamin Brothers Edgefield Lodge in Troutdale this summer. The firm is the series’ major sponsor.
“When people see our Living Green Mercedes, we hope they’ll be reminded of how seriously we take our green building program and how hard we’re working to continually improve and upgrade it,” said Renaissance President Randy Sebastian. Sebastian added Lange’s position about a year ago. Renaissance’ new manager of building science was Oregon’s first full time builder-based position dedicated totally to expanding and improving his firm’s green building program.
Sebastian chose to convert the nearly 30-year-old Mercedes because “part of being environmentally responsible is to recycle things. It’s an unusual looking car with enough room to be practical and with an engine that was relatively easy to convert to bio-diesel.
“DEQ certified the G-wagon as having zero CO2 emissions during a recent test...and the exhaust smells like french fries cooking,” said Lange, who oversees Renaissance’ series of green building and energy efficiency systems it has been including in its homes for more than four years.
Besides partnering with the Energy Star and Earth Advantage programs, Living Green incorporates the Rain Screen siding system into all Renaissance Homes built west of the Cascade Mountains.
Developed in Canada, Rain Screen is an exterior wall system that furs out the siding by a half inch to allow a channel of air circulation between the siding and the housewrap. This circulates air throughout the exterior of the house so it can “breathe” better. Any moisture which invades the space also runs through rather than seeping behind house wrap or house sheathing and causing rot or mold.
Home buyers are becoming more “green” conscious said Lange, who feels his firm if perfectly positioned to take advantage of growing environmental consciousness.
Working with contractors and consultants, Lange has begun researching new systems which might prove cost effective for Renaissance and for the buyer.
Lange said he is testing prototypes of new systems “to find and use the best systems available and to make sure they’re cost effective. This isn’t always done which can result in systems which are mismatched to the climate,” he said. “We’re continually looking to upgrade our program and are currently building a prototype home with a wide range of “green” systems in Washougal. We’ll be announcing additional green options over the next few months.”.
Although Lange is co-ordinating and improving his firm’s entire Living Green program, energy efficiency measures are getting an outsized portion of his attention.
“We have a lot of buyers from California where energy efficiency is an economic issue. They come from a state where energy costs are higher. For Oregonians, it is a ‘feel good’ issue, but to many people from out of state, it’s definitely a practical matter,” said Lange.
Besides researching and developing effective new ideas and products, educating Renaissance sales and construction staff and conducting job site inspections, Lange has been working to convince other area builders of the merits of environmentally sound building products and systems.
“We want to continue being a leader in green building and, selfishly, the more contractors using these methods, the more research and innovative products there’ll be and the cheaper they’ll become for us and for the homeowner,” Lange said..
And, he believes, Renaissance’ new Living Green wagon is one way to increase the program’s visibility. Lange wants people to see him coming.
Renaissance Homes
16771 Boones Ferry Road
Lake Oswego, Oregon 97035
Voice: 503-636-5600
Fax: 503-635-8400
Emergency Service: 503-496-0711 or 866-567-6225
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