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Home Energy Magazine Online November/December 1993
TRENDS IN ENERGY
Trends in Energy is a bulletin of residential energy
conservation issues. It covers items ranging from the latest policy issues to
the newest energy technologies. If you have items that would be of interest,
please send them to: Trends Department, Home Energy, 2124 Kittredge St.,
No. 95, Berkeley, CA 94704.
Energy Efficiency and the Floods
Massive flooding in the Midwest devastated lives and property this
summer, and in September with the winter heating season fast approaching there
was much confusion about how the recovery might occur and what role
energy-efficiency would play in reconstruction. Damage, expected to exceed a
total of $10 billion in nine states, is still being assessed. One estimate put
the number of homes damaged at nearly 85,000. The extent of the damage will
force many homes to be demolished.
There could be more property relocations from the deluge than from any flood in
the nation's history. Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy indicated that the
federal government might simply buy the most severely flood-damaged properties,
turning the land into parks instead of repairing the levies. Vice President Al
Gore made similar suggestions.
Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said it would enforce
flood plain zoning, which forbids repairs to buildings that have sustained
damage exceeding half their value, unless they're made "flood-proof." Since
flood-proofing is prohibitively expensive and may not offer enough protection
in a major flood anyway, people may choose to move. However, federal flood
insurance and disaster assistance does not generally support relocation even if
it's the best economic option. Residents are caught in a bind. In the most
devastated communities, rebuilding has been on hold while property owners
decide whether to relocate or fix their properties. Federal funds can only be
used to restore buildings to pre-disaster status, so energy-efficient
improvements are not really an option.
Rebuilding will be a daunting task. Insulation was soaked, doors and windows
lost, furnaces, water heaters and electric wiring submerged for weeks.
Refrigerators were inoperative. There were unanswered questions about whether
furnaces and water heaters--under water for weeks--could be repaired. There
were questions about whether flooded homes could be reinsulated.
Reinsulating some homes may not be feasible because of the potential for
moisture problems.
Past experience has shown that once wet, insulation stays wet and rots studs.
Probably the only solution is to remove and replace the wet stuff. Sheetrock
walls may still be intact, but insulation acts like a sponge, sucking the water
up into the walls. Drywall or plaster walls and ceilings need to be replaced.
Many homes will be torn down to the frames. Siding will be replaced too. New
techniques need to be developed.
A procedure used in Winnipeg where basements were flooded by sewer backups
illustrates the complexity of the problem. First, a utility knife is used to
cut 1/2 in. into the sheetrock, horizontally an inch or so above the water
line. Next, the lower sheetrock is removed and the vapor barrier folded up out
of the way. Insulation batts are cut, removed, and replaced. (Studs must be
allowed to dry.) Finally, the vapor barrier is folded and new sheetrock cut
to fit.
While most building materials and appliances are not designed to be immersed,
one TV repairperson claimed to have saved flooded appliances by simply rinsing
them with fresh water and drying thoroughly. Rinsing consists of two
stages (city water to get out the crud, then deionized water to get out the
city water). Drying could be facilitated by putting them in a well-heated space
with high air movement rates. Permanently-installed appliances (for instance,
furnaces, many dishwashers, and water heaters) may be trickier, especially to
get dry, though portable drying equipment could possibly be used. Appliances
insulated with fiberglass will be difficult, if not impossible, to fix without
removing the insulation. (The labor may not be worth it, especially with old
inefficient appliances.)
However, The Gas Appliances Manufacturer's Association (GAMA) advises that all
plumbing, heating and cooling appliances and systems that have been immersed in
water are potentially unsafe and must be replaced, whether the
appliance's energy source is gas or electricity! Water corrodes critical parts.
Silt, sediment and corrosion can destroy valves and controls, resulting in
inefficient combustion leaks, improper venting and a buildup of deadly carbon
monoxide. In the case of water heaters, moisture trapped in the insulation can
corrode the tank and the shell. Floodwater sediment can work its way into the
relief valve, causing it to freeze shut or leak continuously.
For now the emphasis is on the cleanup. Homes have buckled foundations, muddy
landscapes smell like rotting garbage and trailer parks have been transformed
into swamplands. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has allowed crews to use
Weatherization Assistance Program funds to dispose of trash and debris, help
with sandbagging, and so forth. In counties where crews are reweatherizing
flood-damaged homes, there are new challenges. One weatherization crew was
removing wet insulation from the walls of a home and found poisonous water
snakes!
Representatives from state energy offices, weatherization agencies and federal
agencies gathered at DOE's Kansas City office to discuss reconstruction and
energy efficiency. There are a number of research issues that must be solved
according to William S. Becker, of DOE's office of energy-efficiency and
renewable energy. Becker is spearheading a DOE task force which is working to
incorporate energy efficiency into the rebuilding effort. Separately, a group
called Taskforce to Rebuild Using Energy Efficiency (TREE) has formed, also to
look at incorporating energy efficiency into the flood-zone rebuilding
effort.
One of many goals is to encourage agencies such as FEMA, which is responsible
for short-term relief efforts, to coordinate better with agencies like the
Small Business Administration, the long-term recovery agency. (SBA makes direct
loans to people who have suffered uninsured property losses.) "We're trying to
capture whatever lessons we can from this flood, so that we can respond more
intelligently and more quickly next time," said Becker. "The immediate concern
is that in 45 days or so, these families will face another heating season."
In some cases entire towns may have to relocate and there will be opportunities
do it energy efficiently. One community that serves as an example is Soldier's
Grove,Wisconsin, flooded in 1978. Soldier's Grove relocated its entire business
district and a dozen homes to higher ground half a mile away from its original
location--making itself a model of creative energy planning in the process.
Soldier's Grove passed the nation's first ordinance requiring new commercial
structures to use solar energy to meet at least half of their heating energy
needs and passed building energy performance standards twice as stringent as
required by state law at the time.
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