Each year, the National Fire Protection Association issues new studies and research on fire safety. In the United States, home structure fires are the leading cause of fire related injuries and deaths.

As I indicated in my last post, the statistical trends are promising. In the U.S., we are seeing fewer and fewer incidents. Still, the NFPA estimates that there were over 370,000 home structure fires in the U.S., in 2011.

Based on the most current data, here are some of the leading categories/causes of home fires. I've listed them in order of significance:

        Cooking
        Smoking
        Heating
        Electrical
        Clothes Dryer
        Candles

Cooking accounts for the largest percentage of home structure fires. It happens most often with an unattended appliance (we walk outside to do something, or forget to turn off the stovetop). Frying poses the greatest risk, since most cooking oils reach an auto ignition temperature that is easily achieved on a stovetop.

Smoking doesn't cause as many fires, but it is the LEADING cause of fatalities.

Heating equipment is the next biggest cause of home structure fires---even though our heating season only accounts for a portion of the calendar year. We have a lot of different heating technologies, so this is a broad category; however, chimney and space heater fires are the leading causes within this category.

The electrical fire is another broad category. It includes wiring (insulation failures), overloaded circuits, equipment malfunctions, and placing combustible objects too close to lighting fixtures.

Most people don't think of a clothes dryer as a fire hazard, but the statistics say otherwise. These appliances generate a lot of heat in a small package.

Candles? Yep. Although candles might provide ambiance or help us through a power outage, they are still listed as a leading cause in home fires.

Here are ten things you can do to minimize your risk:

1) Always tend stovetops when in operation. Always!

2) Monitor cooking temperatures closely. Do not overheat cookware, especially those containing oil or other combustible liquids.

3) Avoid wearing loose clothing while cooking, especially on a gas range.

4) If you smoke, then mitigate the risk by following these sensible guidelines.

5) If you burn wood, make sure you clean and inspect your chimney every year!

6) If you use space heaters, keep combustible materials away from hot surfaces (three feet is a good guideline).

7) Inspect electrical cords for damage, repair if necessary.

8) Do not overload electrical circuits (by plugging too many appliances into the same outlet, or same group of outlets).

9) Inspect and clean your clothes dryer exhaust pipe regularly.

10) Burn candles away from combustible materials, and only when tended.

These do not apply to everyone (i.e. some people do not smoke, or operate a space heater). I'll conclude with three actions that EVERYONE should take:

1) Develop an escape plan. This is especially important for the young or the elderly. It is extremely important for multi-level buildings.

2) Purchase at least one fire extinguisher. New homes come equipped with a fire extinguisher (this is verified during the final inspection process), but this is not the case for existing homes. Learn how to use the extinguisher. Locate it close to the kitchen or within a reasonable distance of your space heater.

3) Ensure your fire / smoke detectors are working properly.

Finally, there is no subsitute for awareness and diligence. As we enter the coldest months of the year, make sure you are aware of the dangers that the heating season poses to you and your family.

If you reach back to high school, most of you probably remember bits and pieces of Greek mythology. Although the culture that gave us these myths passed away over two thousand years ago, the stories and characters are still part of our everyday lives, our everyday language. Sometimes we aren't even aware of the fact.

To illustrate this point, let's look at the famed Nike. She was the goddess of speed and victory. Today her character is symbolized by the trademarked Nike "Swoosh," which is found on footwear and athletic equipment the world around. Her wings decorate the hood on Rolls-Royce automobiles. She was fast and fleet. Apparently, that's how we like our sneakers and our automobiles!

Words like panic, titanium, and aphrodisiac come from the Greek myths. Do you have the Midas touch, an Achilles heel, or Herculean strength? These are all clichés rooted in Greek mythology. We say that a Trojan Horse has infected our hard drive. We use Ajax™ brand soap and chew on Trident® brand gum. It is pandemic  (yet another English word that has its roots in the Greek language).

Lesser known is the Titan named Prometheus. Some stories say that he formed man out of clay. But the most well known story is that he stole fire from Mount Olympus, and gave it as a gift to the human race. As punishment, Zeus chained him to a rocky cliff in the Caucus mountains, where an eagle tore at his liver for years on end.
 
So where would the human race be without fire? Without combustion?
 
We’ve used fire to heat our homes and cook our food for thousands of years. Fire gave us the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Industrial Revolution. Our ability to control fire literally defines the human race---no other species uses fire. And, our ability to harness and efficiently use fire also defines our modern civilization, our level of technological advancement.

At a simple level, we burn wood in a campfire, or a fireplace. In much of the world, this is commonplace. At a more sophisticated level, we burn natural gas or propane to heat our homes or provide hot water for bathing. Or we travel our world using  internal combustion engines---in automobiles and airplanes.
 
The human race has been wonderfully creative in controlling fire. And yet, fire is also a frightening and destructive force. It comes back to bite us, like the eagle that tore at Prometheus's liver. In recent news, you probably heard about natural gas explosions in Massachusetts and West Virginia. Or the garment factory fire in Bangladesh (that fire claimed 112 lives). If you live in Augusta County, you will recall the sad fate of 11-year-old Dustyn Fitzgerald of Dooms, VA; he died in a home fire this past September, despite a valiant effort by the local fire-rescue department.

On a personal level, home fires have taken a toll on my extended family. We’ve had several close calls---and one tragedy. If you’ve ever been involved in one, you know that it is impossible to describe the feeling of panic you experience in response to a home fire.

The National Fire Protection Association estimates that in the U.S., there were 370,000 home structure fires in 2011, resulting in 2,520 deaths and 13,910 injuries. That is a scary statistic. And it doesn’t even include deaths associated with carbon monoxide poisoning---a byproduct of combustion.

If there is some wisdom to be gained in the myth of Prometheus, it is this: we have to respect fire. We have to respect both its creative potential AND its awesome destructive capabilities.
 
I’ll try to end this blog on a positive note. The good news is that our homes are becoming safer; we are fighting fewer fires and losing fewer lives. Building safety codes ARE reducing risk. In the next blog, I will try to address fire safety, how we can live in a safer home, how we can operate them in a safer manner.

The pace of change in electronic devices is astounding.

As an example, in a little over a hundred years, we went from the telegraph---the standard method for long distance communication---to the cellular phone.

And that pace of change is only accelerating.

In 1992, Motorola came out with the Bag Phone, a premier product that gave users nearly three hours of talk time. It weighed ten pounds and served a single purpose. Fast forward to 2012. Today we have the iPhone 5. It weights a mere 3.95 ounces and can perform a dizzying array of functions for up to eight hours.

If only we could upgrade our houses like we upgrade our cell phones . . .

Most people have the financial ability to upgrade their phone every year or two, and in some cases they have to upgrade (planned obsolescence). But houses? Not so much. Who can afford a $100,000 gut rehab? It costs too much and takes too long. It just doesn't happen very often.

If you look at housing over the last century, there has been a sea change in technology there too. Yet, in many ways, we're still building houses the same way we did in 1912. We've moved from coal furnaces in the basement to high efficiency natural gas models . . . but chances are the furnace is still sitting in the basement of your new house.

Albert, Righter, & Tittmann Architects designed a passive house project for the Charlotte, VT Habitat for Humanity. They also produced a great graphic that shows the evolution of housing. It clearly illustrates what was, what is, and what could be . . .

Forgive me, but that almost sounds like Dicken's warning to Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol. I think that incessant holiday music is takiing effect!

These days, you won't find anybody carrying around a Motorola Bag Phone, but most people are still living in 19th and 20th century houses---and in many cases, we're still building them as if nothing has changed.

If you study the drawing of the 21st century house, you will see that it is the energy efficient house. The technologically advanced house. Yet in many ways, it is the simple house.

It's airtight and ventilated with heat recovery. It has more insulation, fewer bells and whistles. It accepts the sun in the winter and rejects it in the summer. It uses small devices for heating and cooling, devices that cost little to purchase and even less to operate.

Upgrading a house to meet today's energy efficiency standards is costly and difficult. For most, it only makes sense when the structure is sound, but all of the exterior finishes are failing.

But if you are building a new house, why go back to the 20th century?
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Happy Holidays to you and yours!

In the last post, I talked about cost parity and Passive House.

In this post, I'll take it out of the theoretical world, provide a clear example.

We moved into our Passive Bauernhaus in June 2012, but didn't get our first full month electric bill until July. Since then, the electric bill for our Passive Bauernhaus has averaged 663 kWh/month or $81.04/month. This total includes the typical $25 - $30 service charge.

Since it is an all-electric house, we only pay one bill. There's no propane, natural gas, or firewood. Electricity covers all of our loads:

    Well water (pumping)
    Domestic Hot Water
    Heating / Cooling
    Ventilation
    Lighting
    Appliance Loads
    Plug Loads (computers, TV, alarm clock, coffee maker, etc.)

In the previous year, we lived in a Fishersville area townhouse. The townhouse was built to existing codes, circa 2006. In terms of usable space, it was very similiar to the Passive Bauernhaus---4 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. It was a multi-family development, so we were sandwiched between two other units of the same size. It used propane for heating, domestic hot water, and the clothes dryer. And, electricity, of course.

I recently dug into our townhouse financial records to look at our utility bill history. After tallying the numbers, our average monthly townhouse bill came to $243.83 (for a full calendar year). The lowest month came to $122.91; the highest jumped to $429.87.

We haven't lived through a full calendar year in the Passive Bauernhaus, so it may be a little premature to call this one . . . but I can't resist. I say that because we're tracking right in-line with the PHPP energy modeling software.

Here's the bottom line: we're saving > $150 / month.

It's not earth shaking, but it's not too shabby either. It becomes significant when you project this over a typical 30 year mortgage.

And . . . it provides the margin that allows a Passive House to reach cost parity.