Spring 2012 Semester Classes at Quinebaug Valley Community College

 I will be teaching two courses at QVCC  this Spring semester. The first is:  Understanding Green Building Certifications,  the second is: LEED Green Associate Core Concepts . The explanation for both of these courses is listed below. If you have any questions about any course please don’t hesitate to contact me by commenting to this blog or by emailing me at: wjanhonen@wsjenterprises.com.

 ATTENTION Brokers and Salespersons, Appraisers and Architects: Both of these courses have been approved for continuing education for the 2011-2013 cycle.

Understanding Green Building Certifications   RE-CEU: 3, APP-CEU: 3, ARCH-CEU: 3

This course will provide any building, real estate, or related industry professional with an understanding of LEED, NAHB & Energy Star building certifications, the measurements used to determine each certification, and how to evaluate “green” benefits and tax incentives. You will learn the difference between “sustainability” and “being green” and receive an overview of conventional building methods versus green building methods and technology.  Successful completion of this course qualifies you to receive (3) Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), as approved by the CT Real Estate Commission for the 2011-2013 Cycle.

William Janhonen is a LEED Accredited Professional, NAHB Certified Green Professional, Certified Property Manager and Licensed Broker in NY, CT, and NC.  As principal of WSJ Enterprises he consults on construction, finance and property management and is a member of the USGBC , CTGBC, HBRA of Fairfield County and NAHB.     Price: $75

Section 1

CRN:  TBD

Session:        4/2/12     Monday, 9:00AM – 12:00PM

Location: Quinebaug Valley Community College

 

 

LEED Green Associate Exam Preparation  RE-CEU: 6, APP-CEU: 18, ARCH-CEU:6

This course provides an overview of sustainable building, including environmental imperatives driving the industry, the paradigm of integrated design, and the role of USGBC and the LEED Rating System. It explains the intent of each LEED Credit Category, identifies best practices, related key terms and concepts, regulation and incentives, and concepts in practice. This course will prepare you for taking the LEED Green Associate Examination and becoming nationally accredited as a LEED Green Associate, the first step in becoming a LEED Accredited Professional. This course consists of (5) segments and all five are necessary to complete the course. Free download of collateral material necessary for this course can be found at this blog. Email:wjanhonen@wsjenterprises.com with any questions.  Price: $425

Section 1

CRN:   TBD

5 Sessions required:       4/11, 4/12, 4/13, 4/16, 4/17                    9:00am-1pm

Location: Quinebaug Valley Community College

 

Spring 2012 Semester Classes at Middlesex Community College

I will be teaching two courses at MxCC this Spring semester. The first is  Understanding Green Basics,  the second is LEED Green Associate Core Concepts. The explanation for each of these courses is listed below. If you have any questions about any course please don’t hesitate to contact me by commenting to this blog or by emailing me at: wjanhonen@wsjenterprises.com.

ATTENTION Brokers and Salespersons, Appraisers and Architects: All of these courses have been approved for the latest real estate continuing education cycle 2011-2013.

 Understanding Green Basics       RE-CEU: 3, APP-CEU: 3, ARCH-CEU:3

This course will provide any building, real estate, or related industry professional with an understanding of LEED, NAHB & Energy Star building certifications, the measurements used to determine each certification, and how to evaluate “green” benefits and tax incentives. You will learn the difference between “sustainability” and “being green” and receive an overview of conventional building methods versus green building methods and technology.  Successful completion of this course qualifies you to receive (3) Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), as approved by the CT Real Estate Commission for the 2011-2013 Cycle.

William Janhonen is a LEED Accredited Professional, NAHB Certified Green Professional, Certified Property Manager and Licensed Broker in NY, CT, and NC.  As principal of WSJ Enterprises he consults on construction, finance and property management and is a member of the USGBC , CTGBC, HBRA of Fairfield County and NAHB.      Price: $75

Section 1

CRN:  TBD

Session:        2/13/12     Monday, 6:00-9:00PM

Location: Middletown Campus, Chapman Hall

CRN: TBD

 LEED Green Associate Core Concepts-Exam Preparation  RE-CEU: 6, APP-CEU: 18, ARCH-CEU: 6 

This course provides an overview of sustainable building, including environmental imperatives driving the industry, the paradigm of integrated design, and the role of USGBC and the LEED Rating System. It explains the intent of each LEED Credit Category, identifies best practices, related key terms and concepts, regulation and incentives, and concepts in practice. This course will prepare you for taking the LEED Green Associate Examination and becoming nationally accredited as a LEED Green Associate, the first step in becoming a LEED Accredited Professional. This course consists of (5) segments and all five are necessary to complete the course. Free download of collateral material necessary for the course can be found at this blog. Email: wjanhonen@wsjenterprises.com with any questions.  Price: $395

Section 1

CRN:   TBD

5 Sessions required:     2/22, 2/24, 2/27, 2/29, 3/2                    5:00 – 9:00PM

Location: Middletown Campus, Chapman Hall

Instructor: W. Janhonen

Where is Green Building Going?

As an instructor for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) I am asked at some point during every training session, “Where is Green building going?” As consumers we are bombarded daily by new green products, energy saving devices, government incentives and articles telling us how we simply must change our ways.

I can best answer the question by giving an analogy. One day in the mid-Sixties a person woke up one day and exclaimed, “Oh my God, cigarettes can kill you!” From that day forward our country has embarked on a campaign to reduce ETS or Environmental Tobacco Smoke. It began as areas in restaurants designated as NO SMOKING. It rapidly expanded to no smoking in public buildings, then to planes, trains and last year Mayor Blumberg announced that smoking would not be allowed in any New York City parks. We have accepted the ETS ban on smoking as a standard, as a mandatory given, to the extent nobody would think to spark one up in a public building.  It only took about 45 years to get this far and not every state is on board.

Green building (by the way I dislike the term immensely and would prefer it be called common sense building, but that would be another article) in comparison to ETS is at the point of nearing no smoking in public buildings. We all know about sustainable building to differing degrees and have heard about solar power and passive solar heating and geothermal but may not understand it. Recycling has been either mandated or made an option to the majority of us. Building certifications by such groups as LEED, NAHB (National Association of Home Builders), Energy Star, Green Globe and as many as 90 other certifications vie for significance. The U.S. Green Building Council projects $60 Billion being spent on Green building in 2010 and approximately $240 Billon on renovation projects with a projected $430 Billion spent on remodeling and replacement by 2020. NAHB estimates that 10-12% of new homes will be “Green” (there’s that word again) by the end of 2010.

In McGraw Hill’s, Greening of Corporate America 2007 Report, they estimate by 2010, 80% of Corporate America is expected to be engaged in green at least 16% of the time and 20% engaged 60% of the time. With building construction and use consuming 40% of our primary energy use*, 72% of our electrical consumption* and 13.6% of our water consumption** the need for our attention and participation is becoming obvious.

We are a country of largesse. We have everything and what we don’t have we historically have gone out and taken it. We don’t worry about climate change or global warming because it didn’t come up while we showered this morning and had breakfast and drove our car to work. Environmental problems aren’t something we must deal with, until gasoline became $3.00 per gallon and we decide enough is enough.

You need to educate to create the incentive for green building. If people don’t understand it they aren’t going to do it. Too many people see green building as a premium, an extra, an added cost that won’t bring any payback, is too difficult or takes too much time or effort. The definition of intelligence is behavior modified by experience. We all need to experience the benefits of green building and sustainable practices before we will start acting more intelligently in our daily lives. Information isn’t enough, if it were, we would never see another person smoking.

So, to answer the question, where is green building going? I have to tell you about a vendor from Finland I met at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas. He had a method of creating pressure treated wood without any chemicals. I asked him if this process he had been doing for 80 years in Finland was part of their green building program. He looked at me with a confused expression and said, “Green building, what’s green building? In Finland we just call it “building”.” We need to go to the point where we just call it “building”.

Bibliography

 *EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2008

**US Geological Survey 2000 data

Spring 2012 Semester Courses at Norwalk Community College

ATTENTION Brokers and Salespersons, Appraisers and Architects: All three courses have been approved for continuing education for the 2011-2013 cycle.

I will be teaching three courses at NCC this Spring semester. The first is:  Understanding Green Building Certifications,  the second is: LEED Green Associate Core Concepts and the third is: Understanding a Sustainable Home. The explanation for each of these courses is listed below. If you have any questions about any course please don’t hesitate to contact me by commenting to this blog or by emailing me at: wjanhonen@wsjenterprises.com.

Understanding Green Building Certifications  RE- CEU: 3, APP-CEU:3, ARCH-:3

This course will provide any building, real estate or related industry professional, or any interested party, with an understanding of LEED, NAHB & EnergyStar building certifications, the measurements used to determine each certification, green washing,  how to evaluate green benefits, tax incentives and green insurance. You will learn the difference between “being green” and sustainability and the difference between conventional and green building methods. This is a “green basics” course and anyone will benefit by getting a better understanding of the information about sustainable living bombarding us daily.

CRN: TBD        One Session              Location: NCC  campus       Fee: $35.00

Saturday March 10, 2012                            Time: 9:00am -12:00pm

(contact Norwalk Community College at 203-857-7237 to register or 203-857-7080 for questions

or go to: www.ncc.commnet.edu and click on  Extended Studies from the top menu bar for all three courses)

LEED Green Associate Core Concepts   RE-CEU:6, APP-CEU: 18, ARCH-CEU: 6

This course provides an overview of sustainable building, including environmental imperatives driving the industry, the paradigm of integrated design, and the role of USGBC and the LEED Rating System. It explains the intent of each LEED Credit Category, identifying best practices, related key terms and concepts, regulation and incentives, and concepts in practice. This course will prepare you for taking the LEED Green Associate Examination and becoming nationally accredited as a LEED Green Associate, the first step in becoming a LEED Accredited Professional.

CRN TBD      5 sessions                                                           Norwalk  campus, RM  TBD

Time: 9:00am to 1:00pm               Dates:  3/12, 3/14, 3/16, 3/19, 3/21                 Cost: $395.00

This course consists of (5) five segments.  A list of collateral material is available for free download to students at this blog. You should review the two websites attached for more information concerning LEED accreditation: www.gbci.org and www.usgbc.org . This course will qualify you to sit for the LEED Green Associate exam.

Course segment schedule:

Segment One     Overview of LEED, USGBC, GBCI  and Sustainable Sites

Segment Two     Water Efficiency and Materials & Resources

Segment Three    Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation in Design

Segment Four    Energy and Atmosphere

Segment Five     LEED App. process, Synergy,  Green Building Benefits

Understanding a Sustainable Home   RE-CEU: 6, APP-CEU: 12, ARCH-CEU: 6 

This course is designed to explain the elements that comprise a sustainable home. This course explains how “Green Homes” incorporate multiple components that when integrated, make the entire building energy-efficient, resource efficient and minimizes environmental impact. Categories include: Energy, Water, Materials and Resources, Indoor Air Quality, Siting the home and landscaping, Green products,  Understanding Green Building Certifications: LEED, NAHB and EnergyStar.  Key components of a green home will be covered in each segment. These will include methods and products that relate to each category. Guest lecturers may be included for their expertise including Solar thermal heating, Geothermal heating & cooling, Landscaping and Water efficiency. Builders, architects, home owners, appraisers, brokers and salespeople, interior designers and any person with the desire to become familiar with the rapidly growing area of green homes would benefit from this course. Collateral material will be provided.

CRN TBD     3 Sessions   Time:  9am-1pm

Norwalk Campus, Room TBD

Dates:  3/7, 3/8, 3,9

Fee: $175

Ring’s End Education Center Offers Sustainable Education Courses

Contact www.ringsend.com or call 203-814-3024, Tony Calistro for information or to register for all courses being offered.

Ring’s End Eduction Center is located at: 160 Avon Street, Stratford, CT  06615

LEED Green Associate Core Concepts-Exam Preparation

SEE LINK: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=cjhtnxcab&oeidk=a07e5i2vfwz23f0f921&oseq=

This course provides an overview of sustainable building, including environmental imperatives driving the industry, the paradigm of integrated design, and the role of USGBC and the LEED Rating System. It explains the intent of each LEED Credit Category, identifying best practices, related key terms and concepts, regulation and incentives, and concepts in practice. This course will prepare and qualify you for taking the LEED Green Associate Examination to acheive national accreditation as a LEED Green Associate, the first step in becoming a LEED Accredited Professional.

A free download of material is available to all attendees, see blog (www.wsjenterprises.wordpress.com)  for download information. Lunch will be provided along with  morning coffee and rolls.

Classes will be held in five mandatory segments on the following dates:

 3/13, 3/15, 3/20, 3/22, 3/23,     Time: 9am-1pm       Cost: $395

Segment One: Overview of LEED, USGBC, GBCI & Sustainable Sites

Segment Two: Water Efficiency and Materials & Resources

Segment Three: Indoor Environmental Quality

Segment Four: Energy and Atmosphere

Segment Five: LEED Application Process, Synergy, Integration of Green Building and Benefits

Business Management forBuilding Professionals (NAHB course)

Learn the management skills that give industry leaders the edge. This course will give you a solid
foundation in those best business practices so valuable to smaller businesses: planning, organizing,staffing/directing and controlling. By using case studies and sample forms, your instructors give you practical and applicable tools for management success. As a graduate of this course, you will be able to:

• Discuss common business challenges and learn practical tips and tools to overcome them
• Explain the three basic functional areas within a company
• List the five main tools used to improve a business
• Apply each of the five Ps to the three functional areas of the business
• Identify methods of recruiting, interviewing, training, and retaining quality personnel
• Apply the key measures of business performance to your own business

Designations: CAPS, CGA, CGB, MCSP, CGP

1 -DAY
COU RS E   March 26, 2012                8 : 3 0 AM – 5 : 0 0 PM  

Ring’s End Educational Resource Center

160 Avon Street    Stratford, CT        (203) 814-3014

REGISTRATION Contact Information:

Christina McFarland   T: 203-335-7008     F: 203-335-7141

hbra@buildfairfieldcounty.com
• www.buildfairfieldcounty.com

 

 

 

 Green Building for Buidling Professionals (NAHB course)

Learn how green homes provide buyers with lowerenergy costs and higher value. This 2-day course for building professionals discusses strategies for incorporating green building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction. You will learn how green homes provide buyers lower maintenance, better indoor air quality, and better long-term value. Techniques are also discussed for competitively differentiating your home products with increased indoor environmental quality as well as energy and resource efficiency. As a graduate of this course, you will be able to:

•  Locate and design green building development sites
• Control moisture and durability for each component of the building envelope effectively
•  Employ resource-efficient materials to achieve comfortable, safe and sustainable buildings
• Strategize ways to meet, exceed, and verify green building energy efficiency requirements
• Implement indoor and outdoor water conservation practices
• Achieve indoor air quality
• Consider green building objectives in a remodeling project
• Explain a homeowner’s and builder’s role in effective operation and maintenance of a green home
• Apply successful business management, marketing and sales strategies to sell green

Designations: CAPS, CGA, CGB, MCSP, CGP

When: March 5 and 6, 2012  from 8:30 am to 5:00pm

 REGISTRATION Contact Information:

Christina McFarland  T: 203-335-7008   F:203-335-7141

E/M:hbra@buildfairfieldcounty.com  

 www.buildfairfieldcounty.com

 

Understanding

Green Building Certifications

SEE LINK: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=cjhtnxcab&oeidk=a07e5i3256q5630f295&oseq=a025wogd0kxii3

This course will provide any HOMEOWNER, building, real estate, or related industry professional with an understanding of LEED, NAHB & Energy Star building certifications, the measurements used to determine each certification, and how to evaluate “green” benefits and tax incentives. You will learn the difference between “sustainability” and “being green” and receive an overview of conventional building methods versus green building methods and technology. 

 

Contact:

Tony Calistro
Ring’s End, Inc.
tony_calistro@ringsend.com
203-814-3024

When: Tuesday Feb. 28, 2012  9:00 AM to 12:00 PM 

LEED Green Associate Collateral material list-free downloads

For students taking the LEED Green Associate course at Norwalk Community College, Middlesex Community College, Greenwich Garden Education Center, Quinebaug Valley Community College or at the Ring’s End Education Center a list of links to download collateral material for the course is attached.

 You have two options:

Option One: Go to Fedex Office Print & Ship Center (Kinko’s), 777 Connecticut Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854 Phone  number: 203-299-1616,  and request the collateral material under the name: William Janhonen. They can print out the pages of collateral material, double-sided and hole punched for you. Individuals attending outside the Norwalk/Fairfield County can contact the Kinko’s listed above to have the downloaded materials emailed to a Fedex/Kinko’s nearest to you.

Option Two: You can download the information direct from the websites and print out the pages yourself.

LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations (101 pages):

http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=7283

LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations checklist (1 page):

http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=5719

LEED Green Associate Handbook (29 pages):

http://www.gbci.org/Libraries/Candidate_Handbooks/LEED_Green_Associate_Candidate_Handbook.sflb.ashx

Minimum Program Requirements (6 pages) :   http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6715

LEED Green Associate Study Guide-Studio 4  (252 pages)

LEED Green Associate Study Guide

Any questions can be sent by commenting to this blog or by contacting me at: wjanhonen@wsjenterprises.com .

Mortgage rescue and foreclosure solution plan

In light of the recent announcement of Bank of America and President Obama to reduce principal on mortgage debt I thought I would re-publish my original blog from 2008 concerning this matter. It is also significant that I sent this open letter to the heads of the five major lenders in 2008 as well.

November 6, 2008

Re: mortgage rescue plan and foreclosure solution

Dear Lending Institutions;

In the recent election voters were polled prior to voting and asked what character qualities were first and foremost in determining their elected representatives. The top two choices were honesty and leadership. Those top two characteristics were named in another poll as most lacking in our current leaders. In the attached mortgage rescue plan a very simple process used very often in municipal loans can solve the mortgage crisis, bring an end to the foreclosure dilemma, and return trust to our banking institutions by providing honesty and leadership.

The outline of the plan is to announce publicly that all institutional home loans will be cut by a minimum of 10% immediately and the current payments will be recast reflecting the new principal. The percentage reduction amount will be put into a five-year subsidy or “set aside” mortgage. The benefit to homeowners will be stated in the subsidy mortgage that if the mortgagor makes every payment on the reduced principal first mortgage on time and without fail, each month for five years, then the subsidy mortgage will be forgiven in full.

This will create an incentive to reward good behavior instead of punishing bad behavior.
Liquidity to the bank will increase immediately and dramatically because all loans will be on time and in full. The lower payments reflected in the lowered principal will allow mortgagors previously relegated to the ranks of foreclosure to stay solvent and in their own home. This will promote honesty because the lower market value reflected in today’s home values is at least 10%, so by reducing the principal the bank is merely reflecting the actual market valuation on it’s secured collateral.

Imagine being the first lender to announce on public television to 300 million Americans a plan to cut it’s mortgage base because it wants to lead the way out of the crisis and promote an honest and value driven solution to homeowners problems. The public relations generated by the good will of the act will demand that other lenders follow suit.
And even if they didn’t, the financial direction of your institution will be secured by future Depositors.

The mechanics of the program are very simple since the existing loans could be modified internally without need for closings or title searches or additional fees. The subsidy mortgages could be handled individually with a last owner search and new note/mortgage combination recorded in bulk.

What about owners who sell their home prior to the 5 years? Both liens exist as recorded debts and become due. For each full year an individual has paid their mortgage payments on time they get one year off of the subsidy mortgage. If someone sells their house after year 3 is over they owe the balance on the principal loan and two-fifths of the remaining 5 year subsidy loan to be paid from proceeds at closing.

What about assignments of mortgage? Normally assignments of home loans don’t occur, but if they did, the assumption would require the hypothecation of both debts to the new lender.

What would be the result of an additional default by the borrower? Both the principal loan and the subsidy loan would cross default and subsequently become due and payable and a regular foreclosure would occur.

What about refinancing? Again, the debts are of record and they would reflect the loan to value debt underwritten by either the existing bank or any new lender.

The mechanics can be refined and the percentages can be adjusted to reflect actual reductions necessary to allow borrower’s to recast their payments depending on the reduction in market value by area or region. The principal is sound and often the simplest solutions are the best. I am a regular working guy who happens to have worked in the title insurance, mortgage, property management/development business for decades and I see the need for someone to take the leadership role with honesty and integrity to solve this ever-widening crisis. Imagine it could be you.

Sincerely,

William S. Janhonen

Changing Green Building to Common Sense Building

USGBC 2008 Incentive Award winner for education was Ying Hua of Cornell University. My lecture to her class on “Understanding Green Building  Certifications” last week went very well and I was amazed at how bright her students were and how eager they are to learn. I was welcomed warmly and can’t wait to continue with the next lecture.

During our class discussion of the current state of green building and the influx of tax incentives, both for green education and buildings, it has become apparent that green building really should be called common sense building.  If the Cash for Clunkers program was such a success by giving away $4500 for you to spend $18,000 on a new car, imagine the success a program to give you a check for $1200 per year by spending $8000 on a new high-efficiency furnace would produce.  Throw out that old boiler and water heater both and replace them with a new boiler and hot water storage only tank and save $100.00 per month in lower heating costs. That’s $1200 per year for approximately the next 22 years. Add new windows, insulation, sealing gaps and cracks in foundations and the building envelope and we start talking big money. And since money talks it becomes common sense to do those things that will not only save you money, but allow you to be more sustainable at the same time.

The key phrase is;  You need to educate to create the incentive for green building! If people don’t understand it they aren’t going to do it. Too many people see green building as a premium, an extra, an added cost that won’t bring any payback, is too difficult, takes too much time and effort. The definition of intelligence is behavior modified by experience. We all need to experience the benefits before we will start to act more intelligently in our sustainable practices.

I welcome my recent LEED Green Associate course graduates to spread the word on green building benefits. The next semester class begins soon.