“Sustainability Series” Promotes Practical Green Ideas to Consumers

The popular “Sustainability Series” features HGTV star Dave Marrs, who promotes beautiful renovations and smart green concepts. Here is what he sees happening with consumers and sustainability.

HGTV Personalities Dave and Jenny Marrs are a husband-wife duo who turn fixer-uppers into fabulous homes, as highlighted on the show "Fixer to Fabulous." Consumers love the before-and-after design concepts and the opportunity to glean new fixer-upper ideas for their own homes. 

Dave Marrs decided to show viewers equally important sustainability ideas to improve the comfort and efficiency of their homes. In a partnership with Daikin, Marrs now teaches consumers how to create homes that are energy efficient, smartly designed, and that save them money on their utilities. 

Marrs emphasizes big and small sustainable initiatives and believes consumers can take baby steps toward sustainability. Smart thermostats are an easy first-step to smart-home living.

“When we started working with Daikin to create the “Sustainability Series” video program, we approached it as a way to bring greener energy to homes responsibly,” Marrs says. “We realize that 40-60% of energy use in a home is heating and cooling the house and water, so we want to address that, but let’s also talk to consumers about sustainability in a broad sense that everyone can relate to.” 

About a quarter of “Sustainability Series” addresses sponsor Daikin’s solutions for HVAC, slow walking viewers into looking at sustainable solutions as part of a whole. “We make sustainability interesting by also including other information. We toured a brewery that leaves no waste behind and walked through a winery using sustainability practices. The series became stories of everyday people and businesses doing greater good,” Marrs explains. 

Today, halfway through its second season, the series’ hosts have traveled from Oklahoma to Washington, D.C.; from Florence, Italy, to the Rhone Valley in France. Marrs enjoys the variety of the locations he visits with cohost Marc Bellanger from Daikin Comfort Technologies, and the sustainable examples they offer consumers. 

Wherever he is, though, he keeps the drumbeat on one concept: comfort without sacrifice. 

“The cool thing about the building industry is that there is so much innovation. New technologies and change is constantly happening. This is driven by consumers. People are now aware of these innovations, which makes it the right time to talk about how we can have sustainability without sacrificing comfort.” 

The green industry has long grappled with complaints from builders and consumers that sustainability meant giving something up. “It doesn’t have to be that way,” Marrs says. “We need to talk about it. Builders need to say, ‘This adds comfort, and I’m going to cut your utility bills.’”

Heat Pump as Baseline

The Daikin variable heat pump is the star of the “Sustainability Series” when it comes to specific strategies to live green. “Heat pumps are what the rest of the world is using,” Marrs reminds. “Today, we are used to traditional ducted systems. But now you have customer demand from the younger generations who have read the information on them and are savvy buyers not willing to accept only what the builder offers.” 

Marrs says the myth that heat pumps are “less than” fuel-fired furnaces is slowly being dispelled. “This willingness to look at new technologies isn’t just about heat pumps, it’s about everything. In Tornado Alley, for example, there is demand for ICFs and impact glass for windows,” he says. 

Along with these resilient products comes great efficiency. “These [resilient] choices are also environmentally friendly products. They lower energy use and offer a lot more benefits without exorbitant cost,” Marrs says. 

Marrs believes adoption of new technologies is hampered by the fact that some consumers do still rely on builder recommendations for products and systems. “Education on new technologies like heat pumps is as much for the contractor as it is for the homeowner,” Marrs says.  

“Two or three builders in my area, myself included, are building energy-efficient, storm-resistant houses that give people greater peace of mind and greater efficiency,” he says. “Yes, it can cost 10-20% more on a build, but your savings and costs on electricity, gas, and water that you didn’t use will save you money as energy prices go up.”

In Northwest Bentonville, Ark., where Marrs builds, they have the lowest kW prices in the nation, but, as he points out, prices are going up. 

Resilient building techniques, like the use of impact glass, go hand–in-hand with sustainability. Go-to products Marrs uses include PlyGem’s Structural Insulated Siding (board and batten and lap), Cornerstone energy-efficient windows and doors, Nudura ICFs, and Daikin heat pumps.

Design Ideas of Note

In addition to energy efficiency, Marrs suggests products that are sourced sustainably. “We are incorporating a lot more hardwood and less manufactured flooring,” he notes, adding that wood is a renewable resource and durable. 

He addresses waste and how to use new products to reduce jobsite demolition yet retain energy efficiency. For example, if you have an old house it is expected you would take it down to the studs and start all over. “You can leave the interior alone and buy 1"–2” foil-backed foam and put it under the siding when you replace it. You don’t always need to tear everything out,” he reminds. 

In an old house renovation scenario, the Daikin Fit system is a great solution, particularly in you aren’t tearing out walls to accommodate ducts. If you do have ducts, you can also use the FIT system as a ducted solution. “These are baby steps you can do if you are not at the end of life with your HVAC yet, but there is a space above the garage you need to condition. You can start with a ductless system there to try it out,” Marrs suggests.  

Heat pump technology is embraced more readily by younger consumers than older. Source: Cognition Smart Data

Sustainability Without Sacrifice

“What I’m seeing right now is a push for sustainability without sacrifice, and that makes sense to people,” Marrs says. “Anytime I talk on the show or to customers I point out that being sustainable doesn’t have to involve big expense or big sacrifice. Many times, these people want to be sustainable, and if there is a sustainable product or idea that is similar in cost, they will go with that,” he says. 

To Marrs, sustainability includes timers on lights all the way to metal roofing. In fact, one of his favorite sustainable items is Flexon, an inexpensive garden hose. “20 million pool liners and plastic are recycled to make this made-in-America item,” he notes.

These are the conversation points that get today’s green-curious consumers moving toward true sustainability in the houses they buy—and the lives they lead. 

You can watch “Sustainability Series” here.