Alaska builders learn about energy efficiency.

Before general contractors can be licensed in Alaska, they must pass a course on the benefits of energy efficiency.

Alaska suffers extreme fluctuations in temperatures, with areas that are usually below freezing and areas that never freeze. Parts of southeast Alaska are marine rain forests with 200 or more inches of rain per year. Other areas within the state are considered deserts. Soil types vary from solid rock to sand dunes; there are also large areas of permafrost.

Traditionally, buildings in Alaska have been constructed just as they are anywhere else in the United States, with no consideration of the special climatic conditions they will endure. For example, the U.S. government (which plays a major role in Alaskan housing through the military, HUD and the BIA) once delivered to Alaska a community of homes that had been designed and built for Guam.

Because the state often ends up financing or owning poorly built structures that are a drain on public funds, four years ago the state and the U.S. Department of Energy contracted with the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension Service and the Alaska Homebuilders Association to design buildings for Alaska's climate. As a result, the Alaska Craftsman Home Program was formed to educate real estate agents, bankers, salesmen and the general public about energy and resource conservation in builgin. The program provides technical information on energy-efficient building techniques and materials. It has also adopted and modified a manual developed in Canada and conducts workshops on heat transfers, the movement of water vapor and how it relates to dew point, the placement of vapor and weather barriers and control of air leakage.

Homes created using this research are more comfortable, less expensive and healthier to live in, the program's proponents claim. Improvements in framing, heating, insulation and ventilation can reduce utility bills up to 80 percent. Lenders then allow buyers to qualify for larger mortgages, since less income is required to heat an energy-efficient house. The homes also promise to eliminate condensation and buildup of ice on the windows, and ensure fresh air year round and uniform heating throughout the house.

In 1990, the Alaska Legislature went a step further and passed a law that requires contractors to complete the Craftsman Home Program or a postsecondary course in arctic engineering in order to receive a license.

Alaska's program has been recognized by Renew America, an environmental group that promotes positive actions to rebuild a healthy environment.