The average homeowner in the US pays 25 to 33 percent of their income on their home mortgage payment. Before the housing bubble burst, banks were letting homeowners buy homes with mortgages that accounted for 45 percent of their income. As a result, homeowners are having trouble paying for their homes. What’s more, other commodities used in the home are also getting more expensive, such as energy, water, food, and gas. All of these factors contribute to the fact that homeownership is becoming increasingly difficult for the average American.

One way potential homeowners can keep expenses at a minimum is by keeping home energy performance in mind when looking at buying an existing home or building a new one. The latest home and construction technologies and retrofits can help homes perform better, require fewer repairs, and save homeowners money; not to mention reduce a home’s ecological impact.

The average household could save nearly $3,900 by 2030 by adopting simple efficiency provisions, according the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy. And it is not just single-family homes that could see huge savings; energy efficiency upgrades in existing multifamily buildings could save building owners and residents up to $3.4 billion nationwide.

People already pay attention to energy performance to some degree. Most people look at a home’s utility bills when considering a mortgage. Houses on the market often publish their monthly energy utility bills to give people a better idea how much their monthly payments will be on top of the monthly home mortgage payment. But few people realize how important this number can be for long-term savings.

For example, when looking at a home that has an unusually high energy bill, the house is probably inefficient. As energy prices continue to rise over the next decade, inefficient homes will cost homeowners even more money every month to maintain. The typical U.S. family spends at least $2,000 a year on home utility bills. Energy efficiency improvements alone can reduce this energy bill by 25 percent, according to the Department of Energy.  For every dollar invested in efficiency, the homeowner saves $4.00.

Energy efficiency improvements to a home can also make on-site energy generation systems provide more significant savings. For example, solar photovoltaic systems, solar hot water systems, geothermal systems, and other on-site systems, can provide a higher percentage of a home’s energy needs after energy efficiency improvements. Reducing energy-use will allow onsite systems that previously covered only 25 percent of a home’s energy needs to now cover nearly 50 percent of its energy needs.

More efficient houses also are much easier on HVAC systems and appliances, which can save the homeowner money over the long-term. Heating and cooling systems, by far the largest energy-users in a home, do not have to work as hard to heat and cool a home. This adds life to the HVAC system and they require fewer repairs, saving the homeowner time and money.

In addition to looking for homes that are already energy efficient, new homes should be built with energy efficiency in mind. It is much easier to get the most energy efficiency potential out of a home when it is built from scratch because the architect can design a home from the beginning with efficiency in mind. Home orientation, window and door placement, smart home area networks, on-site generation and other home features can all be maximized for efficiency during home construction. Taking efficiency into consideration during homebuilding can save thousands of dollars in home upgrades later.

One way homeowners can ensure their homes will be built efficiently is to build a prefabricated or modular home. Prefabricated homes are built, at least partially, in a factory, which makes them more efficient than custom-built homes. The walls, flooring and some finishes arrive in a box and fit together with a tight seal. Because large portions of the home come pre-assembled from the factory, there is less human error in construction, which reduces home leaks and can vastly increase the energy performance of a home.

Whether you are building a new home or buying an existing home, paying attention to its energy performance can be a critical component to making the home affordable in the future as the costs of homeownership rise.

Universal design is not complicated. It includes simple things like replacing cabinetry hardware with pulls instead of knobs, using lever type handles on faucets and doors and replacing a deep sink with a shallow one. These minor adjustments will make it much easier for your Mom who has arthritis to use or even your son who has a broken arm from last week’s sports game. Installing pullout shelving will make the contents in your cabinets accessible to everyone.

In home’s today, standard height for bathroom and kitchen counters is 36 inches, which can be difficult for someone in a wheelchair or walker. Also, most counter tops today are flush with the cabinetry underneath, again, making it difficult for a walker or wheelchair to get close. In universal design, the counter height would be varied and include counters at the standard 36 inches and lower counters at 30-32 inches, making them accessible to a wider range of people. These counter tops would also have a rolled edge, which help prevent items or spills from rolling or spilling off the counter. The counter top may also be extended by 4 inches over the cabinetry underneath to allow a chair or walker to pull up to the work surface.

Other universal design elements include replacing windows with ones that open with a crank or slide versus windows that open by being pushed up or down. Doorways and hallways should be widened to 42 inches to accommodate a wheelchair or walker. The edges of doors, windows and counter tops should be rounded to avoid any painful bumps.

So how does universal design relate to sustainable design and architecture?

Today, there are numerous efforts around the country to build new homes and remodel existing homes to be more ecologically sustainable.  These upgrades include wiser use of water and energy through numerous upgrades, from windows, to appliances and the materials used. But the most sustainable home can become unlivable if universal design concepts are not considered. All people in any stage of life should be able to live in a sustainable home. Therefore sustainable homes need not just help reduce energy or water use, but should also enable a comfortable, livable lifestyle for its residents.  The greenest home becomes an emotional and physical handicap in itself if it is not designed for the health of the home and the homeowner, as both get older.

As homes get upgraded with smart features and connect to the smart grid, universal design will become even easier for the residents through automation. Smart homes will allow residents to automate their appliances, lighting, thermostat, sinks, toilets, showers, and other features around the home. Residents will be able to set features of their home to their liking in order to accommodate their needs. The home will be adjustable to serve its residents.

As developers around the country – and the world – upgrade existing homes and buildings, it is critical for them to consider how livable new sustainable design elements are for all groups of people. It will cost much more for the homeowner – and the earth – if homes must constantly be upgraded. Homes should be designed so that people in all stages of life can live comfortably in them, without the need for expensive upgrades. In the US, the average age continues to climb, with nearly one in five people aged 65 and older in 2030, according to the US Census Bureau. In order to accommodate an aging population and also green homes and buildings, both need to be considered in all new construction and upgrades.

A home is truly a sustainable home if can withstand the test of time, from using long-lasting and green materials, to accommodating the changing life stages of its residents. Universal design and sustainability go hand in hand for creating a smarter, greener and more livable future.

Cities worldwide are the biggest contributors of global pollution, accounting for about 65% of all energy used, 60% of all water consumed and 70% of all greenhouse gases produced. But most people live in cities, so it makes sense that most of the energy would be consumed there. Despite using most of the energy, city residents use fewer resources. NYC, the most densely populated city in the US, on a per-capita basis, is one of the most energy- and resource-efficient places in the country. GHG emissions in NYC are 7.1 metric tons per person per year, far below the national average of 24.5 metric tons, according to the New York City Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability. NYC accounts for only 1% of US GHG emissions while accounting for 2.7% of the population. Therefore, in order to truly create sustainably built human settlements for the future, it will require sustainable design and architecture to be incorporated where people will be living: in densely populated urban areas in high-rise buildings.

In order for cities to become more sustainable and provide people with a higher quality of life, architects need to design high-rise buildings that are much more efficient.  Although NYC residents use less energy per capita, the highest proportion comes from buildings. Approximately 75% of NYC carbon emissions come from energy-use in buildings.  NYC leaders understand the potential for GHG reductions and cost-savings through sustainable building retrofits and have several city programs, such as PlaNYC. The city also offers numerous incentives to building owners to make sustainability improvements to large buildings. Because of strong local government support for green buildings, and increased consumer interest in living sustainably, large NYC building-owners have started making energy upgrades to their buildings, such as the Empire State Building and the 7 World Trade Center.

So what do these new sustainable buildings look like?

One of the most sustainably built buildings is also New York’s second tallest: the new Bank of America Tower on 6th Avenue & 42^nd Street. The building uses floor-to-ceiling insulating glass that maximizes natural light for heat and daylighting while also containing the heat. The building’s graywater system captures rainwater and reuses it among various applications in the buildings.  The cooling system produces ice and stores it during off-peak hours. The ice melts and is used to cool the building during peak energy-use hours. The building’s energy comes from an on-site cogeneration facility, which produces electricity and uses the wasted heat produced for various heating applications throughout the building.

One of the first examples of a sustainable residential high-rise building is The Visionaire, is a 35-story, 247-home residential high rise building located in Manhattan’s Battery Park City. The building saves about 42 percent in energy costs against a base-line average because it implements intricate networks that capture, store, and re-use resources. 70 percent of the roof surface is covered in a green roof, which insulates the building and helps capture and store rainwater. The building captures rainwater and blackwater, treats it, and recycles it in the building’s toilet water and irrigation system. Recycled water is also used in the heating and cooling system, which uses an efficient four-pipe fan-coil system that delivers filtered air to every unit. Residents enjoy healthy interior spaces, which are critical in NYC and other cities where air pollution causes numerous health risks. Residents themselves have a lot of control over the energy-use in each unit. A single master switch at the entrance to each unit allows residents to easily turn off all lights. Units are also set up for automated control of window shades. Essentially, the building is much more responsive to exterior conditions and each resident’s demands, creating a more sustainable and more luxurious living experience.

What makes both of these buildings so efficient – and any truly sustainable building – is that they combine multiple technologies to maximize resource use that already exist. These buildings use incoming resources, such as water, wind and solar energy for their benefit, and reuse them in as many ways as possible.

With such sustainable designs already being implemented in major high-rise buildings in the US, it is only a matter of time before these practices become standard. As demand only grows for sustainable buildings, NYC and other cities will transform into more sustainable systems that are healthier for its residents, better for the planet, and easier on the pocketbook. It starts with the consumer and the architect working together today.

This is one of the most common questions from homeowners because most people who want to make their house more efficient cannot afford to update every aspect of their homes at one time. People want to know what will give them the biggest energy efficiency improvement for the lowest cost. Usually those asking this question have already adopted the easiest and cheapest energy efficiency upgrades, such as changing light bulbs, adjusting thermostats and getting more energy-efficient appliances. But once the easy upgrades are done, what is the next step?

The answer for most homes is to upgrade the roof and attic space. The average US homeowner loses 30 cents of every heating dollar to leaky ducts, house air leaks and faulty or insufficient insulation, according the US Department of Energy.

The roof and attic space are the most important energy features in a home because most heat escapes and enters into the home through it. Homes and buildings are full of small leaks, around windows, doors, vents, pipes and outlets, which constantly work against a home’s HVAC system. The roof and ceilings make up 31 percent of all home energy leaks, the largest contributor in a home. Homeowners can typically save up to 20 percent of heating and cooling costs by air-sealing their homes and adding insulation in attics and floors over crawl spaces.

Unfortunately, there is not one standard rule across the board in terms of which roofing materials and design will achieve the best savings because each home is situated with unique local climatic conditions. These local conditions should tell homeowners which energy-saving techniques to choose from for a roof and attic space, such as thermal mass components, reflective tile pigments and coatings, subventing, radiant barriers, among others. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory offers a detailed map of which type of roofing insulation is appropriate for different climates. They also offer a roof-savings calculator so home and business owners can estimate the potential energy savings.

In colder climates, ceiling and roof insulation is critical for keeping warm air, that naturally travels upward, to remain within the home. This will greatly reduce energy bills and also lengthen the life of a home’s heating system.

In warmer, sunnier climates, the roof should be designed to reflect sunlight instead of absorb it. Over 90 percent of roof tiles in the US are dark-colored, which absorb heat and cause higher energy bills in warmer months. Dark materials also accelerate the deterioration of roofing materials and contribute to the heat island effect when developed areas are significantly warmer than vegetated areas. Instead, roof tiles should be light-colored in sunny places, reducing absorbed heat, reducing cooling costs, alleviating pressure on cooling systems, and increasing the life expectancy of the roof. Simply using reflective coatings on a roof can reflect about 80 percent of the heat. Uncoated roofs typically absorb around 80% of the sunlight.

MIT researchers have even developed a roofing tile that changes color based on the season, absorbing heat in the winter and reflecting it in the summer. New York City, along with other cities, has started to encourage people to use reflective coatings or lighten the color of their roofs to alleviate pressure on the grid.

The color of the roof is important, but also the material choice is critical to home energy performance and its overall sustainability. Many traditional roofing materials are made through toxic processes, deteriorate quickly on roofs, and are not recyclable once they need to be replaced. Investing in longer-lasting materials may be more expensive at first, but will reduce your monthly energy bill and have a longer life. Just like tile color, the best choice for materials depends on local climate conditions.

Although it may cost more to use sustainable materials, it’s only a matter of time before an energy-efficient roof will pay for itself because costs get recovered in various ways:

• The US government provides a 30 percent tax credit for energy efficiency improvements to a home’s roof.
• The value of a home gets raised by $10,000 after roof improvements.
• More durable roof will need fewer repairs.
• In some states, utilities will give customers a financial credit for reflective roofs during air-conditioning season
• There are tax breaks available in some states in addition to the federal tax credit.
• The roof will last three times longer.
• Heating and cooling bills will be reduced every month. Heating and cooling alone costs the average homeowner more than $1,000 a year – nearly half the home’s total energy bill.

With such a major effect on home energy savings, a longer lifetime, and improved durability, a sustainable roof may be the next step to reducing your home’s impact on the planet and your wallet.

Smart homes are now possible because of the smart grid, a digitally updated energy grid that allows for multiple technologies and networks to operate and communicate with one another to better manage electricity. This is a big project, one that may cost a total of $476 billion. For the average homeowner, the smart grid – and how it fits in with homeownership – can be difficult to understand because most people hardly think about where their energy comes from. With smart grid upgrades happening across the country, like Con Edison’s smart grid pilot in Queens, New York, homeowners now have the potential to save money and energy by upgrading their homes to smart homes. But what exactly makes a smart home so smart and what does it mean for the average homeowner?

The smart home’s intelligence is all possible because of a new advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), which is not a single technology, but rather an integrated home and energy utility infrastructure that allows for open communication between its various elements, including digital smart meters, smart appliances and devices, telecommunications, and information technology. The core of the new AMI for the home is the digital smart meter. New smart meters record and send electricity consumption data to the utility more frequently than traditional energy meters. This enables utilities to provide their customers with much more detailed information about how to better manage their electricity bills. By 2015, North America and Europe will replace 45% their meters with smart ones.

Customer Benefits of AMI:

• Manage home energy consumption
• Reduced energy bill – more cost control
• More comfortable and healthier living environment
• Fewer outages
• More accurate billing
• Enables distributed renewable energy generation
• Enable electric vehicles to act as a battery

Utility Benefits of AMI:

• Grid reliability
• Better power quality
• Better understanding of consumer energy-consumption habits
• Easier to manage energy load
• Reduce operational costs
• Reduce carbon footprint
• Accelerate the use of distributed renewable energy sources

The smart meter not only communicates more frequently with the utility, but also communicates information from the utility to a network of smart devices within the home. Known as the home area network (HAN), homeowners can create a network between their smart appliances, thermostats, lighting and other electric devices. All of these smart devices within the HAN can be managed and controlled by the homeowner from an in-home display or any web-connecting device, such as a computer, smart phone, or even through the television.

By connecting the HAN with the smart meter, the utility can implement demand response programs that sends price signals to customers during daily peak energy demand. These utility price signals provide homeowners with financial incentives to reduce their electricity usage. During these peak times, power plants run at full capacity, which costs utilities a lot of money because they are required to turn on all of their energy-generating facilities to maximum output. Through demand response programs that reduce energy-use during peak demand, utilities can save money and pass those savings onto those customers who participate in the program.

As utilities continue to make upgrades to the electric grid over the next decade, more and more Americans will be given control over their home’s energy use. Utilities and homeowners alike will help alleviate grid constraints, which will make it more reliable, improve power quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is now possible to simultaneously have a better living environment, more efficient use of resources, and a reduced impact on the planet. It may sound like science fiction, but smart homes are coming to a neighborhood near you.

For starters, many people have misconceptions about solar technology and the solar industry that are deterring them from installing solar systems. Below are four common myths about solar energy which continue to cause doubt among consumers:

• Myth 1: Solar is too expensive

By far the biggest challenge facing the industry is educating consumers about how they can become solar power consumers with little or no upfront cost. 48 percent of Americans still cite cost as their biggest concern with solar energy, despite the fact that the cost of modules has decreased 30 percent since the beginning of 2010. What’s more, there are numerous residential solar leasing modules (SolarCity and SunRun) that eliminate up-front cost. In addition to dropping panel prices, many states offer incentives for installing solar systems on top of the 30 percent federal investment tax credit for solar systems available to every homeowner. For example, New York has several incentives for homeowners who install solar systems. Not only does solar cost much less than it used to, but it adds value to a home. The average solar installation adds roughly $17,000 to a home’s resale value. Once solar is installed, homeowners receive immediate financial savings on their energy bill that continues over the entire life of the system.

• Myth 2: Solar panels do not provide very much energy

One of the major concerns for most homeowners considering solar is that their entire roof will be littered with solar panels. Although this may have been true several years ago before solar technology was as developed, the truth is that solar panels are much more efficient and provide a lot more energy per square foot than they used to. Additionally, solar panels have become slimmer and can be conspicuously integrated onto a home’s roof using building integrated photovoltaics.

Also, homeowners can reduce the amount of solar panels they need on their home by increasing the efficiency of their home. By taking advantage of efficiency opportunities around the house, people can reduce their energy-use significantly and reduce the need for numerous solar panels.

Another misconception about the solar industry is that solar panels require more energy to manufacture than they produce in their lifetime. Studies show that energy payback for a photovoltaic system is now less than three years, sometimes as little as one year. Given the warranty for most panels is 20 years, and most panels last much longer, homeowners will produce much more energy with their solar panels than it took to produce them. This payback period will continue to decrease as manufacturing processes improve and solar panels become more efficient and longer lasting.

• Myth 3: Solar systems only work in sunny places like southern California and Florida.

Solar systems capture ultra-violate light, which passes through clouds, even on rainy days. Although solar systems work better on sunny days, cloudy days still offer significant solar potential. For example, Germany has the same amount of sunshine as Alaska and has achieved 20 percent of its total energy production using renewable energy, mostly solar. In the US this year, New Jersey installed more solar energy than any other state, proving that solar is viable in almost any climatic condition.

• Myth 4: Solar cannot exist without expensive government subsidies

At a time when budgets are tight and programs are getting cut, many people believe that the government needs to reduce its expenses. While solar does receive subsidies from the federal government – like many industries in the US do – solar is less subsidized than the fossil fuel industries – five times less.  In 2010 alone, worldwide subsidies to fossil fuel consumption totaled $409 billion while total renewable energy subsidies were $60 billion. This means that governments worldwide are spending more to subsidize greenhouse-gas-producing fossil fuels that are non-renewable instead of cleaner, renewable energy sources. Despite such inequity, solar energy is becoming as cheap, or cheaper, than fossil fuel sources in many parts of the country where energy prices are higher, like in the Northeast. Instead of costing taxpayers money like many believe, the solar industry costs less to the government than fossil fuels and helps make the US more energy-independent.

Despite government support for solar not being as strong as it could – or should – be, the solar industry has been able to reduce costs significantly and improve quality and performance. With new leasing options, local incentives, and the continued growth of the industry, solar energy is now a realistic option for many homeowners in the US. If you have considered solar in the past and have become discouraged for whatever reason, it may be the perfect time take another look.

But homebuilders do not have to reinvent the wheel in order to build homes that use significantly less energy. The technology already exists today and can easily be incorporated into home and neighborhood development designs. Today most homes are not passively designed to optimize solar energy capture and energy efficiency, which both save money and energy.

Passive homes have three main components, the collector, a thermal mass, and a heat-distribution mechanism (see figure below). The collector is a large glass window area, usually tilted 30 degrees to the south in N. America, which allows sunlight to enter the home. The sunlight hits a thermal mass, or a material that stores solar energy as heat during the day and releases it at night. Sometimes fans or ducts can be used to distribute the heat throughout the home. Passive home designers often plant deciduous trees on the southwest end of their homes so that they provide shade in the summer and then lose their leaves and let the sunlight in through the winter.

source: Department of Energy

Such inexpensive features, such as planting a tree, can save thousands of dollars for the homeowner during its lifetime. Unfortunately, such simple solutions are often overlooked, and instead, most homes are designed to fit within a city grid or planned suburb development. By imposing a pre-planned grid and home design that does not consider local conditions – such as available sunlight, terrain, and wind patterns – homeowners must pay for energy that is lost due to inefficient design. Optimizing solar energy and controlling the air within a home can save homeowners up to 90 percent of their home’s energy demand.

In a typical home development, it takes an enormous amount of energy to power so many large and inefficient homes. The residential sector alone accounts for 23% of total energy consumption in the US. More than half of that energy is used to heat our homes and water, and approximately a quarter is used to cool our homes. By simply configuring a different approach to traditional heating and cooling systems, green architects (like Skoda Design) can have a dramatic impact on how much energy people use and the financial (and environmental) benefits associated with such a reduction.

Several homebuilders in the US are starting to explore passive home designs. In fact, one of the first certified passive homes in the US was installed earlier this year in the Hudson Valley, two hours north of New York City. Called, the Hudson Passive Project, the home is certified as a passive home by the German Passivhaus Institut, which has established rigorous standards for energy efficiency design. Homes like the Hudson Passive Project offer a glimpse of how homes can be constructed in the future to provide a healthy and affordable living environment for New York residents.

Another passive design out of New York comes from design and engineering students at the New School for Design, Milano School of International Affairs Management and Urban Policy, and Stevens Institute of Technology. The students have built a net-zero house, currently on display on the National Mall in Washington, DC as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon.

The house, called the Empowerhouse, uses passive solar design and controlled insulation and ventilation to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. The house costs about $250,000 to build and offers residents absolutely no energy costs. The benefits of passive design for low-income families are even greater, as living expenses often account for a large percentage of monthly earnings.

After the implementation of such a successful demonstration projects, there is no reason that developers around the county cannot build homes that adhere to much stricter energy standards, which will relieve pressure on utilities, consumers, and the climate alike. The benefits of passive design are obvious, but until the majority of consumers demand higher performing homes, builders have little reason of building them in the first place.

Throughout the design and construction process, the project is passed through multiple team members. From the architect who developed the design, to the contractor and subsequent sub-contractors who put the design together. BIM allows for a seamless transition between the project team to the “owner” of the project throughout the design and construction process as well as early detection of any conflicts or problems.  This 3d model based process allows for the creation of projects which are faster, more economical and have less environmental impact.

HERE is a VIDEO from AutoDesk that shows exactly how BIM was used to produce the world’s first positive-energy building.

This building produces more energy than it uses thanks to the BIM process.  In this video all of the companies involved were able to share information more quickly and could fix any conflicts long before there was any “real-world” building.

Successfully using BIM for your next project will not only help keep the project information organized and on time, but also on budget. With the ability to spot problems and conflicts long before they would traditionally be found, BIM will reduce the amount of waste and setbacks throughout the design and construction process. Do you currently use Building Information Modeling?

If you live in a cooler region, take a look at new houses being built. In all likelihood there won’t be very many windows on the north- or south-facing walls. By grouping windows on the east- and west-facing walls, the house becomes more efficient because it can use the sun’s natural light to brighten the house and also lower the heating costs.

Other efficient ways to lower heating and cooling costs are to place rooms effectively in the house design. Placing a garage or breezeway on the side of the house with the prevailing wind will act as a barrier from the remainder of the living space. Also, center the mechanical rooms in the house. This reduces the length of duct work which works two-fold. It allows for more even heating and cooling throughout the space because there are no longer-run ducts that lose heat or cooling on the way to the room and if new duct-work is needed, it can usually be room-specific.

Another way to reduce energy usage and to have a more efficient house is to use compact florescent (CF) bulbs in light fixtures as well as low flow showerheads and toilets. CF bulbs use a much smaller amount of electricity than normal bulbs and typically last longer while the low flow plumbing reduces the amount of water used in the house.

Finally, the colors that you decide for the interior and exterior of your house can be efficient as well. Having lighter colors on the exterior will reflect sunlight and will reduce cooling costs while lighter colors inside will reflect light and reduces the need for artificial light during the day.

Efficiency isn’t just about having a small space. It’s about making many small decisions that reduce energy usage. Whenever planning a new build, whether you are a contractor or developer looking to design a new community or an individual looking to build your dream home, trust your design to a LEED accredited architect.

At Škoda Design+Architecture, we pride ourselves on the smallest of details. When we start a design, we help to make your vision a reality. We work hard to understand your likes and dislikes and determine exactly what you are looking for.

We pride ourselves on working within your financial and technological standards and then exceeding your expectations. Maintaining your budget and timeframe are paramount while also ensuring that we are doing all that we can to ensure the least amount of problems along the way.

Construction management and planning are highly integrated into the design process.

We also design with sustainability in mind. Our designs look to the future with details that will not only remain relevant but also practical while striving to enhance the natural setting and environment.

From highly detailed conceptual drawings, to the final construction, we maintain conversation with our clients to ensure that they are
making the most educated decision possible while being informed throughout the whole process.

Who is working hard to meet your expectations?