We are still in a drought here in North Georgia despite all of this rain.  Even if it continues to rain and we have plenty of water, these conditions could happen again so we need to be prepared.  You have 2 options for helping our region save on water.  1.  Collect rain water or grey water for reuse which helps reduce the impact on local water supplies.  2. Use devices on your home that use less water on the inside and use plants that do not require as much water (if at all) on the outside of the house.

One of the brands that we use at the Hoots Group is Kohler.  They have put together a list of all of the water rebated here in GA where you get paid to go green with water!  Visit Kohler to find out which rebates are available to you.

As part of our energy audit, we also have a water audit to show you where you can save money on water!  For more information visit Fresh World.

A few months back I blogged on how the Marine Corps and green building principles share a lot in common: Shades of Green

Last week a buddy of mine from the Corps found me on facebook and since he was in the area he came by to see me at our Eco-Showroom.  We talked about all of the Marines that we knew, what I have been doing since the Corps and his service in the Corps since then.  He did mention that he did a tour in Iraq and has been in the states for the last few years.

I have come to realize that I am fighting the same war stateside to help my Marine buddies several thousand miles away.  Every audit that we do and every house that we make more energy efficient brings us all on step closer to energy independence.

There is hope.

On this Memorial Day- what better way to remember those who have served and fallen in combat for our way of life then to go greener and make steps towards energy independence.

The few.  The proud.  The green

Happy Memorial Day

Starbucks Coffee.

Yes- I do like their coffee.  If I did not think that they could make a difference or would change I would not waste my time trying to give them suggestions.  I actively encourage their store managers to to green, but I am not too sure what influence they have on store policy.  They are also doing some things correctly.  To the left there is a picture of my son Daniel adding coffer grounds to out compost bin.  Yes- I was able to resist the temptation to stick my face in the bin to absorb the great coffee smell!

I buddy of mine pushed my to write my own post on Starbucks.  He posted a funny experience that he had a while back on his blog.  Here is his experience there.  Green to the scene blog

Let’s start out with the positives- what are they doing correctly?

1. The use recycled content sleeves on their cups
2. They let people come pick up their used grounds to use in their gardens
3. I heard that they treat their employees well and have benefits- good job!

Room for improvement:

1. Not sure if they use fair trade coffee- heard that they did not.  I did not verify yet.
2. They do not recycle their plastics in the store!  I ask them every time where to recycle and they say “We should, but they don’t.”  One store said that Waste Management actually separates the trash at the transfer station.  Not to sure if I believe them, however it is a better answer than we know better but we are too stubborn to change.
3. Green buildings?  As a green builder I am not too sure what is green about their construction.  I would love for one of my readers to tell me that they are all LEED certified.  Where is the renewable energy on the rooftops of all of the stores?

PS- if you work  for Starbucks, or know someone that works at their corporate office have them contact me to get the more in depth audit.  I will work for coffee!

Last year we were the builder of the new showcase house for the Southern Builing Show-a LEED Gold house called Ecolumina.  You can visit it at www.Ecolumina.org.  This year’s showcase home is a  green renovation to an existing historical home in the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta.  It is renovated to EarthCraft renovation standards.  If you will attending the Southern Building Show this year there will be tours ot the house on Thursday and Friday.  Here is more information about our house:  Renew House

Now that you have successfully filed your taxes and hopefully are looking reduce your tax liability for 2009 here are some ways that “going green in GA” can help you do so. For many green upgrades such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal HVAC, insulation upgrades, and solar power- there are state and federal tax incentives. For the state of GA there is a 35% credit with a cap on each residential renewable energy system. On the federal side there is a 30% credit, and as part of the economic recovery act, there is not a cap on the tax incentives that you get from the feds. For more information on these incentives and other green rebates visit www.whyitpaystogogreen.com

Let your friends know about this as well.  Don’t keep this to yourself.

Do you see the water heater?  It is on the roof.  Looks like a skylight!  85% of this houses water will be heated by the sun!  Click here for more information.

I got a call from a write at the Creative Loafing magazine here in Atlanta a few weeks back, to ask me about how the new green economy was affecting our business.   One of the main things that I have seen is that we have been able to save a few of our employees from having to find jobs elsewhere.  In parts of our company where work did not seem to be there we were able to shift those employees over to our renewables division Fresh World.  We are sustaining our business growth through our sustainable services division. Here is the full story.

One of our projects got so much attention on the first day that that we decided to create a website to better explain what we are doing so you all can follow the progress without having to come on site.  Myself, Eco Home Guy and the homeowner are posting on the site blog as we see fit.  It is going to be certified as a LEED for Homes house once it is completed!  Come visit it at Lake Claire LEED.

Here is something that one of our Ecobroker friends (Carson and Carol) sent over to us showing that green homes in GA not only sell much faster, but they also sell for closer to their listing price as well.  It pays to go green!

Here is our first broadcast of HGTV- Hoots Group TV

Season 1- Episode 1- Show me the money!

If you have been to any of the green events or trade shows in GA recently you may have heard us talk about “Why is pays to go green.”  Here is the latest presentation that I gave at the Atlanta Home Show about how our clients actually get money back for going green in GA.  There are 3 parts to the video.

To find out about how YOU can go green contact us today!

Episode 2 soon to follow about green design!

Barely.

I thought that I was ready for any green legislation that could come along. I was wrong! Since we committed to 100% green projects (meaning that we use green certifications to validate them) we have been growing exponentially each year since we founded the company in 2005.

Forth Quarter I sensed that something was awry since it felt like “the calm before the storm.”  Since the beginning of the year we have had more inquiries to date that all of 2008!  Is this because we are cooler than others or we have better marketing?  Sure- I would like to take credit for it, but I really think that it is because we have green experience and a sustainable message that resonates in this new economy.   Since we are leading renovation company for green design build services, our phone have been ringing off the hook (do phone still have hooks?) since every one’s new year’s resolution was to either “go green” or they wanted to get their “piece of the stimulus pie” (back).

I am doing my best to get the message out to my fellow citizens about how green can work for them so I added a new section to my blog called “Hoots Group Events.”  This is in the right side bar on top of the other sections. Honestly, you would think that this is for you all to see where you can come visit us next, however it is a great tool for me and my staff to be able to see what’s next on the calender as well.  There are hyperlinks that take you to the websites that are either hosting the events for us or that we will be speaking at.  If you are in the ATL are and want to see how you can either go green, or save money come visit us at one of our upcoming appearances.

Hope to see you soon.  Keep your chin up, we are waking up as a nation to the inevitable plight of energy independence.  All of the calls that we get are not about party politics, but about saving money and reducing dependence on foreign energy.

I guess it is funny- however it is a true story with a factual punchline.

As a GA Tech fan and I love to tell football jokes about the University of GA.  Football rivalry is great and the jokes are rampant.

Down South it is difficult for us to make fun of each other state- to- state since we are typically lagging behind the other states in most categories (besides football).  Luckily, we all have Mississippi as a fall back so we can feel better about ourselves. In Georgia’s case we have Alabama in a couple categories. Green being one of them. I knew that we were a bit progressive since we had “power and indoor plumbing”, but I thought that was just a joke!

It gets better- last year GA passed some legislation that allowed for their taxpayers to get tax credits for renewable energy items such as solar power, solar thermal and geothermal HVAC. So now GA is a green state. Go Georgia (Tech)! I went to a website that shows all of the credits across all of the states and I clicked on Alabama.

I know you all are waiting for the punchline- so here it is.  In Alabama instead of all that “fancy high tech stuff” you get a tax credit for burning wood!  Since trees grow and they are renewable that makes you eligible for a credit for a wood burning stove!  I’m sorry they call it “Wood-Burning Heating System Deduction.”  Sounds like a fire pit to me.  With the extra money that they get back on their tax return Alabama they can use it to go get their “tooth” fixed.

Here is the official site. As you can see it’s funny but it is not a “made up” joke.

One of my associates just told me that GA Power is increasing the amount of their rebate by $200 starting today and this will last for 90 days. This rebate is added to what ever the amount is for the other rebates. To see the full list of rebates for GA Power click here.

200 increase is not available for thermostats and water heater blanket.

Since Bush passed the original bill for the tax incentives and Obama increased them, there have been a lot of questions about solar thermal.  My original post on solar thermal talks about the basics of how it works.  There are a couple of different options for a retrofit and for new construction.

One of the brands that we sell (Velux) has the option for a 80 gallon tank and 120 gallon tank.  In GA, you will get at least 80-85% (on average) of your hot water from the sun. To make up the difference there is an electric element in the tank just like other tank heaters.  This only kicks on when the sun cannot keep up with the demand for hot water.

As far as the configurations- if you have a new tank already installed and it is energy efficient, you can have a solar system installed as a preheat for your current system.  The electrical element for the solar tank will not be connected since the other tank will provide the backup heat.  In new construction you can install a basic systems for 3-4 people and install an electric back up, or you can upgrade to a 120 gallon tank (5-6 people) and add one more collector to the roof.

While the larger systems does cost more, it maintains it’s efficiency for the amount of people using the water so the payback is faster as well.

Here is how the pricing works (on average) here in GA:

80 gallon tank with 2 collectors

Retails cost- 8000

GA credit-     2500 (35% of cost with a max of 2500)

Fed credit     2900 (30% of cost with no cap for 2009_

Net cost         3100

This is about the same cost that a tankless system costs, however the efficiency is much greater- 5-8 times as efficient.  This is based on a tankless water heater outperforming a regular tank between 10-20% and solar providing 85% of the hot water.  When you divide 85% by the tankless efficiency you can see that Solar is the greener option and will save more money!

To see more of the rebates and credits here in GA visit Get paid to go green!

Now nothing is green

Joe (from Greenprints) kindly pointed out that if we are all green, then none of us are green.  I get what he is saying.  It seems like everyone has their green angle to a quasi green story.  I wish that the products and processes that were truly green would be the only ones with the green marketing, but that is not the case so BUYER BEWARE!

I was at Costco over the weekend and noticed an air purifier in a prime location as I walked into the store with my family.  The packaging stated that it was green.   As I read further it green claim was based on energy efficiency.  What?  Paraphrased-”If you use this device then you can turn off our HVAC and save $$”  I really hope that no one actually turns off the HVAC when they buy this device, especially in the South.  While the stand alone purifier can clean up the air in one room, what about the humidity?  Turn of your HVAC in the summer and let your purifier run and you will grow mold on your walls because you have not addressed the humidity.

Just because you saved energy doesn’t make you green, especially if you sacrifice one of the other tenents of green living such as Indoor Air Quality.

It is not easy to be through these kinds of claims unless you are an expert in building science, however you can trust 3rd part product certification such as ENERGY STAR, Greenguard, and Greenseal to test and research products that have their label on them.