Kudzu.  Am I crazy?  Kudzu takes over hillsides, forest and is on the invasive species list.  It can grow up to a foot a day in the growing season.  How can Kudzu be green?

On the other hand you add .com to it and it is green.  Kudzu.com is a web service where you can find relevant information regarding service provider and contractors.  So why is kudzu green? Well, since they are web based, they can reach hundreds of thousands of potential customers and guide them to contractors.  This saves time and money.  Clients can rate the contractors and look up services that they need with in seconds.  The contractors do not even have to pay to be on the site, however they do have the opportunity to upgrade their listing.  There are advertising spots on kudzu for service providers to get better positioning, but clients can still find and rate and contractor that they want for free!!

So what else make them green?  They do have a green business section promoting green services.  If you are looking for green pest control, well you can find it on kudzu.com.  I think they even have a green service for killing kudzu on your property!

Finally, most print media is shiny and pretty, but it is not the greenest way to advertise.  The chemicals used in print media can be bad for indoor air quality and it is difficult to recycle glossy paper.  Kudzu.com does not use ink or paper!!

While the plant kudzu kills trees, kudzu.com is a tree saver!!

To find out more how your green business can be optimized on kudzu.com contact LeaAnne            LeaAnne.Perry@coxinc.com

Many of the business practices that we are accustomed are inherently green because green is more efficient.  Business practices that can save money and save the environment can be win win for most large and small businesses.  I have been making a list of all of the green practices that we have adopted, not because we just build green, but because we want to operate our backside operations in a sustainable manner also.

This week is pay week for the Hoots Group and I was thinking about the process this morning.  We are able to submit and complete payroll without one piece of paper.  All of the the time sheets and changes to payroll are submitted electronulcally to our payroll provider.  The reports from the payroll provider to the Hoots Group are sent back electonically.  These are enertered into our accounting system electronically.  The money is wired into the Hoots Group employee accounts electoincally.  And finally the statements that are given to the Hoots Group employees are e-mailed to them.  All of this without sacrificing and trees.

If you want to be green like the Hoots Group and get cutting edge green payroll visit Time Plus.

Zoo Atlanta is a favorite for the Hoots boys.  Last month we had fun attending “Boo at the Zoo” a Halloween event for kids.  The zoo volunteers handed out candy as the kids made their way through the zoo.  Of course, I made sure that they did not pick up any unwrapped chocolate!

Around the same time Zoo Atlanta won a green award for their waste management of elephant poop and bamboo.

Here is a excerpt from their website:

The Zoo Atlanta Green Team’s elephant manure and bamboo composting program just won first place in the 2008 Keep Georgia Beautiful Awards for Waste Reduction and Recycling. By working with Natural Growth, Inc. for composting elephant manure and Downey Trees for shredding bamboo waste to be burned as fuel by Georgia Power, we’re diverting over 1,800 cubic yards of waste from the landfill every year.

One of the presentations that I give at conventions  has a green case study in it and lists the Hoots Group Top 10 things to consider while greenovating. Whether you are building or renovating this list is a good start towards creating a green house.

10.) Low VOC/ HAPS free finishes. By using products that do not have harmful off gassing, you are able to preserve the indoor air quality.

9.) Solar Thermal. One of the most efficient ways to heat your water is by the sun. In Atlanta you can have up to 85% of your water heated by the sun.

8.) Upgrade insulation. By using spray foam insulation you can decrease your heating and cooling bills up to 50%.

7.) Water conservation. We are currently in a level IV drought in Atlanta. There are many ways to cut back on water consumption. Low flow toilets, facets and shower heads are a great start.

6.) High efficiency HVAC. When you upgrade to a high efficiency HVAC not only do you save on your utility bills, but you also are more comfortable because they tend to be of better quality.

5.) Jobsite Management. Good management is a must on a green jobsite. The principles of Reduse, ReUse and Recycle are possible only with good jobsite management.

4.) Jobsite recycling. By recycling on the jobsite, The Hoots Group is able to divert up to 90% of the waste from the landfill. Some of the waste can be reused on the site as erosion control.

3.) Advanced framing. This type of framing uses less wood and allows for space for insulation. The extra insulation increases the R-Value for the house while decreasing energy bills.

2.) Site orientation. By keeping the house out of direct sunlight you are able to decrease the heating and cooling loads on the house and keep the occupants of the house more comfortable.

1.) Enforce the Energy Code. Most contractors like to brag that they found a way around the code. By just meeting the code you received a D-. Not only should you aspire to obey the code, but exceeding the code gives you a better structure that will last longer.

A friend and client of mine is a Carbon trader here in Atlanta GA.  Not only is his house going through a greenovation with us, his company has helped the neighborhood become greener as well.

Here is a press release from their website: Verus Carbon Neutral

Atlanta-based Developer and 18 Business Owners Work with Company to Establish Groundbreaking Eco-Zone

ATLANTA (NOVEMBER 14, 2008) — Global climate change is one of the most daunting challenges of the 21st century, but the recent growth and popularity of American eco-consciousness has created a new sense of urgency to address this problem. Today the green movement took a significant step forward as the first “Carbon Neutral Zone” in the United States was announced in Atlanta. By purchasing carbon offsets, an entire retail community, known as The Corner-Virginia Highland, effectively offset its residual greenhouse gas emissions using an innovative collective approach that will set the standard for American companies looking to adopt sustainable business practices and reduce their carbon footprints.

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Who is green?

It can be argued that all of us are green.  When I was at boot camp at Paris Island, we did not refer to the other recruits by the color of their skin but by the shade of green that they were.  Some were light green Marines and others were dark green Marines.

Now that I am a green contractor, I started to think what makes me different than the other contractors.  Are the rest of them green as well but just a lighter shade of green.  I would like to think that with the sustainable practices that are standard at the Hoots Group that we are a darker shade of green.

I think that what makes the Hoots Group green is our adherence to strict green building standards coupled with the leadership traits that all Marines follow.  Integrity,  Dependability, Judgment…. just to name a few of the characteristic of both a Marine a green design.  Integrity is key to any business.  Designing and building a house that not only is more durable and is more energy efficient is a testament to how much integrity the builder has.  Cutting corners is not an option.

I am proud of my service in the Marine Corps.  I am just as proud of my associates who hold the same principles that I do in building green structures.

When choosing the team to design build your home make sure that they are green.  Green means much more than hugging trees, green holds the same ideals as any Marine.  For a better built house the is energy efficient, more comfortable and healthy choose Atlanta’s Green Team.

The few.  The proud.  The green.

I know that it is 20 degrees out and this is not the time of the year for outdoor gardening, but at a friend’s request I decided to share some ideas that I have for green outdoor living spaces.

I like to garden, particularly I like to grow my own vegetables and herbs.  This year, in on my path towards becoming more sustainable, I purchased a rain barrel.  This was an easy first step since the initial investment can be as little as 100 bucks for a decent rain barrel.  My vegetable garden was near my barrel so this worked out well for watering the plants when mother nature neglected to water them.

Getting it set up was quite a feat.  Since the location of the downspout was the same level as my plants, I had to build a platform in order create enough head pressure.   This worked out well for me since I built the platform to act as a storage center also.  All the trucks and other toys from my sons easily store under the rain  barrel now.  After a few month, however, I noticed a nice odor coming from the barrel.  The barrel that I purchased was a re-purposed wine barrel.  The vendor that sold these did not put a screen on it in order to filter the vegetative matter out though.  The screen also serves to block the mosquitoes from entering or exiting also.

Once I modify the entry into barrel with screen the smell and mosquitoes went away.

some of the benefits of a rain barrel:

• You can water your plants at any time of the day when there are watering restrictions regarding municipal water
• Water plants with municipal water is a waste of energy.  The amount of energy used to pump the water to your house will be saved if you use rain water collection.

If you are wanting to upgrade to an even larger system then you should consider a systern.  These tanks can hold enough water to water all of your plants is designed correctly.  One company that I have used here in the Atlanta Area is Raincatchers.

The sun is the most abundant energy source on the Earth.  As we continue to hear about how fossil fuels are running out, we must consider alternative energy sources.

The sun is probably the most fun out of all of the options that we have.  Some people look to burn waste, others want to create fuels out of organic matter.  These are great, but they still pollute the air.  Solar is truly a clean energy.

This diagram show how solar thermal works.  The sun heats the fluid in the collector and exchanges the heat with the water in the tank.

Why is this the gift that keeps on giving?  I thought that this would be an appropriate Holiday title, but it is also very true all year long.

1.  There is a 30% Federal tax credit plus here in GA there is a 35% state tax credit.  With these credits, there are up to $4500 in potential savings on the upfront cost of the system.

2.  With these credits the typical system pays for itself in 2-7 years.

3.  The good news is that over the life of the system you could have $15,000 or more in energy savings.

This truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Hint- if you are looking for a gift for your loved one that can also get you a tax credit.  This is the perfect gift!!

I used to drink at least 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day.  I started drinking coffee regularly when I was in the Marine Corps.  I was full time active duty and part time in school at night also.  I needed the extra caffeine to stay alert for work and my studies.

Recently, with the stress of owning a company and my body’s reaction to so much caffeine, I dropped down to 1 cup a week.  Since I am a green builder I decided that I should give green tea a chance.  (Just trying to support the other green businesses) My stomachaches and heart burn have dramatically decreased as my energy levels and awareness have increased.  I did a little research on green tea to see why this was the case.

First of all green tea has been used as a medicine in China for over 4,000 years.  Many studies have shown that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.  Some of the other medical conditions that green tea has been helpful in alleviating cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, infection, and impaired immune function.

I feel much better and my stomach feels better as well since green tea is not as acidic as coffee.  I still get to enjoy my weekly cup of Joe without the dependence on the caffeine from it.  Green tea still has a little caffeine in it, but not as much as coffee or even black tea (which is just fully mature green tea leaves.)

For more information on green tea visit: the world’s healthiest foods

Energy Efficiency Home Improvement Rebates

We are happy to announce that we can help all GA Power clients get rebates for making improvements to their homes.  There are up to 1900 bucks in rebates that you can get by making energy efficient improvements.

Why Customers Choose Home Performance with ENERGY STAR®

Savings and Peace of Mind
Save on energy costs and increase the comfort, safety and durability of your most important investment – your home.

Specially Trained and Certified Contractors
The Hoots Group, certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) will work with you to identify sources of wasted energy and comfort problems throughout your home.

Comprehensive Assessment, Recommendations and Cost Analysis
By using the “whole house approach,” our team is able to give you a comprehensive assessment that includes recommendations and cost analysis for: heating/cooling equipment, insulation levels, air infiltration, windows/doors, and lighting.

Financial Incentives
Financial incentives are available to help offset the cost of the assessment and the improvements. All incentives are subjected to specific improvements meeting pre-determined Test-out requirements (post diagnostic testing). For more information click here.

For more information on this and other rebates and incentives click here.

From Carson at the buckhead blog:

“On October 1st, Google announced it’s plan to rid the United States of it’s dependence on fossil fuels and make us a country that runs on clean renewable resources. Their plan is to accomplish this by 2030 and will be done by implementing several of the following practices:

1. Energy Efficiency
2. Replace Coal, Oil & 1/2 of the Natural Gas production with renewable energy from Wind, Photovoltaic (solar), and Geothermal.
3. Increasing the sales of Plug-In Vehicles to 90% of new car sales in 2030
4. Increasing the Fuel Efficiency of new vehicles from 31mpg to 45mpg
5. Accelerating the turnover of the vehicle fleet from 19 to 13 years:
My comment of their post:

Energy Efficient Upgrades are a must before we start to build new power plants. Our average savings is about 30% when someone works with us. Some clients see a savings of up to 70%!!

Please do not forget water. It is all connected. The less water you consume, then less power it takes to pump the water to your house. Last night Lake Lanier was down 18 feet. We must all do our part to conserve water. If you need help with this start with buying fixtures with the Water Sense label. We can help you with advanced rain water collection and reducing the amount of water the you use by changing out all of the water wasting fixtures in your house.

This last weekend we had a booth at the Enviro Expo in Atlanta, GA.  It was promoting recycling and other environmentally friendly practices.  I had the pleasure of speaking (the title of my presentation is listed below) and encourage people to go green.

I do have to admit that I am very disappointed in the citizens and businesses in Atlanta.  Recycling is such an easy way to go green and people are either too ignorant to know how to put items in a different color container with arrows on it or they don’t care.

More often than not, when I go into a business I ask them where the recycling bin is located because I do not want to throw away metals that can be recycled.  Most companies admit that they should be doing it but they don’t.  I encourage all of my readers to keep up the pressure on businesses to offer recycling.  It is not difficult and they should be embarrassed if they do not adher to certain sustainable findamantals.

When we started recycling at our house and our business, we were able to take at least 80% of the trash out of the waste stream.  It is a very viable option and is what I consider to be common sense sustainable practices.   Once I see the recycling bins on the side of the road as the dominant container and the trash bin as a 5 gallon bucket then I know that Atlanta can call themselves a green city.   Until then, we have a lot of work and educating to do.

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I started working out with my friend John every other morning outside.  Now that it is cold, layering clothes and maintaining body temperature is a must.  As soon as I came home, a heat wave hit me as I entered the my house.  This reminded me of the improvements that I made to my own house to help my family warmer.  Don’t feel bad- even though I am a green contractor, it has taken me a few years to weatherize my own home.

Layering applies to homes also.  One thing that is critical as we enter into cold season is weatherizing the outer layer of the home.  This layer is called the building envelope.  The building envelope is where you do not want to loose heat or air.  By air sealing and insulating you can help maintain the temperature in your house thus lowering your energy bills.  By stopping the drafts and upgrading the insulation you and your family will be warmer and more comfortable also.

What ever improvements you make to your home can benefit you in the hot season also.   The air sealing will prevent humidity from entering your house in more humid climates.  The insulation will protect you form the heat gain from the sun during the summer also.  This will help your air conditioning costs go down as well as your heating costs.

Since energy prices are not so stable or guratenteed to go up, the solution is to insulate yourself from high energy bills.

Solar technology is sexy and is a hot topic right now given our energy crisis. Whenever I tell people that we install solar on people’s houses, I never get a negative response. Solar is good. It is harnessing the energy from the sun a source of energy that should last a few billions years plus or minus. There are many types of solar technologies on the market, but the one that excites me the most is solar thermal.

In residential households, hot water heaters are typically the 2nd largest consumer of energy behind the HVAC. The concept of heating the water with the sun has been around for hundreds of years, but within the last 100 years or so the technology has advanced quite a bit. Here in GA, with the state and federal tax credits most systems save enough in energy costs to pay for themselves in less than 7 years. Some as soon as 2 years depending on the usage. For more information on the tax credits visit GEFA. To find out more about Velux Solar Hot water heater that looks like skylights visit Velux.com

With the stock market in peril, and the real estate market readjusting, the best investment is in your home’s performance.

What is Home Performance? The EPA created a program called Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES. This program is for existing homes and guides contractors and consumers though the difficult process of diagnosing and fixing homes that are not performing very well. If you have high energy bills, bad indoor air quality, or uncomfortable rooms HPwES is for you. The beauty of the program is that it comes with a priority sheet which shows you which improvements will give you the faster return on investment (ROI). When the start market is not even giving you a positive ROI, energy saving home improvements are surest investment that you can make now. Most of the recommendation have a payback of less than 5 years and some as little as a year.