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Did you know that some dishwashers cost less that $15/ year to operate? Here is one of our appliance partners describing the new Bosch dishwashers that are energy efficient and perform well.
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Apr.12,2010
Solar Water Heaters have a 3-7 year ROI according to the DOE
While many of of clients are willing to make an extra investment to “help save the environment”, most of them are mainly concerned about their economic bottom line. I don’t blame them. In these tough times, you have to make smart economic investments to make sure you actually get a good return on investment.
When it comes to new construction and renovations, we offer upgrades in several areas over “standard construction” because there is actually a good return on the extra cost of the investment. I have been giving presentations to many of our trade partners and I get consistent feedback from them that ‘green cost more and does not work all of the time.’ This is a misconception based on people gravitating towards the more expensive items that are green that may look cool but do not perform as well as other options.
That is why I prefer to use the term building science. When we make recomendations to our clients, we keep their investment dollars in mind. We look at a few things for each solution:
Let’s look at a couple of solutions that we offer based on these questions.
So when considering a renovation or new construction, if the tern green seems a bit unclear and confusing, consider design a home using building science that is specifically engineered for your needs.
Our building performance (Fresh World) offers green solutions for homeowners and builders, while our green building division (The Hoots Group) is Atlanta’s pioneer in residential building science.
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Share on Facebook Nov.9,2009In a neighborhood where the neighbors are paying hundreds in utility costs due to inefficient homes- one of our clients just gave us this feedback on their home:
This is for their power usage…
July – 543 kwh – $60
Aug – 483 Kwh – $56
Sep – 455 kwh - $53
Oct – 352 kwh - $43
This was not a new home- it was a renovation!! To find out how you can get these kinds of savings on your home visit Fresh World. We were able to accomplish this by making the home energy efficient with good insulation, windows and air sealing. In addition to an efficient design, we were able to add solar thermal and geothermal HVAC.
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Share on FacebookWe have some pretty hip people on our staff, however the home performance world of professionals might have a few more pocket protectors per capita than the the rest of the population. A friend of mine forwarded me this link to a Utube video of this band that did a video about home performance auditors. For those of you that have had an energy audit from our team will think that this is a Hoot! We are now legit now that we have a music video about our profession.
Try not to laugh too hard!
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Tags : energy, energy audit, home performance
Here is a shot of an spray foam insulated roof line on one of my client's houses. Now it is semi conditioned storage space that is not subject to extreme temperatures.
The Answer- Spray Foam Insulation.
We choose several years ago to abandon all other types on insulation in most cases and just use spray foam insulation for very reasons stated in the question. Most insulation just insulates, however if it does not have an effective air seal it is useless. Spray foam insulation (We use Icynene) insulates, air seals and it maintains it’s composition over time which is what you need to keep a consistent R-Value.
We are the only EarthCraft Builder, Renovator and Home Performance contractor that uses Icynene as the standard insulation on all of our projects in the Atlanta area. PS- Our clients do not mind since the extra cost is far outweighed by the additional comfort and energy savings. Oh- I forgot to mention that most of our clients are eligible for up to 1900 in rebates from GA Power and tax credit of up to 1500 from the Feds on their tax returns. So the cost is not even noticed then.
Here is a great video that show how spray foam insulation is superior to other types. Spray foam demonstration video
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Share on Facebook Feb.18,2009I just finished giving a seminar for an affordable house conference here in Atlanta. I wanted to share a few thoughts with the rest of you about how you can affordably make a sustainable impact on your home or property management as well.
PART I- energy efficiency
There are 2 parts to my presentation. The first one is a summary of “low hanging fruit” concepts that a DIY can do to make their home perform better. For property managers, I would recommend, at a minimum, exploring the following items since they are low cost and can make a difference. The more advanced items would need a contractor, but most of them you can self perform.
For those of you in the Atlanta area here are some of the rebates you can get for some of these items:
Here is a site where you can find some of the green items to DIY:
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Share on Facebook Feb.13,2009Have you had a salesperson tell you that all of your problems will be solved with one little gadget? OR- specifically on your home- ads tells us the replacing windows will cut you energy bills in half. Or that upgrading your HVAC can do the same. A few years ago I decided to investigate and the math did not add up. How can one product be the solution? Is every house or building the same?
What made these claims even sillier to me is when I started getting more green certifications and learning different techniques to help solve the requests that we get from our clients. I truly did wish that I could find a special pill to solve my client’s problems, but over time still had to look at each issue as being unique and the solution would be custom for that specific problem.
Here is one example:
You see these air cleaner that we can buy on TV or off the shelf at the store to help clean your air. Sounds good to me. Deep down I wanted to believe that this is all I had to do to help my clients breath better. Fortunately, since I am an engineer at heart and I resort to the scientific method for solving problems and offering solutions.
The problem is excessive dust which affects your health and your indoor air quality. The solution could be as simple as stopping the source of the dust and/or installing a whole house air filtration system.
A couple of solutions (for free- we usually charge for our consulting):
Problem: In new homes- if you have recessed can lights that not air tight and have fiberglass or cellulose insulation in the attic, then you probably cannot dust enough to keep up!
DIY Solution:
In this order..
Note: if you see large gaps around the drywall- caulk them while the trim is off. If you have the time it makes sense to caulk any small gaps that you see as well. All of this will help cut down on the dust and air leakage
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Share on Facebook Tags : conservation, energy star, green, health, HVAC, Indoor Air Quality, Insulation
Energy Assessment vs. Energy Audit
Why pay for an assessment when you can get a free audit?
In the Atlanta area, and probably throughout the rest of the county there are many people giving free audits. Free had a cost that could be more expensive the paying a consultant. Please read on.
When I was 8 years old I remember and event at a bank where they had “free” pizza and other promotions there. I also got a “free” bond f or stating a checking account there. I remember talking about the free pizza and this older gentleman next to me told me that nothing in life is free. Unfortunately, every time I get something for “free,” his saying pops back into my head and as a business owner I start to calculate how much free might cost me.
This is still true today. Free- is a loss leader in hopes of getting your business. You will pay for free once you do business with them. In the energy world, there are lots of “free audits.” I think that giving a free energy audit is brilliant marketing. You have just disguised a sales call, by using a more comforting phrase such as “free energy audit.” How kind of your to give away something for free. Nothing wrong with that, except you are getting sold on a particular product verse a holistic solution without 3rd party verification. I am seeing many window and insulation salespeople offer this free audit which is good for getting people’s attention, however the best solution may not be just windows, insulation or HVAC. They are not going to offer the true best ROI, because they are going to loose money. So your free audit, I mean sales call, could actually cost you more money because it is free. The sales call will sell you the product with the highest profit margin, versus the solution with the the best return on investment.
When you pay for an energy assessment, it is more than a visual checklist that takes 20 minutes (like the free energy). It is a compressive approach that was created by a 3rd party- the EPA. I would trust suggestions from an unbiased 3rd party before I trust manufacturer’s claims. With a Home Performance with Energy Star Assessment, you get a prioritized checklist and full report of how your house can be made better for your energy efficiency, comfort and safety. An assessor homes out to you house and spends hours not minutes methodically testing your home to see where improvements can be made.
Also, with the assessment you are eligible for more rebates and have quantifiable numbers to work with when you go to sell you home.
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I love Jazz music and I particularly enjoy Louis Armstrong's version of "Baby It's Cold Outside"
Right now it is freezing in most of the country. I just heard on the radio that some parts may see a record blizzard in the near future! Get ready for high heating bills and to see where your house is not comfortable.
At our house, and at most houses, when it is cold outside all we worry about is our comfort and health. Not many people are willing to sacrifice comfort for savings in $$. That is until they get their first heating bill for the season, they they give us a call or they make their family freeze.
The good news is that you can be comfortable AND energy efficient. If you have drafts- you are loosing money and are uncomfortable. If your insulation or windows are not meeting the energy code- you are losing money. By fixing these areas in your house and upgrading your HVAC to a higher performance HVAC you can be more comfortable, healthier and energy efficient.
Just meeting the energy code is not enough! Energy Star products exceed the energy code to save you even more money.
The program that we use to evaluate and make your home more energy efficient, comfortable and healthier is Home Performance with Energy Star. This home assessment finds the energy hogs in your house and we use the EPA guidelines to prioritize which work needs to be completed based on energy efficiency and safety.
The good news is that there are programs that can help you offset the cost of the audit and the improvements. For a full list for GA click here.
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Share on FacebookHere in Georgia- it is freezing right now. We are getting calls left and right to make homes more energy efficient as well as comfortable. Many of them are looking for a quick fix but a few are thinking long term as well. If you have an inefficient house and you have holes in your insulation, then stop letting your money go through the roof and out the walls! Energy efficiency also makes your home more comfortable. I am sure that your family would appreciate a more comfortable house as well. The colds and allergies will also diminish.
There are 2 main parts to home performance. How your home performs, and how you perform in the house. In the winter, if you have a leaky house then you can either lower the thermostat and freeze (lifestyle change), or you can make your home more energy efficient (home performance changes) and be comfortable and save money!
Within Home Performance you can either do basic changes to your house or advanced changes to save even more money. Basic changes include: upgrading insulation, draft blocking, sealing up your duct work etc. These are all areas that you can get an immediate payback on comfort and energy efficiency.
If you have made the basic changes to your home and still want to save money, then upgrade the mechanical systems in your home. HVAC is the number 1 consumer of energy in the house followed by the water heater. The most efficient water heater on the market is Solar Thermal. The most efficient HVAC on the market is geothermal HVAC. This system is more than twice as efficient as a typical HVAC unit. Combined with the Solar and Insulation upgrades your energy consumption can be cut by over 50% or more!
For more information on this and other rebates and incentives click here.
To learn more about geothermal in person come visit us at Log Home and Timber Frame Show here in Atlanta this weekend. Read on for more details about the show.
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We all agree that green is good, however is going green always the best thing to do?
Here is my response to this question that I received as part of my “Suggestion and Questions” page:
(We) were discussing her buying a Prius and she spoke with her son who was going on about how huge the footprint of a hybrid car is because of all of the batteries and so forth… so my question to you is, how do YOU look at things like this?
I have been listening to many of my green friends go back and forth about if a hybrid is green or not. In the process of manufacturing a Toyota Prius it takes about 1000 gallons of oil. This means that you have embodied energy in a Prius and your will have to drive it for x number of years or miles in order to save the amount of energy that was put into to create it. Since it takes so long to reach this break even point then a Prius is not green then right? Yes and no.
If you have a moderately fuel efficient car already and do not drive around that much then take it to the scrapyard while it still works. Then use that money as a down payment on a Prius then that is not a green decision. If you are driving a gas guzzler and you are the only person in the car and you are not using it to transport cargo then downsizing to a Prius is a green decision. If you are worried about your net energy and trying to keep the money out of the middle east, then there is a 3rd alternative. How about turning in your inefficient car so someone that actually needs that much mass might use it and you buy another smaller used car! Used Car? The energy to make a new Prius is 1000 gallons of oil greater than the energy to buy a used car. But the Prius is more efficient. Yes, however the break even point on the efficiency could be as much as 10 years.
Keep in mind- if you do not have a car and need one, then buying a Prius is better that a gas guzzler. Yes, it takes energy to make, however you do save quite a bit over what you could have spent on a fuel inefficient one. Most people like to see a monetary ROI, however globally saving energy is a much more important.
Disclaimer- most of my facts are paraphrased from my memories from other websites and articles that I have read over the last few years.
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Share on FacebookAs a Home Performance contractor, we not only encourage advanced home performance remedies such as adding insulation, upgrading HVAC and window replacement but also encourage our clients to look at easy green options that are on the market.
My brother started a blog promoting affordable items that you can buy to change the performance of your home. From Energy Star light bulbs to programmable thermostats he is covering items that the Eco Conscious do-it-yourselfer can easily tackle.
Once you receive our Home Performance summary from our auditor you can either hire us to make the larger changes or use the tools at Conservation Life to make your home greener by making smaller changes. Either way you are making a difference on your operating costs and effect on the environment.
Here are a few posts from their site that might be useful to you:
Quick Fix – find your air leaks
Candle powers LED that is brighter than the candle
Stop Backdrafts (not the Kurt Russell, fire kind)
Wash Your Stinky Clothes Efficiently
Quick Fix – Keep air from leaking out your cracks
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Filed Under : Energy Efficiency,Energy Tax Credits and Rebates,Solar Power and other renewable resources by Greenlanta Jan.2,2009New Year’s Resolution #2
Yesterday I blogged about reducing waste in our households and during the construction process. Well, the way you occupy your house and the way that it performs can also be wasteful.
First time for housekeeping….
Many of our clients got, or will be getting rebates for their energy efficient upgrades that they did in 2008. If you were one of our clients that make an energy efficient upgrade and are a GA Power client, you are eligible for up to 1900 in rebates from GA Power. How’s that for a Happy New Year. We can help you with the paperwork and get this in for you.
URGENT!!!!!!
If you are one of our clients that did geothermal, solar thermal, or solar power (or a combination of the 3- yes we did have some do all three!), you need to submit your paperwork to the state ASAP before the cut your off for your deductions. JUST IN….”I spoke with GEFA…they say Dept. of Revenue is only looking at install date, so even late submissions to GEFA for certification will not jeopardize the 2008 credit since there is plenty of money left under the $2.5 million cap.”- Jason Rooks
However do not take your time. Even though there is money left do not wait too long or you will loose it. Hoots Group clients will get tens of thousands back.
Back to the Resolution. #2 that is
Last year our clients saved tens of thousands due to rebates. This year we are in a position to save our clients hundreds of thousands in rebates. Wait- these are just rebates that we are discussing. They will also save on their utility bills as well. And comfort. And health. You get the point- reducing your energy costs pays back in saving and in rebates. So do it now!
If you install a Solar Water heater with us- the upfront costs starts around 8K. With the federal and state rebates the costs will be around 3.5K. This investment is about the same cost as a tankless water heater. I forgot to mention that it is many times more efficient as well. The sun is a free heating source and can reduce your water heating costs up to 85%!
Our Resolution #2- Help our clients save on their utility bills and get paid to do so also.
Your Resolution #2- Start talking to your Efficiency experts to start on your sustainability plan to start reducing your energy costs and impact on the environment.
For a full list of rebates click here.
Happy New Year!
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Share on Facebook Filed Under : Energy Efficiency,Energy Tax Credits and Rebates,Green programs and policy by Greenlanta Dec.30,2008In a time where we need something to stimulate the economy, here is one idea that may do just that. Not only is it promoting sustainable building but will help our economy become independent of foreign energy. I think that all ideas should be part of a national dialogue to make the US a stronger nation. Energy independence is part of that package as well as financial independence. Go green. Go red, white and blue. Green is the new red, white and blue.
Here is one idea that is being considered right now as part of the 2030 Challenge:
The 2030 Challenge Stimulus Plan is generating excitement and gathering steam on Capitol Hill.
The “Top 10 Ideas for America” will be presented to the Obama Administration on Inauguration Day. Change.org will then build a national campaign to advance each idea in Congress.
You can read the full Plan here.
Yes, The Hoots Group has signed up to be part of the 2030 challenge. We were already doing it, and when I came across this initiative it made sense to support it since there is no downside to saving money and cleaner air.
Share on FacebookI was looking at some posts on my linkedin account and saw this one that was talking about green fabrics as they apply to window coverings etc. I definitely support the concept of controlling sunlight and if you can reduce solar heat gain using window coverings.
I do believe that you should first try smart building design. Why are you having to keep the sun out? Why do you have windows that are West facing allowing the sun to come in?
I was at a presentation of a well respected green architect Peter Pfeiffer, and he argued the point of good orientation and design of a house to considered with the movement of the sun.
Paraphrased from memory:
If you have windows that are getting to much sunlight then you end up covering them up during daylight hours. The sunlight does overheat the house during the summer time so the window shades do help with this. If the house is hotter so the HVAC has to work harder. However, when you shade the windows during the daytime you have to turn on the lights. Most incandescent and halogen lights put off enough heat that the HVAC again has to kick on to keep the indoors cool. All of this could have been averted if the overhangs, trees and orientation of the house coincided with the path of the sun. The shades are good for privacy and helping correct bad architecture, however good design is preferable.
For those unfortunate households that have too much solar heat gain here are a few solutions to consider to block the sun out with interior design. I will blog about exterior shutter later.
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