The more obvious answer is the southern face of a building, however there is a resource center that is leading the nation in sustaining research and advice here in Atlanta Georgia called the Southface Energy Institute. The mission statement from their website-”Southface promotes sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance.”

The tagline for The Hoots Group is “Design green, Build green, Live green.”  Thanks to Southface we can offer certifications for the Build Green part.  Their inhouse building certification – Earthcraft House has won many national awards for it’s stringent sustainable guidelines.  The also are local verifier and supporter of other green programs such as LEED for Homes, and Home Performance with Energy Star.  We are grateful to be able to participate in all of these programs and can offer these certifications to our clients so they can have peace of mind in knowing that their house went through a process of getting certified by a 3rd party.

Take the time to browse their website and check out all of the online resourses that they have so you to can go green.

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.

Q: Which green certification is best for my house?

A: Good question- I get asked all if time which green certification is the best. It really depends on the situation. Not all certifications are friendly to every situation while some of them actually overlap. Use the process of getting the certification to make the house greener and let the certificate be the reward for your sustainable choices. Not every sustainable choice is going to be on the checklist, so you can go above and beyond as well. The checklists typically cover how you develop the land to how the house is build, it does not cover how you occupy the house.

Here are some of the certificates that we offer at The Hoots Group. Use this as a guide to see which one is best for you in your path towards a more sustainable lifestyle and space.

Residential New Construction

“LEED for Homes” is great.  This program is sponsored by the USGBC.  We have built to these standards and this is perceived to be one of the more holistic checklists out there.  You can build one of these anywhere in the US.  You will need to make sure that you have a certifying agent working with you from day one so you can make it to the end.  If you are in the Atlanta area you can build the house with us and we have partners that can certify it for us.

EarthCraft House.  This program is our own local program and is available throughout the SouthEast.  It is very similar to LEED for Homes and if you get this one or LEED you will most likely qualify for the other one as well.

Existing Homes

EarthCraft has a renovation program as well.  It is called EarthCraft Renovation.  The worksheet is very similar.  If you are renovating your house, and follow this checklist you can see a great savings in energy costs if you look at making your whole house more energy efficient.  The upgrade is nominal compared to the rest of the construction costs yet the benefits are outstanding.  Most of our clients see at least 30% savings up to 70% per square foot on utility costs.

For existing homes where you are not renovating, consider Home Performance with Energy Star.  This is a nationwide program that is sponsored by the EPA.  It takes their Energy Star processes and give a guide to contractors and homeowners on a retrofit basis.  This process starts out with an assessment from a qualified agent and with the report you get a prioritized list based on fastest return on safety and energy savings.  For all of our EarthCraft renovation projects, we start them out with an Home Performance with Energy Start assessment so we can see how much of an improvement was made.

For both of the renovation programs, you document existing conditions to use as a baseline to see how much improvement you made.  There is a threshold that you must meet in order to get the certificate.

For all of the programs- in GA you can either list the component upgrades or the certification on our multiple listing service.  This is good if you are trying to market your home to another green buying, or if you are trying to find an existing green home.  Check in with your green real estate agent for more details.

If  you need a green contractor in GA click here.

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