Sustain Word

The Official Blog of The Hoots Group- The Green Builder and Remodeler for Atlanta

Hey there! Thanks for dropping by Sustainword! Take a look around
and grab the RSS feed to stay updated. See you around!

Category : What is…

It’s about the bottom line!

Filed Under : What is... by Greenlanta
Aug.9,2009

Many people are very confused about what green is and there is a perception that green cost more. This really depends on how you look at it.   It is our opinion at The Hoots Group that it should not cost more when design correctly.

I prefer not to even use the work green when talking about construction, however when I used other keywords, Google and other search engines did not pick them up as ofter- so let’s call it green for now.

When dealing with new homes or renovations- green deals with many different aspects from paints and finishes  to your HVAC. The KISS (Keep It Simple S…..) method works best for me an my staff. Follow these basic rules when designing a house:

1.  Try not to waste materials.  Does this cost more?  NO- it saves all of us money.

2.  Do not bring chemicals into the indoors environment.  Does this cost more?  NO- there are alternatives for every type of finish these days that are around the same cost as toxic products.  This saves you on allergy shots.  Most asthma and allergy cases that we know about can be tied to environmental conditions either inside or out.

3.  Obey the energy code (which is Law) and offer upgrades that make sence.  Does this cost more?  NO- every energy efficient upgrade that we offer has a fast payback.  If it does not- then we look into finding a better solution.

Note:  Any upgrade that has a Return On Investment that is shorter than the term of the loan means that you save more money each pay period than you pay out?  If you do not make these upgrades- then you are not being adviced well.

4.  Try to use materials that are locally sourced.  Does this cost more?  NO- it should cost less since there is less energy involved in shipping the materials to the site.

Of source there are exceptions to these points, but it if think about the design and construction process and let common sence rule, green will actually save you money.  If you are being told otherwise- they have not done enough research ot tried hard enough to make your home a healthier and more efficient place to live.

If you have questions about any of this feel free to contact us or post a comment below so we can start a healthy discuss about the cost of going green.

Find out more about us here, check out our videos, and become a fan of us on Facebook!

Share on Facebook

  Tags : , , , , , , , , ,

  Read more...

What is geothermal?

Filed Under : HVAC,What is...,geothermal HVAC by TimUzar
Feb.21,2009

I have been getting lots of questions about how geothermal works especially since the stimulus package upgraded the rebate that you get to 30% of the total cost.  To date, I have not heard any consumer or builder get the principles of geothermal exactly correct so I have asked our in-house expert to give us a quick lesson on Geothermal.  To get a more thorough explanation in person visit us this week at the SouthEastern Lifestyle Construction Conference.

GEOTHERMAL 101

By: Fresh World – Geothermal Systems design, Sales, Installation – Fresh World- Sustainable Solutions for Life

Geothermal heating and cooling technology has been around for decades, but not many people use it—compared to a conventional heat pump, it’s 2x more expensive to install. But if you’re building a new house, installing a geothermal system will only cost a few thousand dollars more than a conventional system and can pay off big through reduced energy and upkeep costs.

A geothermal Heat Pump is nothing more than a Heat Pump. A common misconception is it uses water from the earth to heat and cool your house, it does not! It works on the same principles as a regular air to air heat pump. Firstly I’m going to explain how a Heat Pump works. Compression of any gas to a liquid state (any one remember their chemistry & physics classes?) generates heat. In this case the gas we use is called refrigerant. This high pressure refrigerant is then quickly discharged to a vapor state through the use of a nozzle called an expansion valve, the same way hair spray comes out of an aerosol can. That vaporized refrigerant is now really cold. This cold refrigerant is piped through a coil where air blows past it from your air conditioner unit and the cold is what you feel in the summer time coming out of your vents. Once this refrigerant leaves the coil it begins its journey again through the compressor that puts the refrigerant back into a compressed liquid state. Imagine putting the hair spray back into the can and pressurizing it again so that the cycle can start all over again. But wait. The compressor and the refrigerant are now really hot from all this work so the Heat Pump uses a fan to cool everything off. This is what you see sitting outside your house making all kinds of racket out side your bedroom window. In the winter time this process still happens but in reverse. Read More…

Share on Facebook

  Tags : , , , , , , , ,

  Read more...

What is Solar Thermal?

Filed Under : Energy Efficiency,Solar Power and other renewable resources,What is... by Greenlanta
Nov.17,2008

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

Find out more about us here, check out our videos, and become a fan of us on Facebook!

Share on Facebook

  Tags : , , ,

  Read more...

Copyright 2010 Sustain Word | Powered by WordPress | Designed by www.promiseringsdesigns.com