Posted on February 17, 2009 by diyhomepro
Home Energy Savings From DIY Energy Efficient Home Improvements
Dear Home Owner,
Energy efficient home improvements could be one of the best do-it-yourself projects you can do for you home right now. Let’s face it though, energy efficient home improvements can be tough if you don’t know what you’re doing!
There’s no doubt, it’s probably the most difficult lesson for any home owner to learn. Frankly, “do-it-yourself” projects are the only subject you don’t want to try and fake.
Read more »
Filed under: Home energy efficiency | Tagged: energy efficient home improvement | 3 Comments »
Posted on May 2, 2009 by diyhomepro
Green Housing Worldwide Is Catching On!
You wouldn’t expect to find ‘green’ housing sprouting up in the hustle and bustle of such places as Mumbai or Kolkata India, but green construction is one of the driving forces behind economic development in such countries.
“With green buildings, real-estate professionals are helping to improve the quality of urban life in Indian cities” says Sachin Sandhir of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
At a time when the real-estate sector is passing through a trough, the concept of green buildings is catching on among developers and buyers. This is because of two factors: growing environment consciousness, and lower cost of operation of these buildings. If you’re going to build new construction, it only makes sense to build green.
Read more »
Filed under: going green | Tagged: energy efficient home improvement, energy efficient homes, going green, green homes, green housing | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 22, 2009 by diyhomepro
New York City Paves The Way for Energy Efficient Home Improvements
New York City plans to mak older buildings more energy efficient.
Elected leaders in New York City will propose a suite of laws and other initiatives on Wednesday aimed at reducing energy consumption and related emissions of greenhouse gases by requiring owners of thousands of older buildings to upgrade everything from boilers to light bulbs in order to make their homes more energy efficient.
City officials estimated that it would save property owners roughly $750 million a year in energy costs, city officials said. The program would begin in 2013, with 2,200 buildings performing energy audits and beginning upgrades each year for a decade. To limit political hurdles, improvements to a building would be mandatory only if the energy audits showed that the costs of the improvements could be recouped through declines in energy bills within five years.
Read more »
Filed under: Energy Efficiency News | Tagged: energy audit, energy efficiency, energy efficient home improvements, energy efficient homes, home energy savings, understanding home energy | 2 Comments »
Posted on April 14, 2009 by diyhomepro
Could energy efficient home improvements not only save on energy costs, but also lower your mortgage rate?
Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development — thinks consumers deserve more information on the energy efficiency of the houses they buy, both resale and newly built. And he thinks mortgages should come with lower rates or better terms to encourage purchases and retrofits that save energy.
There’s no doub that energy efficient homes add value in today’s real estate market. “Ultimately, if your energy bills are going to be lower, there ought to be some [mortgage] benefits to that” says Donovan. “If in the long run there’s a cost of $5,000 to upgrade a house that will produce $10,000 in savings over time for utilities, the perfect tool to realize those savings is a mortgage,” he said.
Read more »
Filed under: Energy Efficiency News | Tagged: energy efficient home improvement, energy efficient homes, energy efficient mortgages, green home, secretary of housing and urban develoment | 1 Comment »
Posted on April 9, 2009 by diyhomepro
Is green the best color for an office building? In Indiana, they may be.
A bill that would mandate green design and construction of state-owned buildings like schools and government centers is making its way
through the Legislature, taking the concept further than it has ever gone with Indiana lawmakers. House Bill 1620 would require new construction and renovation of existing state buildings, state universities, cities and towns to use environmentally green standards, beginning July 1.
This will be just the beginnig of the green building and retrofitting movement sweeping the nation.
At the Greenprints Conference here in Atlanta a few weeks ago, we talked about how the Department of Energy will be marketing, teaching, and providing tax incentives for energy efficient home improvements. It’s not a matter of if you need to improve your home’s energy efficiency, but when you’re going to get started.
Read more »
Filed under: Green Energy News | Tagged: building green, energy efficiency, energy efficient home improvements, energy efficient homes, energy efficient offices, going green, green homes, green offices | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 5, 2009 by diyhomepro
The Green Building Initiative® (GBI) and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to work together to promote the design and construction of energy efficient and environmentally responsible buildings.
The agreement was recently signed by the GBI’s President, Ward Hubbell and the AIA’s EVP/CEO, Christine McEntee.
Read more »
Filed under: Green Energy News | Tagged: energy efficient homes, going green, green building, Green Building Initiative, green homes, green news | 1 Comment »
Posted on March 31, 2009 by diyhomepro
Department of Energy Maps Efficiency Money
You want money for energy efficient home improvement projects by don’t know where to get it.
On Thursday, the Department of Energy released a handy map that shows how much stimulus money every city in the country is eligible to
receive for energy efficiency. The release of funds last week totals $2.6 billion.
Further details of the program, called the “energy efficiency and conservation block grant program,” are available at the Department of
Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Web site.
For big cities, the numbers are enormous. Houston stands to receive $22.8 million. Boston will get $6.5 million — which is over $1 million
more than it had expected, according to Nick Martin, a spokesman for the Boston mayor’s office. He said that the city was aiming to use
the money to help residents make their homes more energy-efficient, to retrofit municipal buildings and thus save energy and to train
people for green-collar jobs.
Cities have never received stimulus money directly from the federal government before. The block grants were approved by Congress in 2007,
but no money was allocated — until now. States also are due to receive separate money for their state energy offices, and also for a weatherization program to aid low-income families.
Over all, the efficiency money in the stimulus “does appear to be the largest single funding for energy efficiency in
the history of humanity” , said Mr. Seth Kaplan, vice-president of the Conservation Law Foundation.
As our nation takes a giant step forward in ‘greening’ America, homeowners have been givne tremendous opportunities to make significant energy efficient home improvements.
March 31st, 2009
Photo Credit: borman818 Flickr Creative Commons
Filed under: Energy Efficiency News | Tagged: Department of Energy, energy efficiency, energy efficient, energy efficient home improvement, energy efficient homes, going green, home, home improvement, home improvement projects, how to green your home, money for energy efficient home improvments, money for home improvements, stimulus money | Leave a Comment »
Posted on March 21, 2009 by diyhomepro
New Energy Efficient Home Technology Gets Smart
Energy efficient home improvements have really taken off in the past year. There’s no doubt about it that if your home isn’t energy efficient, it will become obsolete in the coming years. That’s because homes are not only going to be green, they’re going to be energy efficient smart.
While many people dream of a their home running off of solar, wind, or geothermal energy, energy efficient homes of the future will use even more advanced technology to power up and conserve home energy.
The homes of tomorrow will be down right brilliant compared with the homes of today. Scientists envision that light bulbs will talk to switches, furnaces to windows, and everything communicating to the Internet. Homes generate their own power in basement plants. Windows and paint change color to harvest sunlight or reject it. It’s all part of energy efficient home improvements that will make you cool during the summer and the coolest home on the block
Read more »
Filed under: Home energy efficiency | Tagged: energy efficient homes, frozen smoke, green paint, green technology, home energy technology, home hydrogren, smart homes | 4 Comments »
Posted on March 7, 2009 by diyhomepro
Greening Older Homes
America is on the cusp of a major ‘green‘ renovation. Today, the median age of the American home is 36 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. ‘Future-proofing’ your house so it doesn’t become an edificial dinosaur amid fast-changing new ‘green’ technology is a home improvement project you cannot afford to fall behind on.
“Five or 10 years ago, people didn’t wonder, ‘What can we do to insulate or what sort of lighting to use to save energy?’ ” says Gary Drake, owner of Los Angeles-based Drake Contractors Inc. “It was more like, ‘Why am I spending all this money on insulation?’ Spending a bit more on such upgrades can pay off in immediate energy savings and a higher resale price down the road. One-third of home buyers say they are willing to pay a premium of $20,000 or more for a green home, according to a study by McGraw-Hill Cos.
Now, Mr. Drake estimates, a quarter of his remodeling clients request energy-efficient lighting and appliances as well as paints and cabinetry built with fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs), solvents that can cause environmental and health problems. He is currently remodeling his own home with low-energy LED (light-emitting diode) lights and nontoxic denim insulation (like what’s found in blue jeans). “I know when I go to sell it these are all things I can say I did. And I’ll know I can get top dollar for my house,” he says.
New regulations, like California’s recent move to reduce formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products such as those used in kitchen cabinets, are contributing to the urgency and sparking established manufacturers to transform product lines. Financial incentives are helping too, from “green” homeowner-insurance policies to expanded tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements in the new federal economic-stimulus package.
Here are a few Energy Efficient Home Improvement Projects to ‘future proof’ your aging home.
Read more »
Filed under: Greening an Older Home | Tagged: energy efficient, energy efficient home improvement, energy efficient homes, going green, green home remodeling, green home renovations, home, home improvement, home renovations | 1 Comment »
