The green product resource for your home remodel.

As homeowners, many of us will use our home remodel as an opportunity to “upgrade” our existing home audio and visual equipment such as televisions, amplifiers, satellite/cable box, DVD players, whole house audio, video games, etc. 

With these upgrades, you have an opportunity to reduce power consumption in your home – making your home a greener home.  Further, if your new equipment is an addition to your power consumption, then there are products that are better choices than others relative to energy consumption. 

Today, we want to talk about the whole house audio category, and innovation which is occurring in the whole house audio market.  Whole house audio is sound that is piped to various locations in your home, and you hear it through speakers in your walls or ceiling.  You select a source (DVD, iPod, Pandora, XM Satellite) in the room you are occupying, your amplifier recognizes your selection, and then delivers the sound/music to your location. 

A key component of whole house audio system is a multi-channel amplifier.  Suppliers of multi-zone multi-channel amplifiers are company’s such as This post continues… �

Quick update on the Panasonic ceiling fan that we purchased a few weeks ago for our GetWithGreen remodel.

If you recall, we purchased the most efficient fan from ENERGY STAR list - the Panasonic WhisperGreen FV-08VKS1.  The fan was installed this week. 

You can adjust the CFM between 30-70 (easily).  What is amazing about this ventilation fan is that it is SILENT when running.  You cannot hear it at all!  We guarantee that your kids will forget to turn it off!   To counter this, we are going to install a motion sensor switch.  

If we had to purchase again we might consider the FV-08VKM1 with the built in motion sensor.   The FV-08VKM1 can be configured to to turn off anywhere between 30s-60min after motion is no longer detected.    

We purchased the Panasonic fan at Galaxy Lighting in San Jose, CA.  It cost us about This post continues… �

Cabinets torn out, walls ripped down to the studs, all you see is the sub-floor. You are remodeling your kitchen, and there is that oh-so-familiar question each night, “What are we having for dinner?” So, are you cooking via the microwave that sits on a stool in your den? Do you grill outside, again?

Did someone say Take-Out?

GetWithGreen was contacted today by Taco Bell, and they asked if we would share their recent green conservation story. We tried hard to find the connection between your interests in eco-friendly home remodeling, and a “run for the Border.” Well if you are hungry tonight, and your kitchen is ripped apart, it might be that Taco Bell is a consideration for quieting the hungry family. If that’s the case, here is how a crunchy taco and Burrito Supreme might align with your overall greener mission (can’t wait to see your comments on this one :-)). Enjoy!

Run for the Border?

Taco Bell is rolling out its new Grill-to-Order cooking cooking method by installing water and energy saving electric grills that will conserve 300 million gallons of water per year, the equivalent of filling This post continues… �

Last year was the year that holiday LEDs broke onto the scene across the US. We are now starting to see the efficient lights make their way into home fixtures as well.

Below is some background on what other consumers are saying. We guarantee that you will see LED fixtures as you are seeking those recessed lights for your remodel!

Consumers Warming To LEDs as an Energy-Efficient Solution for Lighting, Finds Arrow Electronics Study

MELVILLE, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With consumer interest in energy-efficient lighting growing rapidly, the next wave of mass-market residential and business lighting could be coming from LEDs – light-emitting diodes, also known as solid-state lighting. That’s the key finding of a new consumer survey commissioned by Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW), a leading global provider of products, services and solutions to users of electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. The survey was conducted for Arrow by Harris Interactive®.

Commonly used today in flashlights and electronic devices, LEDs are being adapted by manufacturers to replace the common light bulb. Although more expensive than other lighting options, LEDs use a fraction of electricity of traditional light bulbs, last longer than regular incandescent light bulbs and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and contain no hazardous This post continues… �

Massachusetts has a $68 million fund to provide rebates to local homeowners and businesses that install solar panels to provide electricity. Fill out the form, and determine just how much of the big piece of pie you can get.

Here is a video from WCVBTV5 in Boston with the details. Solar rebates in Massachusetts.

For more information on solar rebates in your area, check out the DSIRE database.

Conventional water heaters, tankless water heaters, & solar water heaters.

The solar water heater buzz is rising across the internet, and feeding the frenzy is the emergence of rebates — especially in California where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation last Fall to spend $250 million over the next 10 years on rebates for solar water heaters.

Rebates from your gas utility can be as much as $1,500. Rebates are paid for by everyone who doesn’t have a solar water heater as your monthly bill will see a small increase of less than twenty cents.

The city of Palo Alto, CA this week joins communities such as Sacramento and Austin with an outline to their rebate program. The latter two programs are already live.

The DOE’s Consumer’s Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has some great information on the topic of solar hot water heaters. There are several flavors of solar hot water heaters, and you’ll need to take a small amount of time to see which type is right for you. The DOE includes a cost calculation sheet on their site that you can work the numbers to understand your payback.

Take a look at the following links for more information on suppliers and pricing; AET, Solar Direct, SolarRoofs.com, Heliodyne (images in this article), Sun Ray Solar, Sun Earth Inc., Sun Systems Inc., ThermoTechnologies, and Apricus.

When a carpeting company claims to offer a green home remodel solution, what do they mean?   This week Mohawk puts their stamp on an explanation:

• Today, Mohawk will recycle 8 million plastic bottles, turning it into 275,000 square
  yards of beautiful carpeting.
• Today, Mohawk will divert more than 475,000 pounds from going into a landfill,
  recycling it into usable materials.
• Today, Mohawk will produce hardwood flooring that reclaims wood from torn-down buildings.
• Today, Mohawk will use renewably sourced materials instead of petroleum-based
  products to make soft, durable, stain-resistant carpeting.
• Mohawk will do all this and hundreds of more Earth-friendly efforts. And Mohawk
  will do it tomorrow, the day after that and every day following.

Cyber-Rain’s wireless sprinkler control system was recognized by GetWithGreen.com as the Best Green Home Remodeling Product for 2007, and the Cyber-Rain team continues to have tricks up their sleeve to improve the product for all of us.

This week GetWithGreen.com caught up with Greg Nagy Cyber-Rain’s Director of Business Operations. Greg discussed upcoming upgrades that will soon expand the functionality of the new XCI systems, as well as upgrade your existing Cyber-Rain XCI system! In the coming months you will be able to securely access your Cyber-Rain from This post continues… �