10 Best Green Home Remodeling Products for 2007

 2008 is fast approaching, and the team at GetWithGreen.com is stopping now to recognize a few of our favorite eco-friendly home improvement products for 2007.  These products are assembled together under one roof:  GetWithGreen.com’s 10 Best Green Home Remodeling Products for 2007. 

GetWithGreen.com’s 10 Best Green Home Remodeling Products for 2007 consists of manufacturers (or categories) who deliver eco-friendly products, which make our planet a greener place.  These products help us conserve, help us reuse, help us recycle, or help us become less reliant on existing harmful resources.  We also looked heavily at the popularity of these products with you, our readers.     

Let’s give a GetWithGreen.com Thumbs up to our 10 Best Green Home Remodeling Products for 2007:

1)   Cyber-Rain ? ?The smartest, greenest, and easiest irrigation system on the planet.?

The Cyber-Rain XCI System caused quite a bit of stir at GetWithGreen.com in 2007.  It was one of the most widely read stories, and for good reason.  Resetting the sprinkler timer at every change of season, or for un-seasonal weather changes, just isn?t practical ? and we don?t do it!  Instead we just let our sprinklers turn on when it is not necessary, and we waste our most precious resource.  The Cyber-Rain XCI System made it to our list because it automatically adjusts our sprinklers depending on the weather forecast, thus greatly reducing water usage, and associated needless run-off.                                      

2)   EcoTop- The next generation recycled paper and wood composite countertop

Countertops are one of the most popular remodel topics on the web today, so it was only fitting that one material made it into the GetWithGreen.com 10 Best for 2007.  This year we?ve talked about just about every type of alternative to granite, and our top pick for 2007 is the new material called EcoTop.  Following up success at PaperStone, Joel Klippert has another winner here with EcoTop.  We expect big things from his team in 2008 as their color pallet increases, and they go broader in distribution!  Again we expect this one to be a game changer in 2008, and probably one to watch on next year?s list!

3)   GreenFiber - Out with the pink, Get with the Green

There are many alternatives to the pink fiberglass, and GreenFiber is our pick for 2007.  The GreenFiber team had the guts to come to GetWithGreen.com, and ask our audience for recommendations on packaging alternatives because they care.  Sure you can go with recycled denim, or new types of bio spray foam insulators, but we like the simplicity and the cost of GreenFiber.  We were also amazed at how well this product stands up in a fire vs. traditional fiberglass.  Don?t let you contractor put in fiberglass for your remodel ? check out GreenFiber cellulose insulation.

4)   Solar Tunnel Skylights- Who needs CFL’s or LED’s when you have one of these?!

Solar Tunnel Skylight as a category took the #4 spot this year on our List.  We like these products because during the day they go one step better than any fluorescent light bulb or LED solution could ever do ? they give you light via the sun so you don?t have to turn a light ON.   Ranging in various sizes, all homeowners remodeling should consider these products!  Check out our list of solar tunnel skylight manufacturers.

5) Holiday LED Lights ? The save power, enough said.

GetWithGreen.com estimates that one of the top (if not the top) most talked about green products of the year was the traditional incandescent light bulb who grew up to be a CFL in 2007.  Consumers, utilities, retailers, businesses and news outlets alike embraced and were a buzz around CFLs.  Judging from your interest and support of our 100+ places article that excitement and interest spilled right over to the energy saving LED holiday lights that took stores by storm this Fall and Winter.  These little lights save a lot of energy, and they are here to stay.  Way to go Philips and others!  Note To Manufacturers:  GetWithGreen.com would like to see a plastic color that matches the warmth of traditional white lights.  If you get this right you will have the killer product according to our readers!!

6) PlayMart ? This product is doing something for our kids in more ways than one!

Playground equipment and green are not typically something that you would think about in the same thought, but you should!  Why do we care about going green, getting green, being sustainable, or read sites like Treehugger.com?  Because, most of us are working to save our environment for our children and generations to come.   So please look seriously at installing backyard playground equipment alternatives to wood, especially wood that is harvested inappropriately.  Play Mart equipment makes use of recycled milk jugs, recycled metals, and other materials and then delivers them all back to your children in the shape of backyard play equipment.  We challenge you to find another product by the way that carries a 100 year warranty!!

7)   EnergyStar Special Offer/Rebate Finder ? A service that pays you back!

Our tax dollars are hard at work over at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency when it comes to ENERGY STAR.  ENERGY STAR makes GetWithGreen.com?s 10 Best List this year because we really like their Rebate Finder.  Simply enter your zip code into the locator, check the product types you are interested in (e.g. appliances, heating and cooling equipment, home electronics, etc.), and out pops available rebates for ENERGY STAR products in your neighborhood.  How cool is that?

8)   RainTube? The only eco-friendly gutter protector solution

In a world of metal gutter protectors, 2007 saw the emergence of an alternative ? RainTube.  It blew our minds at GetWithGreen.com that we could not find an alternative metal solution (e.g. recycled aluminum, etc.).  After all, you can buy metal roofs made from 100% recycled materials!  RainTube?s eco-friendliness starts with its composition of 100% recycled plastics materials.  Once installed the product keeps your gutters clear, which helps diversion of water from your homes foundation ? thus reducing other long-term costs and the need for pesticides for termites etc.  To top it off this product is priced to sell, so we all save!

9)   Ready Solar ? Reducing the requirement for specialized installers

Ready Solar?s ?Solar in a Box? gets our vote this year, as the company is on a mission to demystify and drive down the overall cost of solar installation.  They are making an attempt at accomplishing this by punching out standardized solar systems that can be installed by any Ready Solar certified contractor.  Ready Solar is still a young company, but we still like their IKEA box-like approach to solar.

10)   Pella Windows ? Windows that work to conserve

Fully insulated windows cut down greatly on energy consumption ? especially the Designer Series from Pella.  This year homeowners voted via J.D Powers that you liked what Pella is offering, and GetWithGreen.com is voting with you.  The company is working hard to tell both their internal recycling story, the story of reused materials in their products, and the conservation of energy that their products provide.   Virtually all of our remodels will involve one or more windows.  Before you buy, take a look at Pella and their Designer Series.    

In addition to the 10 Best above, GetWithGreen wanted to recognize 3 others who made a difference in 2007. These three didn’t necessarily fit into a specific product category in 2007, but deserved a mention for their ability to influence others. 

From the big box home improvement retailers we wanted to give a mention to The Home Depot.  THD continued to evolve their eco-friendly educational material throughout the year.  You may not know it, but the company has an entire green section on their website called Eco Options!  If you don’t know this, it is probably because the company has placed Eco Options at the bottom of their website!  THD, please move Eco Options closer to the top of your page and expose your customers to your very valuable material, so that others can learn and make a difference!!

And to close things out for this Year’s 10 Best, we wanted to mention a couple of the web giants out there for committing valuable resources in an effort to spread the word about getting green.   Specifically, we are calling out the team at Microsoft with thier MSN Green website, and the team at Yahoo! with their Yahoo! Green site.  These massive web titans are taking each other on, and this battle for your readership will only help bring better educational news to a broader base of readers – leading to a greener planet in 2008 for everyone.  

In closing, thanks to all other manufacturers who have helped move the home improvement industry toward a greener place.  We look forward to 2008 at GetWithGreen.com!  Thank you to our readers and advertisers for continuing to support our efforts!

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