How to get ready for Cash for Caulkers
January 5, 2010
(Photo: Getty Images)- One idea is that an accredited buildings professional would come in to conduct an energy audit to determine where energy efficiency improvements can be made, help you decide on a plan of action, and then execute that plan. The expectation is that homeowners could get back 50 percent of what they spend up to a maximum rebate of $12,000.
- The other way to get government money is to buy an energy-efficient furnace, windows, or other component. There are federal rebates already available and several states also offer rebates for purchasing energy-efficient appliances and more.
- Install a programmable thermostat.
- Weatherstrip windows and doors.
- Caulk the obvious leaks.
- Insulate your water heater.
- Replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs or efficient halogens.
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My furnace runs less than your furnace. Are you using zones?
December 23, 2008
Like many of you, my house has (had) an old furnace that I swear was a rocket engine taking off when it started up! Struggling with PG&E bills north of $600/mo in the winter, I was determined to change this consumption of cash and energy during my remodel. (Granted the single pane windows and minimal insulation were also contributing factors.)
So the furnace was one of the first items to go as the house was remodeled. I wrote earlier about Carrier furnaces, and their associated rebates. I actually took advantage of that, and saved an additional $1,100 with that offer when I purchased an Infinity model for just south of $15,000 fully loaded, installed with all new duct work. Anyway getting to the point here, my new Carrier furnace enables my house to have multiple ‘zones’ which enables me to save my energy consumption and stop the bleeding of dollars sent to PG&E each month.
What is a ‘zone’ you ask, and how does it work? A ‘zone’ is an area of your house that you define with your heating/cooling installer. A zone is heated (or cooled) to a certain temperature while leaving other ‘zones’ at a different temperature. I went with two zones in my house.
One zone is the family/kitchen/dining living space, and the second zone is Read more
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The latest on Home Depot’s Eco Options green products and Ron Jarvis
December 15, 2008
What is orange, green, and good for a residential home remodel or improvement project? GetWithGreen thinks one answer is the ever growing inventory of Eco Option products located around the corner at your local Home Depot.
This past week Ron Jarvis senior vice president of environmental innovation with The Home Depot and GetWithGreen.com, sat down to talk about the Eco Options program, and retail trends in green home product market.
Ron’s home improvement career spans 23 years, starting early on with Lowe’s, followed by 13 years at America’s largest home improvement retailer, The Home Depot. For the last eight years Ron has been tracking energy products for the retail giant, and now leads the company’s Eco Options program, among other environmental initiatives, reduced energy consumption by stores, reduced waste and increased recycles as well as increased sustainability into all business functions.
Eco Options is Home Depot’s product labeling program that allows customers to easily identify products that have less of an impact on the environment. The 3,000+ products are located Read more
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WIN BIG MONEY for your remodel from The Home Depot!
October 17, 2008
Financing your remodel is more difficult with the state of our economy (speaking from experience), and if you are like me you are looking for all opportunities to secure additional funding to make your remodel what you have always dreamed it would be.
To help, The Home Depot is offering up a $5,000+ prize and more to homeowners who are remodeling, and getting green at the same time.
To win this bounty, you’ll need to shoot a short video showing how you are saving money and helping the environment by making your home more energy efficient. According to THD, your video must focus on home energy issues such as insulation, appliances, and water usage.
Not only is there (1) Grand Prize winner who will win that $5K (plus additional cash toward Read more
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INSULATION: How safe is recycled newspaper insulation in a fire?
January 26, 2008
7,000,000 tons of newspaper are recycled each year to make eco-friendly “green” cellulose insulation. But, can it really be safe to put newspaper insulation in the walls during your home remodel? What about fire risk?
This video tells a story that will surprise you, and they talk about the safety of less eco-friendly fiberglass insulation as well. Watch this great overview on the safety of cellulose insulation.
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10 Best Green Home Remodeling Products for 2007
December 14, 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 Read more
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We Got Green: Jay goes with greener cellulose insulation product
December 1, 2007
Going with green with insulation is actually one of the easier choices in a remodel project. There are many alternatives to fiberglass such as UltraTouch Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation, spray foam from BioBased Insulation, or recycled shredded paper from GreenFiber. Below you will find a story written by Ryanne Hodson, and brought to GetWithGreen.com from the team at PodTech. Ryanne tells us about how Jay made his decision to use recycled paper insulation in a garage remodel.
Written by Ryanne Hodson (November 29, 2007)
Recently, Jay’s dad started building on some property he owns in rural Virginia. The first structure built was the garage/workshop. Jay and I were eager for the chance to try out some green building materials as an alternative to the usual stuff. Before traveling over to the east coast for Turkey Day, we did some research along side his pops about what the cheapest, most green insulation material could be used (which could also be purchased at a major box store near by). We found that Recycled Paper Cellulose was the least expensive material you could buy Read more
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Insulation: A list of eco-friendly products that can help you save!
July 11, 2007
Better insulating your home while remodeling reduces your need for heating and cooling, thus saving $$.
If you are interested in helping the environment with an eco-friendly insulation product at the same time, what products can you turn to for insulation?
Here is a list. If you know of others or have used one of the products below, please tell the GetWithGreen audience via Comments!!!
Eco-Friendly Home Insulation:
Air Krete, Inc. – Cementitious Foam Insulation
Ark-Seal – Blow-In-Blank Insulation System and Fiberiffic Insulation System
BioBased Systems – BioBased Insulation
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Welcome to www.getwithgreen.com
June 7, 2007
www.GetWithGreen.com is the source for making your home remodel project a “green home makover.”
Here you will soon find information on green products available for your home. GetWithGreen.com will serve as your starting point to help you find information and sources for the newest and latest environmentally friendly products for your home remodel project.
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