How to get ready for Cash for Caulkers

Details for the U.S. government's Cash for Caulkers program aren't available yet, but it's not too early to start thinking about how to cash in on the proposed stimulus program. "Homeowners that educate themselves will be the first ones to take advantage of the program," says Lane Burt, at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He recommends that you get educated about your home now so you'll know what kinds of changes you'd like to make when the money becomes available. This is good point when you remember that Cash for Clunkers ran out of cash in the end. "Understand what you want to do so that you're not the one left in line when the program runs out of money," says Burt. While the details are still being hammered out, there are potentially two ways to have the government help with the costs of making your home more energy efficient:

1. 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.
2. 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.   

If you decide to make changes yourself and get a rebate on an individual purchase, then know that which order to make home improvements in is important. You'll want to seal leaks and tighten your building's shell so the air you pay to warm or cool doesn't leak out before you buy a new furnace, for example. While we're all waiting for the proposal to get passed, Burt suggests thinking what your home needs. Figure out where you are wasting energy. Take a look at your energy bill and compare it to others in the area. Start looking for leaks. Look at ducts and make sure they are all connected. Do the things that you can do yourself and that don't cost much money. Some suggestions:

• Install a programmable thermostat.
• Weatherstrip windows and doors.
• Caulk the obvious leaks.
• Insulate your water heater.
• Replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs or efficient halogens.

These are all baseline changes that should be made before you embark on more extensive changes so that you can maximize energy and money savings. Also, think about whether you want to hire a contractor and go for the whole-house approach or if you'd like to pick one project to focus on. Experts say that you'll most likely need to hire a professional contractor to get the most financial support from the government. If you hire a contractor, that person will tell you exactly where you can save money and in which order you should make changes so that you can maximize savings. Environmental journalist Lori Bongiorno shares green-living tips and product reviews with Yahoo! Green's users. Send Lori a question or suggestion for potential use in a future column. Her book, Green Greener Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-smart Choices a Part of Your Life is available on Yahoo! Shopping and Amazon.com. Check out Yahoo! Green on Twitter and Facebook.  Print This Post

My furnace runs less than your furnace. Are you using zones?

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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HEATING-COOLING: Get a Carrier rebate today, prices are going up in July

Lookout!! Is a new furnace or air conditioner part of your upcoming remodel? If so, take a hard look at purchasing it now!

Not only are energy prices on the rise, but the products that supply our heating and cooling are about to take a bump. Just today Carrier Corp officially announced it will INCREASE prices up to 6 percent on its Carrier and Bryant brand residential heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning equipment. The increase will take place in mid-July.

Need another reason to order now, and get heating and cooling installed?  At the moment Carrier has a “Cool Cash” rebate running when you purchase specific products alongside their very efficient INFINITY line products.  Rebates range from Read more

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SOLAR: $68M in rebates for solar installs, yours for the taking in MA?

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.

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Bathroom: Ventilation Fans that are the most efficient

It is time to buy a new bathroom ceiling ventilation fan for our hall bath, and so I am going to take you through my thought process, and review of the products GetWithGreen.com found.  It wasn?t an easy task sifting through the myriad of models.  Light, no light, heat, no heat – the Energy Star site boasts 140+ manufacturers of ventilation fans!

Energy Star qualified ventilation fans that include lighting use 70% less energy on average than standard models, saving $120 in electricity costs over the life of the fan.  Further the fans are more than 50% quieter than standard models according to Energy Star. 

The first thing that I did was write down my needs in priority order:

• Efficient: Yes
• Noise: Low
• Warranty: 3+ yrs
• Light: No
• Heat: No

I then used one of the many online tools out there to measure how much airflow my bathroom needed.  I didn’t want to buy an over-sized fan.  A couple very easy to use tools to size up your fan can be found at:   Pansonic and RE Williams.  Simply input your room dimensions, and the calculators tell you the size of fan you should be targeting.  In my case, the calculators returned a fan size slightly smaller than Read more

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HEATING / COOLING: Is it easy to install a programmable thermostat?

Do you use a programmable thermostat in your home?  Or do you use one of those ancient-looking round thermostats with the little slide lever on the bottom?  The kind that you push all the way to the right, or all the way to the left depending on how cold or hot you are.  You know, the same kind that you leave in the ”On” position when you drive off to work?   If you haven’t done so, please look into a programmable thermostat.  Among many other great features, you can schedule when they turn “On” and when they turn “Off”.  You can purchase one at your local Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or Lowes for under $25, and they can save you $$ — before or after you remodel.

Programmable thermostats are also easy to install.  If you don’t believe us, Ed Begley, Jr. and the Home Depot Eco Option environmental program created this short video to show you how:

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ENERGY STAR: New Energy Star “Home Advisor” tool, advises on how to save

With winter just around the corner, we now have access to a tool that can help us evaluate and possibly reduce our energy bills up to 25 percent by making some simple improvements around the home, according to the EPA.  The new tool from EPA, the Energy Star Home Advisor, provides consumers with customized recommendations for improving energy efficiency and comfort at home. And as we know, using energy more efficiently is also another way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 

?Dropping temperatures don?t have to lead to rising energy bills. By making a few energy saving home improvements, Americans can stay warm this winter, while keeping more cold cash in their pockets,? said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson.

The average family spends Read more

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CEILING FANS: How do you select the right one?

How do you choose the best ceiling fan, and save on energy?  Read more from a guest writer, and Monte Carlo Fan Co. here on GetWithGreen.com… 

CEILING FAN CAN LOWER BILLS
By Mary Beth Breckenridge  

Ceiling fans help you lower both your cooling and heating bills.   Here are some tips from Monte Carlo Fan Co. for choosing and using a fan:

For best results, mount the ceiling fan in the middle of the room, at least 7 feet above the floor and 18 inches from the walls. If you have a tall-enough ceiling, installing the fan 8 to 9 feet above the floor will produce optimal air flow.

Select the right-size fan for the room. A good retailer should be able to help you choose the correct size. A 10-by-10-foot room, for example, should have a 38- to 48-inch fan; a 15-by-15-foot room needs one that’s 52 to 56 inches across.

Look for Read more

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SWIMMING POOL: Who manufacturers solar pool heating & heaters? The List.

To many of you, the “remodel” you are presently doing may be a backyard and pool makeover project – and it is highly likely that you may be evaluating the different methods for heating that swimming pool oasis. GetWithGreen.com wants to reveal a list of top manufacturers of solar heating products to you. We want to make your quest to understand your options as easy as possible. Additionally, we want to make sure you have a place to double check the information you are receiving from your pool specialist or installer.

How does a solar pool heating system work? A solar pool heating system works via black plastic panels or collectors capturing the energy from the sun and using it to heat the water in your pool. The materials used to make these systems are manufactured from high tech. plastics which have been designed to resist weather and resist the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. The materials are typically a flavor of polypropylene. Using your existing pool pump, water is circulated through the solar panels where it is heated by the sun and then returned to your pool. The collectors that sit on your roof typically come in the same sizes, no matter what manufacturer you get them from: 4ft x 8ft, 4ft x 10ft, or 4ft x 12ft.

Solar heating is not “on demand” heating. On demand heating? On demand heating is, “I feel like turning on the heater and heating my pool.” Solar pool heating systems doesn’t work that way. Solar systems heat only Read more

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Insulation: A list of eco-friendly products that can help you save!

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

Applegate Insulation

Ark-Seal – Blow-In-Blank Insulation System and Fiberiffic Insulation System

BioBased Systems – BioBased Insulation

Bonded Logic – Natural Cotton Fiber Insulation Read more

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