The green product resource for your home remodel.

Rain Bird Corporation announced today that they have opened registration to win a $10,000 backyard makeover in their Why is it Always Greener contest.  One grand prize winner will receive a gift card to the home retailer of their choice, and a first prize winner will receive a $500 gift card.  The sweepstakes only requires you to fill out their form electronically and submit.   GetWithGreen.com thinks this could be a great way to get in on transforming your backyard to a greener solution — using products like automatic sprinkler shut-off sensors.

The deadline for entries is midnight on August 31, 2008. Winners will be announced in October 2008.

Additionally, the Rain Bird team is still accepting nominations for its Intelligent Use of Water Award.  This award is open to homeowners (and organizations) whose 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.

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… �

Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday
Memorial Day Weekend
May 24 – 26, 2008

During Memorial Day weekend, Texas shoppers get a break from state and local sales and use taxes on purchases of certain energy efficient products. The 2008 Energy Star sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, May 24, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day).

The products qualifying for the exemption are:

• air conditioners priced under $6,000 (room and central units)
• clothes washers (but not clothes dryers*)
• ceiling fans
• dehumidifiers
• dishwashers
• light bulbs (incandescent and fluorescent)
• programmable thermostats
• refrigerators priced under $2,000.
  *  Because most dryers use similar amounts of energy, Energy Star does not label clothes dryers.

Qualifying products will display the Energy Star logo, which may appear on the appliance, the packaging or the Energy Guide label. Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Earning the Energy Star means a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by these two federal agencies.

There is no limit on the number of qualifying items one can purchase during this sales tax holiday, and an exemption certificate is not required.  For more information click here.

Looks like Indiana residents with Vectren services have a shot at $8,000 in free home improvements.  Read more, and check your local utilities to see if they are running similar opportunities…  

Vectren Launches Home Energy Efficiency Makeover Contest To Boost Online Energy Audits

With post-holiday winter heating bills about to face Indiana residents, Vectren Energy Delivery (Vectren) launched today a new Home Energy Efficiency Makeover Contest to encourage more Indiana customers to participate in online energy audits in an effort to pinpoint opportunities to reduce energy consumption and lower bills.

In early March, one Vectren customer will win the Home Energy Efficiency Makeover Contest and receive up to $8,000 in free home improvements and upgrades to reduce the customer’s energy consumption. The winner’s home will receive a complete on-site audit the results of which will determine the needs for the makeover. Among the benefits the winner can receive are high-efficiency appliances and This post continues… �

Make sure you check back now with your local Utility for new 2008 rebates on energy efficient improvements you are making on your home project(s)!! 

As an example, here is what Southern California Edison has to offer:

ROSEMEAD, Calif., Dec. 31, 2007 – Southern California Edison (SCE) wishes its customers a peaceful New Year with these 10 ideas to make their homes more energy efficient throughout the year.

“Conservation is always in season,” said Gene Rodrigues, SCE’s director of energy efficiency. “We’re the nation’s leading utility for energy efficiency because our customers do such a great job of conserving energy with the many programs and services we offer. We hope that everyone, no matter where they live, can use these ideas for a greener New Year.”

SCE’s TOP 10 RESOLUTIONS FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT 2008

1. Light up your life: Pledge to switch out at least one regular incandescent bulb for a CFL at www.sce.com/cfl. CFLs now come in a variety of light qualities and shapes. Best of all, they use about a quarter of the energy and last up to 10 times longer than a regular incandescent bulb. Due to an arrangement with manufacturers, SCE has managed to place inexpensive CFL bulbs in more than 1500 stores—at reduced prices (often just 99 cents). Look for displays that have SCE’s logo.
2. Survey says: Take the Home Energy Survey online or in person at www.sce.com. You’ll get custom information on ways to make your home or business more efficient, plus a free compact fluorescent light (CFL), low-flow showerhead and two faucet aerators.
3. Out with the old!: Let SCE haul away your old inefficient appliances and we’ll pay you $35 for a refrigerator or $50 for a freezer. When you buy an ENERGY STAR-labeled This post continues… �

Local governments across the US are starting to speak out about getting a bit greener, and they are speaking out with incentives for more eco-friendly home improvements.   We expect this trend to continue throughout 2008 as voices in our communites make themselves heard.  As you are starting your remodel, check with your city on the rebates they offer.  Here is a short story from the Associated Press on the topic…

Cities enticing residents to go green
By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer Thu Dec 27, 2:55 PM ET

Free hybrid-car parking. Cash rebates for installing solar panels. Low-interest loans for energy-saving home renovations. Money to tear up desert lawns and replace them with drought-resistant landscaping.

Frustrated by what they see as insufficient action by state and federal government, municipalities around the country are offering financial incentives to get people to go green.

“A lot of localities recognize they’re going to get a lot more done using carrots and incentives rather than regulatory means,” said Jason Hartke, director of advocacy for the U.S. Green Building Council.

In Parkland, where the motto is “Environmentally Proud,” the city plans next year to begin dispensing cash rebates to its 25,000 residents for This post continues… �

 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 This post continues… �