June is upon us and in some parts of the country we are opening windows in others, closing them up. Asthma awareness month, the month of May, is over but I feel it’s a subject always worth talking about.
We forget how important our indoor air is. The EPA graphic above, points out a number of triggers for those that suffer from Asthma, so many of them trapped in our indoor environments we consider safe.
Outdoor air pollution is the problem that comes to mind, but inside we can build up excessive dust from a lack of air sealing in a home, unhealthy by-products from unvented combustion appliances, mold from crawlspaces and basements as well as chemical triggers from the stuff under the sink.
Allergens and irritants build up in a home when we don’t have the right kind of airflow, we need fresh air and we need to know where it comes from. Breathing easy comes from taking care of the fundamentals we consider when we assess a home: IAQ, combustion safety, and controlling the airways.
We often preach “reduce first” as the sensable approach for homeowners who are looking at installing expensive renewable energy. It just makes sense. If it costs a lot to install solar panels, make your home more efficient first reducing the number you need, and then install less of them! Same goes for heating and cooling equipment. Reduce the need for cooling or heating and install a smaller unit.
As reported by KCET, one town in California may be looking at mandatory solar panels on every roof. Lancaster CA, a city of 160,000, is one of the top three cities for generating solar. Clearly it’s an area that has succeeded with solar as you would expect in such a sunny place.
Using solar to help reduce energy costs for lighting, water heating, and air conditioning is all well and good, but there are some simple steps to take first. Improvements such as adding efficient lighting, reducing air leaks and increasing insulation go a long way and cost far less. Our GreenHomes America folks in Fresno, Hayward,San Jose, Los Banos, and San Diego, know that, how a home performs matters a great deal, and they know solar too.
I vote for mandatory common sense with a side order of solar!
If you could reduce your energy bills by more than 50% would you? In Syracuse, New York, our office has been working on ways to excel at making your home more energy efficient. Call it Home Performance on Steroids, an Extreme Energy Makeover or Deep Energy Retrofit, it is a new tool in our tool belt to increase comfort and save energy in your home.
As part of a research project for NYSERDA, GreenHomes America has been experimenting with “kicking it up a notch” as Emeril would say. Last summer in our top secret labs (we had to park a truck elsewhere) we spent some time fine tuning ways to improve homes above and beyond what we usually do.
The projects from this fall and early winter have gone great, and the Steroids metaphor sounds good but really, these results have been achieved with honest hard work, side effect free! I will be talking more about these projects as well the benefits of Deep Energy Retrofits in future posts. Stay tuned!
As we look to improve our homes and the air in it, taking control of the airways are very important. Come wintertime, we often struggle with comfort in more ways that just staying warm. Sometimes it gets dry too. People tend to be comfortable with humidity levels a little higher than what is ideal to prevent condensation issues and mold growth.
Winter brings dryer air and a home that is more porous than it should be brings that air inside. Keep in mind that our homes are like chimneys. They are smoke stacks drawing from low and exhausting out high. When exceptionally dry air is brought into our homes it tends to make us uncomfortable. The quick fix solution is to slap a humidifier on the duct work. Voila! Comfort!
This can come with a price, maintenance for one. If you don’t keep that unit clean it can become a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Just the sort of thing you don’t want attached to the air distribution system in your home, sort of like building over a stinky damp crawlspace.
Sealing up air leaks in your home will help control moisture by reducing much of the dry air entering in the first place. If you still need humidification then keep the unit clean and monitor humidity levels. Excessive condensation on windows, and mold growth in wintertime are signs that you might have too much moisture in the air. Take control of your airways and manage moisture too!
Don’t try this at home! Chain saws and snow blowers don’t belong on roofs, and I would suggest you don’t either, especially in the winter. These guys are clearly…ahem, professionals.
One obvious down side would be landing in your living room snow blower and all. Preventative maintenance is the way to go. What does that mean? Start with some tips in our fact sheet on ice dams. You could also check out past articles such as this one in the Wall Street Journal . It’s that season again so be safe and be smart, take steps this year, with a home energy assessment and make sure you air seal and insulate right to avoid the problem in the future.
It is an honor and a pleasure to welcome our latest partner Gundlach’s Plumbing & Sheet Metal to the GreenHomes America network where we can truly help fulfill their statement, “today’s technology with good old fashioned integrity.” It is great to see our network grow in Southern California, with this new location in Bakersfield.
Gundlach’s is a plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning service provider, originating in 1900 as a plumbing repair shop. They also provide remodeling services for bathrooms and kitchens; becoming a GreenHomes America partner, they will now include home energy retrofits, allowing homeowners to dramatically improve their home’s energy efficiency and comfort levels.
Ken Wonderly, Owner of Gundlach’s says “We feel that the home energy retrofit market is going to grow substantially over the next few years and we are very excited to be part of it”. Too true, I can see it growing already. Welcome aboard!
One good result from the end of the year fiscal cliff hanger is an extension of the residential energy tax credit.
If you haven’t used it in the past, all the way back to 2006, there is a $500 tax credit for material costs of certain energy efficiency measures done to your home.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act extended the tax credit through 2013, making it retroactive from January 1, 2012. This means last year counts as well.
10% of the cost of materials, such as insulation, exterior windows, and doors that meet Energy Star requirements, can be used. Credits for window expenses are limited, as are AC units and furnaces, so a combination of improvements will help maximize what you can get, just perfect for home performance work on your home.
Check out http://www.irs.gov/ for more information. Or see the entire American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 here. Ask us we can help!
Maybe you have a great HVAC company that services your equipment. It’s not always the easiest thing to do, and kudos if you’ve found a good one. With a good provider I like service agreements because you know your equipment is taken care of and in a cost effective way. But a good HVAC contractor should consider the whole house when thinking of heating and cooling systems not just the box in the basement or the attic.
As we go into fall and colder weather, it’s time for tune ups, and service calls, but what about the rest of your home as well. Who is paying attention to that? A heart works well when we take care of the rest of our body. We eat well, exercise and get good sleep, but also protect ourselves from the cold. Put on a cap, coat and boots before going outside or you’ll get sick right?
Is your HVAC company’s solution to comfort a bigger “heart”, more ducts, more baseboard, more cooling, or does it consider a better house so that heart “fits” well and works as it should? Keep in mind that the heart is a very important part, but it is part of the whole. Taking care of the whole house can really make a difference, as they say, “Home is where the Heart is!”
Nothing new here! But here is a news report featuring our very own A. Johnson Heating Cooling and Plumbing on an energy assessment in a home in eastern New York.
Young’s Air Conditioning of Los Banos, California came on board before the start of the New Year. Young’s is a family business with strong roots in Los Banos and a reputation as the area’s leading provider of energy efficient heating and cooling services.
In the early part of the winter, we added three locations with Carolina Green Energy Systems. CGES is one of South Carolina’s oldest and largest comprehensive Home Performance Contractors, and we are proud to include them in the GreenHomes Network.
Also new in town is Air Rescue Air Conditioning of Tampa, Florida. This is our first partner from the Sunshine state. Air Rescue started in 1965, and is one of the oldest and largest residential HVAC contractors in the Tampa Bay Metro area. Air Rescue will service customers in over seven counties.
This is only the beginning as GreenHomes grows to better serve you nationally! Stay tuned for more!
