Eco Friendly Real Estate Blog

You can design your own kitchen, bathroom, patio...and, at the same time,  stamp your signature into concrete. How exciting is that??  If you have been following this series, you will know that our eco-friendly colleagues here in Asheville, the Hub of Green, sure are. Solid and durable, it also is versatile and adaptable to both indoor and outdoor use. As one person put it, " Concrete is the soup du jour of current home trends.

Sellers are finding that including the "new concrete" is an economical and eco-savvy way in which they can  update their home prior to putting it on the market.

Green builders (see photo) around town are using concrete in many different ways.

Neighbors doing renovation projects, as well, favor this material.

Buyers are so impressed with kitchen remodeling ideas that include counter tops with integral sinks and backsplashes, or a unique fireplace surround, or patio designs and walkways with that special creative allure . . ..

 Artisans are thrilled with the possibilities.

Today's hottest trend adds color, fine-finishes that dazzle, and a chance to express your personal creative stamp. 

Other posts in this series include topics such as : concrete flooring and home trends in concrete.HOW would YOU include concrete in your design plans and put YOUR stamp on it?

Heads-Up:  The US Green Building Council recently picked concrete as their #1 Choice  for Kitchen Counter Tops. 

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(*)/'(*)    ..........      ............Asheville NC Real Estate:     LAND in  Asheville.  Going Green  and Eco-Friendly Properties. Expert Tools for Sellers and Buyers of  Mountain Homes and Land Legacies. "On the roll for  sustainable  innovation."  © Concrete (Series) - Put Your Stamp On It, 2010. Asheville NC Real Estate     Unauthorized reproduction of any information on this site is a violation of existing copyright laws. All rights reserved.

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Ever since I participated in a site evaluation of a Green-Built home, where I first experienced the luster of concrete flooring, I have been fascinated with the possibilities for concrete in residential properties.   

Because the home that was being evaluated was complying with HealthyBuilt standards, the concrete used did not generate significant volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2.)

CO2 contributes significantly to greenhouse gas. In this application, the builder carefully had selected concrete the substitutes of  fly ash and slag. 

 What else makes concrete a "green" product? 

1.Concrete flooring provides high durability.

2. Concrete flooring is less subject to biological contamination problems. 

(Photo taken at site evaluation of an Asheville NC Green Built home.

For buyers and sellers of properties who are thinking about smart residential renovations we are excited about the various types of flooring they may choose to install. Bamboo? Cork? Recycled Hardwood? In terms of environmentally responsible choices, particularly in our indoor environment, for our own home, we are leaning towards concrete as we discuss the topic around the kitchen table. 
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Asheville NC Real Estate:      Going Green Properties. Expert Tools for Sellers and Buyers of  Mountain Homes and Land Legacies. "On the roll for  sustainable  innovation." See also our Mountain Homes and Land blog. Smart Renovations -Concrete .Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Asheville NC Real Estate     

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I was in the middle of putting together a Class Presentation this morning for Lone Star College and thought it could be fun to put together a list of Daily Energy Saving Tips for a Week or Two.

With Summer time coming, get ready for those Electric Bills to skyrocket!!

In your home, there are a ton of Little Things to do (besides changing your light bulbs) that can help you reduce your bill.  With this being the first day, let's start with something easy.  It shouldn't even take 10 minutes to do.

Phantom Energy Loads - We have a bunch of little things plugged in all the time.  Like our Coffee Pot.  We can set it to automatically turn off if we forget but the truth is, even when it is off - It is still using Electricity.  The majority of Electrical Devices pull what is called a phantom or vampire load when it's off.

Are you a Technology junkie?  This will probably help you the most then.  Let's take a look at some things we often forget about because these items can be as much as 5% of your Energy bill.

• Ipod Charger
• Laptop Charger
• Cell Phone Charger
• TV's in rooms that we don't use
• Cable Boxes
• Coffee Pots
• Toasters
• Chargers for Electric Drills or other tools
• Electric Toothbrushes or Razors

In an average family of 4 with Technology based items being popular, with 4 cell phones and 4 Ipods, it is pulling quite a bit of energy.  Before you leave the house, just go unplug all of them.

If you have little kids, assign one to be the 'Energy Police' for the week.  Let them be Mom or Dad's little helper and have them remind you about it. 

To learn a little more about Phantom Energy Loads, here is a short article on Treehugger about it.

This segment of Greening the Existing Home Webinar Series is the final and 8th one - after this post I will do a Final Wrap up with more detailed information on websites that we visited and all of the segments in one place.

In this video Michael Strong and I discuss a variety of topics including "Does Green Remodeling really add value to your home?" - And then these other topics

• Michael's Top 10 Best Practices to Green Up Your Home
• USGBC ReGreen Guidelines
• NAHB Remodeling Certification

This is probably the shortest of the segments being just a little over 30 minutes long but is jam packed full of great information for anyone that is wanting to do any Remodeling in their home.

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

***

Down here in Houston with our humidity, a high maintenance property is not only no fun - But it is also incredibly expensive over time.  If you are having to constantly change out siding, re paint your exterior or find that interior wood warps to make crooked walls and creaky floors, looking in to the Durability aspect of Green Building may just be the answer.

In continuation with the Greening the Existing Home webinar series with myself and Michael Strong we discuss how to take an existing home and make it a Low Maintenance haven for you and your family.

In this segment you will hear about FSC Certified woods, Building Products that promote straight and Durable walls/floors along with other things that just make a homeowners life a little easier.

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

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One of the questions that I get quite a bit from folks looking to buy a home is that they or their loved ones suffer from Allergies or Asthma - So it made perfect sense to have a segment in our Greening the Existing Home webinar series dedicated to Indoor Air Quality in Existing Homes.

In this segment you will hear myself and Michael Strong with Brothers Strong discuss the steps you can take to create a healthier home to live in.

We discuss Low VOC stains and paints, a little bit about Ventilation and all of the other products that go in to a home that are known to Offgas and stir up those sensitivities that many of us have already. 

Get your popcorn and water ready!  It's about 45 minutes long but well worth the watch if you are considering making changes if your home.

Click To Play

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

***

As part of Turning Houston Green's webinar series on how to green an existing home, here is the recorded version of our 4th program.  Michael Strong and I discuss Windows and Radiant Barrier.

It's not just about getting new windows or finding a radiant barrier.  Here we provide you with all of the questions you may have and/or need to ask your installers to get the biggest bang for your buck.  We also talk about the new Tax Credits to help you maximize what is available.

Our next webinar is on March 28th and we will be going over Indoor Air Quality.  We would love to have you join us!

I would also like to take a quick moment to Thank our Sponsors for helping to bring this to you:

Pella Windows

Bluegill Energy Management

Lutron Lighting and Electronics

***

I have always been a fan of simplicity. I have come to believe that simple solutions are also often the most elegant as well. Here are two of my favorite ideas which have stood the test of time. These are technologies that work in every place and period of time. That is part of their brilliance.

THE MASONRY STOVE AKA RUSSIAN FIREPLACE

These are woodburning fireplaces designed to burn very hot wood fires. They create very little smake because they burn so hot (1600 degrees Fareheit or hotter) and are said to be 90% efficient. They burn with the air supply and chimney damper wide open. This results in a clean burn, with little visible smoke. The distinctive feature of the heaters is a series of baffles to pull the heat out of the exhaust. The masonry absorbs the heat of the fire, then radiates it gradually back into the room. Masonry stoves have been widely used in Europe and Asia for centuries. The stoves provide clean combustion at a high temperature to avoid pollution and creosote build-up. If you have ever been inside an adobe house in the southwest or a well designed passive solar home anywhere it is the same principle as having the sun shine on a brick floor  or a Trombe wall all day and radiate the heat back at night.

The fireplaces are usually massive (that's the point after all) and some are amazingly beautiful. Since wood is a renewable resource and these use quite a bit less than you might imagine given their size because they burn so hot we may well see more of them again soon. They had a brief resurgence in the 70's and 80's but they may be due for another comeback. According to the Masonry Heater Association

The main thing that distinguishes a masonry heater is the ability to store a large amount of heat. This means that you can rapidly burn a large charge of wood without overheating your house. The heat is stored in the masonry thermal mass, and then slowly radiates into your house for the next 18 to 24 hours.

If you burn wood fairly rapidly, it is a clean fuel. If you try to burn it too slowly, the fire will change from flaming to smoldering combustion. The burning process is incomplete and produces tars. Atmospheric pollution increases dramatically. This is important if you are planning an energy-efficient house. The average energy demand of your house will be quite low. For most of the time, it may require only 1 to 2 kW of heat. For most conventional woodstoves, this is below their "critical burn rate", or the point where they start to smolder.

These heaters are meant to be sized for the space they are heating so if you have a small house you will also have a small heater. Just as in a passive solar application, you want the mass to be in proportion.

RADIANT FLOOR HEATING

Okay, those of you who know me knew I could not get through this without at east a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright. Radiant floor heating is not a new idea. It is, in fact an ancient one. It was old hot when Wright introduced it to his homes in the 1930's. Wright went to Japan to work on the design of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. In 1923 he was invited to the home of a nobleman who had discovered Ondol in Korea and could not forget it. After returning from Japan he had an Ondol room built in his home. "The indescribable comfort of being warmed from below" impressed Wright.

A traditional Ondol floor heating system conducts the flue gases of a fire (traditionally from the kitchen where the fires were kept going for cooking) under the floor of a living space. Horizontal flues passageways for heat and smoke ran beneath the room's floor, connecting the fireplace and the chimney. Hot air from the fire passed through the flues and heated the stone and mud floor. Wright invented modern radiant floor heating, using hot water running through pipes instead of hot air through flues. From the meeting of Eastern and Western architecture came a true hybrid heating system.

The Romans had a similar idea, a bit more complicated but still in the realm of simple, elegant solutions.Instead of a fire in each room, Romans had a special fire room built against an outside wall. The floors were raised on pillars and the walls of the villa were hollow. The heated air from the fire went to all the other rooms, through these spaces under the floor and in the walls.

This is a picture of the hypocaust at Rockborne in Hampshire. These pillars (red) held up the floor and allowed the hot air to circulate underneath, heating the room.

SIMPLE AND ELEGANT 

PERHAPS SLIGHTLY IMPROVED WITH NEWER BUILDING TECHNOLOGY BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

We have heard ALL THE RAVE about how the Stimulus Bill had a ton of Energy Efficient Tax Credit stuff in it.  No cap on Solar and Geothermal - 30% up to a MAX of $1500 on Energy Efficient Improvements ...

One of the best parts of that is being able to get up to $1500 back for New Windows.  You know, those crummy single pane windows that you would love to rip out.  But, Hold On!  Have you read to see what qualifies?  I went in to Home Depot the other day and not a SINGLE WINDOW QUALIFIED that they had in there.

That does not mean that the product was bad.  That's not the case at all.  As a matter of fact, the majority of windows that are Energy Star Rated will not qualify.  The Guidelines to receive the Credit are very strict.  The U-Factor AND Solar Heat Gain CoEfficient BOTH have to be = or Below .30

To get the Scoop I went to visit Bob Birner with Renewal By Andersen Windows.  You may also know Bob as the Host of the Home Improvement Hotline on Sunday morning from 9a-12p.  If you are wanting to change out your windows and reap the benefit of the $1500 - Make sure that you listen in so you are not an angry Tax Payer next year.  By the way, all of you folks in the Houston area - Bob has Windows that qualify under both ratings.

The Stimulus Bill, it's rather confusing.  I have previously posted some of the Positive Sides to the Bill and this is part 3 of my Energy Efficiency Tax Credits in the '09 Stimulus Bill.

If you have been following my Webinar Series through 'Turning Houston Green' on Greening the Existing Home, you know that this Saturday, Michael Strong and I will be going over Water and Lighting Fixtures.  Part of this will be in regards to Energy Efficient Water Heating Solutions which includes Tankless and Solar Water Heating.

In doing our research, we noted that the Stimulus Bill changed the Tax Credits for this also.  Because the changes go through 2010, we think it is important for people to understand what it is you can actually get with your Tax Credits.  Be an educated consumer so that you can make the most of you upgrades.

So, here's the 411:

Tankless Water Heaters - Whether you get one that is Gas or Electric, it still needs Electricity.  Why?  There is an actual start for these babies to kick in and start heating your water.  So, with a Gas Tankless Water Heater, it still uses ELECTRICITY to start up.  THEN uses the Gas to heat the water.  This means that during a power outage, you will STILL NOT HAVE HOT WATER.  Because of this, Tankless Hot Water Heaters fall under the Energy Efficiency portion of the Stimulus Bill.

What does that mean to you?  You can get a Tax Credit for 30% of the purchase UP TO $1500 on ALL of your Energy Efficient Improvements - (such as windows which will be another post)  Max.  That's It.  $1500.

Now, Solar Water Heating:

This is considered to be Renewable Energy.  No electricity or gas is really required.  That means that you are solely using electricity derived from a Renewable Source, in this case THE SUN.  During a power outage you WILL HAVE Hot Water.  (not that the power outage has anything to do with, just making a point)

For these reasons, it falls under a completely different category.  Actually, it falls under the same category as GeoThermal and traditional Solar Panels. 

What does this mean to you?  You can get a Tax Credit for 30% WITH NO CAP!! 

Personally, I would use the Energy Efficient Tax Credit for Windows, Insulation, etc. and maximize by upgrading to Solar Hot Water.  You can only get a Maximum One Time Tax Credit of $1500 for Energy Efficiency, yet there is no cap on Solar/Renewable Energy right now. 

With a typical cost of $5000 for Solar Water Heaters - That would give you an ADDITIONAL $1500 Tax Credit if you are making other Energy Efficient Improvements to your home. 

Just a little food for thought.  To sign up for our Webinar Series on Saturday for more details on the Benefits of Energy Efficient Water Fixtures in your home, you can register here.

***Source:  Pages 125-127 of the Division B Tax, Unemployment, Health, State Fiscal Relief and Other Provisions from the Department of Energy Website***

***Photos:  These are from Houston's First LEED Certified Home Built by Greenhaus Builders***