Does your new or remodeled home meet the minimum energy codes for construction and design? If you’re like most consumers, Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) believes that you have no idea.
Last fall, the nonprofit agency reported that energy bills in an average new home that doesn’t meet the minimums are consistently higher. In fact, they’re [...]
Daylight harvesting, once deployed only in large commercial and industrial settings, is getting lot of airtime with home builders and renovators. The process is just like it sounds: You install a combined window treatment and lighting system that coordinates the amount of heat and light that comes through your windows into living spaces. It’s not [...]
Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are among the latest green design building systems used for residential construction. SIPs are panels manufactured with a foam insulating core packaged between oriented-strand board skins. The resulting sandwich is durable, high in energy efficiency and may even reduce the scale of the systems used to heat and cool your home.
Since [...]
If you’re committed to going green, you’ll be curious about the new generation of efficient, low-impact insulation products on the market. Traditional insulation products can off-gas (at worst) or give off odors in your home. You can swap them out for low or non-VOC emitting insulation products and, at the same time, fill your home [...]
Now that 2011 has passed, many of the Federal tax credits offered by the government for new windows, insulation, doors, and other products for home energy efficiency remodeling have also drawn to an end. Even with these incentives gone, you should still consider evaluating energy efficient materials before making a purchase, or choose other green [...]
Are all light bulb products interchangeable? Not so, according to Consumer Reports. The product evaluator and watchdog recommends that you match the replacement bulb to your lighting fixture. Even if you buy a bulb made for energy efficiency, using it in the wrong environment can shorten its life and negatively affect its performance.
Selecting your bulb
First, [...]
A new study shows that the price of electricity provided to American homeowners has skyrocketed over the last five years. Energy price research conducted by the USA TODAY shows that we’ve endured the longest consistent stretch of utility bill increases since the 1970s. Today’s average bills represent a $300 annual increase in electric bills over [...]
With Christmas just around the corner, why not consider making home improvements that decorate for the holidays and last for the entire year? One of my favorite improvements is to add exterior lighting that you can deck with light strings, vines, wreaths or bows. But this year, put in doorway lamps, entry overhangs, walkway lighting, [...]
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