Reliable Remodeler Blog » energy

Does your home meet miminum energy codes?

woodrow — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:24:55 +0000

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 [...]

Does your home meet miminum energy codes? is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Smart green building devices that promote energy efficiency

woodrow — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:26:14 +0000

Have you heard about smart meters? A smart meter connects homes with the electric grid. It’s a two-way communicator that helps homeowners truly examine their energy use and make decisions about how to operate their appliances, HVAC systems, and lighting. Depending on your utility provider, your smart meter can help you determine the best hours (known [...]

Smart green building devices that promote energy efficiency is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

New windows can curb record-high energy bills

woodrow — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:19:22 +0000

If you’ve been watching your electric bills soar, welcome to the club. A new report from USA TODAY finds that we’ve endured five straight years of increases, making it the largest leap since the energy woes of the 1970s. Even if your earnings have stagnated, the cost to consumers for electricity has kept on rising. We [...]

New windows can curb record-high energy bills is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

HVAC home improvements: There’s an app for that

woodrow — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:36:36 +0000

If you’re reading this, you already have a remote means of controlling your HVAC at home as well as monitoring your security. Using a smartphone or computer with web access, today’s homeowner can log into a secure website to check if their doors are locked or to turn on their heat [...]

HVAC home improvements: There’s an app for that is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Last chance for tax rebates on energy efficient home improvements

woodrow — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:11:06 +0000

Homeowners have until December 31 to buy materials and install energy efficient home improvements under the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Provisions of the bill, an extension of previous tax credits, mandate that you buy only ENERGY STAR-compliant biomass stoves, heat and air conditioning units, insulation, roofing, water heaters, [...]

Last chance for tax rebates on energy efficient home improvements is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Got cold? Energy efficiency and refridgerators

woodrow — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:34:39 +0000

Your refrigerator is toast. The compressor is on its last legs and would cost more to repair or replace than you want to spend. It’s been a long time since you felt any resistance from the door seal when popping it open. There’s a drip or, worse, a pool of water collecting. The unit runs [...]

Got cold? Energy efficiency and refridgerators is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Have you looked into composite windows?

woodrow — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:20:24 +0000

There seems to be a hearty debate underway over the value of the newest generation of composite windows, I won’t jump into the mix with my own opinions, save to present the arguments posed by major manufacturers and ask my readers to weigh in on their own experiences. I have found an easy way to distinguish [...]

Have you looked into composite windows? is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Swamp cooler fall maintenance, simplified

woodrow — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:32:42 +0000

When my family moved to the San Fernando Valley in the late 1950s, most homes came outfitted with evaporative swamp coolers. I remember that they worked fairly well until August and September when temperatures soared over 90 degrees. Then, it seemed, all that the cooler did was burn energy pumping water around the pads while [...]

Swamp cooler fall maintenance, simplified is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Get out your caulking gun before summer is out

woodrow — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:20:43 +0000

OK, gunslingers, it’s time to draw your caulking gun before the bad boys of winter settle in to ravage the homestead. Kidding aside, caulking and sealing is a home improvement project that fits the schedule between barbecues and beach trips. You’ll gain a lot of protection for your home with just a little time and [...]

Get out your caulking gun before summer is out is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Scorching weather, high energy bills and hot tempers

woodrow — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:07:39 +0000

Here we are again in the heat furnace of the American summer, with scorching temperatures and high humidity pounding residents of the Midwest and South. According to reports this week from Reuters, 40 of the 50 states will face 90 to 100 degree temperatures in the last week of July. I know readers are keenly [...]

Scorching weather, high energy bills and hot tempers is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Greening-up vintage and historical homes

woodrow — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:01:02 +0000

In my last blog, I wrote about performing an energy audit of your existing home to find ways to make it more energy efficient. There are quick fixes that enable you to improve your home, add lasting value and at the same time cut back on your energy bills. An energy audit helps you spot [...]

Greening-up vintage and historical homes is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Green home improvement: Time for an energy audit

woodrow — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:19:15 +0000

It’s a good time to talk about conducting your energy audit. It’s summer outside, reasonably dry, and you may want to assess your energy efficiency before the winter rolls in. One of the best home improvement projects to consider during this flat home-sales era is to plan for efficiency remodeling. Green building has become a staple [...]

Green home improvement: Time for an energy audit is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Red flags for buyers: poor home maintenance

woodrow — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:27:53 +0000

Do you think your home will catch the eye of a potential buyer in a challenging real estate market? Look again. Even if you’ve put money into home improvements in energy efficiency, plumbing, landscaping and fresh paint, your inattention to routine maintenance across the board can send out red flags to home shoppers. Real estate [...]

Red flags for buyers: poor home maintenance is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

Catch That Secret Energy Thief: Your Attic Door

woodrow — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 21:27:46 +0000

You know that convenient, pull-down door in your closet that leads up to the attic? It’s also a convenient passageway for energy. In the summer, you lose cool air from your home through the hatch (sometimes called a scuttle hole), where it’s vented into the greater outdoors. In winter, the attic door is a causeway, [...]

Catch That Secret Energy Thief: Your Attic Door is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.

New Year’s Energy Resolutions

woodrow — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:13:23 +0000

According to the ENERGYSTAR division of the government, the average American family spends about $2,200 a year in heating and cooling their homes. Some of you must be scoffing at this. In a recent interview with SmartMoney, the EPA’s Maria Vargas said Americans cut $17 million on their HVAC bills in 2009, using energy saving [...]

New Year’s Energy Resolutions is brought to you by the home remodeling pros at Reliable Remodeler. Get more of your questions answered at Ask the Contractor.