Great Idea for Rainwater Harvesting

The Rainwater Hog is a NEW great way to harvest rainwater! Rainwater harvesting is smart for using FREE (natural & untreated) water for lawns, gardens and washing your pets or cars. Claim your own FREE Rainwater! The Rain Hog system is the first system I've run across that is attractive as well as practical. "Rainwater can be used for watering your garden as well as for toilet flushing, laundry washing and bathing. Rainwater stored in food grade HOGs can be used as an emergency potable water supply. Rainwater is soft water, which means that it wont cause a build up of calcium in your plumbing like hard water can. You can drink rainwater as long as your roofing material does not contain toxic materials. You will need to add a first flush diverter to the fine screen filter in the Inlet kit. Don’t let your rainwater go to waste - the Rainwater HOG is functional, efficient and visually discreet rainwater storage!" Check them out at "http://rainwaterhog.com/" - COASTAL DESIGNS

100 Top-Requested Building Products Includes 53 Eco-Friendly Picks

From the web site of EcoHome, their sister publication Building Products assembled the top 100 building products from Custom Home, Builder and Remodeling from mailer service cards. Click on the “Building Products” link and find several new products and many old favorites. You’d be surprised what people are interested in putting in their homes today. Energy-Efficiency and Green products are the most requested! It seems people want to buy products to save money, which in most cases means saving energy too! No surprise here.

It’s just that I feel most builders are stuck in the past ways of building. They either don’t know how to add new energy-saving products or are unwilling to move out of their old (if-it-works-don’t-fix-it) way of building. I know there are several innovative builders out there that take charge in presenting new energy-efficient and green products to their buyers. Some builders even take it on themselves to educate new home buyers about the energy efficient life-style. Yes, they probably feel like it’s a waste of time to educate home buyers on energy-efficiency when in most cases it fails to produce a sale.

Nowadays, most Home Buyers want a bargain, or at least if they spend more now on energy-efficient add-ons, they hope it might save money later. The challenge lies in the fact that it is hard to pick a good energy-efficient or “Green” product from the thousands that are coming on the market that will cost less, save money, and last! For your new homes, seek third-party certification such as through LEED for Homes, NAHB Model Green Home Building guidelines, and Energy Star.

I remember all the hoopla about the solar fad back in the 1980’s. I educated myself about solar, even built a few successful projects using direct and indirect solar gain. But when the solar tax credits ran out and winters got warmer, people forgot all about it. People really didn’t seem to understand it anyway. I don’t think it’s like that way now. Solar, Wind, Geo-Thermal, Hydro, Bio-Mass, Hybrid and others are just many ways people are now realizing that it’s not a fad, energy-efficiency is finally here to stay - not only will it save money - but because we have to!

Green Find: EcoHome Magazine

Image via Wikipedia

Also, I would like to highlight a very good source for green products and technology with the new Hanley-Wood website, EcoHome. After getting a copy of the magazine itself, I have found many sources for answers to things like - What is the best 'on-demand' water heater?, what's the best spray foam insulation?, who has the best solar water heater? and many, many more green ideas.

New (And Recycled) Tax Credits For Going Green

Image by aflcio2008 via Flickr

President Obama has made some changes to the tax credits for energy efficient products. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is the program that President Bush initiated several years ago and was to end in 2007 and then was extended to end of 2008. On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed a stimulus bill (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) that made some significant changes to the energy efficiency tax credits. The changes are very significant for new homes and remodels. The highlights are:

• The tax credits that were previously effective for 2009, have been extended to 2010 as well.
• The tax credit has been raised from 10% to 30%.
• The tax credits that were for a specific dollar amount (ex $300 for a CAC), have been converted to 30% of the cost.
• The maximum credit has been raised from $500 to $1500 for the two years (2009-2010). However, some improvements such as geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, and solar panels are not subject to the $1,500 maximum - you get 30% Tax Credit on these! $1,500 is the maximum total amount that can be claimed for all products placed in service in 2009 & 2010 for most home improvements, EXCEPT for geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, fuel cells, and windmills which are not subject to this cap, and are in effect through 2016!
• The $200 cap on windows has been removed, but the requirements for windows has been increased significantly. Not all ENERGY STAR qualified windows will qualify.

See more info on saving tax dollars when you build or remodel.

Thanks - Dennis Mercer

Now's the best time to build green!

If you're considering buying land to build a home using green-building concepts. Today's building news might scare people off from building. With all the bad news about housing and everyone seeing "red" - it happens to be one of the best times I've ever seen to build! It also is a very good time to start a green home-construction project, based on several factors: Land prices are cheaper, the number of certified green contractors out there is growing and green is going mainstream as global warming and energy issues are on the front burner. Most General Contractors are also "sharpening their pencils" more just to stay in business. Additionally, federal tax incentives for some new-home construction elements have recently tripled following the recent passage of the stimulus package.

Instead of the previous 10-percent incentives offered, you can now write off 30 percent of the costs of buying and installing solar panels, solar water heaters, fuel cells and small wind-energy systems and geothermal heat pumps. There are dollar caps on some of these credits. See the Environmental Protection Agency website for the latest information.

Moreover, it's pretty clear that the latest green heating and cooling systems typically pay for themselves in energy savings over several years. If you're in North Carolina, you can go to the North Carolina Solar Center and click on 2008 Tax Forms for the latest NC Tax Guidelines. Depending on your situation, you could get up to $10,500 tax credit on a photovoltaic system, $3,500 on Active or Passive Solar systems or $1,400 for a solar water heating system in the same year. Active or Passive Solar systems receive tax credits depending on how they are constructed and designed. You find experts at the North Carolina Professional Directory of renewable energy professionals.

Several other states are offering additional green tax credits as well. Builders can also get tax credits for constructing energy-efficient new homes and should be able to pass some of those savings on to you indirectly. You can also check out the DSIRE Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency. Of course, you can go as green as your imagination and budget allow, ranging from the use of solar energy, natural lighting, energy-efficient appliances and low-emission paints to radon-resistant construction, resource-efficient landscaping and use of recycled or salvaged, locally processed building materials. It's important to check out your local building ordinances to see what is allowed in your area. Most municipalities have become far more progressive in this area.

But be wary. Some contractors instantly mark up a green project significantly without justification merely because people expect to pay more. Carefully screen your contractors. The United States Green Building Council's site (www.usgbc.org) has a rating system for promoting the design and construction of high-performance "green" houses that also features builder resources, green-certified contractor lists and a green-home guide. Also go to the Green Home Guide website and click on "resources" for availability of local, state, federal and utility incentives. Another organization, Build it Green, promotes green practices in California but also features universal guidelines and checklists that may help.

Be sure to keep up to date on what's being offered. By the time you start construction, there may be even more green incentives available.

A Green Home Begins with ENERGY STAR Blue.

It's a Great Time To Go Green!

New Cool Metal Roof

I have found a roofing product that can save cooling costs. The Energy-Efficient Titan® “COOL ROOF”.

A product made by Custom-Bilt Metals called LAST-TIME® is a metal roof with a premium two-coat system based on the same 70 percent PDVF (PolyvinylFluoride) resin-based coating system supplied as Kynar 500® material to coat any LAST-TIME® brand product.


“Cool Roof coatings are highly reflective, with a minimum solar reflectance of 25 percent, and up to 70 percent on lighter colors. When applied and cured on properly prepared substrates, a Cool Roof exhibits outstanding color stability, chalk resistance, durability, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance and flexibility while also providing outstanding solar heat deflection and energy efficiency.” This product qualifies for Energy Star® Tax Credit. And Earns Certification points with The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™. Therefore, if you want to save energy AND have a colored metal roof, you can use the Titan® “COOL ROOF.” However, I can’t figure out how a penguin could climb up on that metal roof.

The Best Roofs on the Coast - Part Two

To continue - "What's the best roofing material I can use for hurricanes?"

Engineering-Roofing is now coming around.

Some manufacturers have developed an "engineered roofing" product that looks like wood shakes or slate and are made of recycled materials such as post-industrial plastics, wood-fiber, flax-fiber, hemp-fiber, and crumb rubber from recycled tires. I don't know the long term performance of such products, but time will tell. Engineered-roofing can be made to look very close to No. 1 grade cedar shakes, and also have a 50 year limited warranty, mold, mildew, insect and hail resistant. In today's construction trends, look for more "Green" building materials that will help our environment and our economic independence. These types of roofing appear to be suitable for roofing in hurricane-prone areas, but with more use, again, time will tell.

Clay or Concrete tiles are another type of roofing you may consider.

Some benefits of concrete ceramic tiles are being fireproof, they are available in many colors, easy to maintain and very durable. Some of the drawbacks with clay are being very expensive, heavy, fragile to walk on and replacement is not easy. Clay tiles have a more Mediterranean, French, Spanish and contemporary look. Performance in hurricanes is satisfactory, but difficult to repair. If tiles get cracked or broken, it can allow wind-driven rain to cause more roof leaks.

I don't know of an "Eco-Roof" yet but it might be a consideration if you're so inclined.

Eco-Roofs are flat to moderate sloping roofs made of soil (lightweight soil) with a vegetation cover. The ultimate "Green" roof which could possibly grow your own vegetables! While this type of roof has the potential of becoming the ultimate environmental roof, it could surely help save our planet! I haven't see this type of roof used on beach cottages yet but don't see why this couldn't be something to consider, if you have the means and location. One company in England is a specialist in "greenroofs" - Greenfix Sky-Garden Grass could even be grown on raised parking decks - making it possible to run barefoot in the grass at the beach, or even have your own ultra-private "yard." However, be sure to use a push mower.

Slate is a roofing material used in very high-end markets.

Use of slate requires highly trained workers and a lot of money. Like clay tile, slate is also heavy and easily damaged by foot traffic. Slate will out-last most roofing materials and will hold up to hurricanes extremely well. Greenstone Slate in Poultney, VT have a Notice Of Acceptance (NOA) from Miami-Dade County, FL that states their "Greenstone Roofing Slate-Natural" meets their High Velocity Hurricane Zone. Slate will not rust, milder, rot or burn. Repairs are however sometimes very costly.

Sometimes, mixing different roofing materials might give you the look you want as well as saving money. I have added metal roofs to small porches or decorative gable dormers while using fiberglass-asphalt on the main roof of a house. This has been a good compromise in some cases.

No matter what roof material you choose, I recommend you pick a light color. Because the solar radiation from lighter roofs would help cool our planet better, and save on your cooling costs. Dark colored roofing is very fashionable, for now, but I see a time where fashion will give way to environmental needs in the very near future. The new fashion trend nowadays seems to be heading toward being "green." That's a good thing, even if it's the "In" thing! Galvalume galvanized roofing is one of the best solar reflectors and requires less to cool in those hot summers. The best roof angle in studies seems to be a slope of around 30 degrees, or about a 6/12 pitch. Any other roof angle will add to wind uplift. Select a roofing material with a Class-A Fire Rating. Select a roofing that has the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Wind-Resistant Rating.

Therefore, as I said in the beginning, it all depends... on what architectural look you're after, how much money you have to spend, how much you want to gamble, and how fast you want the roof repaired after a storm. Choose wisely.

Dennis Mercer