Green Home Based Businesses

It’s common knowledge that green industries have been expanding more quickly today than ever before. Combined with new “green regulations,” a whole new home based business has taken root and will be one of the fastest growing opportunities in the new “green economy.” The demand for Certified Green Home and Business Inspectors has begun to rise and will only continue as more municipalities will require eco-friendly buildings and developments.

A Certified Green Home Inspector inspects homes and businesses to figure out what can be changed to help reduce energy and water consumption. The inspection consist of identifying and cataloging areas where energy and water savings can occur and then recommending an action plan to implement those changes. This action plan will not only help the environment, but it will also lower the costs of bills and operations. The homeowners and business owners save money and benefit the environment at the same time.

Every inspector is certified by the Eco Institution and certification is a home based course that you can complete in three to eight weeks followed by a certification exam. During certification inspectors learn: the importance and reduced costs of environmentally sound living, home and business construction, electrical, plumbing and engineering concepts, how to complete inspections, home design changes to reduce energy and water, and helping clients adopt behaviors that will consistently reduce energy and water. Upon completion of the course, would be inspectors, must take a two hour, timed exam.

Brentwood’s Trilogy at the Vineyards by Shea Green Homes has become the first active-adult community in the Bay area to become 100 percent Energy Star-qualified, which allows Trilogy homeowners to save thousands of dollars a year on energy costs. Energy Star, a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, is a “labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce green home gas emissions” according to www.energystar.gov.

“The thing that ultimately makes us different is that many builders can get the energy efficiency they need for Energy Star in one or two homes,” said Dan O’Brien, area president for Trilogy. “But to achieve it in every single one of your homes is what makes it such an unusual feat.”

Trilogy and Shea Homes achieved this objective through numerous strategies and products designed to reduce the amount of energy a home uses.

O’Brien’s members are saving “thousands of dollars a year,” he said, and reducing their carbon footprints with progressive energy-conservation products, such as Anderson windows, tankless water heaters and LP TechShield Radiant Barrier, a reflective material that is installed under roofing material to keep homes cool.

Each house also undergoes numerous tests by independent home energy raters.

For example, inspectors close all the doors and windows, then shut off the lights and insert a temporary front door for a “blower door test.”

This uses special equipment, such as tracer smoke, to determine where air leaks originate.

Trilogy also provides a guarantee, backed by a third-party, that reimburses consumers when their homes’ energy consumption exceeds a specific amount.

Mike Crosby, CEO and president of management consultation firm Whitewater Group, and his wife, Marsha Brown, say they are satisfied with their decision to move to Trilogy from Long Beach.

“It blows me away,” Crosby said in reference to Trilogy and Shea Homes’ energy-conservation technology, as well as the care the community puts into their residents’ well-being. For example, Crosby has a monitor that allows him to check the temperature outside in the shade.

Plus, Crosby said, “the walls are thick; we have great insulation in walls and in the attic. The paint on the walls is designed to give off no carbon gas. All of the windows in this home are double-paned. And we have 22 windows … the windows also reflect back 90 percent of the UVA [and] UVB harmful rays.”

Because of the lack of air pollution around the area, Crosby has also noticed something he wasn’t aware of in Long Beach – beautiful clouds. He said a running joke is no one can see or taste the air in Trilogy because it’s so clean.

“When the weather allows, we can see the Sierras off in the distance. That’s 40, 50 miles away,” he said.

“There are some practical reasons to be concerned about [energy], too,” Crosby said. “It’s becoming so costly just to have energy … we have on our house 5 kilowatts of solar, as does the guy next to me.”

Through custom real-time software, Crosby can monitor various conservation measurements. Since his solar energy system became active in January, he said, he has reduced his carbon footprint by 3,954 pounds.

“We’ve saved 39.5 trees,” he said, “and we have offset 208 barrels of oil … that would have otherwise gone to producing electricity.”

The builder also provided them with WeatherTRAK, which uses a satellite to monitor weather conditions within six-tenths of a mile of Crosby and Brown’s home. The satellite also controls the sprinkler system, so, for example, if the satellite doesn’t foresee rain in the next six days, it will run the sprinklers.

About a month ago, Crosby had visitors to his home when the temperature was in the 90s. Inside his home, it was in the low 70s, without air conditioning.

“In fact,” Crosby said, “We have not had to turn on our air conditioner once since we’ve been here …It’s just a great place to be. Read also about Green Home in Florida

Green Home Ideas

By now we all know that it is  hip to be green home. This is not only a concept to conserve energy and preserve our limited natural resources, ‘going green’ at home is a great way to teach our children how to recycle, reuse and reduce by using products that aren’t made from chemicals, solvents or dyes as well learning how to do their part to help conserve the environment. This doesn’t happen overnight, but starting slowly by making your own cleaner and becoming an educated consumer are some easy ways to get you on the green path. Here are some of our best green home ideas.

1. Go green with handmade art. We all love the crafts and drawings that our children proudly bring home, so why not decorate your entire home in DIY spirit? Art is expensive and can easily be made at home with some easy techniques. Simple items like old magazines, newspapers, swatches of fabric, old postcards, etc can be re-used to create gorgeous wall art. Simply organize your items and place them in a frame or if you are really crafty you can create a collage with your materials to hang around the house. Add a beautiful frame and you have a personalized and attractive piece of art. This is also a great project for older kids to get involved as they learn about recycling and decorating your home. We love the DIY wall art tips from Plant Green.

2. Become a green cleaning machine. Cleaning is unavoidable but that doesn’t mean you need to use products that contain harsh solvents and chemicals especially when there are numerous gentle homemade solutions to get your home spic and span. A simple blend of white distilled vinegar and water is great for easy clean-ups (like say for the windows) and a stronger solution of backing soda and a fragrance-free detergent is great to take away grit and stains like in the bathroom or in the oven. For more easy and non-toxic cleaners, check out Care2′s cleaning guide.

3. Conserve energy. A simple way to conserve energy is to use energy efficient light bulbs, which generally last about 10 times longer than traditional bulbs. Another way to conserve energy is to actually use less energy – meaning less TV watching, time on the computer and turning off the lights when they don’t need to be on. This will also help you save on your electricity bill – not to mention free up some time.

4. Save water. Many plumbing systems are outdated causing over 400 gallons of water to be used by a family of four, according to the EPA. However, systems can be easily updated to make your plumbing work better and conserve water. Look for energy-efficient models such as those with the WaterSense or EnergyStar labels. You can also check your home for leaky facets, drippy showers and runny toilets as way to conserve water.

5. Design your home. Eco-chic homes are a great way to feature modern and functional furniture products while also using sustainable and environmentally friendly design options. Many of these products include bamboo or items made from plastic but you can also ‘go green’ by purchasing furniture from flea markets or yard sales that can be reupholstered or recycled into something completely different. more about Green Home in Florida

Green Home Renovations…

The real estate market is tough right now. If you are a seller, you need every possible incentive for someone to choose your home rather than another comparable home on the market.  How can you get that advantage for your home?

Try doing some green home renovations, and then highlight them in your promotional materials.

Reports from all over the USA indicate that a home that can be truthfully advertised as green will sell more readily. There is a good reason for this. The cost of living in a green home is lower than that in a home without energy-saving and water-conserving features.

But there is a more subtle reason as well.

Almost everyone wants to feel that they are doing their part to protect the environment and make the work a better place. Having a green home satisfied that desire. Thus, being able to advertise your home as green give the buyer an emotional reason to shoes your home in addition to a financial one.  Since virtually all purchases, and especially a home, have an emotional trigger for purchase as well as a logical one, offering a home with green, money-saving features is a sure-fire way to make your home stand out in a difficult real estate market for sellers.

Of course, you need to make the right green improvements. Many are quite costly (for example, solar panels). Here are 6 very low cost ways you can green your home and improve its sale-ability.

1. Seal all drafts around windows and doors with caulk or weather stripping.

2. Add insulation to the attic.

Cellulose insulation is a good, green choice. reducing heat loss in the winter and keeping heat out in the summer will save the occupants real money.

3. Wrap your water heater with insulation

to reduce heat loss and keep water-heating costs low.

4. Install a solar water heater.

Since about 15% of your home energy bill goes to heat water, the savings for a new buyer will be significant, and it will be a strong selling point for your home.

5. Consider bamboo if you are installing new flooring.

Bamboo wears as well as hardwoods, has a beautiful appearance, and brings the advantage of being widely recognized as a green building material due to its rapid renewability.

6. Use low VOC paints.

VOC is an abbreviation for volatile organic compounds. Since many of these compounds are unpleasant-smelling at best, and toxic, at worst, you can make a strong statement about the safety of your home by using low VOC paint when prepping the house for sale.

7. Install CFL bulbs everywhere

, inside and out. Lighting accounts for about 10-20% of average home electricity usage. Since CFLs use 75% less electricity than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer, you will be doing your new owner a favor at a minimal cost to you. You can probably replace every bulb in the house for no more than $150-200.

8. Most important: Highlight the green features of your home in your flyers and promotional materials.

Green renovations and improvements, even those that are relatively inexpensive to do, can help you differentiate your home from the pack in a very competitive real estate market. Green home features give buyers an emotional reason to want your home as well as a financial incentive. Often, the emotional reason is the most important one.

Strategies for Green Homes

In buildings which are designed to qualify for LEED certification or National Green Building Certification, contractors and builders thoroughly choose materials, building practices and locations to meet the criteria for the stringent certification.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED was created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and stands as a rating system for green homes. It promotes new concepts to sustain five key areas of human and environmental health performance such as site development, water saving, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency and materials selection.

However, often current homeowners who want to go green and save green are in limbo. They do not have LEED to issue certification for them since their homes are already built. They do not know where to start and are often afraid of the expenses that go with home remodeling. Green Street Development owned by Mr. Philip Beere of Scottsdale built the first “green home” in Arizona to receive a LEED for Homes “gold” certification on East Medlock Drive in Phoenix. He said that any homeowner can start by doing smaller changes in their homes. Eco Consultants can help homeowners to understand these changes.

Here are some of Mr. Beere’s LEED approaches on how we can help the environment and make living more sustainably at home:

1. Check for window leaks, walls, attic and air-conditioning ducts. A leaking window on an air-conditioned room can cause a surge in your electricity bill. A green energy auditor can recommend repairs and upgrades and will ensure that you have a tight home.
2. Once everything in the home is already sealed, you can plan on replacing older, energy-inefficient appliances. A good example is installing compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) when your older incandescent bulbs burn out.
3. Scout for plumbing fixtures that make water saving automatic. New models of toilets only use 1.6 gallons or less unlike old ones which swallow up to 5 gallons with every flush.
4. Improve your indoor air quality through proper ventilation and choosing water based or less toxic paints and other materials.
5. Use your new green appliances and fixtures in an efficient way. Set your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer. Unplug appliances when you’re not using them. Both ways will surely save you electrical costs. Read about Green Home in Florida