$0 to Low Cost “Green” Solutions for Renovations, Additions & New Building
April 15, 2011
Sustainable building, i.e. green building, is here to stay! The town of Westport just last week has become the 14th town in Connecticut to take on the Neighbor-to-Neighbor Energy Program funded by the Department of Energy. The town of Greenwich is participating in the Connecticut Clean Energy Communities Program. (CCEF) and sponsored an all day Energy Conscious Home forum show at the Greenwich High School on Saturday, April 2nd, 2011. I attended the event and represent William Raveis and received a lot of positive feedback from the public.
Payback on sustainable building is immediate and will continue to return for as long as you operate the building. Below is a list of low cost green features instead of conventional practices that can be incorporated when a building owner is doing a renovation, addition or new build.
- Properly installed insulation Zero Cost
- Better yet cellulose or foam insulation Payback in a few years
- Caulking of exterior holes, protrusions of envelope avg. $5-$75
- Recycle waste cans, paper, cans, bottles Free
- Programmable Thermostats $25-$100
- Dual Flush toilet or HET toilet Zero Cost
- Efficient water fixtures. EPAs water sense program
- LED lights, bulbs last 10- 20yrs. Payback avg. 2 years
- Lowers cooling loads needed, bulbs produce less heat average bulb uses 75 watts the LED light will be at 20 watts.
- Bamboo, cork, Linoleum, reclaimed flooring Zero to min. add. cost
- Recycled Green Label carpeting Zero to min. add. cost
- Recycled Kitchen Counters Zero to min. add. cost
- Low to No VOC paints Zero to min. add. cost
- Energy Star appliances Zero to min. add. cost
- Upgrade AC to SEER 14 or higher Small premium,big benefits
- Energy Star Boiler/Furnace payback in 2-5 yrs
- MERV 8, 10, 13 Air filters avg. $500 to install, $35 per filter. A healthier interior environment creates an increase in productivity, less sick days and helps controls allergies.
- Front door grate to catch dirt off shoes $300-$1000
- Mudroom and shoe shelves
- Instant Hot Water, why do you need to keep 40, 50, 60 gallons of hot water??
- Saving by not constantly reheating stored water, payback 1 to 3 years.
- Master Switch to turn off all unneeded lights at end of day, great for offices, retail stores and hotel rooms.
- Solar Tube, allows natural light into interior of building resulting in electric light to be off.
- Low e, gas filled replacement windows, minimal up cost if replacing existing windows, need to pick correct windows for climate region.
*NOTE: - Every house has its own issues and you need to hire an experience contractor to find out the cost for your own individual situation, the cost above are just average costs.
Conclusion:
1. Provides a healthier more productive environment.
2. Sustainability, we have finite sources on the earth and need to use common sense on how to use them.
3. Less maintenance = less money spent on repairs.
4. Considering the little to minimal added costs compared to the whole project cost you are looking at 0-4% additional cost which will give a pay back within a few years but offers continual savings.
Posted by David Popoff, Realtor, William Raveis Real Estate of Darien in Market Trends, Raveis.com, Technology
Tags: bill raveis, cost savings, energy star, green building, raveis blog, Raveis.com, William Raveis
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Article source: http://blog.raveis.com/2011/04/14/low-cost-green-solutions/
