1. Energy Efficiency:

Geothermal heating, cooling and hot water – We used Envision by Waterfurnace is 30 SEER a/c; up to 500%. (5 COP). Read the article about our system in MetroMode Magazine. Learn more about geothermal.

Find a contractor anywhere in the U.S.

Geothermal Contractors in Ann Arbor:
Meadowlark Builders, (734) 332-1500
Michigan Energy Services, (888) 339-7700
Haley Mechanical, WaterFurnace vendor (800) 871-7993
Jetstream Heating & Cooling, Geocomfort System – Tom Fauser (734) 668-8010

Fact: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said geothermal heat pumps are, “the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-effective space conditioning systems available today.”

Occupancy sensors Wattstopper on all light switches – turns off lights automatically in unoccupied rooms. California now requires these in all new home construction.

Installed by Dan Delzoppo Electric 734-930-1630 – Our favorite contractor!

Available at Gross Electric in 2232 South Industrial Hwy., Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 665-8676

Available online at EcoHaus

Cellulose Insulation: blown cellulose made from recycled newspaper. R-50 in attic / R-18 in walls. Attics can be easy DIY projects. But, for walls we strongly recommend a professional with the right equipment and experience to ensure proper fill. Learn more

Installed by:
Farmer’s Insulation in Ann Arbor – Guy Murphy (734) 769-0066
Note: Our infrared camera test showed excellent coverage. Great job Guy!!

Open-cell spray foam insulation in basement between foundation and floor framing. Provides an excellent air and thermal barrier. This is also an excellent choice for attics and walls.
Arbor Insulation
734.786.1664

Energy Star appliances – Helpful hint: For 50% – 75% off on energy efficient appliances look for a Sears Appliance Outlet Store near you (there’s one in Livonia and Taylor, MI)

Change to appliances that have earned the ENERGY STAR, and you could save hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs, while saving the environment.

Energy-saving light fixtures; compact fluorescent lights throughout

“A household that invested $90 in changing 30 fixtures to CFLs would save $440 to $1,500 over the five-year life of the bulbs, depending on your cost of electricity. Look at your utility bill and imagine a 12% discount to estimate the savings.” The End of the Light Bulb as We Know It. US News & World Report, 19 December 2007.

Easy Do-it-Yourself Items to eliminate air leaks and gaps in your house:

Great Stuff foam for sealing around window casings, basement gaps, chimneys, attics, etc. When you add up all the little gaps in your house, it can be the equivalent of leaving a window open all year long. Check out the Great Stuff website “Interactive House” for cool tips on sealing your home.

Rope Caulk to help seal those pesky gaps in your old windows. Available in brown or gray. You can purchase rope caulk online or at any local hardware or home improvement store. Cost: $5.25

Reel lawn mower – German made by Brill Luxus. Weighs only 17 lbs and easier to push than a gas mower. Zero Carbon and ultra-quiet.

Check out the Brill Luxus 38 and the all new Brill Razor Cut 38

We LOVE these mowers!! This ain’t your granddaddy’s push mower. You’ll wonder why anyone uses hard to push, noisy, smelly, polluting gas mowers.

Smart Strip – WE LOVE THIS!! Power strip designed to kill that Vampire Power that is sucking hundreds of watts . . . even when you’re not using your electronics. Click “shut down” on your computer or “off” on your TV remote and it will automatically turn off all the peripherals too – DVD, Wii, surround sound, printer, fax, hard drives, or whatever. It will pay for itself in a few short months. Available online at Amazon and other retailers.

2. Water Efficiency:
The Average U.S. Home Uses 300 – 700 gallons per day! Look for the new EPA Watersense label for outstanding water savings.

High efficiency 1.5 gpm Bricor showerheads and .5 gpm faucet aerators
A family of 3 will save around 11,000 gallons of HOT water every year. This is not only a water saver, but a huge energy saver as well. This brilliant technology will pay for itself in as little as 7 months!! Every shower should have one of these. No more excuses. Simply the best shower you can get.
Online Retailers $64.95: Black Energy and EFI

Caroma High Efficiency Toilets (HET) – dual flush allows for half flush (.8 gallons) or full flush (1.6 gallons). Caroma is beautifully designed. And, with a 4″ trap, they are nearly impossible to clog. Can save thousands of gallons of water per year. They’ll pay for themselves in a few years. Other Brands to Look For: Kohler, Sterling and Toto too!

Find a Caroma Retailer: http://www.caromausa.com/distributors/
Available online: BuyPlumbing for under $400

Rainwater capture used for irrigation – We got ours made from reused Michigan oak wine barrels from St. Julian Winery. There are plenty of places to buy rain barrels or you can make your own. Believe it or not, for every inch of rain that falls on a catchment area of 1,000 square feet, you can expect to collect approximately 600 gallons of rainwater. 5 inches of rain falling on a 2,000 square foot roof area will generate about 6,000 gallons of rainwater!

3. Materials:

Bioshield Floor Coatings. Antique heart pine floors sanded then refinished using natural penetrating Bioshield Hard Oil #9 for a durable, water resistant and non-toxic finish. You can often catch great closeout deals on the Bioshield website.

Find a retailer

Shower & Bath Tiles made with Recycled Content – American Olean – Available at Lowes and other tile retailers. Find a retailer

Salvaged clawfoot tub from Craigslist.org – For refinishing the interior of the tub, we used (and highly recommend) Ron Benedict of Ann Arbor Perma-Glaze
New Hudson MI 48165 (US)
Phone: 248-437-1370
Bathroom floors made from second hand marble. Highly durable.
Medicine chest mirror made from antique picture frame.

Other Materials Considerations:
Reused salvaged trimwork wherever possible

Sustainably Harvested Wood: When buying new wood, insist on Forest Stewardship Council‘s FSC Certiciation or Rainforest Alliance Certification.
Donate excess materials for reuse – Habitat for Humanity Restore or Ann Arbor Reuse Center
Compost bins for yard and kitchen scraps
1 Gallon trash can in kitchen – prevents us from creating too much waste for landfill
Compost pail at kitchen sink to collect kitchen scraps for compost – not the disposal or trash.
Reclaimed brick walkways – reuses material and minimizes stormwater runoff.

4. Indoor Environmental Quality:
Fact: Indoor air is sometimes three times more polluted than outdoor air. According to the EPA, poor indoor air quality is considered to be one of the top 5 hazards to human health. Paints and finishes, furniture, flooring, wood & cabinet adhesives, mold and poor ventilation are among the leading causes.

Third Party Certification for Indoor Air Quality: Look for Green Seal or GreenGuard certification.

Zero-VOC Paints: These are the best small brands are superior paints for everyone, but particularly for the chemically sensitive: Safecoat, Yolo Colorhouse,
Major brands (sometimes cost a little less and are now widely available) FreshAire Choice from Home Depot, Olympic Premium Paint (Available at Lowes), Pittsburgh Paints, Sherwin Williams Harmony (NOTE: Harmony is NOT GreenSeal or GreenGuard Certified and is only a “low”-VOC rather than zero-VOC) and others. Just make sure you ask for Zero-VOC paint at the paint or hardware store.

Wood floor finish: For our antique heart pine we used Bioshield Hard Oil #9 (see above) Different coatings are suited for different woods. So, make sure you ask what is best for your wood floor. Also, check out the premium line of eco-friendly finishes from SafeCoat. Bioshield and SafeCoat are both available online at www.EcoHaus.com

Whispergreen Panasonic high-efficiency motion sensor bath fan – improves indoor air quality, reduces mold and uses minimal energy. This fan is virtually silent and uses very little energy. We love it!

Available at
Gross Electric – 2232 South Industrial Hwy., Ann Arbor, 734-665-8676
Online at WestsideWholesale ($130 – $160) Plumber’s Surplus ,

Zero or Low-VOC Adhesives: Henkel Green Series zero-VOC adhesive for sub-floor in new bathroom. You will love the ways these clean up!! No more nasty chemicals to remove the other nasty chemicals that get stuck on your hands. Best of all . . . almost NO SMELL.

Furniture: antiques or reused are the best – Craigslist, Freecycle, or eBay – But, if you must buy new make sure it is durable and free from toxic brominated flame retardants (PBDEs / BFRs), PVC or formaldehyde and is made from FSC or Rainforest Alliance certified wood. Many major brands are going green. Check these out: Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Lee, Bob Williams+Mitchell Gold. Also, look for products that are C2C (Cradle 2 Cradle) certified.

Rugs and Floor coverings made from natural materials – free from toxic flame retardants (PBDE) or vinyl

Our Wish List:
Energy Recovery Ventilator – ventilate fresh air and recover 80% of heat loss ($700 – $2,000 installed)
Solar and/or Wind Power to provide our remaining energy load ($30k-$50k)
Solatubes for natural daylighting in the closets and dark spaces. ($300 each)
More forward thinking political leaders

Tell us what is on your greenovation wish list . . .

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Yes it’s true – Liters of light really can light dark spaces for free.  During a blackout, a Brazilian man took an empty 2-liter soda bottle, filled it with water and poked them through holes in the roof of his workshop.  Viola!  Carbon-free light.  The light from each 2-liter bottle creates the same amount of light as a 50 watt incandescent bulb.

Now of course this remarkable DIY tip has its limitations.  It might not be a good idea to rip a 4″ inch hole in your roof in colder climates.  But, this is a great applications for garages, sheds, barns, workspaces, etc.  Why turn on an energy sucking bulb in your garden shed when you can get free light from the sun?

Here’s how to make your own Liter of Light.  Try it.  Then send us your photos of your Liters of Light.

1.  Fill a clear 2-liter soda bottle with water.

2.  Drop in two caps of bleach (or 6 caps of hydrogen peroxide).

3.  Screw on the cap and cover it with a small black film canister.

4.  Cut a hole in the roof the exact diameter of the bottles.

5.  Place the bottle snuggly through the hole – leaving 1/4 of the bottle exposed to the outside.

6.  Run a bead of low-VOC caulk or sealant around the bottle to seal the hole (avoid using any toxic product).

7.  Enjoy years of free daylight!

Send us your photos of your Liters of Light.  Let us know what you think.  Oh yeah . . . these don’t work at night.  So, don’t come crying to me.

TIPS:

Try tubular skylights in your home for a more durable fix.

SolaTube

Velux

TruLite

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By Matt @ GreenovationTV

Born to Thomas Edison in 1880, Incandescent Bulb was killed in its sleep this week by its godfather, General Electric.  Incandescent leaves an illuminating legacy through his two children: CFL and LED.  After over a century of inefficiency, and shamed by the cost-savings of his children, he was no longer welcome in most American homes or even in a WalMart.

GE finally pulled the plug on all development of incandescent bulbs.  They will focus all research on light emitting diode (LED) bulbs and the organic light emitting diode (OLED), which use a small fraction of the energy of an old-school incandescent.

In 129 years the incandescent bulb hadn’t changed much.  Recently, many began referring to them as “heaters” rather than “light bulbs” since 95% of the their energy consumption was converted to heat and only 5% remained for light.

GE spokesman David Schuellerman said this about GE’s current plans:

“GE Consumers & Industrial and GE Global Research have suspended the development of the high-efficiency incandescent lamp (HEI) to place greater focus and investment on what we believe will be the ultimate in energy efficient lighting — light emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Research and development of these technologies is moving at an impressive pace and will be ready for general lighting in the near future. LEDs and OLEDs used in general lighting are now poised to surpass the projected efficiency levels of HEI, along with other energy-efficient technologies like fluorescent, and have the additional benefits of long life and durability.”

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Join Dr. Anna Marie as she takes her 1970s ranch home kicking and screaming into the 21st Century.  She’s not doing an extreme makeover and she’s not doing just a facelift, she’s making her home clean and green.  From the windows and doors to the paint on the walls, we have a real home with real solutions.  If you’re thinking about greening your home on your own, then don’t miss Dr. Anna Marie’s GIY segments on www.Greenovation.TV.  Remember: A green home is a healthy home.

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Compact Flourescent Bulbs are a cheap energy-saver. If everyone changed one incandescent bulb to a CFL bulb, we could save enough energy to light 3 million homes for a year! Host Alex Petit explains this great alternative.

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. . . Hint . . . the best bangs for the bucks are good for the planet and your wallet too.

By Karen Klages | Tribune reporter

With sales of existing houses in the Midwest down 6 percent in October (and remain 9.1 percent below figures from October ’07) and the median Midwestern home price down 6.7 percent from a year ago (according to the National Association of Realtors), it makes sense for homeowners to think at least twice about investing in a renovation.

What projects make sense, given the state of economic affairs? What improvements will allow folks to live better now and make the house more saleable later—and offer a handsome return on investment? READ MORE

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Home Depot Offers Recycling for Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
From the New York Times, by STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM
Published: June 24, 2008

Some big retailers are promoting compact fluorescent light bulbs as a way to save energy. But improper disposal of the bulbs creates a hazard, because they contain small amounts of mercury.

Recycling them is about to get easier. Home Depot, the nation’s second-largest retailer, will announce on Tuesday that it will take back old compact fluorescents in all 1,973 of its stores in the United States, creating the nation’s most widespread recycling program for the bulbs. Click here to read more

Stay tuned to GreenovationTV for an upcoming story about mercury in CFLs and the math behind why they are safer than old fashioned incandescent bulbs.

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I couldn’t resist sharing this wonderful video encouraging energy efficient lighting.

Send this post along to friends and tell them to “SCREW OFF”.   That’s right.  Screw off those old-school wasteful bulbs and light up your energy savings now.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post about that nasty mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs and why they are still better for the planet than incandescents.

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