Archive for the 'Residential' category
All right, so you know what an energy audit is, but you aren’t a green-freak or energy-obsessed, so why bother getting one? While there are some clear environmental incentives, an energy audit can help you in more ways that one.
1. Tax Benefits. With energy bills like HOME STAR winning strong support from Congress, the future looks promising for advocates of clean-energy. These bills will allow homeowners to get massive rebates on energy-efficient products if they get an assessment conducted by a BPI certified auditor.
2. Increase Home Value. When your home has completely transformed into an eco-friendly paradise, its value will increase dramatically. If you ever decide to sell, buyers will be drawn to the sustainable living that your house has to offer.
3. Save Energy. Most obviously, an energy audit will help you save energy. It will give you the opportunity to decrease the cost of your energy bills and increase the efficiency of your home.
4. Help the Environment. Why not save the environment if you have the chance to do so? An energy audit will help make your home more sustainable and self-sufficient; it’s time to make your eco-footprint smaller than a size 14.
5. Improve you Health. An energy audit will do much more than evaluate your insulation and appliances, it also checks for risky carbon monoxide emissions and locates areas where harmful molds could be growing. So if you aren’t a treehugger, health incentives should motivate you to consider a home energy audit.
If you want more information on home energy audits or would like to find a BPI certified energy auditor near you, visit Greener Dawn at www.gdenergyaudit.com.
Posted by admin in Residential
As we all know, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the most horrific environmental disaster in the history of the United States, and it’s only getting worse. Unfortunately, it’s going to affect more than just the Gulf—citizens across America will feel the impact in their energy bills.
While the oil spill will most deeply affect the cost of public transportation, homeowners are likely to see negative consequences on their own property. The crude oil flowing from the well contains major amounts of natural gas, the very substance used to cool and heat your home; and if the cost of natural gas goes up, so will your energy bill. Now might be the best time to consider a home energy audit to increase your energy efficiency.
However, if there were a bright side to this environmental disaster, this would be it: the Obama administration is now, more than ever, pushing for sustainable living. On June 2nd, Obama announced: “The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean-energy future.” With energy bills like HOME STAR gaining strong support in Congress, the future looks bright for energy efficiency advocates. Sometimes it takes a dramatic event for a prevailing issue to be brought to light; just as Brown v. Board of Education illuminated the issue of racial discrimination, so too will the oil spill clarify the necessity of renewable energy.
Now is your time to be a forerunner in the realm of energy efficiency. To learn more about cost-effective energy audits or to find a certified BPI energy auditor in your neighborhood, check out Greener Dawn at www.gdenergyaudit.com for a comprehensive review on the energy auditing process.
Posted by admin in Residential
Everyone wants to be energy efficient—but when is a homeowner most in need of a cost-effective energy efficiency upgrade? Here are some key signs that your house could be aging and in need of an audit.
Some major indicators of energy loss are insulation issues. If you can’t seem to get rid of radiating cold air in the winter and hot air in the summer, windows and doors could be leaking air and in need of an energy efficiency revamp. Likewise, if there are moisture problems in your home it could cause your air conditioners to work unnecessarily harder over the summer and induce potential mold issues.
However, the biggest threats to energy loss are construction shortcuts. You—or an energy auditor—might want to check for the absence of external building wrap around the joists between floors and walls, improperly insulated attics, basements, or crawl spaces and unsealed areas where wires and pipes enter your home. If any of these problems seem to be tainting your house, or your home is 30 or more years old, it is recommended that you find someone to conduct an energy audit.
Energy efficiency audits can range from simple to complex, but at their core, audits consist of a blower door test, which will pressurize the house and locate pesky leaks, and the use of an infrared thermal camera, which will evaluate the inner-insulation of your walls and crawl spaces. Then, your energy auditor will give you an inclusive inspection report with suggested steps for increased energy efficiency.
To learn more about cost-effective energy audits or to find a certified BPI energy auditor in your neighborhood, check out Greener Dawn at www.gdenergyaudit.com for a comprehensive review on the energy auditing process.
Posted by admin in Residential
So you’ve heard the buzz about being green and using renewable energy, but what’s the best way for you to apply these eco-friendly ideas? Well, the first step is to make your home more energy efficient through a home energy audit—a process that will allow you to evaluate how much energy your home uses and give you the opportunity to make practical changes that will decrease your energy use.
A typical energy audit will employ the following techniques for a complete home assessment:
- Blower Door Test. This test will help measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope and locate areas where air is escaping to the outside.
- Infrared Thermal Camera. These cameras will detect concealed areas where your home lacks insulation or suffers from air infiltration.
- Appliance Evaluation. An auditor will take a look at your appliances and give you ideas for upgrades and improvements.
- Comprehensive Report. At the end of your energy efficiency evaluation, your auditor will give you a full report with suggested steps for making your home more energy efficient.
To learn more about cost-effective energy audits or to locate a BPI certified auditor in your neighborhood, visit Greener Dawn at www.gdenergyaudit.com.
Posted by admin in Residential
CalCEF Innovations, the market strategy and public policy arm of the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF), recently announced the release of the second white paper in its Energy Efficiency (EE) series: “Energy Efficiency Paying the Way: New Financing Solutions Remove First Cost Hurdles.” The CalCEF Innovations report examines in detail various EE financing options, including pooling of individual projects, technologies and service offerings into inventive, larger and more attractive retrofit investment opportunities
Here are some of the programs highlighted:
- Clean Energy Works Program: A city-wide initiative in Portland, OR providing comprehensive financing through long-term loans and technical assistance to local homeowners.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE): Government programs, such as the highlighted Palm Desert, CA initiative, offer property owners 20-year loans for EE that are repaid through property tax assessments.
- On-bill Financing: San Diego Gas & Electric’s program is an example of the 100% financing terms for EE that small and medium-sized customers receive with loan repayments included on the regular utility bill.
- Utility Aggregated EE Deployment: Ice Energy partners with utilities to deploy large numbers of Thermal Energy Storage units under a single financing structure at no cost to customers.
- Efficiency Services Agreement: Metrus Energy offers large industrial and commercial customers a PPA-like solution to finance and implement EE projects with repayment based on a cost per avoided unit of realized energy savings.
- Managed Energy Services Agreement: Transcend Equity finances and implements EE upgrades at commercial buildings and takes responsibility for repaying a customer’s utility bill.
According to managing director Paul Frankel of CalCEF Innovations, financing of EE retrofits is an integral hurdle to overcome: “We’ve uncovered a critical gap in the EE sector, where the deployment of retrofits is not at pace with the large potential for profits—both economical and environmental—due to a perceived cost-prohibitive barrier to entry. Energy efficiency can pay back, three or four times on its investment in a relatively short time frame when strategic financing and aggregated deployment strategies are implemented.” Art Rosenfeld, PhD is a CalCEF board member and recently retired Commissioner of the California Energy Commission and Emeritus Professor of Physics and the University of California, Berkeley adds: “The work undertaken by CalCEF Innovations sheds light on reliable financing solutions that overcome the first-cost barriers to efficiency that have hindered substantial energy savings for far too long.”
Given the choice, most homeowners and commercial property owners would institute energy efficiency retrofits if there were no large upfront costs involved. To reach significant energy bill savings, though, many retrofits do require a fairly substantial upfront cost, to the detriment of the homeowner. However, the aforementioned new and creative methods can remove these upfront costs and distribute the loan over a long period of time. In addition to these programs, the White House is trying to push the Home Star Program (also commonly known as Cash for Caulkers), which would provide government rebates to homeowners who make their homes more energy-efficient by installing new windows, doors, insulation and other materials from an approved list.
Posted by Fan Ding in Commercial, Residential
February 10th, 2010 / 1 Comment
The HOME STAR program (not to be confused with ENERGY STAR), also known in the media as the Cash for Caulkers program, is a proposed federal program that would provide direct incentives to American homeowners who invest in improving the energy efficiency of their homes. During President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 27, 2010, he said:
“We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities, and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient, which supports clean jobs.”
Specifically, HOME STAR would reimburse homeowners for residential energy upgrades such as air sealing, insulation, new light bulbs and new appliances. For example, homeowners would be eligible to receive up to $2,000 for implementing at least two upgrades from a list of qualifying measures, or up to $3,500 for at least four qualifying measures. In addition, higher incentives would be available for homeowners who achieve energy savings of at least 20%.
Not only would the HOME STAR program reduce energy bills for the average American citizen, it will also create more jobs in the construction and skilled trade/craftsman market. A $23 billion investment in HOME STAR would support 5.9 million residential energy retrofits and create thousands if not millions of new local jobs in construction and related industries. We believe that becoming a Building Performance Institute (BPI) Certified Home Performance Contractor is a necessary step to secure these energy retrofit jobs. To that end, Greener Dawn offers the only live BPI-accredited training course in the San Diego region.
Posted by Fan Ding in Residential
January 27th, 2010 / 3 Comments
On Tuesday, January 27th, 2010, Greener Dawn performed an energy audit on NBA legend Bill Walton’s home in the Balboa Park area of San Diego. A 6,000 square foot home as well as a 1500 square foot home sit on the property. Marc Esser from Negawatt Consulting analyzed the large home focusing on electrical load, ducts, and ventilation. He took some great pictures throughout the home, and we’re looking forward to seeing his comprehensive report. John Adkins from Icarus Green Energy performed an energy audit on the smaller home focusing on a Home Energy Rating Score (HERS). He performed a blower door test, used a thermal camera to measure the insulation, and analyzed the ducts. Hopefully Bill’s home produces a strong HERS score!
San Diego will be launching their AB 811 Clean Generation program in June 2010. Energy Audits are expected to be required if you would like to install solar panels or perform a whole house energy efficiency retrofit. The City of San Diego is even expected to pay for these homeowner energy audits! In addition, the highly anticipated $9.8 billion Cash for Caulkers program focuses on whole house energy efficient retrofits. The government could pay up to half of the cost of a retrofit. Building Performance Institute certified Home Performance Contractors will be the ones recognized by the government to do work on homes for the Cash for Caulkers program. Energy Audits could be a critical component as well for this program. We will soon be reporting the results from the Energy Audits on Bill Walton’s homes. Stay tuned!
 The GD Crew with Bill Walton Posted by Fan Ding in Residential
December 16th, 2009 / 0 Comments
First BPI Trainer in San Diego, CA
SOLANA BEACH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Greener Dawn Residential, specializing in advising homeowners on energy and water efficiency, has been approved as a Building Performance Institute training affiliate. Building Performance Institute is the nationally recognized certification and credentialing organization for residential energy efficiency and was named by the Obama administration as the standard required for contractors in the proposed “Cash for Caulkers” program. Greener Dawn takes its position as the only BPI approved trainer headquartered in San Diego and looks to be an important player in the national program.
“For these programs to be effective, the public must demand measurable and reliable results from the contractors that perform the work,” says Director of Residential, Doug Donovan. “Now, at Greener Dawn, we can help bring these standards to Southern California.”
The Cash for Caulkers, also known as the HOME STAR program, launched initially from a consortia of private industry and public agencies, is now being promoted heavily by the Obama administration as a critical piece to driving the economy and creating jobs while addressing the country’s environmental issues. Under the program, consumers might be eligible for a 50% rebate on both the price of the equipment and the installation- up to $12,000. The proposed program would provide $23 billion in funding for homeowner incentives, retailer incentives and quality assurance on work completed.
“We are excited to be one of the leaders in energy efficiency in Southern California,” says Courtland Weisleder, President of Greener Dawn. “Our primary focus is creating green jobs and formulating an energy audit platform in order to help facilitate the Cash for Caulkers program. Utilizing the PACE financing mechanism, we want this industry to succeed and thrive long after the government dollars end.”
About Greener Dawn
Greener Dawn Inc. focuses on energy and water efficiency, LEED consulting, energy audits, and carbon strategies for Residential and Commercial real estate. Taking a holistic approach to making an asset more sustainable maximizes lower operating expenses, green collar jobs creation, and carbon footprint reduction. Homeowners, municipalities, asset managers, and building owners are their clients. Inquire for an Energy Audit at www.gdenergyaudit.com. You can view Greener Dawn’s services- www.greenerdawn.com.
Contacts
Greener Dawn Residential Group Contacts
Doug Donovan 858-345-1673
ddonovan@greenerdawn.com
or
Courtland Weisleder, 858-345-1679
cweisleder@greenerdawn.com
Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091216005388/en
Posted by Fan Ding in Residential
November 15th, 2009 / 1 Comment
On Thursday this week I got the chance to attend my first Green Build Conference. The venue was huge and there must have been over 1000+ exhibitors and vendors. I was hoping that there would be some auto dealerships (Toyota and Audi to be specific) looking to get LEED certified so in that respect I was disappointed by the conference. However, the sheer amount of people and vendors at the conference (especially considering the current economic climate) indicated that green buildings is definitely a trend that will continue.
 Interesting Display at Green Build  Main Exhibition Hall Posted by Fan Ding in Commercial, Residential
November 5th, 2009 / 0 Comments
As many folks don’t know, there are two clean energy bills being discussed in DC as speak. The Health Care reform has dominated the press but these bills could have a similar or greater impact on our country.
The first bill, HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill, passed the House in June 219-212. This bill aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in the United States by 17 percent by the year 2020 (using 2005 levels).
A second bill that also is receiving criticism is Senate Bill (S) 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, also known as the Boxer-Kerry Bill.
Both bills, summarized on the Web site GovTrack.us, plan to “create clean energy jobs, promote energy independence, reduce global warming pollution, and transition to a clean energy economy.”
Alternative-energy sources like wind, solar energy and biomass will receive funding and a focus in the bill.
Renewable sources, such as biomass — waste products including straw, dead trees, tree branches, and animal waste that can be converted into fuel, electricity, and heat — have the potential to lessen America’s dependence on oil and gas.
Posted by Courtland Weisleder in Climate, Commercial, Investment Banking, Research, Residential
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