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Green Homes – Top 10 Benefits

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green homeGreen building is so much more than saving energy or reducing a home’s environmental footprint. Homeowners of a certified Green Home can realize many more benefits as described below.

Lower Operating Costs – Your Green Home will have lower energy and water bills as a result of energy and water efficiency measures.

Healthier Home – With improved indoor air quality, less harmful off gases and prevention of water intrusion, which can create mold, your family should be healthier, miss less work and school, which hopefully will result in less medical bills

Reduced Maintenance & Replacement Costs – Increased useful life of products and materials will result in cost savings. A properly planned landscaping package will reduce the amount of time spent working in the yard and allow more time to enjoy the outdoors.

Potential Financial Incentives – As green home building has become more mainstream, there are increasingly more federal tax credit and local government and utility company incentive rebates available, lower cost Green mortgages available and more recently, insurance companies are beginning to offer lower premium options.

Higher Performing & Durable Home – You will benefit immensely from a better built and higher performing home; 3rd party verification of duct leaks and house air leaks will insure that any deficiencies discovered can be addressed and repaired during construction, saving untold amount of wasted energy; certification experts will approve your home for your LEED (Leader in Energy & Environmental Design), NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) or other local approved Green certification programs, resulting in a higher valued home.

Environmental Friendly & Sustainable Measures – Can one family building a Green Home solve global warming or bring a complete halt to diminishing resources? No. Can one family building a Green Home contribute to the solution and be part of a movement that one day may be the new standard? YES! Through the use of sustainable practices, recycled and renewable products, and more energy efficient systems, we can reduce the impact on our environment and precious resources.

Higher Value & Resale Advantages – Your certified Green Home will have a higher value than a comparable standard home and if you decide to sell your home, multiple listing systems used by Realtors to sell homes are now recognizing green certification programs and it is much easier to market the benefits of home to buyers.

More Comfortable Home Environment – Imagine the personal benefits to you and your family by living in a quiet, clean, safe, secure and controlled indoor air quality home – is there anything more important that the health and welfare of your family? Is there really a price tag you can assign to the benefit of building a Green Home to you, your children and your grandchildren?

Safer & More Secure – Your family is better protected with the use of high performance smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, radon testing detectors and security system.

Promotes an EcoGreen Luxury Lifestyle - Now that you have decided to build a high performance and healthy Green Home, your life is changed forever – all for the better! Would you furnish your new home with anything other than safe, healthy, organic and eco-friendly products? Might you consider living a healthier lifestyle? Will you sleep in peace knowing you have provided your family a safe, clean, healthy living environment?

As you can see, there are so many more benefits in owning a Green Home than just “energy efficiency” or being “eco-friendly”.

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Black Mold in Your Home Poses a Serious Health Risk

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mold-remediationToxic black mold spores are a serious health risk in your home. There are hundreds of varieties of mold spores that can grow in your home due to humidity, moist areas, ignored leaks and long-standing puddles. Black mold is often the typical mold we see growing on walls, carpets (especially underneath) and baseboards.

Most of us associate mold with the slimy green discoloration found on bathroom tiles or old kitchen sink caulking that is stubborn and gradually increases in size. It is a myth to think that this kind of problem only exists in old, musty, dirty, unkempt homes or buildings – not true! Mold spores can just as easily flourish in new clean environments because all it needs to thrive is moisture.

Prevention is superior to intervention and is obviously the best most-cost-effective approach to dealing with any mold spores. If you discover even the smallest bit of mold, treat it immediately. Always keep an available means to destroy mold on contact. There are several eco-friendly natural products available at local health stores.

In most situations, the mold type is not important because mold spores can be dead or alive, seriously toxic or only mildly allergenic, they all can have harmful effects on health. If you think you are having symptoms of mold allergy, see your doctor and have a professional to your home for inspection.

Black mold can thrive anywhere there is persistent moisture and even more so in a humid environment. Mold spores are everywhere and part of our world, but the dangers and health risks come when the mold spores overpopulate an area.

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Water Solar Panels- A Great Guide

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It has become more common for solar panel systems that provide electricity to be seen in our homes. As well as this there is also the option to have the water heated- this is done by using water solar panels. There are many advantages for us and for our world by choosing to use solar panels to heat water.

The process involved for changing sunlight into energy we can use is a safe, clean and non-hazardous practice. Many solar panel systems focus on providing for our electricity needs in the home, but it is possible to heat our water. Using solar collectors on the solar panels, aids in the process of moving the changed energy to cylinders or a boiler for storage. There are three fundamental components need to make a water solar panel system.

On average about a third of your heating needs will be met by using solar power. As long as the system is correctly installed, then it can contribute up to 80% of the hot water needed in your home. Unarguably this is a great way to save money on electricity and heating bills. The use of solar panels will also reduce the size of your Carbon Footprint which is a current concern in the world today.

There are numerous companies available to purchase solar panel systems from, whether in the local region or online. All of the products will differ in cost, style and attributes but all will be competent in reducing your costs and the pollution of the environment. One of the cheaper methods to pre-manufactured systems is to make one yourself. You could buy one with all the materials included that just needs construction, or you could buy the components individually and make the panel from scratch.

Building a water solar panel is an inexpensive and simple choice which still results in the same great product. It would be best to find an accurate and easy-to-follow set of instructions to help with the project. There are plenty of companies who will be only too happy to give you some advise; otherwise there are countless sources of helpful guidance that can be found on the internet such as instructional texts and e-books. Generally speaking the task in building a panel is relatively easy and could be carried out by many members of the family.

If your property also contains an outdoor swimming pool, it is worthwhile noting that water solar panels could provide the heat for the pool too. This saves you even more cash, as would using water solar panels and standard solar panels together to power your home. You could almost double your provisions and become a great “green” customer.

When it comes to attaching the solar panel system to the property, it is recommended that a qualified professional looks over the connections to make sure they are safe. The greater number of solar panel systems are placed on the roof of people’s houses- the main reason for this is because it will capture more of the sun’s energy in that location. It is feasible to place the panels elsewhere on the property if need be. A professional will be able to determine the size and number of the panels you will need; hence, you will have to choose where you are going to place your system at the earliest convenience.

Installing water solar panels can only prove to be one of the best ways to save money and to help our environment recover.

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