If you compare houses to cars, Raleigh’s Scott Shackleton lives in the building version of a Nissan Leaf. We recently helped Scott achieve a HERS rating of 7 — which is about as close as you can get to energy-neutral for a home. In fact, it’s the lowest score SEM has ever rated a house.
For those not familiar with the index, HERS (more…)
When it comes to green homes, most people have heard of certifications like LEED for Homes or NAHB Green. These programs are geared almost exclusively toward new construction. But most of us aren’t in the process of building a brand new home; and unless you’re doing some MAJOR gutting and renovating, there aren’t any building programs out there to certify an existing home as “green.” That doesn’t necessarily mean you are stuck with what you’ve got, though. Green retrofits are getting to be more common with people who want to improve the health, comfort or efficiency of a home that’s already been built. If you fall into that camp, then we hope this blog post will help you see how to approach this type of undertaking so you’re set up for success before you even get started.
The first thing I tell people who are considering a green retrofit is: (more…)
