EcoHome Guy

Governor Perdue signed HB 851 yesterday increasing the incentives for developers and homeowners renovating historic properties in the state of Georgia. 

In the case of an historic home, a taxpayer shall be allowed a tax credit of 25 percent of qualified rehabilitation expenditures. Ditto for any other certified structure. Homes within target areas can qualify for an additional 5 percent tax credit.

Credits for historic homes can go as high as $100,000 in 120 months and $300,000 for certified structures. This is a quantum leap for historic home rehab from a previous limit of $5,000.

A big shout-out to my brother, Wayne Sisco, who helped get this passed. Wayne is an expert in historic rehab and leads the Greenovation Operations of Green Nest Realty Services.

Green renovations -- or greenovations -- of existing properties are frequently a deeper shade of green building than new construction. 

In past journal entries I've referred to solar hot water as a low-hanging fruit in alternative energy appliances. If that metaphor is true, then there is a lower cost solar device which is like the fruit falling in your lap -- although it will take some work to enjoy it's benefits. Without repeating what I've already said about the clothsline, let me add that indoor electric/gas clothes dryers account for up to 10% of residential energy use. What kind of energy savings could be realized if large numbers of people re-adopted the ancient practice of hanging their clothes outside to dry? How would you like to save 5 -10% on your electric bill every month? With Atlanta's temperate climate it's possible if you're willing to burn a little personal energy.

Just in time for drying season, Breezecatcher is offering my readers a discount on their excellent umbrella rotary clothes dryers. Enjoy 5% off and free shipping by entering BS5000 in the coupon code at check out.

Their hand-made dryers are designed to rotate easily in a light breeze, no matter how unevenly the load is distributed.

Here's more about the dryers from their site:

The Breezecatcher clothes dryer is an ecologically friendly product...and can help you control and reduce your home energy bill. Why not take advantage of the free solar and wind energy available in your back yard, help reduce the dependence on oil and gas, lead the way and feel better by doing your bit to reduce carbon emissions and help prevent climate change and improve the environment for the next generations to follow?

'Nuff said!  Go here to order yours today!

At New Urban Realty we've always been on board with sustainable, eco-friendly, green building. Beyond that, we try to model authentic green lifestyle and business practices. Now our goal is to be the greenest real estate service provider in Atlanta.

So we're changing our name.

We are now Green Nest Realty Services. Although New Urbanism is a very green concept, we've found the term has never really resonated. It's kind of like the phrase "show me the money." Cameron Crowe, the director of Jerry Maguire, has said that he thought the phrase that would catch on with the public after seeing his movie was "the Quan." It was Rod Tidwell's grammatical invention, a word he used for defining the desirable combination of community + ability + love + coin + respect. Instead, it was "show me the money" that became popular. Quan is a high-level, 10,000 foot word -- like "new urbanism." Everybody can appreciate good urban planning and neighborhood design, but it comes down to where people live -- their personal nest.

So we think Green Nest Realty Services describes what we do better. It conveys our focus on working with green buyers and sellers and our ability to provide excellent greenovation services. And it speaks of our goal to be Atlanta's greenest real estate company.

It's a good name, I think, but we've got a problem. It's the logo. I'm usually pretty good at coming up with stuff like logos and slogans and such, but I must admit I'm drawing a blank so far. And I've been wracking my brain for a couple of weeks. EcoBroker has that nest thing going on with their logo so the lazy thing would be to drop a little cartoon home in a nest and call it a day. But I'm just not feeling it.

So in the spirit of Web 2.0, where transparency and collaboration and business flow together, I'm asking for your help. Got any good ideas for a logo? Share it with me? Please? It's very Quan if you think about it. As a matter-of-fact, send me your ideas for the logo for Green Nest Realty Services, and if we choose your design, I'll show you the money. 100 bucks. Is that worth your time to help a brother out?

Be my Ambassador of Quan...

By now you know that the structure featured in the video is not a landed UFO, but a unique type of dome ecohome. I confess a fascination with dome homes since the geodesic experiments of the 60's and 70's. Dome homes were touted as green buildings years before it was du jour. Some of the green features of domes that have always intrigued me include:

• The dome is one of the strongest and most efficient structures you can build.
• Domes enclose the most amount of area with the least amount of materials. Less material [concrete, lumber, man hrs., labor, etc.] = money saved.
• Domes allow for more efficient and natural airflow throughout the structure making them more energy efficient. Domes don't have the "dead zones" prevalent in many rectangular structures.
  
• Domes have one third less surface area than box-like structures. The amount of surface area exposed to the elements has a much greater impact on energy efficiency than insulation values.
  
• Domes have historically been the only structures remaining intact after the total destruction of forces like hurricanes and even nuclear explosions.
  
• If building a "natural" home is your goal, then the dome is the shape that most closely emulates structures found in nature.
• Dome homes frequently boast 30% - 50% energy efficiency over traditionally built structures.
• Dome homes are frequently system-built so there is less waste in construction.

Domespace Homes manufactures a home that provides all of these features inherent in a dome with one significant addition: they can be built to rotate. The Domespace rotation allows the homeowner to better manage passive solar energy by slowly turning the entire home towards the sun for heat, or away to cool it down. The rotation of the home is imperceptible from inside the home and can be operated with the touch of a remote control. The structure can be equipped with solar panels and programmed for automatic rotation to track the course of the sun.

In addition, Domespace Homes is an ENERGY STAR Partner building new homes that qualify as ENERGY STAR because they provide greater energy efficiency, comfort and durability for home buyers.

Solaleya, the U.S. Distributor of Domespace Homes, offers turn-key solutions from single family domes and multi-dome communities to large scale projects like restaurants and churches.

So -- understanding my affinity for the dome and energy-efficiency -- it won't surprise you that I'm representing Solaleya in the metro Atlanta area. Call me at 404.421.9968 or email me if you want to own one of these revolutionary dome homes.

My client broke ground April 1st on 546 Edgewood Avenue. Christened LEEDing Edge, this home is on track to be one of Atlanta's first LEED for Homes Platinum Certified residences. Look for the location on the map below at the corner of Howell St. and Edgewood Avenue. Click on the property and home for sale icons for more information on this ground-breaking home.

There were no less than six different manufacturers of solar hot water systems at this year's Green Prints Green Building Conference in Atlanta. Here are some fun facts to know and tell about hot water:

• In one year, your water heater may cost more to operate than your heater or AC
• In one year, most family's water heaters use more energy than their family car
• Installing a solar hot water heater is like increasing your gas mileage by 65% or more
• A solar water heater gives you "tax prepaid income." Example: In the 35% tax bracket, saving $520.00 on your hot water is the same as earning $800.00
• Solar hot water has dropped 27% - 45% since 1984 before tax credits

Solar hot water systems are the easiest entry into renewable energy offering the quickest payback. After a return on investment in as little as two years the homeowner may enjoy free hot water for years to come. This is significant when you consider that hot water usage accounts for, on average, 30% of your monthly home utility bills. And with energy costs guaranteed to rise over the coming years it appears to be a no-brainer.

But America is still lukewarm on solar hot water.

So, as any ecohome guy would do, I asked myself:  "Self, why aren't more people adopting solar hot water?" I think it boils down to the fact that there are still a lot of misconceptions about the technology. Many people automatically think photovoltaics when they hear solar. Photovoltaics is high-tech, high-cost stuff where sunlight is converted directly into electrical current. It's hard enough to grasp the miracle of electrical current alone, much less converting sunlight into a usable current. And if you've ever priced photovoltaic systems, they simply haven't made economic sense, although this is going to change in the next few years with thin film technology.

Then I read about this guy in China who constructed a home-made solar hot water system out of beer bottles. Ma Yanjun wanted his momma to shower comfortably. So he built this solar hot water system with 66 beer bottles and mounted it to the roof. The beer bottles are connected to each other with thin plastic tubing. Sunlight heats water as it passes slowly through the bottles before it flows into the bathroom as hot water. Here's what it looks like:

Ma Yanjun's brilliant-but-simple solution illustrates how solar hot water heaters work. They're actually pretty low tech which translates into low maintenance. Water or a heat-transferring medium like food-grade glycol is heated on the roof and transferred to your standard hot water tank. The solar-heated water supplements the gas or electric system, easing the amount of btu's or kwh's required to heat the water. On some days you get 100% of the energy from the sun. On cloudy days, the gas or electricity is there to make up the difference. Bottom line, you save on energy costs.

This is why the Chinese are installing these systems like there's no tomorrow. They've installed tens of millions in the last couple of years. Of course, most, if not all, aren't DIY projects like Ma Yanjun's. They are low cost roof-mounted appliances that have dropped in price because of wide adoption.

So why should they have all the fun in the sun? Grab the low-hanging fruit of solar this year. Install a solar hot water system and decrease your energy costs while increasing your home value.