Energy Savings When You Buy A New vs Old Home

You'll pay more to heat or cool a six-year-old home vs. one built to the latest energy codes.

Home For Sale Overlooks Lake Michigan

Property For Sale

1197 S Manitou Trail • Lake Leelanau, MI 49653

Custom Built Home With Lake Michigan View

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Details Lot Size: 3.14 AC Property Type: Residential Sub Type: Single Family Home Interior Sq Ft: 3260 SF Parking: 2 Attached Garage Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3.5 Water View: West - Good Harbor Bay Desc Don't miss the opp. 2 acquire this custom built home perched on a hill high above Good Harbor Bay. The home showcases stunning views of the bay, Pyramid Point & Manitou islands. Truly amazing attention 2 detail is exhibited thruout,from the hand laid red & white herringbone pattern oak floor 2 the National Monument stairs. Turrets on 3 floors make this home truly unique, the oak panelled turret off the main flr bdrm is the perfect private retreat 4 the master. Don't w8-when it's gone there won't B another Features Awesome West Facing Water View Turret Spanning Three Floors Herringbone Hard Wood Floors Custom Trim and Molding National Monument Style Stairs Grand Foyer Wood Buring Field Stone Fireplace Main Floor Master Suite Geo-Thermal Heating Central AC French Doors Cherry Cabinets Energy Efficient Windows Energy Star Appliances Heated Garage Mud Room Unfinished Walk Out Basement Swim, Golf, Boat & Hunt Secluded Location Between Leland & Glen Arbor On Western Shore Of Leelanau Peninsula   Contact Agent: Carole Higgins Office: (231) 994-3225 x103 Mobile: (231) 633-2577 Listing Website: www.cygnusrealestate.com

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Staying Cool with a Metal Roof

Are you intrigued with the idea of replacing your existing roof with a standing-seam metal roof? It should last a lot  longer than the shingle alternatives, and it would be compatible with photovoltaic panels should you decide to add them in the future.

You may also like metal roofing — for its durability, recyclability, and ease of removal if the need arises. But can a metal roof save energy? Will that light-colored asphalt roofing material perform similarly, with or without ventilation?

Indeed there is. A products directory maintained by the Cool Roof Rating Council lists solar reflectivity and thermal emissivity values for hundreds of brands of roofing. The difference in energy performance is due to more than just the color of the roofing. The paint that the metal companies apply to the metal has added chemicals that are designed to reflect infrared wavelengths. Most metal companies will list these ratings under each color. There exists a "cool roof" tax credit and a website for approved metal roofs. Read more...

Green Landscapes With Native Plants

Green building begins in the ground

A landscape is more than a bunch of plants arranged to look good. A well-designed landscape can lower heating and cooling costs, reduce stormwater runoff and recharge local aquifers. And it can be good for birds, bees, and neighboring trees. Read on ...

Are Deep Energy Retrofits Worth The Cost

 How much does it cost to perform a deep-energy retrofit at a 100-year-old single-family home? Thanks to a recent study in Utica, New York, we now know the answer: about $100,000. Read more ...

What Is LEED?

The move towards LEED and green building practices has been driven greatly by the tremendous benefits which are a direct result of implementing a green approach. Green buildings use key resources more efficiently when compared to conventional buildings which are simply built to code. LEED creates healthier work and living environments, contributes to higher productivity and improved employee health and comfort. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Since its inception in 1998, LEED has grown to encompass over 14,000 projects in 50 US States and 30 countries.
LEED has grown into a comprehensive system of six interrelated standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. LEED was created to accomplish the following:

• Define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement
• Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
• Raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
• Promote integrated, whole-building design practices
• Stimulate green competition
• Transform the building market

The LEED rating system addresses six major areas:

• Sustainable sites
• Indoor environmental quality
• Water efficiency
• Materials and resources
• Energy and atmosphere
• Innovation and design process

There are different LEED versions having varied scoring systems based on a set of required "prerequisites" and a variety of "credits" in the six major categories listed above. In LEED v2.2 for new construction and major renovations for commercial buildings there are 69 possible points and buildings can qualify for four levels of certification:

• Certified - 26-32 points
• Silver - 33-38 points
• Gold - 39-51 points
• Platinum - 52-69 points

LEED certification is obtained after submitting an application documenting compliance with the requirements of the rating system as well as paying registration and certification fees. Certification is granted solely by the Green Building Council responsible for issuing the LEED system used on the project.

Here are some interesting links to explore


http://www.worldchanging.com/local/denver/archives/007100.html

http://www.greenprintdenver.org/green/LEED.php

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8169&channelId=-16863

http://www.learn.colostate.edu/certificates/noncredit/green-building.dot

http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=1302

Contact us to find or list LEED certified properties for you.

Increase Your Energy Efficiency

Unless your home was specially constructed for energy efficiency, you can usually reduce your energy bills by adding more insulation. Many older homes have less insulation than homes built today, but adding insulation to a newer home may also pay for itself within a few years.

Heat flows naturally from a warmer to a cooler space. In the winter, this heat flow moves directly from all heated living spaces to adjacent unheated attics, garages, basements, and even to the outdoors. Heat flow can also move indirectly through interior ceilings, walls, and floors—wherever there is a difference in temperature. During the cooling season, heat flows from the outdoors to the interior of a house.

To maintain comfort, the heat lost in the winter must be replaced by your heating system and the heat gained in the summer must be removed by your cooling system. Properly insulating your home will decrease this heat flow by providing an effective resistance to the flow of heat.

To determine whether you should add insulation, you first need to find out how much insulation you already have in your home and where.

A qualified home energy auditor will include an insulation check as a routine part of a whole-house energy assessment. An energy assessment, also known as a home energy audit, will also help identify areas of your home that are in need of air sealing. (Before you insulate, you should make sure that your home is properly air sealed.)

When insulating your home, you can choose from many types of insulation. To choose the best type of insulation, you should first determine the following:

• Where you want or need to add insulation
• The recommended R-values for areas you want to insulate.

Understanding R-Value

The R-value is a measure of thermal resistance used in the building and construction industry. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating effectiveness. Under uniform conditions it is the ratio of the temperature difference across an insulator and the heat flux (heat transfer per unit area). Heat transfer through an insulating layer is analogous to electrical resistance. R-value is the reciprocal of U-value. The U-value (or U-factor), more correctly called the overall heat transfer coefficient, describes how well a building element conducts heat.

The US Department of Energy has recommended R-values for given areas of the USA based on the general local energy costs for heating and cooling, as well as the climate of an area. There are four types of insulation: Rolls and batts, Loose-fill, Rigid foam, and Foam-in-place. Rolls and batts are typically flexible insulators that come in fibers, like fiberglass. Loose-fill insulation comes in loose fibers or pellets and should be blown into a space. Rigid foam is more expensive than fiber, but has a higher R-value. Foam-in-place can be blown into small areas to control air leaks, like those around windows. Increasing the thickness of an insulating layer increases the thermal resistance. For example, doubling the thickness of fibreglass batting will double its R-value,

The R-value is a measure of insulation's heat loss retardation under specified test conditions. The primary mode of heat transfer impeded by insulation is convection but unavoidably it also impedes heat loss by all three heat transfer modes: conduction, convection, and radiation. The primary means of heat loss across an uninsulated air-filled space is natural convection, which occurs because of changes in air density with temperature.

The amount of insulation or R-value you'll need depends on your climate, type of heating and cooling system, and the section of the house you plan to insulate.
Properly insulating your home will not only help reduce your heating and cooling costs but also make your home more comfortable.