NREL Industry Growth Forum Looks for
a Game-Changer
Posted By admin On September 28, 2010 @ 2:08 am In ARCHIVES, CLEANTECH, Events, Feature Articles | No Comments
By Joe Verrengia
PowerPoint? Check. Business plan? Check. Elevator speech? Check.
Breath mints, aspirin and antacids? Triple check.
Preparations are nearly complete for the 23rd Industry Growth Forum [1] held in Denver beginning Oct. 19th by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Entrepreneurs at the Growth Forum take the stage under
hot lights to make their best pitches to panels of discerning judges — venture capitalists (VCs), public officials and fund managers — who have seen and heard it all before, often in more promising economic times. All the while, a digital clock reminds them that time is running out.
It sounds a lot like the cleantech version of “America’s Got Talent,” without the sequins and singing. Expect the judging to be just as tough.
“In this economy, the judges will be looking for more innovation, a game-changing technology,” said Lawrence “Marty” Murphy, Forum chairman and NREL’s manager of Enterprise Development.
“There isn’t as much capital available now as in years past, so when VCs make an investment they want to make a bigger investment that could result in large returns,” Murphy said.
HEAVYWEIGHT EVENT FOR CLEAN ENERGY STARTUPS
NREL’s Industry Growth Forum has grown into the largest national venture event focused exclusively on companies developing clean energy products to serve the electricity, buildings, and transportation infrastructures. This year, 200 clean energy entrepreneurs applied. Their products and plans were scored by 135 investors and other experts, and 34 were selected to compete as presenting companies. Since 2003, presenting companies have collectively attracted $3.4 billion in capital.
Among the 34 finalists, this year’s emphasis is energy efficiency, energy management software, thermoelectric, Smart Grid and building technologies. In contrast to previous years, there will be relatively fewer presentations on solar, wind and biofuels.
“A few years ago people were seeing a lot of deals on photovoltaic (PV) technologies,” Murphy said. “So if you have a PV company at the Forum this year, you’d better have a pretty innovative idea.”
Emerging companies will get 10 minutes apiece to make their case.
Then comes the hard part — answering the judges’ questions and absorbing their critiques. The winners will be announced at the concluding luncheon on October 21.
The top prize is the $25,000 Best Venture Award, which includes $10,000 in cash and NREL in-kind services valued at $15,000. Last year’s Best Venture was Ecovative Design [2], which grows and forms biodegradable packing materials.
Two Outstanding Presentation awards, each valued at $15,000 in cash and in-kind services, also will be announced.
DELIBERATE DIALOGUE
A new opportunity in this year’s schedule is a One-on-One Partnering and Pitch Session on October 19, the first day of the forum.
The session provides scheduled, facilitated meetings between investors and entrepreneurs, as well as potential partners and government officials. The One-on-Ones are open to all registered Forum attendees. Innovators and companies that applied to compete as presenting companies receive initial consideration for slots on the investors’ schedules.
[3]
Investors range from small venture capital firms to large corporations such as Honda and Chevron.
“The big companies are looking to invest in a late-stage project as a strategic partner,” Murphy explained.
The forum is part of NREL’s broader strategic efforts to accelerate the commercialization of clean energy innovations and assist entrepreneurs in their search for investment capital and other resources.
Each year the applicants provide the Laboratory with an indication of early cleantech trends which helps officials gauge how they can better serve the entrepreneurial sector [4] and foster new companies based on NREL technology [5].
“We want to grow clean energy talent based on the most innovative ideas and the best business plans,” said NREL Robert Writz, an NREL commercialization project manager who is coordinating events at the Forum. “By the end of the event, we will see strategic partnerships and investments emerging.”
A CRASH COURSE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
NREL launched the Forum in 1995 as a way to facilitate discussion about new technologies by venture capitalists, public officials and clean energy entrepreneurs face-to-face.
Many early-stage clean energy firms were failing because they were unable to make the leap from public sector financing to private sector funding. Young companies needed assistance developing a business pitch and to be schooled in the expectations, requirements, and processes for raising private sector capital, Murphy said.
Similarly, the clean energy investment sector needed realistic information about the emerging technologies, time-to-market, and the associated risk profile.
Instead of following the trend of five minute tête-à-têtes popularized during the dotcom financing boom of the 1990s, Murphy said the Forum deliberately tried to be more about relationship-building and capacity growth.
“There was an information gap between the entrepreneurs and the investors that was a ‘valley of death’ for new products and companies,” Murphy said. “A lot of good technologies were not getting commercialized. The Forum bridged that gap and it continues to do so.”
Even if entrepreneurs are not selected to present at the forum, Murphy says applying to the event and attending the sessions can be a crash course in entrepreneurship and provide extensive networking and partnership opportunities.
The Application Process — For many entrepreneurs it’s the first time they have articulated their goals, business model and elevator pitch to someone other than family and friends. “When they see the remarks of the reviewers, it’s a wake-up call,” Murphy said.
Preparing for the Forum — Each presenters is mentored by an expert to refine the presentation, business case and elevator pitch with an eye towards attracting investment.
The Forum Pitch — The entrepreneurs learn in a few minutes whether judges think they did their due diligence in anticipating what judges — and investors — need to know. “There’s no substitute for this real-time feedback,” Murphy says. “This format allows the clean energy community to clearly hear the concerns and interests of the investment community.”
Article printed from Colorado Energy News: http://coloradoenergynews.com
URL to article: http://coloradoenergynews.com/2010/09/nrel-industry-growth-forum-looks-for-a-game-changer/
URLs in this post:
[1] 23rd Industry Growth Forum: http://cleanenergyforum.com/
[2] Ecovative Design: http://www.ecovativedesign.com/
[3] Image: http://coloradoenergynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/20100922_igf4.jpg
[4] entrepreneurial sector: http://coloradoenergynews.com/technologytransfer/entrepreneurs/entrepreneurs.html
[5] NREL technology: http://coloradoenergynews.com/technologytransfer/
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Solar for the Western Slope
As a fast-growing and reliable source of jobs on the Western Slope, the renewable-energy industry should be our focus. Job growth continues in solar design and installation — and these jobs are more sustainable than those that rely on fossil fuels that will not be around forever.
The recent “Rally for Jobs,” sponsored by the oil and gas industry, was nothing more than an effort to avoid regulation. Those jobs are, and have always been, limited.
Most of us want to be energy independent and want jobs that will last for our children and grandchildren. Fossil fuels can’t make that promise. Renewable sources like solar can.
In the solar industry, we are continually learning more and making this resource more efficient and affordable. That means more growth, more jobs and a future that is cleaner and more sustainable. Not even the best public-relations machine can produce that for the oil and gas industry.
HEIDI IHRKE High Noon Solar
The recent “Rally for Jobs,” sponsored by the oil and gas industry, was nothing more than an effort to avoid regulation. Those jobs are, and have always been, limited.
Most of us want to be energy independent and want jobs that will last for our children and grandchildren. Fossil fuels can’t make that promise. Renewable sources like solar can.
In the solar industry, we are continually learning more and making this resource more efficient and affordable. That means more growth, more jobs and a future that is cleaner and more sustainable. Not even the best public-relations machine can produce that for the oil and gas industry.
HEIDI IHRKE High Noon Solar
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Two electric associations adding solar facilities to distribution networks
Two electric associations adding solar facilities to distribution networks
By William Woody
Thursday, September 16, 2010
MONTROSE — Electricity providers in Montrose and Ouray counties are pushing to increase solar infrastructure and provide their customers and members with a renewable energy source harnessed from Colorado’s 300-plus days of sunshine a year.
The Delta-Montrose Electric Association and San Miguel Power Association have plans to build large solar panel arrays within their service areas as public interest for photovoltaic, or solar, systems has grown.
In Montrose, DMEA plans to build a 10-kilowatt array next to its offices with another 10 kw system planned for a separate location.
The program is designed for customers to have access to renewable energy by purchasing panels of the array, said Jim Heneghan, renewable energy engineer with DMEA. Heneghan said this process will allow customers who can’t afford to install a home system to have access to solar energy and help offset monthly consumer expenses. He said the average installation of a home solar system is around $30,000, while the cost for purchasing a solar panel with DMEA would be in the area of $1,000.
“You can purchase just one panel. It’s a good way to spread out those purchases over a period of time,” Heneghan said.
Last month, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced DMEA was one of 23 recipients of a New Energy Economic Development, or NEED, grant. DMEA received $60,000 for construction of the array.
Heneghan said construction is planned for December and DMEA members will be able to start investing in the project in January.
In Ouray County, a two-megawatt photovoltaic array will be built near the intersection of U.S. Highway 550 and Ouray County Road 10. The facility will be built by SunEdison, which will sell the power generated by the array to the San Miguel Power Association at a discount.
The project will be built on a 20-acre site leased to SunEdison by Angel Ridge Ranch LLC. The facility is set to be operational by next spring, according to the association.
The project will be reviewed by the Ouray County Planning Commission and the Ridgway Planning Commission at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
SunEdison will have an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 this evening at the Ouray County 4-H center, which is a few hundreds yards south of the light on U.S. Highway 550 in Ridgway.
The San Miguel Power Association, according to its website, also is researching the idea of a community-funded solar garden, which would give its customers an option to lease a solar panel or purchase part of the panel’s output. The association’s board of directors will consider the project in the near future.
If interest grows and purchases of DMEA solar panels take off, the company plans to build additional arrays of varying sizes from 10 kw to 20 kw.
“Our board suggested that they wanted to have a goal of 5 megawatts (of solar),” Heneghan said.
DMEA is considering building solar arrays in other communities in its service area if demand from those communities grows.
By William Woody
Thursday, September 16, 2010
MONTROSE — Electricity providers in Montrose and Ouray counties are pushing to increase solar infrastructure and provide their customers and members with a renewable energy source harnessed from Colorado’s 300-plus days of sunshine a year.
The Delta-Montrose Electric Association and San Miguel Power Association have plans to build large solar panel arrays within their service areas as public interest for photovoltaic, or solar, systems has grown.
In Montrose, DMEA plans to build a 10-kilowatt array next to its offices with another 10 kw system planned for a separate location.
The program is designed for customers to have access to renewable energy by purchasing panels of the array, said Jim Heneghan, renewable energy engineer with DMEA. Heneghan said this process will allow customers who can’t afford to install a home system to have access to solar energy and help offset monthly consumer expenses. He said the average installation of a home solar system is around $30,000, while the cost for purchasing a solar panel with DMEA would be in the area of $1,000.
“You can purchase just one panel. It’s a good way to spread out those purchases over a period of time,” Heneghan said.
Last month, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced DMEA was one of 23 recipients of a New Energy Economic Development, or NEED, grant. DMEA received $60,000 for construction of the array.
Heneghan said construction is planned for December and DMEA members will be able to start investing in the project in January.
In Ouray County, a two-megawatt photovoltaic array will be built near the intersection of U.S. Highway 550 and Ouray County Road 10. The facility will be built by SunEdison, which will sell the power generated by the array to the San Miguel Power Association at a discount.
The project will be built on a 20-acre site leased to SunEdison by Angel Ridge Ranch LLC. The facility is set to be operational by next spring, according to the association.
The project will be reviewed by the Ouray County Planning Commission and the Ridgway Planning Commission at a meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
SunEdison will have an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 this evening at the Ouray County 4-H center, which is a few hundreds yards south of the light on U.S. Highway 550 in Ridgway.
The San Miguel Power Association, according to its website, also is researching the idea of a community-funded solar garden, which would give its customers an option to lease a solar panel or purchase part of the panel’s output. The association’s board of directors will consider the project in the near future.
If interest grows and purchases of DMEA solar panels take off, the company plans to build additional arrays of varying sizes from 10 kw to 20 kw.
“Our board suggested that they wanted to have a goal of 5 megawatts (of solar),” Heneghan said.
DMEA is considering building solar arrays in other communities in its service area if demand from those communities grows.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Rays for Rent
Rays for Rent
In some places, leasing solar panels can make more sense than installing a system yourself
By REBECCA SMITH
Stewart Templer loves the shiny new solar panels on the roof of his 1,875-square-foot ranch-style home in Surprise, Ariz.—especially since they didn't cost him anything. He's leasing the system from SolarCity Corp. under a 15-year contract.
View Full Image
Andy DeLisle/Wonderful Machine for The Wall Street Journal
Stewart and Jackie Templer at their Arizona home, with the solar panels they are leasing.
The system, installed in May, has helped the retired physical-education teacher and his wife cut their monthly electricity cost by nearly 35%. Instead of paying the local utility an average of $130 a month, he says, they write a monthly check to SolarCity for $68 and pay $15 to $20 to the utility for the extra juice they need, such as at night when the panels aren't producing electricity.
The leasing cost for their five-kilowatt system will tick upward in coming years, but won't exceed $102 a month, Mr. Templer says.
"Anybody who lives in this area who doesn't do what we've done is crazy," says Mr. Templer, who is 72. "The sun is out 300 days a year here, so why not use it?"
A Popular Arrangement
Lease arrangements like the Templers' are a rapidly growing part of the solar market. They enable homeowners and businesses to get the benefits of solar power without having to spring for the full cost of the expensive systems, which easily can run $20,000 to $50,000. The risk: Solar-equipment costs may continue to fall and the government may heap on more subsidies down the road—which could make a long-term lease more expensive than buying a solar system outright in future years.
Journal Reports
Read the complete Energy report .
In a typical lease arrangement, the leasing company and its investors cover the cost of installing rooftop solar panels, and pocket the lucrative tax credits and public subsidies available for new alternative-energy installations. The homeowner agrees to pay the leasing company a predetermined price for the electricity the system produces; the rate is pegged to be at least 10% lower than prevailing electricity prices in that area. Customers buy any additional power needed from the local utility at the going rate.
Currently, leases run 15 to 20 years, and the lease agreement transfers to the new owner if the property is sold. A SolarCity spokesman says he doesn't know of any cases in which a house has been sold and the new owner hasn't assumed the lease. When leases end, the company assumes owners will either renew for five-year periods, at prices to be negotiated then, or the company will remove its equipment free of charge.
Anheuser Busch embraces solar power at their Newark, NJ brewery. Steve Gelsi reports.
If a customer breaks a lease, the company says it would pursue normal collection methods for all the payments remaining on the lease. It also would retrieve the solar panels from the home in default. So consumers can't just walk away from contracts without penalty.
No national statistics are available, but a study by California officials of its market found that residential lease-type arrangements grew by 155% last year, helped by falling equipment costs. That outpaced growth of 50% in the total residential solar market. The analysis found that 40% of California's solar capacity now is owned by third-party investors—not the people on whose property the systems are located.
Despite the growth so far, only a handful of companies, such as SolarCity, are offering leases. SolarCity, based in Foster City, Calif., operates in nine states—California, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Hawaii. These states offer the magic combination of factors allowing the company to compete effectively against utilities: a good sun resource, high prices for local grid power and substantial local subsidies for solar power.
Lyndon Rive, SolarCity's president and chief executive, says that 80% of its 8,000 customers use lease agreements, with either a fixed monthly payment or power-purchase agreements, or PPAs, in which they pay for each kilowatt-hour of electricity used, at a slight discount to local rates.
SolarCity says a five-kilowatt home system in California will produce 625 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, enough to meet the daytime need of most homes. The consumer might pay 22 cents to 28 cents a kilowatt-hour—about $138 to $175 a month—depending on the ease of installation and the value of local incentives, or slightly less than the top tier of utility prices.
For instance, Kathy Breed, who works in the environmental-stewardship department of Union Bank, recently put a 7.2-kilowatt solar system on her 3,000-square-foot home in Escondido, Calif. It would have cost $48,000 to buy, she says, but instead she's able to lease it for $130 a month on a 10-year contract. The price she pays will rise 3% a year but won't exceed $200 a month. She had been paying $200 to $250 a month for regular utilities, with the highest bills in the summer.
With the solar system, "during the summer, I don't have a utility bill," she says, adding she's "absolutely happy" with the arrangement. Her system makes more than she needs in the day, and she gets a credit that covers the cost of power consumed off the grid at night.
Outside the Home
Solar-leasing deals can range in size from household rooftop systems to more elaborate arrangements. Kaiser Permanente, the big nonprofit health-care organization, recently agreed to put 15 megawatts of solar panels on 15 hospitals in California. Citigroup financed the deal and collected the public subsidies, including a 30% federal tax credit, as the equity investor working alongside developer Recurrent Energy.
John Kouletsis, Kaiser's director of strategy and planning, says Kaiser will make payments totaling $95.6 million over 20 years. Initially, it's a break-even proposition, but he says he believes Kaiser will save money over time, as grid costs increase. And he says there's another reason to act.
"At Kaiser, we've always been about public health and the prevention of illness," says Mr. Kouletsis. Pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants can cause respiratory problems, including asthma, and other illnesses.
Cities are cashing in, too. Lancaster, a high-desert city northeast of Los Angeles, recently signed a deal with SolarCity for 2.5 megawatts of electricity under a power purchase agreement. In some cases, it's getting a "two-fer," with panels making electricity and providing shade for city parking lots. The price Lancaster is paying—10 cents a kilowatt-hour for a 15-year term—is 37% less than what the city had been paying its local utility.
Robert Neal, public-works director, says Lancaster has so much sunshine that panels are 25% to 30% more productive than typical for U.S. installations. "Businesses are struggling here, and unemployment is high," says Mr. Neal. "So there's real value for the city to enter into contracts so it knows what the cost of power will be in coming years."
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit
www.djreprints.com
In some places, leasing solar panels can make more sense than installing a system yourself
By REBECCA SMITH
Stewart Templer loves the shiny new solar panels on the roof of his 1,875-square-foot ranch-style home in Surprise, Ariz.—especially since they didn't cost him anything. He's leasing the system from SolarCity Corp. under a 15-year contract.
View Full Image
Andy DeLisle/Wonderful Machine for The Wall Street Journal
Stewart and Jackie Templer at their Arizona home, with the solar panels they are leasing.
The system, installed in May, has helped the retired physical-education teacher and his wife cut their monthly electricity cost by nearly 35%. Instead of paying the local utility an average of $130 a month, he says, they write a monthly check to SolarCity for $68 and pay $15 to $20 to the utility for the extra juice they need, such as at night when the panels aren't producing electricity.
The leasing cost for their five-kilowatt system will tick upward in coming years, but won't exceed $102 a month, Mr. Templer says.
"Anybody who lives in this area who doesn't do what we've done is crazy," says Mr. Templer, who is 72. "The sun is out 300 days a year here, so why not use it?"
A Popular Arrangement
Lease arrangements like the Templers' are a rapidly growing part of the solar market. They enable homeowners and businesses to get the benefits of solar power without having to spring for the full cost of the expensive systems, which easily can run $20,000 to $50,000. The risk: Solar-equipment costs may continue to fall and the government may heap on more subsidies down the road—which could make a long-term lease more expensive than buying a solar system outright in future years.
Journal Reports
Read the complete Energy report .
In a typical lease arrangement, the leasing company and its investors cover the cost of installing rooftop solar panels, and pocket the lucrative tax credits and public subsidies available for new alternative-energy installations. The homeowner agrees to pay the leasing company a predetermined price for the electricity the system produces; the rate is pegged to be at least 10% lower than prevailing electricity prices in that area. Customers buy any additional power needed from the local utility at the going rate.
Currently, leases run 15 to 20 years, and the lease agreement transfers to the new owner if the property is sold. A SolarCity spokesman says he doesn't know of any cases in which a house has been sold and the new owner hasn't assumed the lease. When leases end, the company assumes owners will either renew for five-year periods, at prices to be negotiated then, or the company will remove its equipment free of charge.
Anheuser Busch embraces solar power at their Newark, NJ brewery. Steve Gelsi reports.
If a customer breaks a lease, the company says it would pursue normal collection methods for all the payments remaining on the lease. It also would retrieve the solar panels from the home in default. So consumers can't just walk away from contracts without penalty.
No national statistics are available, but a study by California officials of its market found that residential lease-type arrangements grew by 155% last year, helped by falling equipment costs. That outpaced growth of 50% in the total residential solar market. The analysis found that 40% of California's solar capacity now is owned by third-party investors—not the people on whose property the systems are located.
Despite the growth so far, only a handful of companies, such as SolarCity, are offering leases. SolarCity, based in Foster City, Calif., operates in nine states—California, Arizona, Oregon, Colorado, New York, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Hawaii. These states offer the magic combination of factors allowing the company to compete effectively against utilities: a good sun resource, high prices for local grid power and substantial local subsidies for solar power.
Lyndon Rive, SolarCity's president and chief executive, says that 80% of its 8,000 customers use lease agreements, with either a fixed monthly payment or power-purchase agreements, or PPAs, in which they pay for each kilowatt-hour of electricity used, at a slight discount to local rates.
SolarCity says a five-kilowatt home system in California will produce 625 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month, enough to meet the daytime need of most homes. The consumer might pay 22 cents to 28 cents a kilowatt-hour—about $138 to $175 a month—depending on the ease of installation and the value of local incentives, or slightly less than the top tier of utility prices.
For instance, Kathy Breed, who works in the environmental-stewardship department of Union Bank, recently put a 7.2-kilowatt solar system on her 3,000-square-foot home in Escondido, Calif. It would have cost $48,000 to buy, she says, but instead she's able to lease it for $130 a month on a 10-year contract. The price she pays will rise 3% a year but won't exceed $200 a month. She had been paying $200 to $250 a month for regular utilities, with the highest bills in the summer.
With the solar system, "during the summer, I don't have a utility bill," she says, adding she's "absolutely happy" with the arrangement. Her system makes more than she needs in the day, and she gets a credit that covers the cost of power consumed off the grid at night.
Outside the Home
Solar-leasing deals can range in size from household rooftop systems to more elaborate arrangements. Kaiser Permanente, the big nonprofit health-care organization, recently agreed to put 15 megawatts of solar panels on 15 hospitals in California. Citigroup financed the deal and collected the public subsidies, including a 30% federal tax credit, as the equity investor working alongside developer Recurrent Energy.
John Kouletsis, Kaiser's director of strategy and planning, says Kaiser will make payments totaling $95.6 million over 20 years. Initially, it's a break-even proposition, but he says he believes Kaiser will save money over time, as grid costs increase. And he says there's another reason to act.
"At Kaiser, we've always been about public health and the prevention of illness," says Mr. Kouletsis. Pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants can cause respiratory problems, including asthma, and other illnesses.
Cities are cashing in, too. Lancaster, a high-desert city northeast of Los Angeles, recently signed a deal with SolarCity for 2.5 megawatts of electricity under a power purchase agreement. In some cases, it's getting a "two-fer," with panels making electricity and providing shade for city parking lots. The price Lancaster is paying—10 cents a kilowatt-hour for a 15-year term—is 37% less than what the city had been paying its local utility.
Robert Neal, public-works director, says Lancaster has so much sunshine that panels are 25% to 30% more productive than typical for U.S. installations. "Businesses are struggling here, and unemployment is high," says Mr. Neal. "So there's real value for the city to enter into contracts so it knows what the cost of power will be in coming years."
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit
www.djreprints.com
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Going green popular across real estate spectrum
Going green popular across real estate spectrum
Just a few years ago, making a commitment to help the environment meant recycling your plastic bags and glass bottles. But today that concept can be taken much further, to the products we buy, the cars we drive, and even the homes we live in.
Now builders have the know-how to make your home healthier, more energy-efficient and more cost-effective by using green materials and technologies. Here are some questions you may want to ask if you are interested in hiring a professional who is also committed to the cause.
• Have you completed any special education or training courses on this topic? Some states and local agencies offer training and even certificate programs for builders who are serious about putting green technologies to work for their clients.
• How can we use the latest technology to reduce costs and boost comfort? This could include using specific kinds of insulation, a special ventilation system, or even solar panels to supplement traditional energy sources.
• What kinds of appliances and home systems should we use? When you think green about all parts of the home, from the toilet (water conservation) to the windows (are they energy efficient?), is when you can make the most difference. An experienced green builder should be able to recommend the products and fixtures that are best.
• How do you reduce, re-use, and recycle? Find out if the builder uses materials made from recycled materials when they are available and recommended. Also, inquire how he disposes of waste materials from the construction site.
Going green when you are building a new home is a worthwhile and serious undertaking. Learn as much as you can about the topic and the builder to ensure a smooth process and productive result. For more information on green building, visit the Green Advantage website at http://www.greenadvantage.org/index.php
Rick Thurtle is a broker associate with Century 21 Homestead Realty. He utilized the resources of 21online.compreparing this story. You can contact Rick at 254-3922 or at www.RickThurtle.com.
Just a few years ago, making a commitment to help the environment meant recycling your plastic bags and glass bottles. But today that concept can be taken much further, to the products we buy, the cars we drive, and even the homes we live in.
Now builders have the know-how to make your home healthier, more energy-efficient and more cost-effective by using green materials and technologies. Here are some questions you may want to ask if you are interested in hiring a professional who is also committed to the cause.
• Have you completed any special education or training courses on this topic? Some states and local agencies offer training and even certificate programs for builders who are serious about putting green technologies to work for their clients.
• How can we use the latest technology to reduce costs and boost comfort? This could include using specific kinds of insulation, a special ventilation system, or even solar panels to supplement traditional energy sources.
• What kinds of appliances and home systems should we use? When you think green about all parts of the home, from the toilet (water conservation) to the windows (are they energy efficient?), is when you can make the most difference. An experienced green builder should be able to recommend the products and fixtures that are best.
• How do you reduce, re-use, and recycle? Find out if the builder uses materials made from recycled materials when they are available and recommended. Also, inquire how he disposes of waste materials from the construction site.
Going green when you are building a new home is a worthwhile and serious undertaking. Learn as much as you can about the topic and the builder to ensure a smooth process and productive result. For more information on green building, visit the Green Advantage website at http://www.greenadvantage.org/index.php
Rick Thurtle is a broker associate with Century 21 Homestead Realty. He utilized the resources of 21online.compreparing this story. You can contact Rick at 254-3922 or at www.RickThurtle.com.
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