Taking the first step to green.

Lots of people have been asking me about green lately. Almost everyone I design a home for says to me "if it saves me money on my power bills I'm interested." Then they start reading all of the stuff and become at least a little overwhelmed. So many choices. So many new ideas. Which ones work the best and which choices are more cost effective. You're gonna need some help and advice so you can spend your money the best way. A couple of great sources are your designer (like me), your builder of choice, and your energy rater. That's the guy who does all of the energy calculations for your project, and inspects the work for compliance along the way. I can tell you the path I took to go green, and your builder can tell you how they take the path to green, but the rater can compare different strategies to tell you the most cost effective path to green and that can be a great help. He can calculate before hand how much energy you'll save with a certain amount of fiberglass insulation vs a certain amount of spray foam insulation. When you compare that kind of information along side the builders price quotes for going either way the green path for your project starts to emerge on its own. The same concept can be applied for all of the green choices along the path. Window selection, appliances, HVAC equipment, all of that stuff. Remember to involve your energy rater early on and use his expertise and the expertise of your home designer to help you make decisions that will save you money. That's part of what you're paying him for.