This year’s GoingGreen Global 200 proves that the greentech community is flourishing, and investment is stronger than ever. With maturity and growth during the past five years, the greentech industry is bursting with companies that are reinventing and creating cleaner and more-efficient energy, waste management, and materials solutions. As government incentives and grants dry up in the midst of debt crises and economic uncertainty, greentech innovators are becoming increasingly creative in getting their ideas to market. The number of flourishing private companies on this year’s list proves once again that greentech is here to stay and committed to changing the way humanity exists.

Check out the article here to see the rest of the movers and shakers in cleantech.

Recent quarterly reports provide promising news for the clean efficiency industry. Many major providers of renewable energy services, including Johnson Controls and Ameresco, have reported significant increases in net sales and revenue. Other energy efficiency businesses have also experienced tremendous growth and the expansion of production in recent years.

Several factors have enabled the increased market activity of energy efficiency companies. High energy prices have prompted companies to search for most cost-effective ways to generate energy. Additionally, federal incentive programs encourage sustainable renovation of industries and the implementation of energy efficient practices.

Consumer demand for sustainability and a growing understanding of the benefits of energy efficiency have also influenced both corporate decision-making and public policy initiatives. In regards to the real estate market, homeowners, companies and policy makers are recognizing the increased value that green upgrades add to homes. Finally, increased demand for sustainable programs for municipalities, schools, universities and hospitals has also contributed to the rapid growth of the industry.

All of these factors have compounded to make the energy efficiency industry a stronger sector in the national economy. The performance of the energy efficiency market in recent quarters is a hopeful sign for members of the market and for those who advocate sustainability and efficient energy consumption.

For more information on Johnson Controls’s quarterly reports click here.

For Ameresco’s quarterly reports click here.

Recurve will offer special pricing to participating contractors – find out more by contacting us at http://www.recurve.com/about-us/contact-us/.Although contractors in the NY HPwES Program will still need to use program-approved energy modeling software for full program projects, we have been pursuing software approval and expects to to available for full use later this summer.

New York is one of the oldest and most successful home performance contracting markets, and we are excited to bring Recurve software in to give contractors the tools to be even more successful.

If innovations are paired with stronger energy policies, the country will add $244 billion to the GDP and nearly 2 million jobs while saving home energy costs by $995 per household.

Check out their website here: http://www.google.org/energyinnovation/
And the full report here: http://www.google.org/energyinnovation/The_Impact_of_Clean_Energy_Innovation.pdf

Source: Forbes

The first part of this article covered the first ingredient in detail, so this part will cover the remaining 4 – who you represent, your product, the price, and time.

Who You Represent
This ingredient is quite often missed, as we quite often assume (wrongly) that as we are talking to a particular customer, it must mean that the customer is happy with the company – why else would the customer be in contact with me?

In every business, there is competition, and with competition comes comparisons. Your customers will want to compare your company (who you represent) with other companies selling a like product or service. You need to be able to sell your company to your prospective client.

So how is this done?

Remember the main steps to a sale as outlined in the first part of this article? Which of these steps is the best one to highlight your company.

The answer is: Service!

The best way to incorporate this vital element is to flow directly from the trial close. For example, if you have just completed a world class feature/function/benefit presentation of your product, and asked a question like, “So, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is that you want to go ahead with this now, where are you?

Your customer may answer, “Well, subject to the price being right, it could well be a 10.” So, now you can follow up with, “Before I get you some great numbers, allow me to share with you the most important reason so many people do business, and continue to do business with us here at World Class Business.

Then share your service program with them. Do this with a “Why Buy Here” book. This is normally a 3 ring binder with plastic sleeves, holding documentation about your services and business. It could contain copies of letters from satisfied customers – an “evidence manual” if you like. You could include photographs of the service team – make it personal. If any of you would like help in putting something like this together, please contact me. You could take it a step further by filming your team and your facility and either play it or e-mail it to your client.

In this industry, your clients know that it is not just a matter of if; it is a matter of when they will need to use your service operation. They need to know that they will be looked after when this happened and they also need to know who will be looking after them. This will make both parties feel good about who they are dealing with. And, this one step will set you apart from your competition, because your competition is not doing this – they are all about selling the product and not the business!

Product – As I said in part 1, this is probably the easiest of the 5 ingredients to master.

The reason I make that statement is that you will normally have your presentations well rehearsed in order to either satisfy a concern or create a need and want to purchase.

The main steps to a sale for this ingredient are the interview, selecting the product or service, and the feature/function/benefit presentation.

If the interview is done correctly, you will know what your customer is looking for, his or her rough budget, and their “hot buttons.” Hot buttons are benefits, and normally come in the form of safety, performance, appearance, comfort, economy, and durability.

Once you find out these hot buttons, you can now tailor your presentation to match what the customer wants.

Remember this – customers will normally buy what they want – this may not necessarily be what they need.

Our job as salespeople is to help customers to buy. That is different from selling. Let them know about your product or service, give them options and allow them to make an informed decision.

Price.

The steps to use to sell the price of the product are:

All of them!

Why? Because very rarely is a sale about price. It is all about value. If a customer does not see particular value in your product or service, then in order for you to still make a sale, you will need to cut your price.

Where will customers see value? They need to see it first and foremost in you, so make sure you follow the guidelines I went through in part one. You need to make sure you select the right product or service to present to the customer – something to fit his budget, and more importantly, something to fit his wants and needs – this is where the interview and product selection come into play.

The feature/function/benefit presentation is hugely important in building value – remember that customers buy benefits, not features, so make sure you don’t talk about a feature without talking about what that feature will do for your customer.

The evidence manual will build value, too – the more value you build, the less important the price becomes.

Once you have the value built to match the price – you have sold this vital ingredient.

Time.

Why is time an important ingredient?
You have to sell your customer that now is the best time to make this purchase. You do this by talking about any specials or sales you have going on at the moment. You need to create the sense of urgency – this could be done by explaining what could happen if your customer put off the purchase until a later time – how much could it potentially cost? Customers are more afraid losing something, so use this fact to create urgency.

To recap – you need to sell yourself, the business you represent, the product itself, the price of that product, and the fact that there will never be a better time than now to make this purchase.

If you miss the sale, look back to see which of these 5 ingredients is missing – it will be one or more of them.

Sales & Lead Generation
June 16th, 2011 @ 12:30pm EST/9:30am PST
Is your conversion rate from audit to retrofit not as high as you want? Are you relying solely on a government funded program’s marketing campaign to get you through? Is your average job less than $8,000 per home? Then this is the Webinar for you. Learn from sales professionals about increasing your lead generation and improving your bottom line. Learn how to build relationships with lead generation sources including real estate professionals, single measure contractors, etc. Qualifies for 1.5 BPI CEUs.

EF Members: CLICK HERE TO LOG IN TO YOUR ACCOUNT & REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR.

Non-Members: CLICK HERE TO REGISTER & PAY A ONE TIME FEE FOR THE WEBINAR.

By amending the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Act, the bill, also called “e-Know”, aims to provide a way for electricity consumers to more easily find out about their energy usage and how much it saves (or costs) them. In support of the proposed legislation, DSRG quoted a 2006 study which shows that direct and indirect energy information feedbacks produce savings in the range of 5-15 percent.

A 2010 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy described similar results, with homeowners “taming the tiger” of energy use by 4 to 12 percent via the use of informational feedback programs, in addition to smart metering.

In other words, says DSRG, consumers who track their energy consumption in real time save $60 to $180 per year – an argument used by the Sierra Club to oppose a Maine group attempting to block installation of smart meters and also in 2009 when Google and the California Public Utilities Commission went to work on the state’s Smart Grid System.

The e-Know legislation would empower consumers to obtain electricity-use information from electric utilities, including those agencies working on behalf of utilities offering home energy management systems, and would insure that the information gleaned could be technologically neutral. That is, consumers would be able to choose how they got that information and how they used it. For consumers, who choose to manage their power usage, it may be the difference between turning the thermostat down for an added degree of summer comfort or choosing lighter clothing. For the nation as a whole, it may be the beginning of serious energy conservation that allows utilities and public service regulators to step back from uncertain, foreign energy supplies and dangerous or polluting electricity generation technologies. The potential for energy efficient savings for one and all is limitless.

It is also hoped that this act will facilitate the introduction of smart grids to modernise the nation’s electricity system, including facilitating demand response programs which are aimed at minimising the effects of an aging North American power grid – effects which are particularly troubling when trying to integrate renewable technologies or keep pace with new developments in the digital information and telecommunications network.

If the legislation is implemented, home energy contractors can avail themselves of the most up-to-date energy usage information and plug it into software that accurately and precisely predicts exact savings from any retrofit.

Source: Smartmeters.com

According to Efficiency First:

This tool assesses your preferences and skills in five areas: physical aptitude, social and technical problem solving, basic construction knowledge, sales skills, and work environment preferences. The skills and preferences that are assessed through the Career Self-assessment align with the profiles outlined in the profile page and informational pages within the Career Resources website. This tool enables participants to assess their fit in the Home Performance Industry and help them match their skills with key skills needed in this industry. The Self-assessment takes users an average of 20 minutes to complete. When users have completed their Self-assessment they will be issued their results in real time. Users can also email their results to themselves and other interested parties.

Click here to take the quiz.

Troy Tanner, owner of The Home Energy Detective, weighed in last week about what winning this contest means to him. His goal is to make his company more profitable in an area with no program rebates. We’re excited to help Troy build his business using Recurve Software to speed up their auditing process and deliver reports and proposals on-site.

Most salespeople have been trained on certain steps to a sale. It may have been a 10-step selling system, maybe a 12 or 13 step selling system – they are all pretty much the same, as selling really hasn’t changed since the beginning of time when Eve was sold on taking the apple from the serpent.

The main steps to a sale are as follows:

• Meet and Greet
• Interview – build rapport – investigate
• Select a product or service
• Present that product or service
• Demonstrate that product or service
• Trial Close
• Service & Parts
• Negotiations
• Close

Let’s now discuss the ingredients.
There are five ingredients that every sale must have. In other words, you as a salesperson must sell these 5 things. They are:

You – you must be able to sell yourself first and foremost. Not many people will buy what you are selling if they don’t buy you first. Yet if you sell yourself, a lot of people will buy whatever you are selling!

Who You Represent – Why buy here? You must be able to sell your customer on buying from your place of business. There are other vendors out there selling similar products with similar prices, so why should they buy from the company you represent? A professional salesperson will honestly believe that they are representing the very best company in the field, and therefore believe in that company. Selling that company then becomes easy. If you don’t think you represent the best – change companies!

Product – You need to be able to sell the product – this is probably the easiest of the 5 ingredients – use the presentation step in the steps to a sale above to do this. As with your company – if you don’t believe you are selling the best product, do something about it.

Price – If you can’t sell your potential customer on the price of the product, go back to the product itself – have you done the best possible presentation of the product? Remember that customers buy benefits, not features. Build value in the presentation and demonstration stages to help sell the price.

Time – Customers need to hear that there will never be a better time to buy this product or service than right now – you need to sell them on this fact by creating urgency.

I am going to discuss each step in more detail – this article will cover the first one, and the others will be covered in more detail in a subsequent article.

Selling You
Your customers will judge you initially using 3 of their 5 senses. They will look at you, smell you, and listen to you.

So, how do you look? Did you shave today? Do you need a haircut? What do your clothes look like?

How did you look when you went on that very important date with someone you wanted to impress? What did you do to prepare for that date?

Here’s what I think – you went to extreme lengths getting ready, chose your clothes carefully, asked other people for their opinion, showered, shaved (guys as well!), clipped fingernails, ironed clothes (yes, that contraption that plugs into the wall and hisses), polished shoes, and put on some “smell nice.”

Why did you do that? Because you were trying to sell yourself – that’s why! You knew that the person you were hoping to impress was going to look at you and assess you. You knew they were going to smell you and assess you. You knew that they were going to listen to you and assess you. You also knew that in order for any relationship to develop, you needed to pass these tests, so you went all out to impress. Anything less just wouldn’t do.

Here’s what else I think – you don’t go to these lengths each and every day for potential customers. Why? Probably because you think you are a good enough salesperson that you can still win your customers over without having to go to so much trouble. You see we are a lazy bunch, us salespeople. We like to do as little as possible in order to gain as much as possible.

What would happen if we made the very best first impression every time, every day, without fail, no exceptions? Are you willing to even give it a try? What is the worst that can happen? Absolutely nothing different than now, right?

How else can you sell yourself? Use the steps to a sale above – the first couple of steps are crucial. You must conduct a professional meet and greet – introduce yourself, allow the client to establish eye contact with you – maintain a sincere smile – have a firm, professional handshake – control your voice.

Conduct a professional interview/fact finding/rapport building session. Allow the client to do most of the talking – the more they talk, the more they will like you. This is not a time to sell, it is a time to allow the customer to get to know and like you. This needs to be a conversation like you are talking to a friend – not an interrogation.

Work hard on selling yourself – all the ingredients are important – I happen to believe that this is the most important of the five, you sell yourself and the world is yours.

The report was based off of findings of the Arizona Energy Efficiency Standard (EES), which requires Arizona investor-owned utilities to achieve 22% total energy savings by the year 2020. The report takes a deeper look into the comprehensive business model and what could come with the achievement of the EES.

Check out the full report here: http://eetd.lbl.gov/EA/EMP/reports/lbnl-4399e.pdf

Let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first: Do you agree that energy-efficient homes can seal in and recirculate the same germs, allergens, and chemicals?

Do you agree that this can also cause health issues for occupants within the home?

Did you know that during a recession people spend more time at home?

If you answered “yes” to all three questions, then I bet you will agree with this next one: When you look inside a customer’s air return and see what appears to be a weasel wearing a Snuggie, the homeowners:

(a) have not changed the filters since the Clinton administration; and/or
(b) have nostrils that look like tiny versions of the air return. But I’m not going there.

The point is, you know all this, but your customers don’t. Thus, the largest issues facing IAQ in HVAC are your credibility and their awareness. No one wakes up and says, “Man, what a beautiful day to have my ducts cleaned.” Unlike preventive maintenance (which people recognize as a plausible need), IAQ has both the specter of skepticism and the lack of evidentiary proof needed to go along with it.

You can say, “Your ducts need cleaning,” or “UV lights will protect your coils” all day and have a hard time convincing anyone who doesn’t have sinus problems, allergies, or other health issues that this is a valuable service. Silly them. And considering how HVAC sold IAQ initially, silly us.

Selling healthy air doesn’t require a degree in molecular science. Ever heard of asthma? About 23 million Americans wish they hadn’t. A full 6.8 million of those are children who have parents who are worried sick as well. They’d much prefer to avoid the 19 million doctor, hospital, and emergency room visits spent trying to avoid death by asphyxiation. Ask them if clean indoor air is about microbes and formaldehyde and the technicalities of UV treatment.

Nope, it’s about cleaner, healthier air. Period.

Now consider, asthma is just one of hundreds of problems linked to IAQ. As a heating and cooling professional, that makes you uniquely positioned to both build your business and provide a beneficial and potentially life-saving service.

So what are they buying? They’re buying problem avoidance. It is not a thing; it is a benefit that erases sizeable doubt, fear, and concern with a healthy alternative. Kind of like breathing clean air.

You’re poised to offer problem avoidance and even a cure for certain airborne menaces. Aside from the obvious health benefits, a shorter supply of recession-era leads points toward maximizing each one with higher transaction sizes. Further, with the maintenance of UV lights, super filtration, humidifiers, and other better air solutions, you can lock in more customers.

How to Offer IAQ Now
Bad economies don’t improve air quality or health concerns. Allergens and molds refuse to invest in 401(k)s. So, please, don’t let the economy’s condition or your frightened competition make you think these concerns are equated. Position IAQ not as equipment, but as a packaged path to better health. Sell it against missed work, doctor visits, pharmacies, medication, family wellness — not microns and density depletion.

On a service call, you can offer a point-of-purchase healthy air solution based on an IAQ survey. Many of our clients sell humidifiers, UV lights, and filtration with or without duct cleaning jobs, straight from this survey.

For more complex solutions, consider utilizing in-home IAQ monitors, which help replace the doubt factor with scientific data. The sales cycle is a bit longer, but they can make the sale for you while they collect the data. Offering a free IAQ test has opened thousands of doors for our clients, who merely park the monitor for the appreciative prospect, and return with a diagnosis and options.

Always remember that customers will get what they want, whether it’s from you or from your competition. I find it sad to go into so many homes that have $499 “room air purifiers,” while stacks of superior solutions lay at your distributor’s warehouse. Once again, technical supremacy, greater reliability, and more longevity will not sell — if poorly marketed.

Though the HVAC industry has had IAQ solutions for years, it took Sharper Image and Oreck to show us how to sell over a billion dollars of equipment all without a single service appointment. How? Fact-based fear, evidentiary proof, and piles of compelling testimonials positioned their “solution” as an easier and less expensive alternative to illness and poor health. Oreck’s infomercials are marketing seminars — take notes.

Finally, ask yourself, what are you selling and why. Are you selling hardware (technical) or software (benefits)? IAQ benefits are huge for homeowners and contractors. This is especially true while others pull back on marketing or lower prices just to get the sale (creating their own worsened economy). But when you offer upsells, you create differentiation, enhance margin, and increase average transaction, while winning a longer-term customer with a higher lifetime value. Upsells are smarter than ever.

IAQ is right for the times. Customers are more health conscious and want to preserve dollars wasted on unnecessary doctor visits, more medications, and unpaid sick days. You can offer a superior whole-house solution easily, silently, and out of sight. They’d rather pay you for this anyway; all you have to do is effectively market it. And isn’t that a breath of fresh air?

• Website design
• Payroll and accounting services
• Marketing and sales consulting
• Manufacturer and distributor networking
• Building science training
• Software
• Tools and equipment
• Business development consultation
• Energy efficient services and products

The winners will be announced on Earth Day 2011 (April 22). The actual prize packages will be determined based on an extensive evaluation of the contractors’ business and other criteria.

The Business Performance Makeover Contest will be conducted nationwide to find two contracting firm owners that want to dramatically grow their businesses in 2011. Owners of home improvement, home performance and home energy efficiency-related installation companies will enter to win online by answering questions about their current business and 2011 plans for growth. An advisory board comprised of industry professionals and contest sponsor organizations will assist EGIA, BPI, and Efficiency First staff to select the two contractors with the greatest potential to demonstrate business growth. The winners will be a traditional single-measure home energy efficiency contracting firm and one comprehensive home performance contracting firm.

Learn more and register at www.egia.org/contractorcontest2011

Recurve is all over ACI again this year. Here are the sessions and other places you can catch us at. We would love to talk to you!

TUESDAY MARCH 29

Home Energy Summit

8:30am-10:00am
Engaging Markets and Private Capital To Achieve Our Long-Term Goals
Matt Golden, Recurve’s President and Founder, will be kicking off the second day of the Home Energy Summit, which includes heavy hitters such as Katherine Hogan of the DOE, Dian Gruenich formerly of the CPUC, and Commissioner Karen Douglas of the CEC.

2:45pm – 4:00pm
Breakout Session: Effects of Program Design on Delivery by Contractors
Adam Winter, SVP and cofounder of Recurve, will be co-leading a breakout session along with folks from WellHome, Distinct ENERGY Performance, and more.

– –

WEDNESDAY MARCH 30

1:30pm-3:00pm

Beyond Your Certification
Matt Golden will be helping session attendees plan a successful business strategy post-BPI certification. Joining him will be Tiger Adolf of BPI, Courtney Moriarta of WellHome, and Sam Flanery of Michigan Energy Savings.

3:30pm – 5:00pm

Optimization of Performance Financing Through Innovation
Another appearance by Matt Golden, this time alongside Sammy Chu of Long Island Green Homes and Dan Kartzman of Powersmith, to speak about LIGH program’s integration with Recurve Software and Powersmith home energy upgrades as an example of program design success.

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THURSDAY MARCH 31

10:30am – 12:00pm

Energy Upgrade CA: Game Plan for Market Transformation
Another breakout that Matt Golden is participating in, this time teaching attendees about how the Energy Upgrade California program is leveraging federal stimulus dollars to grow the building performance industry and create jobs, while addressing the typical challenges that programs face. He’ll be joined by Leif Magnuson of the EPA and several others directly involved in the program.

1:30pm – 3:00pm – in the foyer of the exhibit hall
Join Chris McClellan, Sales Manager at Recurve, for an in-depth demo of Recurve Software. He’ll show you how Recurve Software helps you do more energy audits every week, generate accurate savings predictions, and present polished reports and proposals on-site. At the end of the demo, he’ll also be giving away a tablet to one lucky winner! So be sure to visit us on the tradeshow floor at booth 601 to sign up for a free trial of Recurve Software and enter the contest.

3:30pm – 5:00pm (a very busy timeslot for us!)

National Policy Update
Yet another session with – you guessed it – Matt Golden! Get an update on current national and state trends in public policy, including HOME STAR, utility data access, ARRA funded programs and California state financing recommendations for programs in wake of PACE. The session will also cover how contractors can get involved in upcoming program opportunities. Other presenters include Stephen Cowell of CSG,, Rick Gerardi of WellHome, and Kara Saul-Rinaldi of the National Home Performance Council.

A Hard Look at Software: The End Users’ Perspective (Panel)
Chris McClellan will be discussing how software can help you streamline your business operations while increasing sales and improving quality of service through real-life examples of how users have successfully integrated various software solutions into their day-to-day operations. Chris will be joined by Skye Dunning of Building Performance Specialists and Elise Brown of Evergreen Home Performance.

Selling Home Performance: Where Mastic Meets the Sheet Metal
Jason Bowers, Recurve Local Operations General Manager, will be teaching contractors how to increase close rates and sell larger work scopes, along with Casey Murphy of ICF International and Eric Howarth of EGIA.

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Don’t forget to come visit us for a software demo, to enter our contest (we’re giving away THREE tablets!) or just to say hello on Wednesday & Thursday during the tradeshow hours. We’ll be holding down Booth 601.

Many contractors are asking what happened to Home Star, the proposed legislation that would have extended rebates to homeowners who invested in energy efficiency upgrades for their homes. While the bill was a hot topic for much of 2010, it ultimately failed to pass in the Senate, and has not been reintroduced in Congress so far in 2011.

This article includes a brief history of the legislation and explanations from industry members as to why it did not become law last year. However, the Obama administration has recently begun to tout the Home Star program, and there’s a chance it may return to the Hill. Yet industry leaders are also looking to alternatives to aid the HVAC industry.

HOME STAR HISTORY

While various versions of the Home Star bill were introduced in Congress, the most significant was House Resolution 5019, known as the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010. H.R. 5019 was introduced in the House in mid-April 2010. It was sponsored by Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and included 44 cosponsors.

This version of the Home Star legislation would have created a program to provide $6 billion in rebates to homeowners who upgraded the energy efficiency of their houses through measures ranging from attic insulation to furnace replacement. It was structured as a two-tiered system with the lower tier providing money for simple replacements and upgrades, and the higher tier providing more money for homeowners who undertook whole-house renovations for energy reductions.

The Silver Star portion of the program, which offered a maximum rebate of $3,000, would have given rebates for smaller-scale projects, such as air sealing and replacing old heating/cooling equipment with new high-efficiency models. The Gold Star rebates, which would have maxed out at $8,000, were intended for whole-house energy reduction and would have required software simulations comparing the energy use of a home before and after retrofits.

The House passed this bill on May 6, 2010, by a 264-161 vote. After the House passed its version of the bill, it was referred to the Senate.

During this phase of the legislative process, many in the industry raised concerns about certain aspects of the bill. Specifically, the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) expressed its disapproval of the bill’s accreditation requirements for contractors. In order to perform the whole-home retrofit work under the Gold Star portion of the program, Home Star would have required contractors to be accredited by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) or an equivalent alternative certification. In response, ACCA announced it could not endorse Home Star because of the limited number of contractors eligible nationwide to perform Gold Star work. Others in the industry pointed out that the bill did allow for alternatives to BPI certification, and asserted that the bill would aid the industry overall.

While the Senate did not immediately choose to consider the bill, in late July, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., included a version of the Home Star bill in a larger energy package known as the “spill bill.” This Senate bill, S. 3663, was more far-reaching and included a response to the BP oil spill.

However, the Senate version of the bill was also controversial because of the way it proposed to handle the rebate process. While the House version of the bill sent the rebate money directly to the consumer, the Senate version of the bill required contractors to apply for the rebates after performing the work.

Ultimately, although the bill was read in the Senate and vigorously debated in the HVAC and home performance industries, it was referred to committee and never brought to the Senate floor for a vote.

WHY HOME STAR FAILED

Many in the industry have noted that the political dynamics on the Hill led to the bill’s failure. “From a politics standpoint in the Senate, it was very difficult to move any legislation last year, especially standalone bills,” said Matt Golden, president of Recurve (San Francisco) and policy chair for the home performance trade association Efficiency First. “We [Home Star] were in the spill bill, and the spill bill didn’t pass. At the end, we were at the mercy of Senate politics.”

According to Dale Harbour, vice president and general counsel, Residential Solutions, Ingersoll Rand, the biggest roadblocks to Home Star’s passage were money and timing.

“It was really a jobs program, and it was something that had been introduced by a Democratic-controlled Congress prior to the [mid-term] election, and it had some level of bipartisan support,” he explained. But, he said, “Its biggest issue was that there was not a mechanism to pay for it.”

Because the bill was not deficit-neutral and did not include corresponding cuts to allow for the funding of the Home Star rebates, Harbour said, “It never gained any traction in the Senate.” He continued, “It was more of a timing issue than anything else in terms of when that was introduced. It was relatively late in the game, and it was at a point in time where there were questions about the extent of the success of the stimulus package that was passed in the very early tenure of [the Obama] administration.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Since Home Star failed to pass in the Senate last year, it was never sent to the president’s desk to be signed into law. However, this year President Obama has again called attention to the proposed program. Following his State of the Union address in late January, the White House issued a press release that promoted the Home Star program as a way to protect consumers against rising energy bills. The president then included funding for Home Star in his budget proposal for fiscal year 2012. According to the White House, Home Star is intended to be part of the president’s larger goal to establish a Clean Energy Standard (CES) for the country.

Despite the Obama administration’s promotion of the program, some doubt that Home Star would be well received in Congress this year. The main reason is that the bill carries a $6 billion price tag, and the new focus on the Hill is centered on fiscal responsibility.

“The Home Star program as originally proposed had strong financial incentives to upgrade the energy efficiency of homes. As such, it was also a very expensive program. While it may be an effective job creator, for it to have a good chance of passage, in my opinion it will require mechanisms to pay for the program that are at least deficit neutral,” Harbour said. “Without corresponding spending cuts, I think it faces an uphill battle in a Congress increasingly focused on deficit reduction.”

According to Golden, many in the industry are now moving ahead with other initiatives. “We continue to look at a number of possible options to help this industry in Congress,” he said. As an example, he cited the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) PowerSaver loan. The loans made available by this pilot program are backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and offer credit-worthy borrowers low-cost loans to make energy-saving improvements to their homes. “We are engaged in making it a more contractor-friendly product,” Golden said.

In terms of larger bills to support the industry, Golden said there may be a chance for a jobs bill. “We need to have help for construction,” he said. “We’re still at 20.7 percent unemployment and getting worse, and that’s really why the president is still looking at it.”

He continued, “All I can say at this point is there’s a feeling on the Hill that something needs to done for construction and manufacturing. There are aspects of the construction industry that are economically depressed — working together, with Congress, we can turn around those economics with sound policy and get people back to work building better buildings.”

Whether Home Star is reintroduced in Congress or other alternatives are proposed to aid the industry, there is no doubt that energy efficiency will continue to stay in the limelight. Contractors who prepare by achieving and updating their third-party certifications, and by working with third-party verification providers, will be well equipped to take advantage of any new initiatives in the future.

Source: ACHR News

The key to home performance he says is a holistic approach to the problem. Software applications today need to be flexible enough to appeal to all types of business, ranging from the small-scale insulation jobs to high-end retrofits. In the end he is optimistic about the direction the trades are heading, and offers up advice to professionals looking to take the plunge into software.

President Obama endorsed these provisions during today’s announcement in support of modifying the commercial building tax credit. The bill included a key provision increasing the 179D tax credit deduction from $1.80 per square foot to $3.00 per square foot, which President Obama said he supports. The bill also clarified Congressional intent to allow a partial deduction pathway for new and existing commercial buildings.

Senator Snowe said: “At a time when energy prices are increasing and unemployment in the construction industry is at 20.7 percent, incentivizing energy efficiency construction in our building sector simultaneously creates jobs while addressing our nation’s energy crisis. As the sponsor of the Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act last Congress with Senators Feinstein and Bingaman, I strongly support the President’s recognition of this vital opportunity to expand and simplify the energy efficient commercial building tax credit and I look forward to working with the Administration to enacting changes of the existing tax credit into law. The fact is tax incentives can effectively catalyze investments in advanced insulation, windows, HVAC systems, and other technologies that can be incorporated into America’s commercial building infrastructure that address 20 percent of America’s demand for finite and expensive energy resources. Moreover, energy efficiency is the most cost-effective investment in America’s energy security so we in Congress must develop tax policies that will assist America’s factories, homeowners, and building owners to reduce their energy bills.”

Senator Feinstein said: “The president today began to flesh out how we’re going to reach the energy efficiency goals he announced last week, and I’m encouraged by his plan. His idea to expand and simplify the Commercial Buildings Tax incentive parallels legislation I cosponsored last year with Sens. Snowe and Bingaman, and I think Congress should begin to debate this plan as soon as possible. We must wean ourselves off fossil fuels and encourage actions that will reduce the effects of climate change, and energy efficiency will play a significant role in that process. Today’s ideas are designed to encourage the private sector to invest in technology that will move us in that direction, and I’m eager to work with the president to make these a reality.”

Senator Bingaman said: “I am pleased that the White House continues to push for incentives for businesses and homeowners to improve energy efficiency, and I look forward to continuing to work with my Senate colleagues on creating and enacting legislation that can achieve these efficiency goals. Much of the President’s proposal echoes legislation that Senators Snowe, Feinstein and I developed in the last Congress, which would have simplified and enhanced incentives for commercial buildings and provide tax credits for the training of home retrofit professionals. Residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. account for 39 percent of our nation’s energy consumption and 38 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions. Low-cost, common-sense solutions like improved insulation, efficient lighting and more efficient heating and cooling exist today, and they work. Equally important, the good American jobs that will be created by a major retrofit of our buildings cannot be exported.”

The Expanding Building Efficiency Incentives Act of 2009 includes the following provisions:

• Energy Efficient Homes (Section 45L Credit). Currently, energy efficient homes that are 50 percent better than code with respect to heating and cooling costs receive a $2,000 credit. The credit has been lauded as a major success by both homebuilders and energy efficiency groups with increasing market share and moving the industry to a point where in 2008, 4.6 percent of all homes sold in the U.S. qualified for the tax credit. Under the bill, this credit would be extended through 2012. In addition, the bill would create a higher standard for energy efficient new homes that are 50 percent better than code with respect to heating, cooling, water heating, lighting, and appliance energy use. These homes would receive a tax credit of $4,000 and the credit would be in place through 2013.
• Energy Efficient Manufactured Homes (45L Credit). Energy Star manufactured homes are also eligible for a $1,000 tax credit. Low-income families spend a disproportionate amount of household income on energy, and this credit will spur energy efficient manufactured housing for these families. Under the bill the existing tax credit would increase to $1,500, and a new tier would be created for $2,500 for the new Energy Star standard that will take effect in 2010 and be significantly more stringent.
• Energy Efficient Low Income Housing. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program is an economic incentive to produce affordable housing, where federal housing tax credits are awarded to developers of qualified projects, who either use or sell the credits to investors to raise capital for housing development projects. Over 2 million units for low income families and seniors have been constructed and preserved since 1987. However, there currently is not an incentive to make these buildings energy efficient. This legislation would provide an additional 50 percent tax credit of the current new homes tax credit if the building qualifies for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.
• Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Credit (Section 179D). Currently, an incentive is provided through a $1.80 per square foot tax credit for a building that is 50 percent better than code with respect to building envelope, lighting, and the HVAC system. In addition, there is a partial deduction for any one of the three components above of 60 cents per square foot. This legislation would build on the existing credits and increase the deduction to $3 per square foot and a partial deduction to $1 per square foot.
• Energy Rating. The bill also includes a tax credit for an individual to undergo an energy rating, or energy audit, to determine what energy efficiency investments are necessary. This industry is developing in the State of Maine, and with a third of all Maine homes constructed prior to World War II, there is a substantial amount of savings that are possible with advanced energy ratings. The tax credit is equal to $200.
• Energy Rating Training. The bill includes a $500 tax credit for training expenses of an individual to become an energy rater. As mentioned above, it is critical that the individuals who perform these energy audits are well trained and provide recommendations that are cost-effective.

Source: Efficiency First

This sale lasts as long as the weather is warm, so don’t delay – give us a call or email before it turns cold again.

(877) 303-0979
http://www.recurve.com/quick-start/

New economic analysis shows that clean energy legislation will create up to 1.9 million new jobs, increase annual household income by up to $1,175, and boost the GDP by up to $111 billion. Over the years, study after study, from groups like the Center for American Progress and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, have supported the direct correlation between green industry growth and jobs. Eighteen months ago, findings from a study by the Pew Charitable Trust found that green jobs are growing at a national rate of 9.1 percent, while traditional jobs are growing by only 3.7 percent.

Investing in energy efficiency is a win for homeowners, out-of-work construction workers, the economy, and the environment.

This is the second year in a row that Matt has been named to this illustrious list. For more, check out the full list here.

Green technologies are languishing because of a vicious circle in the economy: consumers have a hard time identifying products that truly are better for the environment, and find it difficult or unnecessarily expensive to buy them even if they can find what they want. This leads to frustration, and the frustration leads to the mirror image of the problem among manufacturers and retailers: if consumers are not expressing their desire for green purchases in the market (even if it is because they can’t find or identify them), then it makes no sense to produce or stock them.

Goldstein then makes a strong argument in favor of government incentives for home energy retrofit measures:

For home remodels, imagine how competitive home energy retrofit contracting would become if there were financial incentives for the first homes to make savings? (Such incentives passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support in the form of the Retrofit Energy Efficiency Program (REEP) which was part of the Waxman-Markey climate protection bill last session.) How much easier would it be to retrofit your home for energy savings if your bank allowed you to borrow the money for the retrofit at the same interest rate as your existing mortgage, and to do it even if your loan is underwater?

Performance-based incentives and standards provide the economic motivation for innovation in many areas where it is blocked in the real-world economy. Places that have relied more heavily on environmental protection have seen greater job creation and more economic growth than those that have not.

This is a true win/win: a cleaner environment and the only known way to encourage innovation and growth on a national scale.

Read the full post at www.switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dgoldstein/innovation_as_the_basis_for_am.html

Source: Efficiency First

The study found that the vast majority of programs (90%) are sponsored by municipal or investor-owned or utilities, with most (86%) providing some kind of incentive or rebate to homeowners. Just over half of the programs (52%) offer homeowners free energy audits, most requiring program-specific or BPI certification for auditors. Only 18% of the programs use the auditor-contractor model in which audits are performed by the same contractor who will do the work. Most of the remaining programs (75% of the total) require auditing to be performed by a third party.

“This is a time of tremendous change and growth for the energy efficiency retrofit industry,” NHPC Managing Director Robin LeBaron said in reference to the report. “In five years, the field will look very different than it does now. This study provides a baseline for us to study how the field evolves.” The organization announced that it plans to issue a follow‐up study in 2011.

Download the full NHPC report in PDF format here: Residential Energy Efficiency Retrofit Programs in the U.S.

Source: Efficiency First

Source: ACCA

An old saying states that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Don’t let your familiarity with the saying make you numb to its far-reaching business power.

Like many of you, we’ve been involved in numerous contracting projects over the years. We’ve built a home, renovated six buildings, and hired for all sorts of projects from retiling to roofs to remodeling a kitchen. We’ve had some go wrong, such as the sheetrock job that looked like a drunken rhinoceros careened off every wall. We also had a tile setter mix boxes of tile mid-job, creating a really nice two-tone effect that he defended as stylish. Thankfully, these miscues are in the minority.

The majority of the contractors have been exceptional. Yet there’s one trait among even the good ones that causes their rehire rate to be barely higher than that of the rotten ones. This mistake totally short circuits future calls and referrals, and it’s costing you a fortune, even though the power to correct it exists in your company, right now, today.

The mistake is ignoring the relationship.

See, a bad contractor (whether he knows he’s bad or not) doesn’t get a callback or referrals due to poor work. And a good contractor most often doesn’t get a callback or referrals because of inattention to his customers. Same result, for entirely different reasons.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
Think of your past friends and relationships. The most common reason they’re in the past and not the present is you fell out of touch. You might have even been a good friend with much in common, yet if not in touch, you’re not on the friend list. There are even figures to back this up. According to a Good Housekeeping survey of those who purchased from contractors:

• Thirty-seven percent said the relationship was the most important reason.
• Twenty-two percent said it was because you stayed in touch after a previous purchase.
• Fourteen percent were referred by a friend or family member.

Add those up, and 73 percent of your sales have some relationship tie-in.

Unfortunately, most contractors just service them, bill them, and hope for the best.

So, how do you rank in terms of customer relations and retention?

With minimum retention efforts, you get a call, and it’s answered by the nearest minimally trained receptionist. You schedule, show up, do the work, present the invoice, then go home. No follow-up is attempted. You assume, “If they need me, they know how to reach me.” Unless you live in a town with exactly one contractor, good luck.

With average retention efforts, your call handling quality is dependent upon who answers. You deliver what you consider fair — no more, no less. Techs are intermittently trained. Some customers get an agreement offer, some don’t. Your CSR may make a call-behind or send a thank you note, but this is not systemized. Newsletters and follow-up range from spotty to nonexistent. You dabble with improvement but with little lasting change. Customers feel the inconsistency and migrate away. Repeat calls and referrals suffer miserably.

With maximum retention efforts, you categorize poorly trained employees as unethical business. You answer the phones consistently and make consistent high-quality presentations. Follow-up is automatic, starting with happy calls and a thank you card that contains a referral request. Seasonal newsletters go out like clockwork. Your website, value-building ads, forms, and leave-behinds are not purely sales pieces (though they boost prices and closing ratios) but educational customer-awareness tools. Customers get outbound messages from you — online and offline — eight to 14 times per year.

If you’re in the maximum category, congratulations. You also probably dominate your market and not by coincidence. Yet for the others, don’t make this too hard. Start simply with two things:

1. The thank you note and call. Even the most basic thank you note (automatically generated and about 45 cents worth of effort) tells customers they’re valuable. It’s so easy to do and so easy not to do. Most choose the latter.
2. A newsletter. Since thank you notes are transaction based (and thus sporadic or potentially forgotten between visits), you must have at least one calendar-based item. A quality newsletter sent out two to four times a year will position your company branding as different from perhaps 90 percent of the other contractors in town. That’s an incredible advantage for not much money.

Start where you can. Your customers, company, and profits deserve the boost.

Levelized costs for each energy technology option are mostly in ranges that overlap. Costs will vary with individual projects, but it is important to note that technology advancements have closed the price gap between renewable energy and conventional power. Nuclear and solar PV are currently the most costly energy resources to develop, though recent forecasts suggest solar costs will continue to decline in coming years with the addition of new manufacturing capacity.

Source: Earth Trends Delivered

More info on the program is available through HUD: FHA PowerSaver

For more information on the NoVa Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, check out their website.

Under the new law the max a homeowner could claim on equipment is:

• $300 for a qualified central air conditioner and heat pump (HVAC and hot water equipments)
• $150 for a qualified furnace or hot water boiler
• $50 for any advanced main air circulating fan.
• $300 for Qualified hot water heaters

The new law will also increase the qualifying standards for hot water boilers, including natural gas, propane, oil furnaces, and oil boilers to 95% AFUE. The qualifying standards for natural gas furnaces and propane furnace remain at 95% AFUE.

The qualifying standard for central air conditioners and heat pumps, which were modified by the Stimulus bill in 2009, are not changed.

The major difference is the new law reinstates the lifetime credit caps of 2005. This means any homeowner who has claimed more than $500 in 25C tax credits since January 1, 2005, is disqualified from any further credits.

Another major question is whether someone can still get the $1,500 tax credit who signs a contract for work before Dec 31,2010 even if the actual work isn’t done until 2011. The work must be completed by December 31, 2010 in order to qualify for the $1,500 cap. If the qualifying improvements are completed before January 1, 2011, then you may still claim the $1,500 cap.

To read the Tax Provision of 2009 ending Dec 31, 2010, click here to be redirected to the IRS page.

To read the Original Tax Provision of 2005, click here to be redirected to the IRS page.

“This information is provided to you as a courtesy by Recurve and should not be considered tax or accounting advice. You are urged to consult an accountant or tax attorney if you wish to have certainty about your tax claims.”

$241 billion. That’s how much consumers spend each year on energy for home use. About 1 in 5 of the nation’s energy dollars is spent in homes. Energy efficiency improvements could cut this number by well over half.

90% of your time. That’s the proportion of the average American’s time spent indoors. The quality of indoor air is often worse than the air outside. Moisture and gasses from building materials are some of the many invisible sources of indoor air pollution. When done right, energy efficiency upgrades will also improve indoor air quality and make your home safer and more comfortable.

1.2 billion tons of greenhouse-gas emissions. That’s what is emitted (as carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere as a byproduct of making the energy to power U.S. homes. Every single thing done to save energy at home trims these emissions.

Did you know that the typical U.S. family spends about $1,900 a year on home utility bills? Unfortunately, a large portion of that energy is wasted. And each year, electricity generated by fossil fuels for a single home puts more carbon dioxide into the air than two average cars.

Right in your own home, you have the power to reduce energy demand, and when you reduce demand, you cut the amount of resources, like coal and gas, needed to make energy—that means you create less greenhouse gas emissions, which keeps air cleaner for all of us…and saves on your utility bills! Plus, reducing energy use increases our energy security.

Your electric bill is probably increasing, even if you still turn off the lights whenever you leave the room. The Denver Post recently reported that the price of electricity for most residences here in Colorado jumped 15 percent in the past year. Both electric rates and additional fees on electric bills are going up around the nation. However, you can potentially minimize cost spikes by carefully reading your bill, checking your consumption and comparison shopping.

Check their Work

The convenience of automatic bill pay and online banking comes with a danger. We may be less diligent about reviewing utility bills, and may even miss a major spike or an erroneous charge. Even if you don’t have to write a check, review the usage listed on your bill every month. Compare electric usage to previous months in kilowatt-hours, not dollar amounts. The actual bill may vary for the same amount of electricity depending on added fees or rate hikes, but more on that later.

The average home uses 920 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It’s fairly easy to use less than the average by switching out light bulbs, turning down the thermostat, turning off vampire appliances, etc. However, if your bill shows significantly higher consumption, either you or the electric company may have a problem.

• An unusually high bill may simply be an accounting error or a misread meter. You can double-check the electric company’s work by looking at your meter. It should be slightly higher than the meter reading at the end of your last billing period.

• If the meter and the bill match, but the usage seems unusually high, make sure the meter is working correctly. It should stop spinning when you turn off every appliance, light and gadget (though it’s easier and more foolproof to test the meter by shutting off all your breakers). If it still spins, it may either be broken or a neighbor’s circuit is inappropriately wired onto your meter. You can also ask most utility companies to test the meter for accuracy.

Shop Around

If the meter is working and the usage is reasonable, but the bill is unreasonable, you may have more options than you think. Many states have recently opened their utility markets to new competitors. Texas has a particularly robust electricity market. I found more than 20 rate plans from at least six providers for a ZIP code in Dallas.

You may still effectively have a monopoly, but the company may offer various rates. Look for long-term contract savings and low-income discounts. Also opt out of any renewable-energy premiums if your only goal is a lower electric bill.

Know Your Usage

If you are getting the best possible rates and the meter is working, faulty wiring or a faulty appliance may have cause the spike in your bill. If you switch off all the breakers and the meter stops running, test each circuit and each appliance. Unplug everything, then individually turn on breakers and plug in each item.

If the meter starts to spin with a breaker on but nothing running on that circuit, you may have faulty wiring. More likely, the meter will really get going when you turn on the air conditioner or other electricity hog. Use a watt-hour meter, such as a Kill-A-Watt, between the outlet and the appliance to check the true energy usage of your devices and appliances.

If you think you are overpaying for electricity, check the electric company’s numbers and meter, then check your wiring and appliances, and shop around if you can.

Source: Networx

The first 50 homes will receive double the incentive (normally $1,000), and the program is only open to 433 homes total.

More on the program details here.

Included are provisions limiting window incentives to $200, oil and gas furnace and boiler incentives to $150-200, and water heater and wood heating system incentives to $300. As part of the legislation, Congress tightening the specifications for oil furnaces and boilers and gas boilers to 95% efficiency, up from the 90% efficiency in current credit.

This chart shows how much energy a typical appliance uses per year and its corresponding cost based on national averages. For example, a refrigerator uses almost five times the electricity the average television uses. Visit www.energysavers.gov to learn how to calculate the electrical use of your appliances.

1. Maintaining a constant temperature

Cause: A persistent myth suggests that you can save energy by leaving the house at a comfortable 68 degrees (a widely recommended winter setting), even when you are sleeping or away at work.

The idea is that it takes more energy for the furnace to reach a comfortable temperature than to maintain that temperature.

Effect: You could miss out on significant potential energy savings by not using a programmable thermostat and adjusting the temperature overnight and during the workday.

Though the impacts of adjusting the thermostat vary based on your climate and other factors, studies show that knocking the temperature down by 10 degrees for eight hours per day can cut heating bills by 5 to 15 percent.

Sure, the furnace will cycle on for a longer period to return to the more comfortable temperature, but it will be far outweighed by hours of savings when it didn’t have to work as hard.

2. Cranking up the temperature to warm up the house

Cause: You come home in the middle of the day to a cold house. You want to warm back up to 68 ASAP, so you crank the dial up to 78 to get the furnace working harder and faster.

Effect: No time is saved in reheating the house. Most furnaces pump out heat at the same rate no matter the temperature. They just cycle on for a longer period to reach a higher temperature.

The furnace will take the same amount of time to return to 68 degrees regardless of the thermostat setting. By cranking up the thermostat, you are likely to overheat the house past 68 degrees and waste energy. Just reset the thermostat to 68, make some hot chocolate, and wait.

3. Closing off vents in unused rooms

Cause: You don’t want to waste energy heating rooms you aren’t using.

Effect: Again, this just wastes energy and makes your furnace run inefficiently because it changes the air pressure in the whole system.

Experts recommend never shutting off more than 10 percent of vents. Sealing your ducts is a more efficient way to save energy.

4. Using the fireplace

Cause: You found some free firewood on Craigslist and think you can burn up some free heating energy while enjoying a romantic fire.

Effect: While we can’t make any promises about increased romance, we can predict increased energy bills. An open fireplace flue may suck more cold air into the house than the fire can radiate into the living space.

5. Using electric room heaters

Cause: You spend most of your time in a couple of rooms, so you figure you will just heat them with space heaters.

Effect: This could lead to higher energy bills and greater fire risks. Generally, a central gas heating system is cheaper and more efficient than a set of electric room heaters. Electric heaters also can be a fire hazard.

There are exceptions. A single energy-efficient space heater in a small, well-insulated room can save energy if the central heater is switched off.

6. Switching to electric heating

Cause: Electric heaters are more efficient than fuel-based systems, so they must be cheaper and better for the environment, according to this popular idea.

Effect: In most areas, simply switching to electric heat leads to higher energy bills and a bigger carbon footprint. Your heater may be more efficient, but most U.S. homes are still linked to coal-fired power plants. These coal plants and their transmission systems are extremely inefficient.

Of course, it’s a different story if you have a large photovoltaic solar array or your utility company uses renewable energy.

7. Replacing the windows

Cause: Those big pieces of glass get so darn cold. They must be the reason your house is so drafty.

Effect: You could spend a lot of money to only take care of part of the problem. Windows must be installed properly to avoid drafts, gaps, and leaks.

Moreover, more heat is typically lost through poorly insulated walls and ceilings than through windows.

8. Replacing the furnace first

Cause: You blame high energy bills on an old, inefficient furnace.

Effect: Your energy bills will still be higher than necessary if you don’t start with cheaper, smaller upgrades to improve the energy efficiency of your home, such as caulking around windows and doors and adding insulation.

9. Upgrading to the most efficient furnace on the market

Cause: You want the sleekest, most energy-efficient furnace available because it will be the most cost effective as well.

Effect: You may end up replacing an over-sized furnace with another (albeit more efficient) over-sized furnace. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that most U.S. homes have over-sized HVAC systems.

Again, insulate and weatherize to maximize efficiency, then get the smallest system that will comfortably meet your heating needs, which will be substantially reduced. Also make sure it is professionally installed.

10. Using incandescent light bulbs for heating

Cause: Incandescent bulbs give off more heat than light, so they must be warming up the house.

Effect: It is hard to see this logic as anything but a weak excuse for holding on to the Edison bulbs rather than switching to CFL and LED lighting.

In fact, one German entrepreneur is marketing incandescent bulbs as “heat balls” to skirt EU laws against the old-style bulbs. However, I doubt he is keeping cozy this winter simply by sleeping with the lights on.

Source: Yahoo Green

A product can be theoretically green for the environment, but yet completely energy inefficient when compared to other products in its category. Bamboo flooring is a perfect example. It may be renewable and not involve clear-cutting, but it has to come on freighters from across the ocean and then be trucked or train-ed all the way to you. That’s a tremendous amount of embodied energy compared to reclaimed oak flooring that comes from a barn right up the road.

Conversely, spray polyurethane foams (SPF) are shown to be super efficient insulators, but the isocyanate chemicals they use have some of the worst offgassing of global warming potential (GWP) VOCs of almost any chemical made.

So what you’re looking for is that happy middle ground. An insulation product that is acceptably friendly to the environment while still doing a verifiable job of reducing the energy required to maintain your interior temperature.

And what’s the deal with “bio-based” insulation?
The “bio” to which they are referring is soy-based oils vs. petrochemical oil. The problem is that none of them have more than single digit percentages of soy-based oils in their contents.

Compare that with the new FTC-recommended advertising guidelines, which say to claim that your product is “bio-based” it should be AT LEAST 51% of the ingredients. Unfortunately, those guidelines are voluntary, so manufacturers are still getting away with hyping bogus quantities.

Before Cleanup: Air Out the Room

• Have people and pets leave the room, and don’t let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Cleanup Steps for Hard Surfaces

• Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Cleanup Steps for Carpeting or Rug

• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Disposal of Cleanup Materials

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.