Added Value ScreenCast

Explore all the added value features G.E.A.R. members are enjoying!

GEE’s invested  decades, developing and  refining  the expertise necessary  for  successful  energy  wise house flipping,  providing  an  array of free educational  services  to our  many Green Building partners.

While continuing our commitment to provide free information, growing requests for in depth training has lead to our offering an added  value service,  G.E.A.R. (Green Earth Alliance of Renovators). Constantly developing in content,  this  subscription membership is available for a  $29  monthly  fee or  $299 annually for greater savings.

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Dry Climate Home Performance

Flexibility is one of the benefits of working on your own projects so we’re flexing and changing the plan for this Tuesday’s Webinar. I made a last minute decision to attend the Forum On Dry Climate Home Performance in Irvine this week.  The focus of this year’s event is working toward Net Zero Energy homes. What is working? How well does it work?  How difficult is it?

The organizers have been very specific. We want to hear real data from real projects as opposed to modeling and projections from Manual J, EnergyPro, or any other instrument. This theme of the conference matches so exactly what we believe here at GreenEarthEquities I decided I just shouldn’t miss it.

So I’m in an airplane, somewhere over New Mexico as I write this and I’ll broadcast live from the Forum on Tuesday. I’ll interview some of the “Rock Stars” of Home Performance. At 6PM we’ll be winding down after the second day of gorging on hard core Home Performance data. Hopefully everyone will be relaxed and excited at the same time. This is the kind of stuff worth getting up early and staying up late for!

You may be wondering just what does a Home Performance Rock Star do on a Saturday afternoon?  I called Rick Chitwood to let him know I was coming. He was in the middle of a duct blaster test.  And I had just completed our (almost) final Blower Door test on our Virginia Lab House.  “Normal” people just wouldn’t understand.

Whereas a Fender guitar and a microphone are the tools of the trade of a Pop Culture Rock Star, the Home Performance Rock Stars use the Blower Door, Duct Blaster, InfraRed Camera, and a few more.   The key is to really use them and interpret the data into a Home Performance Plan that really delivers the desired results: Low Utility Bills, approaching zero, along with Comfort and Safety. That’s what this forum is about and what we’ll talk about on the Tuesday Webinar. Click on and help me interview the Rock Stars!

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.

Added Value and Registration Process

Over a year in the making,  GreenEarthEquities is ready to launch its 2012 Added Value Membership Service! GEE’s invested decades, developing and refining the expertise necessary for successful energy wise house flipping. For years we provided an array of free educational services to our many green building partners.

As part of our completely redesigned website we’ve added hundreds of hours of webinars and training videos and continue to upload value packed information.  We’re excited to debut this new and improved site to better share decades of our expertise and provide a user friendly forum for a growing number of interested and concerned green building and industry partners.

In response to the growing requests for in-depth training in this important industry G.E.A.R. (Green Earth Alliance of Renovators) has been specially designed to assist Builders, Investors and Buyers  enjoy the many benefits and rewards of green residential remodeling. For a low monthly fee you’ll receive unrestricted access to:

• Blogs and Insightful Articles
• Webinars and Training Videos
• Personal Consultation
• Field Trip Access
• Online Boot Camps

Join us this Tuesday at 6PM (PT) and see how easy it is join G.E.A.R. We’ll have a look at all we presently offer and be taking your suggestions as to how we can be of further service.

Looking forward to working with and for you as together we help Save the Planet, One Foreclosed House at a Time..

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.

cfm50 Readings & ASHRAE 62.2

That’s the challenge I gave the crew at the beginning of the project.   On 13 Cedar, you may remember, we started out at 8000 cfm50 on that leaky old balloon framed farm house.   Kevin and Dave at IBACOS would like 422 cfm50… the same goal we had on the Homsy house in Fresno.  We exceeded that goal with some heroic shell sealing by Rogelio and the California Crew… but that was a stucco house on a slab… so a lot easier to reach the numbers.

I told the Virginia Crew that we absolutely must reach 1000cfm50 on the 1700 foot two story home,  but that we really want 422 or as close as we can get to it. A couple of days ago we had already met our 1000 goal.  I’m going over to the house right now to test again.  I’ll have the results for you tonight. And we’ll discuss what the ingredients are to getting those results.  And of course there is always the question of where do you stop from an economic perspective? Some savings may just be  too expensive to get.

Fortunately, we are not locked in to a homeowners budget when we work on foreclosed homes that we own … so we usually go further than most Home Performance Contractors on the “Journey Toward Tightness” We always, for example, tighten to where we need “Ventilation on Purpose.”   Officially that is determined by ASHRAE 62.2. We’ll demonstrate that tonight, but also show our rule of thumb that will keep the canaries alive in the coal mine…

If you see insulation in my hair tonight, you’ll know it was from collecting fresh data!

See you tonight

Dave Robinson
(Lover of Cellulose Insulation, with a great new machine to maximize that Dense Pack)

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.

955 W Euclid, Clovis CA 93612

Greetings Planetsavers
Last week’s Field Trip to 955 Euclid was a real eye opener. I hadn’t expected that we would find a real deal to buy but that may have been what happened. We have submitted an offer on the property based on our inspection and the comps provided by Jennifer.  The group had a lot of good suggestions and we focused on a new strategy which will:

• Still do all of the Energy Package.
• Include a reduced Wow! and Done Package
• Use rental and refi as an exit strategy
• Provide significant positive cash flow
• Ride the appreciation curve for 3 to 6 years.
• Partner with private investors, saving significant transaction fees

Tonight we will discuss 955 Euclid, in Clovis, CA (google it beforehand) as an example of the investment opportunity available to investors right now while

• Rents are high
• Returns on other investments are low and unsure
• Bank lending is for Solid Gold customers only and even then very difficult.

Check in to the webinar tonight and see how GreenEarthEquities plans to stay “on mission” saving the planet one house at a time… now that flipping a fully renovated, fully green home will no longer make appraisal.

See you at 6 Pacific Time, Dave Robinson

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.

4404 N. Eddy Fresno CA Part 2

This video is offered as part of GEE’s eMonitor Program.  Part 2 provides step by step training on electrical panel labeling, eMonitor installation,  circuit breaker – channel selection and wiring as well as using the website interface.

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4404 N. Eddy Fresno CA Part 1

This video is offered as part of GEE’s eMonitor Program.  Part 1 provides step by step training on the preliminaries necessary for installation.  From reviewing shipped contents and connection options to mounting a weather proof box (should you choose exterior placement) and electrical panel circuit identification.

Click here to view the embedded video.

440 N. Eddy Fresno CA 93727

On tonight’s webinar we will demonstrate the installation of the eMonitor in Rogelio’s home.  The eMonitor is arguably the best of the “circuit by circuit” monitors available today.  Studies have found savings of 10 to 30% just from having good feedback about energy usage.  Most people are surprised to find out exactly where their electricity is going. Sometimes when we know how much something is costing, we decide we don’t need it that much.  Typical of these surprises are that extra (old) refrigerator in the garage, and various electronics in the home office and entertainment center.

Tonight we’ll install a 12 channel unit which will connect to the Internet with an Ethernet cable.  In a subsequent chapter we’ll connect with a “bridge” wireless gaming router and also another application which will monitor 24 channels. There is a real need for good Home Performance Data.

We’ll be installing these units on all of our houses in the future as well as our existing inventory and our own personal homes.   We’ve negotiated favorable pricing for the eMonitor for those who would like to participate and contribute data as they install Home Performance measures on their homes.   A blog page will be provided for each participant to record the anecdotal experience of living in the home as it gets more and more energy efficient.  Tune in tonight and help us design an efficient Data Gathering Program.

Tomorrow’s Field Trip: Wednesday January 4th  we will have a Field Trip of finished homes in Fresno and Clovis.   We will see the monitored Lab House,   The recently completed home on San Madelle and Rogelio’s completed home with the E-Monitor installation.   After lunch, Jennifer will show us the best candidate (s) for our next purchase.  We’ll tour the home and estimate the costs of renovation and discuss the new exit strategies. Please RSVP as Brenda is preparing awesome Mexican Food. Meet at the 5666 N Blackstone Fresno CA McDonalds at 10:00 AM.  We will journey to 1205 E San Madelle, then to 440 N Homsy (DOE-IBACOS project).

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.

440 N. Homsy & 1207 E. San Madele

About the Photo:  My nieces got politically incorrect and put this still life statement together with some friends.  The police called… the paper and it was on the front of the San Diego Union.  Way to go girls!

I’m back in Fresno, getting ready for family reunion over New Years.  I’m going to tour two of our recently finished homes, including our Department of Energy test house located at 440 Homsy.   From there I’ll meet with Jennifer to evaluate the San Madelle property. I’ll have new photos and comments about both houses on the Tuesday Webinar.

We’ll evaluate:

• What we did right

• What could have been better

• Where we may have over spent

• How the market has changed and how that impacts these issues

What we would do different if we were starting this project now
Also we’ll share our exit strategy thoughts and compare several options.

Looking forward to seeing you on the Webinar, Dave Robinson

PS: Next Wednesday, Jan 5th, 2012 I’ll be leading a Field Trip which will include one of these houses, another completed home and the “next suspect” for purchase.  We’ll also unveil our first new initiative for 2012… a practical home performance data gathering project based on real people installing real Home Performance in their homes and reporting real results thru the e-Monitor. You’ll see an e-Monitor installation and the computerized reporting interface.

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.

Energy Wise Appraisal Strategies

In order to not wind up stressed out over bad appraisals like the guy in the photo, we’ll discuss survival tips with the most Home Performance Savvy Appraiser I know.  We’ve been saying (and experiencing) that the market for deep energy retrofits along with nice remodeling has changed and become a hostile environment for this type of foreclosure renovation.  One of the primary sources of the hostility toward progress is the Bankers and Appraisals who don’t understand and therefore don’t give value to the primary work that we do.

Tonight we will interview one of the only fully  BPI certified Appraisers in the country.   Debra Little has paid her dues to learn the Home Performance Industry and is now teaching it for PG&E.  Scott Jura will also add knowledge of the local neighborhoods as we evaluate a recent appraisal received by GreenEarthEquities.   Several “green” Realtors will also add their insights.

We will review the Appraisal Institutes: Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum (click link to preview) as well as discuss how to present your property to the banks and how to “demand” an energy knowledgeable appraiser for your project… and how to communicate with that appraiser once they are assigned.

Click here to watch a streaming version of this webinar.

To download this Webex presentation click here.  To watch this audio/video presentation you’ll need to install the FREE Webex .ARF Player for either Windows or Mac.