New Site For Green Earth Equities

110920 Getting Top Dollar On Renovations

Getting Top Dollar Profitable Renovating Ideas You may have seen his presentations at ACI or the 3 part documentary on his own home in Home Energy Magazine. Larry is one who has really lived Building Science, and has since before it became popular. Like me, Larry did real estate and landlording  several decades ago and got out of it... until recently when the "Perfect Storm" of opportunity that we have today with foreclosures, lower prices and low interest got both of us to jump back into the game. Larry brings a unique blend of Home Performance to his projects. He knows he can't do everything...Continue Reading!

York Nebraska Update 110913

York Nebraska Update Ongoing Success Story Andrew and Fred who have been renovating a tri plex in York Nebraska. And now they are looking for their next project. They will be sharing about how they are getting better and better blower door numbers and how they are doing it. Also of interest will be their experience with the 26 SEER mini split.  It's a single head model, but they move some air with a Panasonic bath fan... very progressive. 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...Continue Reading!

110906 The eMonitor

The eMonitor Energy Performance Monitoring Tonight we will look at another idea who's time has come...  The eMonitor (and other similar power monitoring systems)  Isn't it time all new houses (and quality renovations) come with these systems installed? It has been proven that just knowing where we are losing money has been able to modify usage to reduce consumption by an average of 20%. This is more savings than many renovations and the cost is less than almost anything else that can be done. The good thing is that monitoring impacts customer behavior much more than mechanical equipment. GreenEarthEquities is planning to start...Continue Reading!

Home Performance: Why Do We Make It So Difficult?

Home Performance Why Do We Make It So Difficult? If you've hung around this site for a while, you've noticed some recurring "Mantras" ... the chief of which is "Keep It Simple."  We've found that Simplicity Works and Complexity Doesn't. For example, the above photo which Rogelio sent me from his phone ... of the final blower door number for our project on Homsy Ave ... it's a simple number but it's all I need to know that we are well on our way to a top performing house.    All we need to do is tag a few more bases like this and...Continue Reading!

110823 Do We Really Believe This Geen Stuff? 110823

Do We Really Believe This Stuff? 2020 and 2030 Goals Tonight we will discuss the Goals that have been set for 2020 & 2030 and take a look at how we are doing ... Are we on track to achieve them? Are the programs in line with the goals? Are the programs generating the results they promised? Hint: The answer starts with an "N" We'll look at the indicators that show that we may not be serious (enough) about these goals to come anywhere close to achieving them. Of course, that will bring us back to one sector of the Home Performance Universe that is working and is...Continue Reading!

Shaky Econoomy… Now What? 110809

Investment Strategies Turning Crises to Opportunity OK. We've had a volatile couple of weeks on the national economic scene.  It's sent shock waves thru the public so there's been a lot of profit taking and looking for safe havens for investment.  Our realtor Jennifer says some of her home buying clients are deciding to wait and rent.... But what does it mean for us, the Energy Wise Real Estate Investors?  Are the formulas that we used last year still valid?  Is this still a workable business model?  Is it a good idea?  A great idea? Or a good way to waste money?   How...Continue Reading!

110802 Energy Loading Order & What’s Most Important

Energy Loading Order & What's Most Important? Choosing What Will Your Budget Allow After Enlightenment, we have a "Menu" of Green Options that is so large (and ever expanding) ... that there is no way we can do "Everything" Tonight we will address the question of how to choose and how to best use the budget that we have. BTW that's really important... having a budget. In our business it depends on the initial purchase price, and the ARV, After Repaired Value. No matter how high our ARV or how big our Spread, we still can't do everything. So how to choose the most...Continue Reading!

TED 1000 Energy Monitor 101123

Home Monitoring System Tonight we'll talk all about residential Energy Monitors. We'll compare several options that are available today, including some disturbing info from some field testing... and then I'll show you the installation of one of the most popular monitors in a 12 minute movie that I shot while installing the TED in my new home in Virginia.   Most importantly, we'll discuss the new marketing concept that we are considering... including the monitor, installed and all set up, with the sale of the home. Remember, we're paying half the low bill for two years anyway.  Now we'll keep the account...Continue Reading!

GreenBuildingAdvisor.com 101130

Online Assets The wonderful thing about living now, in this digital age, is that anyone can learn (almost)anything that they want to. Did you know that even MIT courses are available free on the internet?   So there's no excuse for ignorance. The main challenge is to sort out the best information from the sales pitches and other distractions.  We'll be creating a list of the best websites that feature reliable unbiased information on Building Science and Home Performance.  Tonight we'll go over the mega-site that has become my favorite. It's a compilation of several blogs and sections that are definitely worth looking at....Continue Reading!

Heating Costs Calculator 101207

Fuel Choices Tuesday we will unravel the questions about which is the best fuel to heat with. Is gas cheaper than electricity? Is oil cheaper than propane? Are pellets cheaper than wood?... and on and on ... Of course the answer is,  "It depends." So we'll look at some of those variables, specifically as it applies to our renovation work.   And we'll introduce a common unit of measurement,   =   a million btu's.   Otherwise we are left trying to compare gallons to therms to cords to tons etc. We'll look briefly at the math and then go to an online calculator that...Continue Reading!