Archive for March, 2010
Designing A GREEN Kitchen
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010The following is a guest article, written by Ed Cholfin, AK President, CAPS, PMP and Kitchen and Bathroom Designer in Atlanta. For more information please see the end of the article.
We’re not talking about emerald, forest, lime, fern or olive – we’re talking GREEN! Of late, the word green has come to symbolize environmental protection and those products and procedures that are environmentally friendly. In the construction and remodeling industries, green building products and practices have become an industry of their own. A green home can mean energy efficiency, ecological benefits, health considerations and will provide long-term cost savings, comfort, and safety.
The kitchen alone is responsible for nearly half of a home’s energy consumption. Remodeling your kitchen provides a perfect opportunity to improve your homes energy efficiency as well as make it a healthier place for your family and your environment. A green kitchen is an inherently brighter and well ventilated workspace thanks to the numerous operable windows that provide light as well as heat. Another way to create healthier air in your kitchen is to choose products with low VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds.) VOC’s diminish air quality and can be hazardous to your family’s health; many cabinet manufacturers use a VOC called urea formaldehyde.
A special line of cabinetry, Nature’s Collection by Tedd Wood, has options for water-based and low VOC finishes. This line is also the highest certified green line of cabinetry available anywhere; it has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as well as the Rainforest Alliance. Ensuring the safety of the forests is also possible by choosing flooring and countertop surfaces made from sustainable resources: Bamboo, cork, wheatboard and eucalyptus as well as recycled glass and concrete make beautiful design statements in a kitchen.
Another important element is a green kitchen is storage; special sorting spaces are created for recyclables and compostables. Making space for this in the kitchen reduces your amount of household waste and the compost can help you grow your own organic herbs for cooking. Working with a professional designer who is in tune with your desire to create a green kitchen can be very helpful with this space planning! A green kitchen also has appliances which are rated for energy efficiency and have water-saving features. Did you know you can go even beyond “Energy Star?” Other things like induction cooktops, versus traditional electric radiant or gas, waste less heat and takes less time. It’s rated at 90% energy efficient versus the traditional 50-60%. Don’t forget the high-efficiency water heater in your remodeling process as it affects the kitchen water supply along with the rest of the house.
There is a lot to consider when remodeling your home; add on top of that your desire to do it green and you have even more to think about. Working with a professional design/build firm may just be a sanity saver, and will also help keep you up to date on the latest products and trends.
Ed Cholfin, AK President, CAPS, PMP and Kitchen and Bathroom Designer. “Let’s Play House Together” Visit AK’s website to learn more about Green kitchens, kitchen design and all other home renovations!
Office: 1-866-282-6231
Fax: 1-888-539-6734
Cell: 770-335-2694
Email: Ed@AKCompleteHomeRenovations.com
Visit our Website: http://www.AKatlanta.com
CA 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended!
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010Originally set to expire this very month (March 2010), Business Week Reported this morning that CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just signed an extention of the 1st time home buyers $10,000 tax credit into law.
The new law doubles the amount of money set aside for the program and applies to purchases of both new and existing homes.
Have any more information on this program? Let us know in the comments.
Here Comes the EPA: What the RRP (Lead Law) Means to You
Monday, March 22nd, 2010If you’re planning on having your house (apartment, child care facility, or school) painted, or on doing some remodeling, after April 22, 2010, then you need to be aware of the new Federal regulations that effect that renovation. Regulations that may make that renovation or repainting job cost you more than you thought it would. In some circumstances, a lot more.
The concern is the lead content in paint produced before 1978. And it is a legitimate one. While it is of no particular hazard while on the wall (unless you chew on it), sanding turns the paint into a dust which, once airborne, is breathed and, as it settles on the toys of small children and pets, is ingested. Studies have shown that children exposed to even small amounts of lead can suffer from the effects of poisoning (don’t know if any tests were performed on pets, but I would assume a similar result): Reduced IQ, learning disabilities and behavioral problems are all symptoms. Adults are also susceptible, of course, but the dosage apparently must be higher.
So bring on the Federal Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP), or “Lead Law”. Passed in 2008, it goes into effect April 22, 2010. It requires contractors renovating more than six square feet of a home built before 1978 to a) be certified by the EPA and the work crew to be trained, and b) to treat that portion of the house being renovated as a toxic materials zone, which means establishing full containment and toxic waste control measures complete with placards, testing, and record keeping. Prior to even beginning work, the contractor must provide you with a copy of this nineteen page “brochure” (booklet would be more accurate), which the contractor must make you sign for. (It contains a lot of information. I suggest you read it carefully.)
If work is being done on the outside of the building and there is another building within twenty feet, then a containment dam must be established and maintained during sanding and/or demolition. Finally, all waste must be treated, and therefore disposed of, as a hazardous material.
Having read the heavy handed language of the actual regulations promulgated by the EPA to satisfy the legislation, I see hidden costs here too. I suspect remodeling, painting, and general contractors will see their liability insurance rates begin to climb. To try and limit potential future liability, even work sites that “test clean” may be treated as contaminated—just in case. Consider: Three years after renovating that 1950s craftsman little Johnny is found to have lead poisoning. The contractor didn’t follow containment procedures because testing showed no lead in any of the paint in the renovation area. But an investigator finds a trace of lead based paint embedded in the wood fibers of one window sill. Bammo! Lawsuit, fine, and damages.
So yes, the good news is, we finally have regulations in place to deal with one of the last remaining health hazards in the home. The bad news? The chest pounding of of Congress has produced a result that is expensive and ungainly. Every State in the Union has methods and procedures in place for dealing with asbestos, and after forty years of rubbing the rough edges off, they work well. Asbestos poisoning is by in large now a thing of the past. With one paragraph Congress could have directed the States to deal with lead paint in the same way. The States probably would have simply then rolled lead paint mitigation into their existing systems at little cost to the tax payer, contractor, or customer. But that would have denied the Congressional bulls an opportunity to bray come election time.
Got an opinion about “the lead law.” Let me hear it!
List of ARRA Qualified Energy Efficiency Upgrades
Thursday, March 11th, 2010Home deadline for energy efficiency improvements tax credits under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“the stimulus package”), has been extended until December 31st 2010. The stimulus package authorizes a whopping 30% write-off on eligible improvements (up to $1,500 combined for almost all improvements—with some important exceptions). So what qualifies? Here’s a list (for more information reference URLs are at the bottom):
- Insulation, so long as it meets the 2009 IECC guidelines. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Doors and windows, including skylights and storm windows and doors. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Roofing, both metal and asphalt, so long as they’re Energy Star® qualified. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Heating and cooling (HVAC) of nearly every type, including replacement of the main air circulating fan to one that uses no more than 2% of total furnace energy use. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Water heaters with an Energy Factor greater than or equal to 0.82 or that is 90% efficient. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Heat pumps that meet Energy Star® qualifications. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Biomass Stoves (i.e. a wood burning , pellet, or “corn burning” stove) with a thermal efficiency of at least 75%. (30% credit with a $1,500 ceiling)
- Geothermal Heat Pumps that meet Energy Star® criteria. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
- Solar Hot Water Systems that are Energy Star® rated, with the restriction that 50% of the hot water generated used must be generated by the installed system. The installed system must be certified by the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC), and must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
- Photovoltaic Systems for residential use. Must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
- Residential Wind Energy Systems that have a “nameplate capacity” of not more than 100 kw. Must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, no ceiling)
- Fuel Cells for residential use. Must have an efficiency of at least 30% and a capacity of at least ½kw. Must be placed “in service” before December 31, 2016. (30% of the cost, up to $500 per ½kw of power capacity)
Visit EnergyStar.gov for complete information about the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency program. The site has FAQs on all the above programs as well as links to tax forms, IRS notices, and the Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP), an organization dedicated to making government policies such as the Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency comprehensible and accessible to us normal people.
If you need any assistance with your energy efficiency improvement project(s), don’t hesitate to contact us.
Know of an incentive program not listed above? Add it in the comments below!
