Green Your Home, Part 1: Comparing Cost
March 4th, 2008 | Published in finances, green, remodeling, renovating | 2 Comments
Five years ago, “green” renovating meant three things: increased costs, questionable quality and searching through pages and pages of contractor listings till, eventually, you found a contractor knowledgeable about green building that didn’t also charge the moon. It wasn’t easy being green, but that was then and this is now.
Today, none of these statements ring true: green building materials have increased in quality while decreasing in cost as consumer demand for environmental products and systems keeps climbing. What’s more, environmentally responsible products save you money over the long haul because of increased efficiency and longer life spans; it may cost you slightly more upfront, but you’ll quickly earn back your investment while also upping the resale value of your home.
But don’t just take our word for it. Even Wall Street, traditionally weary of any shade of green other than the dollar bill, agrees: green building is both responsible from an ecological perspective, but also beneficial from an investor’s point of view. Investor website TheStreet.com takes a look at green building from a cost/benefit point of view.
Similarly, CNN’s Money Magazine takes a hard look at green reno costs and return on investment.
Incentives
Still not convinced green renos suit your budget? Well, perhaps the state can help change your mind. Governments across North America are trying to cut back on energy and water consumption, so it’s in their best interest to entice homeowners to go green, which means a plethora of grants, incentives and rebates. American rebates take the form of everything from tax breaks to grant programs, while the Canadian version is pushing energy audits various government rebate programs.
Up next in Part 2 of Green Your Home: the health benefits of green renovation
March 31st, 2008 at 8:58 am (#)
The financial incentives are truly there. We found a web site called DSIRE for all areas of the United States which is updated weekly-ish containing financial incentives and grants from all levels of goverment as well as local utilities. It is one of the undiscovered gems. We wrote an article about it in our blog, Daily Home Renovation Tips, which you can access at the following URL: http://dailyhomerenotips.com/2008/03/12/energy-conservation-links-dsire/
Additionally, yes in Canada there are thousands of dollars of available Federal and Provincial grant money for energy conservation related home renovation and simple energy conservation activities under the ecoENERGY Retrofit program. The program is coming up on it’s first year anniversary on April 1, 2008. We are participating and have written a series of 15 articles about the energy audit report we recieved on our home, including the charts, the EnerGuide rating our home received, recommendations and so on. We learned a ton about energy conservation products and activities for the home. You can access the page on our blog for this series of articles from this URL: http://dailyhomerenotips.com/ecoenergy/
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:53 am (#)
yes in Canada there are thousands of dollars of available Federal and Provincial grant money for energy conservation related home renovation and simple energy conservation activities under the ecoENERGY Retrofit program.
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