Green Building

Winter is my favorite season, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy being cold. I appreciate a well-heated home -- and I’m definitely not alone. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the average American household spends more than $2,200 a year on energy bills, with half of it going towards heating.

Milwaukee’s newest trendy neighborhood is likely to become one of its best, and almost certainly its greenest.

Compact Fluorescent Lights, otherwise known as CFLs, have come a long way since they entered the lightbulb market a few years ago. Along with their light-emitting diode cohort (aka LEDs), they’ve become standard fare at home furnishing stores and can now be dimmed, diffused and clustered for maximum impact.

Not everyone can have a living roof, but most people can have a “green” roof fairly easily. And the great news is that improving the energy efficiency of your roof doesn’t have to be costly. Small improvements can deliver a big difference, not only to your home’s energy usage, but also to the size of your energy bill.

Energy efficiency is the easiest and least expensive way to quickly produce energy savings and reduce your home’s carbon footprint. But many homeowners are interested in taking these savings to another level by replacing grid-supplied electricity with their own power.

Power Home Remodeling Group Opens New Headquarters

Effective January 1, 2011, California, a long time energy efficiency leader, became the first state to set new energy standards for incandescent screw-base light bulbs. These new regulations are aimed at making standard incandescent bulbs more efficient.

The Environmental Protection Agency is urging schools across the nation to replace their aging light fixtures due to possible chemical leaks.

Lawns have gotten a lot of bad press lately—and not undeservedly. They use a tremendous amount of water and gasoline, and they pollute streams and other water resources with herbicide- and pesticide-laced runoff. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you feel a shiver each time you open your utility bill, your house may be too cold. More likely, however, you're paying more than you should to heat it. In either case, you can make changes now that will make your home more comfortable and save you money.