Here are some of the energy efficiency upgrades and green improvements they made before putting it on the market:

• Vented range hood. This drastically improves indoor air quality over the previous recirculating vent
• 14+ SEER HVAC heat pump. The unit is rated up to 15.5 SEER, and has kept the utility bills much lower than the neighboring condos (even the interior units)
• Radiant barrier in the attic to keep the ducts and the home cooler
• Low-E double pane windows help keep the heat gain down - despite the extra windows that this end unit has.
• They chose a great neighborhood with a walkscore of 83 / 100 - very walkable!

It’s great to see a 1982 condo given an energy loss makeover.

Their condo is available for sale (with some jaw-dropping views thrown in for free!) - see more information at my Austin home search site.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

1. It’s not easy being green. With so much green-washing it’s hard to know what’s green, and what’s green-painted. There’s no Federal standard on the usage of “green” - it’s not like “organic” - it’s unregulated.
2. Consumers don’t know what EcoBrokers are or what they do.
3. Home owners are unaware of the rebates and subsidies they can take advantage of right now. This will allow them to enjoy cost savings, a healthy home and help them differentiate their home when they come to sell.
4. Home owners aren’t sure who to trust when it comes to improving their homes.

I’m going to address these in coming posts, so stay tuned!

I know that most of the attention and marketing that consumers receive is from new green builders, such as those building homes at Mueller. They have great products, and a great story to tell with some builders offering 5 Star AEGBP rated homes (Streetman, Saldana, Muskin, and some custom builders), 4 Star AEGBP rated homes (Standard Pacific) and 3 Star AEGBP rated homes (David Weekley, Meritage).

The builders are ahead of the curve. As more and more highly educated Austin consumers become attuned to green homes, this is going to become more important to people wanting to sell their existing homes.

On the radio show I talked about sellers who had their ECAD audit and chose to fix the problems - 80% duct leakage. The HVAC fixes cost around $700, of which they get almost $450 back as rebates and incentives. Now I can market their home as having excellent duct work - 8% leakage - which is better than the requirement for some new home builders.

The only thing I wonder is, how much would they have saved in their utility bills if they had done this a year before selling, or two years before selling? I’ll bet they would have saved more than the $250 it ended up costing them, and would have given them better air quality.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

Shade is the Enemy of the Solar Power Producer

Around 40 Mueller Austin residents are in the process of getting PV solar panels installed on their roofs.  But how do trees affect the picture?

This Statesman article chronicles the progress of the Mueller Mega-Watt project - and talks of the substantial Austin Energy rebates. One comment on the article brings up a potential future challenge - trees and shade.

The first Mueller homes were completed at the very end of 2006, so trees have not yet had chance to grow to 40 feet tall, though my Monterey Oak is growing fiercely towards that goal, and I’ve already had to rein it back.

Most home-owners in more established neighborhoods consider large shade trees a boon - a shade tree over an older roof can cut HVAC bills by up to 40% in summer. The PV panels that Mueller residents are choosing perform dual  functions:

• shading the sunniest part of the roof to reduce heat load on the home
• generating electricity to offset HVAC bills

So as the trees grow up in front of the South and West facing roof surfaces, they bring the enemy of PV panels - shade. And just a little shade can make a huge difference.

Above is an excerpt from Celestial Power’s solar proposal for the array currently on our roof. It shows that a tiny bit of shade can halve the output of the panels.

So the challenge is to keep your tree growth from interfering with the sunlight. Maybe we should get solar trees like these in Vienna!

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

Here’s my first bill!

The usage is shown above - fairly consistent with last August’s bill (for July).

The meter readings above show a clearer picture. My old meter was removed. I have a new “Net Meter” which shows the difference between my production and my usage. And I have a new “Solar Meter” which shows how much I’ve generated.
So I generated 241kWH in 18 days. This is more than Celestial Power had anticipated in their models, which is great news for me, and partly due to an assumption of the degradation of the panels over time.

Next steps: figure out how to unlandscape my yards and save on water too!

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

The homes:

• SIPS construction (modular construction means a better insulated fit and faster construction)
• Solar power for each home
• 5 star green building rating (AEGBP)
• 1800 sqft
• Priced in the $300,000s
• Solar hot water
• 3kW solar panels for each home
• On demand gas fired water heaters

The location:

The twenty homes are being built in South Austin - 78745, near the junction of Longview and Cameron Loop, about a mile South of William Cannon and Brodie.  Check out this map of Las Casas Verdes.

Schools:

The homes are currently zoned as Boone, Covington, Crockett.

The Las Casas Verdes website has details of plans on the site. Each home is custom planned, and given the SIPS construction techniques, they should be ready in three months rather than the typical four to six of a production builder.

Get in touch if you’d like to see more of Las Casas Verdes!

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

The article charts the progress in Austin’s first net zero energy community, and talks to some of the buyers who are planning to move in this summer.

The last word from the affordable program out there is that there is a substantial waiting list, though market rate homes are still available.

Buyers can enjoy a home that produces as much energy as it consumes over a year, with metal roofs, spray insulation and solar power in addition to geo-thermal HVAC.

Give me a call on 512 694 8873 for more information on what’s available at SOL Austin!

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

Texas shoppers get a break from state and local sales and use taxes on purchases of certain energy efficient products on Saturday and Sunday.

Tax exempt products include:

Certain air conditioning units, clothes washers, dishwashers and ceiling fans. Fridges under $2000 also qualify.

Programmable thermostats are also eligible for tax exemption, though Austin Energy has programs in which it gives these away for “Power Partners”.

The exemption also applies for internet sales, as long as they are for immediate shipment, and ordered this weekend. Happy Green Shopping!

Read more about the tax holiday this weekend.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

Muskin Parade Home - beautifully turf-free

The Home Builders Association of Greater Austin have their annual Parade of Homes this year in the Mueller Development.

The five homes on the Parade are all 5 star certified in the Austin Energy Green Building Program. The Cool River Custom Home is also Gold NAHB Certified and the builder has applied for Platinum LEED certification.

The homes have green features including 3.0kW solar panels, locally querried sandstone, spray foam insulation, LED lighting and North facing windows.

Four of the five homes have sod and irrigation systems at the front, though the Muskin home has xeriscaping - river rock and crushed granite.

Read more about the 2009 Parade of Homes in Austin. Tickets are $15 and the Parade starts on Saturday May 23rd at 10am. Parking is off 51st Street, just East of Berkman.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

Cashflow from Efficiency Updates

Energy Efficient FHA Loans: Here’s an article contributed by MortgageLoanPlace which explains more about Energy Efficient Mortgages, and how to borrow money when buying a brown home to make it green.

“Most likely you’ve heard of FHA loans, but did you know that using an FHA loan is one of the best ways to buy a green or energy efficient home?  The FHA has a specific program designed to help reduce pollution in the United States.  It’s appropriately titled “The FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage Program.”

This program allows homebuyers to find properties of interest and identify items that could be changed or upgraded to make the home more energy efficient.

Generally with a conventional loan these upgrades would either come out of the buyer or seller’s pocket–paid in cash.  However, the FHA Energy Efficient Mortgage Program allows homebuyers to finance these upgrades 100%.

There are some limits to the spending amount your home might be eligible for.  The upgrade cost can be 5% of the home’s value (not to exceed $8,000) or $4,000, whichever number is higher.  It may not seem like you could do much to improve the energy efficency of a home with a few thousand dollars, but look at it as an investment.

First of all, mortgage rates are at historic lows and the upgrades can be completely rolled into your home loan.  So, you’ll only pay 5-6% on the borrowed money and when that is divided over 30 years, it will equate to just $30-40 per month.

More likely than not, the upgrades you make will save more than that additional cost and then some.  With energy efficient mortgages, there’s definitely an opportunity for savvy consumers to be green and save green!”

If you’re considering buying a home that needs evergy saving upgrades, an FHA Energy Efficient Loan could be the answer.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873

EarthKind

One of the master gardeners living at the old airport in Austin recently brought this excellent resource to my attention: it’s an online course for landscaping.

“EarthKind and the Texas Master Gardeners have a free on-line training program…

The Mueller community’s focus and the EarthKind program goals are completely in synch.   EarthKind Landscaping uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum gardening and landscape enjoyment while preserving and protecting our environment.  EK Landscaping encourages: water conservation, landscaping for energy conservation, reduction of fertilizer and pesticide use and reduction of yard wastes entering landfills.”

Thanks to Janelle Dozier for pointing it out.

Garreth Wilcock is an Austin EcoBroker® with Keller Williams Realty.

Specializing in: Green Austin Real Estate and New Green Homes in Austin.

(512) 694 8873