Article Category: Financial Incentives

Tom Owens: Certifying it Twice

Certifying it Twice: High-Performance Home Receives ENERGY STAR® 3 and Green Built Homes Certifications Tom Owens   Clients came to us a few years ago in search of someone who could both design and build a home that would be environmentally friendly, energy efficient and structurally durable. They had a...

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Leigha Dickens: Coulda, Would, Shoulda

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: (Flawed) Reasons People Don’t Use Green Building Certification Programs Leigha Dickens   If I had a dollar for every time a client chose not to certify their custom new home through a third-party green-building program, then I’d have more dollars than you might think. Even among clients...

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Lee Warren and Richard Freudenberger: Sustainability Simplified

Sustainability Simplified: Ten Solutions In and Around Your Home Lee Warren and Richard Freudenberger   Life is full. We understand. That’s why we made a list of sustainability solutions that are easy, fun, and hopefully doable. If you pick three to implement each year for three years, then you’ll nearly...

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Cari Barcas: Setting the Course for Clean Energy

Setting the Course for Clean Energy: Blue Horizons Project Empowers Community to Conserve Energy and Preserve Region By Cari Barcas   Resulting from a two-year collaboration between local government, business, nonprofit and environmental leaders, the Blue Horizons Project is a comprehensive hub of energy-efficiency programs to empower community members to...

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Garret K. Woodward: Filling in the Gaps

Filling in the Gaps: Energy Savers Network Helps Low-Income Homes Garret K. Woodward   It was the basketball-sized hole in the dining room window that stuck out the most for Alice Wyndham. “It was the second house we worked on. He was a veteran who had cancer. His mother had...

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Amy Musser: Heat Pump Revolution

Welcome to the Heat Pump Revolution: The Benefits of Variable-Speed Heat Pumps Amy Musser   Sometimes the green-building industry evolves quickly, with a product making a quantum leap in efficiency. This is happening in 2018 with variable-speed heat pumps. These have been on the market for a couple of years,...

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Ned Ryan Doyle: Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Advanced Metering Infrastructure: The Next Generation of Energy Metering Comes to WNC Ned Ryan Doyle   AMI, shorthand for Advanced Metering Infrastructure, is being rolled out in the Western Carolinas this year for Duke Energy customers and is projected to be completed by mid-2019. So, what is AMI? Why does...

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Ryan Miller: Following Asheville’s Lead

Following Asheville’s Lead: Growing Green Building Across the State By Ryan Miller   Alright, Asheville. As the North Carolina city with the deepest market penetration and strongest consumer demand for green building, the rest of our state looks to you for inspiration and leadership in green building.  Many of the new...

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Maggie Leslie: Retrofit your home for energy efficiency

Retrofit Your Home for Energy Efficiency Maggie Leslie   The average American family spends about $1,500 a year on utility bills, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute. This could be reduced dramatically by making a few adjustments and improvements. Some energy-saving measures are simple and inexpensive, while others more complex...

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Garret K. Woodward: Downsizing your home, upgrading your life

Downsizing your home, upgrading your life By Garret K. Woodward   It wasn’t the initial idea Josh Scala had in mind. “This is the smallest certified green built house in North Carolina,” he said. “Which was not the original plan, but as the thing started to progress, it just turned...

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