We started the process by researching the EmPower Louisiana
HERO Program- read more about the HERO Program here
. It is a rebate program for residents
and businesses in Louisiana that improve energy efficiency within their
space. The HERO Program requires an
energy audit be done before home improvements begin. We had Bruce at The Green
Home Advantage come out and do our audit.
The audit gives a ‘score’ based on how efficient your home or business
is. After we are done with all of our
improvements, we will be re-audited and given a new score. If our score improves by a certain amount, we
are eligible for rebates up to $3000 on our renovations! The audit is also a great tool to help you
understand what needs to be done to get your home to an efficient level—whether
it be big or small improvements. It also
tells you what you annual energy savings will be based on what improvements are
done.
There are a few things that we have done and will be doing to
increase efficiency:
1.
Install a tank-less hot water heater—done! We have a Rinnai tank-less hot water heater
that Bobby Greene Plumbing installed for us.
If you don’t know the advantages of going tank-less, you can read about
that here.
2. Insulating the house—in the works! We will have closed-cell insulation under the
house along the perimeter foundation wall to keep our duct work safe and sound J and the crawl space
sealed. This will be done by Roppolo Insulation. Eventually, we want to do more
insulation throughout the rest of the house, but time and budget doesn’t allow
it riiiight now. Here is a fun technical drawing Brian has done:
3.
Energy efficient HVAC system—in the works! Our good friend, Dustin Morris, from Air-Ref
will be beginning the installation of our HVAC system (central heating and air
system for those who are not building-savvy) within the next 2-3 weeks. When we bought 3311, it did not have central
heat and air; we only had window air-conditioning units and a radiator heating
system. For those technical savvy people, we will have a 3 ton split system upstairs and a 3 ton package unit downstairs. The upstairs unit will be a 17 SEER 2-stage condenser variable speed 80% furnace with digital programmable thermostat (Nest). Downstairs will have a 14 SEER package unit. How people live like that in the
heat of the summer and cold winters baffles me, but I know a lot of the
population still does it—more power to them!
4.
Installing a programmable thermostat—in the
works! When our HVAC system is
installed, we will be putting in Nest thermostats. If you haven’t heard or seen these, they are
so cool! Some of the designers/engineers
that worked for Apple broke away and formed their own company and created the
Nest—what they call a ‘learning thermostat.’
It is a great example of form and function—being both neat-o to look at,
as well as blow-your-mind intuitive.
Find out more about the Nest thermostat here.
5.
Use CFL, LED, or low voltage halogen lighting throughout the house—working
on it. This is something that anyone can
do in their home or business to help out with energy efficiency. Even though it might seem small, every little
bit helps!
6. Energy Star
appliances—in the works. More to come
on our appliances/kitchen later! You can
read about Energy Star appliances here.
