Black Mountain Custom Builder saves Water to save more Energy and reduce Carbon

Whenever we reduce water use, we also save energy. In fact, several of the most cost-effective energy saving strategies, projects with the quickest payback, are water conservation improvements that reduce hot water use. If you are on municipal water and sewer, water consumption is also responsible for significant energy use. It takes energy to pump water from reservoirs or wells, and to filter and purify that water. It takes even more energy to treat waste water in sewage treatment plants. In fact, for many municipalities, waste water treatment is the single largest energy expense. As an Asheville NC Builder in Black Mountain we believe in educating clients on energy saving techniques available in new home construction.

While we pay a little bit for every gallon of water we use, we pay a lot more when it is hot water we are using. In a typical American home, water heating accounts for about 12% of total energy use, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, more than lighting, half-again as much as refrigeration, and about the same as air conditioning. That is a significant amount of energy. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to reduce our hot water use. A few of these are; 1) Install low-flow shower heads, 2) Install low-flow faucet aerators, 3) Repair leaky faucets or shower heads promptly, 4) Insulate hot water pipes, 5) Replace your clothes washer with a horizontal-axis, 6) Energy Star model, and 7) Replace your dishwasher with a top efficiency, Energy Star model. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning Asheville NC Builder in Black Mountain that has been building fine custom homes for over twenty years. Visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about energy conservation building ideas.

Black Mountain Custom Builder uses Recycled Glass Counters in his Green Homes

Recycled glass offers a great alternative to the non-renewable virgin granite that has been so popular for the past decade. Not only can you choose your colors or color combinations, but you can have a tough, smooth, easy-to-care-for surface that doesn't need the fussing and care demanded by stone counter tops. Some companies even offer a Certificate of Transformation that tells you exactly what kinds of glass were used to make your unique counter top. Many of the glass sources have fascinating stories behind them so your counter top comes replete with history! As an award winning Asheville NC Custom Builder in black mountain we love installing recycled, green products in our fine custom homes.

Now you can be on the cutting edge of fashion, have useful, low-maintenance surfaces, help the planet recycle waste, and have the most beautiful counter tops in your neighborhood. One result of the greening of America is recycling glass like it has never been recycled before. Imagine taking traffic light glass, broken colored bottle glass, window glass -- all kinds of glass that was never recycled before -- and fusing it into glamorous counter tops for the kitchen! Advantage Development Co. has been an Asheville NC Custom Builder in black mountain since 1990 and has won the parade of homes every time that we entered. Visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about us and why we build great homes.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes Radiant Heat in New, energy efficient homes

Unlike most traditional home heating systems, radiant floor heat does not rely on ducted forced air to spread heat through a room. Radiant heat transfer occurs when elements within the floor itself are heated, circulating rising heat from the floor surface around the rest of the room in a process called convection. The floor can be heated in several ways: via air, electricity, or water. Home radiant floor heat systems are typically of either electric or hydronic design. The first of these can be installed as a separate layer, but electric systems most often use electric cables set in concrete because of its thick, heat-conductive texture that can store and radiate heat for hours after the initial heating process.

The hydronic or liquid systems utilize a boiler that heats water, which is then pumped through tubes in the floor or under the finished floor. The hydronic system is by far the most energy efficient and will typically cost somewhere between $10-$15 per square foot of installed area depending on sub floor material as well as finished floor materials used. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning custom black mountain green home builder in Asheville NC that has been building fine custom homes and winning awards for two decades now. Visit us today at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more.

Black Mountain Custom Builder shares on Advanced Framing Techniques

Advanced house framing, sometimes called Optimum Value Engineering (OVE), refers to a variety of techniques designed to reduce the amount of lumber used and waste generated in the construction of a wood-framed house. These techniques also improve a home's energy efficiency. Advanced framing techniques create a structurally sound home with lower material and labor costs than a conventionally framed house. Additional construction cost savings result from reduced waste disposal, which also helps the environment.

Advanced framing actually replaces lumber with insulation material and maximizes the wall that's insulated, which improves the whole-wall thermal resistance or R-value. Some examples of advanced framing would be 2 x 6 walls on 24 inch centers, finger jointed stud use, t corners, single top plates and reduced headers on interior non load bearing walls. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning custom black mountain green builder in Asheville NC that has been employing Optimal Value Engineering in homes for years as a means to reduce energy usage. Visit our website to learn more about us http://www.advdevco.com/ and why we win awards.

Black Mountain Custom Builder likes Spray Foam to Better Insulate Homes and Seal them Tighter

There are a variety of insulation options but some are much greener than others. If you are concerned with your home using renewable, energy efficient materials, then using a foam insulation spray could be your solution. In addition to other benefits you get from using a foam insulator in your home or business, the product is also environmentally friendly. It is made up mainly of renewable resources and the means of application is Earth friendly. It is free of ozone depleting components, and the application solution is water based. Not only is spray foam insulation green, it is versatile. It functions well as a barrier to airborne sound and comes with one of the highest fire resistances available in similar products. Pest and rodents will not do any damage because the insulator has no nutritional value to them. It is water resistant, and flexible enough to allow some movement of the building structure. Finally, it produces no toxic vapors after it is applied. You can even rent or buy the equipment and install it yourself.With concerns about the environment on everyones mind, it helps that you can find products to help in your conservation efforts.

You can get greener cars, recycle your trash and electronics, and buy energy efficient appliances. Why not make your home or business part of the solution? Renewable resources benefit all of us. The best thing about spray foam insulation is that you can put it anywhere. It doesn't matter if you're starting fresh on your building, or replacing worn out or useless materials. The spray foam can be applied to existing structures with the same effectiveness it has on new structures. If going green is a priority for your house or office, applying spray foam insulation is another way to help your environment. Advantage Development Co. is an award winning black mountain green custom builder in Asheville NC that uses Eco friendly spray foam insulation for its high performance characteristics and its green heritage. Visit us today at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about who we are.

Black Mountain Custom Builder shares on Blown Cellulose as a Green Product that Really Performs

Insulation is our number-one line of defense against high heating costs, and my favorite type of insulation is cellulose. Along with its effectiveness at slowing heat flow, cellulose insulation is a green product, made mostly out of an abundant waste product: old newspaper. Most cellulose insulation is manufactured by first chopping recycled newspaper into small pieces, about an inch square. In an older process, this chopped newspaper is further shredded using a hammer mill so that the smallest pieces are about a quarter-inch across. In most newer cellulose insulation plants, the chopped newspaper is fibered, a process that separates the individual fibers, producing a lower-density material, 1.3 to 1.5 pounds per cubic foot. The lower the density, the more insulating value you get for a pound of insulation.Cellulose insulation provides R-3.2 to R-3.8 per inch, depending on how it is installed. With the wall insulation options described, the value will be at the higher end of that range. Most fiberglass does not insulate as well, because air can circulate through it more easily.

This is also the reason that cellulose is actually better than fiberglass at stopping fires, as surprising as that sounds. From an environmental standpoint, it is a big bonus that cellulose insulation is made mostly from recycled newspaper, one of the largest components of our solid waste stream. Cellulose insulation makes sense on many levels: it saves fuel, saves money, and provides an end use for recycling programs. Advantage Development Co. Is a award winning black mountain custom green builder in Asheville NC and is a big believer in Blown Cellulose Insulation for higher performance, more energy efficient homes. Visit our website at http://www.advdevco.com/ to learn more about us.

Black Mountain Custom Builder shares on Energy Star Refrigerators and More

In a typical home, the refrigerator accounts for about 8% of the total annual energy expense, according to 2005 data from the U.S. Department of Energy. While this energy consumption for food storage is significant, it’s far less than it was a few decades ago. In the mid-1970s, an average new refrigerator used about 1,800 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, making it the single most expensive energy load in many homes. The maximum electricity consumption for a typical 19-cubic-foot top-freezer model works out to about 500 kWh/year. With side-by-side refrigerator-freezers that maximum consumption is a lot higher. Energy Star refrigerators use at least 20% less energy than the federal limit. Both the federal energy performance standards and Energy Star requirements have been tightened periodically since those programs were first launched.

So, if you have an old fridge, chances are pretty good that it’s an energy hog and you could save a lot of energy by replacing it. To find out how much electricity your existing fridge is using, buy or borrow an electricity monitor, plug your fridge into it for a week or two, then calculate the annual usage. When building a new home, buyers should closely look at the Energy Star ratings on all appliances and products going into that new home for maximum lifetime energy savings. Advantage Development Co. Is an award winning custom green builder in Asheville NC building fine homes for two decades. John Green, the company co-owner understands energy conservation as he is a degreed engineer and worked extensively with the U.S. Department of Energy on many cutting edge projects and has many case studies published. Come visit us at http://www.advdevco.com/ and learn more about us.