If you’re thinking about heating your garage this winter you have some research to do first. First check to see if the garage is properly insulated. Just because it’s finished with sheetrock or wood paneling doesn’t mean you’re ready for a new heater. Make a test hole in a few walls and ceiling to see if you have any or enough insulation.

            Are your overhead doors insulated? Most older doors are designed to keep the rain out not keep the heat in. Same rule applies for any windows in the garage. Next check the ceiling for insulation. If the garage ceiling isn’t insulated then walls and the overhead doors probably aren’t insulated.

If you live in the north you should have the following insulation valves.

Example. New York State.

Attic = R-49

Wall = R-18 to R-28

Slab Edge = R-8

            Before your contact a HVAC contractor think of what type of heating systems you would like. Will you be using natural gas, propane or electric heat? If it’s electric heat do you have any space on your electric breaker for another heater? If you plan ahead your contractor will adjust to your needs. When you ask for a heat load, have your insulation R valves ready.

A heat load is only as good as the information in the heat calculation. If they have to guess the will plan on little to no insulation. The less information you have for your heat load the bigger your heating system will be. The bigger the heater the more it cost.

Not every garage should be heated as is. The insulation is more important than the heater.

Go Green option.        

The Overhead Door Company has a green option for you. The “Ecobuilt” series comes with a R-7.31 insulation and is made with 88% min. recycled contents.

Saving money and thinking green is on everyone’s mind. A quick an effect way to save water is to install a low-flow aerator on your kitchen sink. It’s easy to install just twist it on to your existing faucet. It works by mixing air into the water stream to reduce water usage without affecting your water pressure. It’s a standard fixture at most hardware stores for a under $10.

A standard kitchen faucet uses 4 to 5 gallons per minute. That same faucet will drop its usage to 2 ½ gallons per minute. On average you should be saving 1 ½ to 2 ¾ gallons a day. That’s hundreds of gallons of water you’re conserving just from your $10 dollar investment.

Thinking green can be affordable if you start with the simple projects. Water conservation is a great place to start. If your water bill goes down you can put that extra money toward your next green remodeling project.

How much energy and I using? Your home is never ending consumer of energy. Unless we have an energy audit we have no ideas how will or poorly we use energy. Wasting energy isn’t just bad for the planet it can cost a ton of money. On average a good energy audit can reduce our utility bills by 30%.

So how can you find an auditor? First you can contact your utility company or you can find one online. I found a non profit company Residential Energy Services Network – resnet.us. I simply clicked the consumer information / Find a Certified Rater. Next you Select your State, then a list of RESNET Certified members pop up.

RESNET did the hard part by only listing top quality auditors. I found a few companies in my area and sent them an E-mail and I’m on my way. Most of them have a web site so I can do all my homework on what to ask for before I contact them. Some of the services one of perform are. Basic home energy audits, EPA Energy Star Homes certifications, Residential Energy Code Consulting Services, Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS), New Federal energy Tax credit certification of new homes.

If you’re planning a remodeling project think about talking to a home auditor first, it could save you money in future.

            The consumer electronic association (CEA) has a web site that show how to recycle your old cell phone, TV, computers etc. I just went on and type in my Zip code in the Find Recycling search button. In seconds my town popped up and I had 9 recycling center within 15 miles of my home.

             They give you the companies name, address, phone #, E-mail and the products they accept. Some only take computers others also take batteries and mercury thermostats. So if you have an odd electronic device just keep looking until you find a center that meets your needs.

The EPA said Americans disposed of 5.5 million pounds of electronics in 2005. Only 12.5% of the waste was recovered for recycling. This means millions of pounds of chemicals, mercury and lead and buried in the ground every year.

With the CEA web site we easy find a recycling center for our toxic junk. This is any easy way to think green.

Home Heating (the new bathroom) – If remodeling your home is costing more than you planned I bet the bathroom heating system was forgotten a long time ago. You’re new bathroom room is almost finished and you still need a bathroom heating system that works for you.

You connected to the central air system, but it’s never warm enough in the morning. The bathroom is a tricky room to deal with. If you over heat it your wasting energy on a room that’s used for only a few minutes a day. If you don’t heat it you wasted all that remodeling on a room you hate to be in.

Time is your biggest problem, how much time and money do we put into a room that’s seldom occupied. The other concern is the room’s location relative to the bedroom. Master bathrooms have to be very quiet when you’re sleeping. A cheap heater can drive you nuts if it’s cycling on and off all winter.

If you looking for an affordable solution to go with an electric convector heater. You mount it to the wall and air enters the from the bottom leaves out the top. It doesn’t have a fan so it’s completely silent. It will have its own controller so you don’t have to waste heat. Size on is easy, 10 watts per square foot is a good rule of thumb. If you have 150 sq ft room all you need is a 1500 watt heat. Just add a zero to your square footage to find your wattage.

You can now control the amount of time your heating systems is on high. In the morning you can raise the room temperature and for the other 23 hours you can lower it or shut it off. Don’t build a new room that pretty and not functional. By controlling your home heating system you can save money and energy.

Passive solar buildings sounds like a phrase from the 1970’s. Building your home with a southern exposure, an idea that goes back thousands of years. Let the sunlight work with you in the summer and winter. If your building a new home on a lot that faces south is easier said then done.  If you have the flexibility to rotate your house to a southern exposure try looking in to it.

But if you have an existing home what can you do. Think on what you can do to save energy in lighting, heating and even cooling. A option is to look at your floors on the southern side, by increasing your floors density you will be able to absorb more solar heat in the winter time. 

Roof overhangs will save on solar gains in the summer heat. During the summer the angle of the sun is much greater than the winter. A few southern exposure window awnings is a affordable trick to cut back on solar pains. With reducing solar gains you will save you energy by reducing your air conditioning load. In the winter season the sunlight comes in at a lower angle so the awnings will hot be a shading factor. The more sunlight in the winter the better, solar gains will save you money by reducing how long your heater runs.

Tinted screens is another quick money saver. They keep the sunlight out in the summer and In the winter you pull your screens out and let the sun shine it. Windows with a higher R-factor is another option to save energy. Even if you can reduce your indoor light usage with proper widow placement.

The sun isn’t going to change so try adapating your solar gains to your advantage. Going green is much tricker on existing home, but keep your options open to a green remodeling life style.

   Green building material for your green remodeling project. If you live in the country and your looking to insulate an existing shed are barn try using straw bales. Most people would have second thought about remodeling your house with straw walls. So start with a room in your barn, that you would like to heat. I your goal is to go with green building materials straw is a great renewable resource. 

   The stray bale can be built into structural wall with adding any extra wood framing. You just stack the bales and pin them in place. Cover the whole wall with a wire mesh then cover the mesh with stucco. The stucco holds everything in place plus its weather tight and sturdy.

   If you buy the straw at a near by farm you will have a very low carbon foot print. I doesn’t even matter what type of straw you buy. Wheat, oat, rye and barley will all work fine. The insulation valve is around a R-28. As an comparison a standard wall has an R Factor of R-13 to R19.

So next time you want to remodel and use green building materials look into using straw.

Think about siding your home with locally kiln bricks. Bricks are a great way to go green, for a few reasons. A brick is just baked mud its a great natural building product. Very few added chemicals with a small carbon foot print when made near your home. Try to stay away from products shipped from the other side of the country. Local bricks will match your areas decor. You should have a good selection for patterns and colors for a more update look.

The life span of brick will outlast most any other natural siding product. No painting or weather damage to worry about. With using brick you get high quality construction and great durability your on your way to a green home. Take a look around your area for a local brick product before you start your next big project.

Air leaks in your home can cost big bucks. If you have a standard new home 25% heating and cooling is leaking right out the window and roof. Think of your home as boat and the air leaks are water leaks in your hull. Every time you add another window and door you increase the holes in your boat. You can plug the leaks but its always going to have a slow leak.

Places to check for air leaks. Dryer vents are thin a aluminum ducts and leak and have little to no insulation. Doors leak air because they are designed to stop water not air. Windows are a huge savings or huge loss. They can have a low R-factor in the glass panes. The frame around the window have have some fiberglass shoved in the cracks but you should replace it with a foam insulation. This will greatly reduce your air leaks.

Chimneys leak out the flue and around the outside of the blocks, the space around the outside of the block can leak air from the top floor into the cold attic space. Same thing goes to recessed lighting. Bathroom fan vents. Kitchen fan vents out the wall or ceiling, the dampers do a minimal job when it comes to stopping air leaks.

What to do green up your space. Always look for chemically safe products, like spray foams and caulking. Any time you have a hole in the wall or ceiling check to see if its sealed off with a form or caulking. The more air leaks you stop to less energy you burn in keeping your home warm. reducing the fuel consumption is your first goal.

Green Notes: If you make your house to air tight you will have to install an air to air energy recovery ventilator. If you house has to few air leaks know you are reducing your outside air and your oxygen levels in the living spaces. But this is another topic in the near future.

    The first thing I did is walk around my basement to see how much or in my case how little insulation I have. None of my hot water pipes for my baseboard heaters are insulated. My Heater & floor joist had little to no insulation on the outside walls. My concrete basement walls and floor had no insulation. The house is over 40 years old so I doubt that the outside walls have any insulation or vapor barriers. 

So the second step for me was the MONEY. My and your budget will tell you how my insulation you will be installing. They say that most of your heat goes out the floor joist wall. Spray in foam will help with the air leaks or (infiltration) and water vapor. To save money the foam only expands out one inch for a R-5, then put a R-15 batt insulation behind the foam. R values can be added together for a total of R-20. The Johns Manville R-Value estimator show that in NH R-19 is best for state. 

If you have money for more insulation you can do insulate concrete walls you can use Insulation blankets or rigid foam board. Hot water pipes to insulate or not insulate. If you insulate your pipes you save energy on your heat bill. But you will also remove your basements heat source. Many Basements do not have a heater so your exposed hot water pipes become your heater. Your choice on what you want to do.

Green Options- All ways use formaldehyde free insulation (Go to Lowe’s for Johns Manville) fiberglass batt.  Or Natural Cotton insulation, for spray foams look for CFC Free, or you can try soy based foams.

Always what your budget and keep your eyes open for greener products.