Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf1038\cocoasubrtf250 {\fonttbl\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Helvetica;}
{\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;} \margl1440\margr1440\vieww10820\viewh10800\viewkind0
\pard\tx720\tx1440\tx2160\tx2880\tx3600\tx4320\tx5040\tx5760\tx6480\tx7200\tx7920\tx8640\ql\qnatural\pardirnatural
\f0\fs24 \cf0 This stuff looks and smells like saving money. They say an eco-friendly
house can't be built in 150 days for $150,000, and I say it can. I'm Allen Smith, join me
as I push the limits with time, budget and creativity with the Garden Home Challenge,
exclusively on eHow Home. It's just amazing how this house feels with the insulation almost
completely done. We got a little bit of an area up here that I just want to show you.
Because, you know, energy efficiency is so important, and here you can get a real sense
of just how thick this insulation is. It's really quite extraordinary. They spray this
on and it foams out and builds out, and they'll cut this off because here we're going to have
a finish board that'll come across the ceiling and then back down. So that's why this is
cut. So, the point is we're trying to get as much of an R-Value as we possibly can with
all the insulation, and the envelope that surrounds this entire house. We've also done
this with our windows and our doors. We've made sure they're all Energy Star rated so
we can get that maximum energy efficiency from these. Because here's the deal, if you
take and you look at your expenses, the cost of utilities in a year, if you break it down,
just a few interesting things: ten percent of your utilities your spending on lighting,
the energy to power lights. Fifty percent goes to heating and cooling. So it was really
important to me that we focus on areas that impact that number. So, we've done everything
we can with insulation, windows and doors. And when it comes to the heating and cooling
system, we're doing these mini-splits. And that allows us to really cut the cost of our
energy consumption by up to twenty-five percent. So let's say the average cost for your utilities
is $4,200, per year. What this system can do is save up to $1,000 a year in the cost
of utilities, which over ten years is 10,000 bucks. So in ten years you virtually have
the system paid for. The reason this system is so efficient with energy is that you're
really only heating and cooling the spaces you're living in. Why would you want heat
and cool this whole upstairs if, you know, you were just mainly living downstairs. So
by having it zoned very comfortably, you're saving money. Actually, you're making money
while you sleep. Hey, if you're enjoying these updates on the house, check-in regularly and
subscribe to eHow Home. }