If we are ever going to replace our single-pane glass windows, or insulate our 70 year old house, 2009 seems to be the year.  The government is offering a substantial tax credit for energy saving repairs/remodels, such as windows and insulation. Products that qualify make you eligible for a tax credit of 30% of the purchase price up to $1500.  So we made the decision to go ahead with it.  After all, what could be easier, or more green, than saving energy by installing better windows and insulating the house?  It turned out to be a bit more complicated.

I began researching several brands of windows in early May.   Then I went to the local big box stores.  “Go home and measure your windows,” they said.  That stopped me.  We are novices at this.  “How do I do that?” I asked. “Take the framing off the windows and measure the rough openings.”  They were nice enough to take me to a model and show me exactly what the rough opening looked look.  “Okay,” I said.  Then I got home and said to my husband, “you mean to tell me that we have to take all the framing off of each window that is a different size?”  Our walls are plaster.  I could imagine the mess.

I went to O.D. Greene in Adams because they carried Marvin windows, which I had decided to buy.  I explained the dilemma about measurements.  They were terrific.  First they patiently gave me a short course in window sizes, standard measurements, and what happens when your windows aren’t standard sizes.  “Call your contractor. He will come out and measure your windows.  Then come back in with the sizes and we will find the windows that come the closest to those sizes.”

I had called a contractor three weeks previously.  I hadn’t heard back.  May is not the ideal time to secure a contractor for a project to be done before winter.  The best ones have probably been booked since last year.  Hope springs eternal however, and I called again.  A couple of days later he returned the call and a week later arrived at the house.  He took the framing off of one window to see the distance between the window and the rough opening and then estimated the sizes on the rest of the windows.  Back I went to the store and put in the order.  The windows arrived three weeks later and are now waiting in our garage for our contractor to find time to install them. 

The nice thing about using the government guidelines for windows is that they have to meet energy efficient standards.  The difficulty is in understanding exactly which windows qualify.  I discovered that the government does not specify this, but has left it up to the individual manufacturers to interpret the government specifications for their products.  Marvin was great, as was the manager at O.D. Greene’s in helping me to find out that my windows did qualify.  Also, I was told that for the tax credit I needed to keep the NFRC stickers that come with the windows.  Even with meeting government standards, I could have done better.  I learned through further research that I could have chosen low-SHGC (solar heat gain coefficients) windows for the west walls to reduce heat in the summer, and high-SHGC for the south facing windows to maximize heat gain in the winter.  Still our new windows will be a great improvement on energy efficiency.

Windows solved, now on to insulation.  I told my contractor I wanted to use a “green” insulation.  “Blue jeans,” he said.  I had visions of using up all of our old tattered jeans, but there wouldn’t be nearly enough. Did I have to start haunting thrift shops?  Upon further investigation it turned out that blue jeans are only one of many possibilities. 

The basic purpose of insulation is to slow the heat transfer between hot and cold areas, say between your living spaces and your attic. How well insulation slows the heat transfer, or it’s thermal resistance, is measured by the R-value.  The higher the R-value, the better the thermal resistance.  The type of insulation you choose depends in part on where you are insulating, walls, attics, floors, etc.  When looking for green options you want insulation that will provide good indoor air quality, prevent air leakage, utilize recycled content, and minimize environmental impact, both during production and during installation.  I’m still researching this one and will report later on our decision.

The following are some possibilities:

-Formaldehyde-free, Recycled-content Fiberglass.

-Mineral/Rock Wool insulation.

-Cellulose insulation.

-Bio-based insulation.

-Cotton (yep, blue jeans).

The U.S. Department of Energy offers a Zip Code Insulation Calculator at http://www.ornl.gov/~roofs/Zip/ZipHome.html to help you determine the most economic insulation level for your home.

How is this green? 

In 1993 a government study found that 39.64 billion dollars were spent and 5.32 quadrillion Btu’s were expended that year by U.S. households simply trying to stay warm.  (“Residential Energy Consumption Survey, Home Energy Uses and Costs.”  Energy Information Administration).  Anything we can do to make our homes more energy efficient will reduce the amount of resources utilized. 

Your turn: What has been your experience with green remodeling projects?

Resources and Inspirations:

“Green Remodeling: Changing the World One Room at a Time,” by David Johnston and Kim Master.  This is a very readable book, especially for the novice remodeler, written by Johnston, a green building contractor and consultant, named one of the top 50 remodelers in the U.S. in l990.

“The Lazy Environmentalist on a Budget,” by Josh Dorfman.  This book provides a great list of suppliers of green products.

www.energystar.gov

Next week:  Scorecard – first three months.