2010 Metro East Home Improvement Show

Goley Insulation will be showcased in booths 202 & 203 at the Metro East Home Improvement Show at the Belle Clair Fairgrounds over Valentine's Day weekend! This home show features many leading companies showcasing services and products for the home.

You can be sure energy efficiency will be a hot topic at this home show! While visiting, come talk with us about making your home more energy efficient, or the Energy Star New Homes program.

Come check us out! We'll be glad to see you!

Get more info. from the HBA

Helping Educate Towards a Green Future

On Jan 27th, Goley Insulation, along with the CertainTeed Corporation, sponsored Building Science 101, a Residential Building Science seminar which aimed at green building education. The featured speaker was Lucas Hamilton, Manager, Building Science Applications for CertainTeed Corporation. Key topics included; The Basics of Heat Flow, Moisture Flow and Air Flow, and Indoor Air Quality.

Building Science 101 was hosted by the Green Building Council of the Greater Southwest Illinois HBA. Guests came from various building trades, as well as some builders. In all, Forty-nine people attended and helped make the seminar a successful attempt at spreading the green building effort.

Goley is proud to have sponsored the event and we are thankful to our team member, Buddy Fisher, for his efforts in coordinating the seminar. Buddy is a founding member of the Green Building Council and currently holds the Education Director position on that board.

If you are interested in green building or getting additional information about the Green Building Council please contact Buddy Fisher at our office.

The Whole-House Approach

Theory and practices are changing. In the past, when building a home, insulation was one component of a number of things to consider. For the most part, one could view these components of a home as separate pieces of a whole, the heating and cooling system, windows, insulation, the ventilation system, etc. Each piece is needed in order for the home to run properly, and is considered as the building progresses to that particular stage.

Recently, there has been a shift in the way we view certain stages of home building. Constant evolution brings constant change, and while consumers are evolving towards energy conservation due to rising utility costs and concern for the environment, it is important for us to offer a solution to both challenges.

Goley Insulation has partnered with Energy Star for the Act on Energy program with the goal of helping builders offer home buyers Energy Star New Homes. These homes are built with energy savings in mind from planning to completion. Energy Star New Home Builders view the home as a system in which the windows, insulation, ventilation, and HVAC system work together to create a whole house system that uses energy more efficiently.

By considering the building envelope and focusing on air sealing and properly insulating that envelope to reduce air infiltration, builders can then focus on installing energy efficient windows, a properly sized HVAC system, a fitting ventilation system, and other Energy Star appliances or features. Working together as a system, all these things will create an energy efficient home that uses less energy, costs less to heat and cool, promotes superior indoor air quality, provides better resale value, and gives buyers the piece of mind of an EPA backed home.

For more information on the Energy Star New Home, or for a list of builders who build Energy Star New Homes, please visit: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=new_homes.hm_index

LEED & Lexus = Green

Dave Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis has taken the initiative to build green and promote green living. Goley Insulation had the pleasure of insulating the new $16 million dollar LEED Certified Lexus Dealership in Manchester, Missouri.

LEED = Leadership in Energy & Environment Design and was developed by the US Green Building Council. LEED is an internationally recognized third-party verification system that can certify a building was designed & built to improve performance in areas such as energy savings, CO2 emmisions, and others.

Designed to benefit both people and the environment, the Lexus dealership took on the challange and met the criteria set forth by the US Green Building Council to become LEED Certified. "During construction, 95 percent of our waste was diverted from local landfills," stated Lisa Chaney, Lexus customer relations manager. Besides this huge accomplishment, the building includes many green features:

• A car wash that uses 40 percent less water than non-LEED equivalents
• Motion-sensor lighting that turns off when the room is vacant
• Solar glass to reduce indoor temperature swings
• A reflective roof to reduce heating and cooling costs
• An employee lunch room floor made from recycled tires.
  

Goley Insulation applauds Dave Mungenast Lexus of St. Louis for their participation in a collective effort to help move the world forward toward a new, green way of life. The impact of a decision to build and live green will far outlive the initial benefactor.

Home Energy Savings - Winter

We all want to save energy and money no matter what season we're in, but winter can be a crucial time for your utility bill. Will we have a forgiving winter with warmer than usual temperatures and minimal snow fall, or, will the next few months bring heavy snow, stinging winds, and a cold bite that hurries you into warmer temperatures?

In either case, you will want to make sure your home is ready. With some easy home improvements and do-it-yourself tips, you can have a cozy winter and help ease those spikes in your utility bill.

Why should I build an Energy Star Qualified new home?

You make so many decisions when it comes to building your home, but have you made the decision to build an Energy Star qualified new home? Energy Star qualified new homes come with long-term benefits and a big impact for the homeowner, yet, the Energy Star conversation is one that is not always had with the builder or contractor.

Reasons to make sure your new home is Energy Star qualified:
1) Added Confidence: your home will meet strict energy efficiency guidelines
2) Lower Ownership Cost: "Compared with standard homes, Energy Star qualified homes use substatnially less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating - delivering $200 to $400 in annual savings." (taken from Energy Star website).
3) Better Performance: better protection against cold, heat, drafts, moisture, pollution, & noise
4) Smart Investment: increased resale position
5) Environmental Protection: less energy use = less pollution and waste for our environment

In order for your home to earn the Energy Star, (a government backed symbol), it must meet guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Doing this typically makes homes 20-30% more efficient than standard homes.

To become Energy Star qualified, your home can include a variety of these energy efficient features:
1) Effective Insulation: properly installed in the floors, walls, and attics
2) High-Performance Windows: keep heat in during winter & out during summer
3) Tight Construction Ducts: sealing the holes and crack's in the home's "envelope" & in heating & cooling ducts
4) Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment: less energy to operate, quieter, and reduce indoor humidity
5) Efficient Products: use Energy Star qualified products such as lighting fixtures, appliances, and flourescent bulbs
6) Third-Party Verification: Use a HERS rater to conduct onsite testing & inspection to verify the energy efficiency measures.

Goley Insulation can help you & your builder with many aspects of these energy features you need to meet Energy Star guidelines. Effective insulation, air sealing the building envelope, and third-party verification are services we offer to help you Earn the Energy Star qualification and become more comfortable in your home while saving money.

Ask your builder for an Energy Star Qualified home, a decision with returns that will be evident in savings and the environment.

Energy%20Star%20new%20home%20brochure.pdf

Clear as mud

For some of us, the vocabulary of the building world may be somewhat foreign. I am building this blog entry around a few words who's definitions may be unclear, or concepts may not be fully understood.

Building Envelope - This is the perimeter of the home that contains the foundation, walls, ceiling, windows, and doors. It contains the areas of your home that need to be conditioned for comfortable living. The building envelope is the protective layer between your home and the outside.

Retrofit - To modify something, such as a building, by adding new parts. Retrofitting your home with new insulation means to put insulation where there was no insulation before, such as exterior walls, or to put additional insulation over top of the insulation that is already there, such as in attic spaces.

Vapor Barrier - Materials, (often plastic sheets or treated papers), that restricts the movement of water vapor through the building envelope. A Kraft faced fiberglass batt has a paper vapor barrier attached to it.

Please feel free to comment on any of the above, or let me know if you have specific questions that you would like answers to. I have posted helpful photos on our Flickr page to illustrate this entry.