News You Can Use
Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
- www.EnergyStar.govOn October 3, 2008, President Bush signed into law the “Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.” This bill extended tax credits for energy efficient home improvements (windows, doors, roofs, insulation, HVAC, and non-solar water heaters). Tax credits for these residential products, which had expired at the end of 2007, will now be available for improvements made during 2009. However, improvements made during 2008 are not eligible for a tax credit. The bill also extended tax credits for solar energy systems and fuel cells to 2016... read more>>
Aging In Place Video
- www.CBSnews.comMore families are building their homes so that they will meet the special needs of the elderly people who will one day live in them. Byron Pitts has more... watch video>>
Green Product Demand Continues to Rise
- www.nbnnews.comWith every indication that the trend will only get stronger, more and more consumers are seeking green products, especially those that focus on energy- and water-efficiency, according to home building industry product suppliers who participated in a Jan. 21 press conference during the International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas. Representatives from Kohler Co., Marvin Windows and Doors and Whirlpool Corp. were on hand to discuss innovations that can lower home owners’ water and energy bills and also contribute to better indoor air quality. “The industry is being transformed,” said NAHB Research Center CEO Mike Luzier, who moderated the press conference. Even as green home builders find relative success in a struggling housing market, it won’t be long before sustainable building practices become the industry standard... read more>>
Green tax credits for builders and homeowners
- www.finehomebuilding.comGetting tax credits for building a green home or for giving your current home an energy upgrade is like having an extra birthday. This past October, President Bush signed H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, after it passed the Senate 74-25 and the House 263-171. The bill includes updates to federal tax credits for energy-efficient homes and those that make use of renewable energy, such as solar power. The credits were originally tied to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and then subsequently, The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008. The updated credits kick in on Jan. 1, 2009. Here's a breakdown of the credits you’re eligible for... read more>>
Questions Answered About Aging In Place
- ConsumerReports.org 11/4/2008How do you define aging-in-place design? Aging in place is about creating homes that are safe and secure but, more important, it's about creating homes that will allow someone to remain as independent as they possibly can regardless of their abilities. What's the history behind the aging-in-place movement? It goes all the way back to Franklin Roosevelt, who most people today know had polio. But at the time very few people realized he had the crippling disease. Around 1938, Roosevelt desired a retreat he could escape to from the spotlight of the White House, a smaller home where he could, in his own words, become the independent person he longed to be. As the recorded architect on the building, which he would call Top Cottage, FDR was able to specify things like zero thresholds between the doorways and lower windows, which allowed him to gaze outdoors from his wheelchair... read more>>
The Cost of Green Building
- New York Times 11/20/2008Building green costs an average of 2.5 percent more up front, a study sponsored by the US Green Building Council and other real-estate and architectural groups has found. The study, whose results were released to coincide with a major green-building conference in Boston this week, says that the premium is far less than the public believes. It surveyed about 150 buildings (mainly LEED commercial buildings, as rated by the Green Building Council, plus a few multi-unit residential buildings), and found that the median cost increase was 1.6 percent. The resulting energy efficiency and water savings — which are not counted in the initial price premium — make green building economically worthwhile... read more>>