Cool Houses Austin » Green Living Austin

Home Depot’s Do-It-Herself Workshops

admin — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:22:17 +0000

Hey want to attend a really cool workshop and learn about how to make your outdoor area a very cool and beautiful oasis this spring and summer? Well, check out the workshops that Home Depot offers to “women- do- it- herselfers! This Thursday night at 7 pm, at Austin area Home Depot stores, they will be teaching about outdoor plants in the Central Texas area, organic gardening, and much more: From their site:

Yard and Garden Maintenance

This month, our FREE Do-It-Herself workshop focuses on your outdoor space. Join women in your community as you learn all the skills you need to unlock your creativity while you grow and maintain a yard that reflects your style.

Workshop Highlights:

Effective watering and fertilizing techniques
Creating colorful accents with containers and baskets
Go organic and grow your own vegetables

Thursday, May 14, 2009 from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Nation’s Largest Solar Panel Array Coming to Austin

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:10:36 +0000

The Austin City Council voted unanimously on March 5 to contract with San Fransico based Gemini Solar Development Company to produce up to 30 MW of sloar power over the next 25 years. The facility will be located in east Austin and will be the nation’s largest solar panel arrary in existence! It is expected to be online by 2010 and according to City Council staff, it will produce no carbon emissions, no fuel cost, and its energy production will create more green jobs in the Austin metro area and help hand the peak demand needed in our hotter summer months.

Save $$ on Your Heating Bills This Winter!

admin — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:34:37 +0000

Here at Cool Houses Austin, we recently enrolled in an Eco-Broker course taught in Austin and are so excited to share some of the information with our readers. Did you know that you can install some of these home improvements rather easily, save money on your utility bills and get reimbursed from your local utility company to boot? For example, you can cut 60-70% of the heat coming in your windows by simply installing solar screens on those west facing windows? And in our long, hot Texas summers, that could amount to a significant savings. You ask but what about this winter? Well, something as simple as sealing and caulking all those little cracks around windows, doors, and your ductwork can give you huge savings for both summer and winter! And even better, you can get up to $1575 in rebates from Austin Energy for doing the improvements on their list! A short excerpt follows from their site at www.austinenergy.com

A Home Performance with ENERGY STAR^® Rebate covers up to 20% of the cost of certain improvements—up to $1575.

(Austin Energy) offer rebates on these improvements:

Air conditioner or heat pump (14 SEER/11.5 EER or greater)
Duct repair and sealing
Additional attic insulation
Solar screens, window film, and Low-E glass
Caulking and weather stripping
Attic radiant barrier/reflective material

Bonus: Extra 20% rebate for air conditioner and heat pump

And don’t forget when you get ready to market your home, these improvements can certainly make yours stand out from all the others on the market. And if you are buying a home, these energy saving features are definitely criteria you would want to add to your list of must-haves! So give us a call at Cool Houses Austin, we would love to share information about how you can save money and ”green” up your home at the same time!

Article by Vicki E. Phillips

Hybrid Homes are on the rise in Austin!

admin — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 15:40:31 +0000

Okay, you have heard of hybrid cars but hybrid homes? And of course, there is no better place to find them than in Austin, Texas! Our builders are going greeen in a big way here!

From the Austin Statesman November 9, 2008, Hybrid Homes Becomes Selling Tool, …”In Austin, custom homebuilders like Ray Tonjes are adding energy-saving features like thicker insulation, sealed attics and ductwork, and dual-speed air conditioner compressors to meet customer demand for more energy-efficient houses. Some companies do nothing but green-built homes. And the city has the nation’s pioneering green building certification and education program, as well as an aggressive incentive program for energy-efficient appliances. In Austin, Georgetown and other Central Texas cities, entire subdivisions are filled with energy-efficient homes”….For more on the Hybrid Homes, see the article in its entirety at www.statesman.com

In most new construction or even remodeled homes here, you will find features like Energy Star appliances, tankless hot water heaters, scored and stained concrete floors and sometimes concrete counter tops along with compact fluorescent lighting that is cool and super energy efficient! Did you know that if every American replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star Rated fluorecent bulb that we could save enough energy to light more than 3 Million homes a year! Isn’t that incredible? See www.energystar.gov for more cool info on Energy Star ratings and how you can help the planet and save yourself big bucks along the way!

And if you need help in finding that very cool, very green, energy efficient new home, call on us at Cool Houses Austin! We love our city and our planet! And of course, we would also love to show off some of our coolest hybird houses!