Nov 24 2008
Green Builders, Inc. (Amex: GBH), a leading large-scale developer of sustainable homes in the Austin, Texas-area, is expanding its services to include green remodeling. The new venture will initially cater to existing homeowners in Central Texas who want to reduce home energy demands and utility bills, lessen home maintenance costs and increase the comfort of their home.
Heating and cooling account for more than fifty percent of the average home's energy consumption. Having already refined the building science of creating green systems in new home construction, it seemed a natural fit for Green Builders to expand into the existing home arena and address the market need for integrated green retrofit solutions. Green Builders' remodeling program puts a strong emphasis on making homes as energy-efficient as possible, which increases the value of the home and reduces energy consumption and costs at the same time.
"Each day that energy prices and consumption continue to rise, your current home is becoming more expensive to operate and maintain," says Clark Wilson, President and CEO of Green Builders, Inc. "People come out to our communities all the time and ask us what they can do to make their home more energy efficient. We've always given them the low-hanging fruit like changing out incandescent bulbs with CFLs and switching to low flow plumbing fixtures. Now we are able to offer them a long term energy savings solution for their existing home that will pay for itself in the short term."
The company's scientific approach to remodeling starts with an in-home energy audit that evaluates the home's energy usage and performance. Green Builders then analyzes the data to identify a customized energy- and cost-savings action plan that will have the most impact on the home's energy expenditure and yield the greatest energy savings for the cost.
"Homes account for 14 percent of the energy used in Texas each year. Most of that energy is electricity. And Texans are paying the price -- 56 percent more each year for electricity than the national residential average," reports Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Susan Combs, who recently released the results of a state-wide home energy efficiency report. "With a burgeoning population and a 66 percent home ownership rate, even small gains in home energy efficiency will create a sizeable impact in Texas."
There are numerous financial incentives and tax credits available to homeowners to help subsidize the costs of an energy-efficiency remodel. In fact, engineering shows that in some cases Green Builders can design a "green retrofit" solution that will save the homeowner more money in monthly utility costs than they will have to pay out on their monthly home improvement loan payment.
Green Builders currently builds sustainable homes and communities throughout the Austin area, priced from the $180s to $600s. To learn more about the company's new green remodeling initiative, visit http://www.greenbuildersinc.com.