This is my first post of the year. I took some time off at the end of the year to recharge my batteries. Now that I am energized for 2008 I am excited as ever to get back to work. I don't like resolutions, however I do have a plan for year. First and foremost is my orientation towards green and zero energy real estate. The enigma for New England is why isn't there any to buy? New England's climate is far harsher than the west coast and yet we're so far behind. So far around these parts its remained rhetoric and cliché. You'd think that crude at $100 would motivate some of us...but not really. One thing for sure is that some don't get what "green" building is or "zero energy" homes are and how to get there. I asked some people to tell me what they thing green building is and some actually thought it was building with pressure treated (green) lumber. I created (the site is under construction but the team is up and can produce a green zero energy home today) to give people in CT an easy way to get the job done. I formed a team of professionals that can handle everything from locating and buying the building site, to the design and execution of their new home. My goal for 2008 is to blog upon the subject ad nauseum with an eye on educating the people in my market about the importance to think green, build efficient homes using the latest techniques available. I want to keep my finger on the pulse of the LEEDs certification and share what's going on in that vain as well.


So let's say you want to build a "zero energy" green home. Here's how we'd simplify the process and justify your investment in advance of putting a shovel in the ground:


1. Do you have land and/or building site? If not, we'll assist you in finding the right site.


2. Do you have a house design or plans? If yes, go to step 3. If not, we'll design your home from the ground up or revise an existing plan you like.


3. Baseline analysis. Here we determines the energy performance for a given home. During this process we will either use a given set of plans and specifications, or a given set of plans and energy code level (i.e. IECC 2004) to determine the baseline energy performance of the home. This baseline is later used to help calculate costs and benefits for energy performance improvements, and the availability of certain tax credits and rebates.


4. Recommendations. Using a combination of architectural, energy modeling, and fluid modeling software, we will generate design and system recommendations which will increase the energy performance.


5. Facilitate Final Choices. Based on your budget and desires, we finalize your selections into the final building plan.


6. Forecast of Utility Costs of Final Plans. We now take the final construction documents and use them to forecast the new plans utility bills. This forecast will be used to identify available tax credits and rebates.


7. Analyze Financial Incentives. We analyze and identify all available tax credits and rebates. Some credits and rebates are applied for by you, the homeowner, some are available only through us, the builder. Once all tax credits and rebates are identified, we will provide the information necessary for you the to obtain your tax credits and rebates. Those tax credits obtained by My Easy Green Home and our subcontractors are reflected in the final cost of your new home.


8. If we build it, you'll be happy. At this point we will have all the specifications, plans, and designs to build your home which will pay you back year after year.


We build ANYWHERE in CT, RI, and MA including Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket.