Many of today’s buyers in the market for a Gainesville Florida home are looking for one that is eco-friendly. They want a house that is energy-efficient and combats detriments to the environment. Listed below are some relative easy to do and cost-efficient ways you can appeal to potential eco-conscious buyers.
1. Insulate. Insulate. Insulate. Use pipe insulators to keep hot water hot for a longer time and a hot water heater blanket ($10.00 to $20.00) to both prevent temperature loss and 
reduce the amount of electricity/gas needed to maintain the water temperature. Be aware that the further heat or air conditioning has to travel, the greater the temperature loss. Insulating your heating and cooling ducts can prevent up to 60% of this loss. Remember that even a small area of inadequate or damaged insulation can greatly reduce efficiency.
2. Reduce heating/cooling expenses. Replace or clean all filters on a regular basis to reduce inefficiency. Eliminate all sources of drafts by checking windows, doors, electrical outlets, fireplaces, and attic floors for leaks (even small cracks lead to energy loss) and by using caulking or weather stripping to seal them. In addition, for a cost of $200 to $400, you can run a blower door test to discover the main, and many times hidden, sources of energy leaks in your home.
It is also important to schedule a HVAC cleaning/checkup every two years and to investigate the need for a programmable thermostat to save energy while you sleep or are away from home. If your windows, aging appliances, furnace, or hot water heater needs to be replaced, you should certainly consider purchasing ENERGY STAR products to save 10% to 30% of the usual operating costs.
3. Consume less water. Since your Gainesville Florida home is located in a resort area, water bills are generally high. Take steps to reduce this expense by installing low flow showerheads, toilets, and faucet aerators.
4. Don’t ignore the outside. Planting shade trees and shrubs in strategic locations on the grounds of your Gainesville Florida home can lower your cooling costs by as much as 25%, and because they also act as wind barriers, your heating costs can be reduced by up to 20%. In addition, the leafless trees will allow sunshine through in the winter (good for mental health as well as warmth). Also consider water conservation when landscaping. Look for lawn grasses and plants that are drought resistant and natural to the area.
The “Go Green” slogan is not a passing fad. Realistic buyers, who are both cost-conscious and ecologically aware, want to own a Gainesville Florida home that reduces their day-to-day utility expenses and allows them to play a part in preserving the environment. The purchase of a green home benefits both the buyer and the seller in today’s market.
2 responses so far ↓
mangaluksa // Aug 12th 2010 at 3:15 am
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Homemade solar cells are possible and cost effective. I have found that out through research. You see, you are using your own hands which equals labor. If you are willing to do that, you basically will reap a higher reward. This higher reward is the satisfaction that you saved money and you built something yourself.
My quest for generating electricity from the sun has been an adventure filled with trials and tribulations. However, I like to work with my hands and found that making my own equipment was fun. And besides, by using solar products for my home, I am doing my part to help the planet.
In this site, I have recorded the steps I took to obtain my goal of generating electricity for my home. You will see what I discovered and ultimately my success with solar products .After a while, you can find, it is time to make some major changes in your home. floor finishes, furniture and even insulation can be made with environmentally friendly products.
My first quest was to build a solar cell. The solar cell is the heart of generating electricity. In a simple sense, it converts energy from the sun into electricity. You can find solar cells in everyday objects such as garden lights, calculators, and even flashlights. In description, the solar cells looks like a flat, black wafer with silver lines on the surface.
It is usually made of silicon and costs quite a bit of money. Therefore, the first step, for me was to try to make a solar cells in my garage.
In my research, I found that it is really hard to make a silicon cell. It takes a specialized process and and expensive machinery to manufacture the traditional cell mentioned above.
But the good news is that I found that I could build my own solar cells using common parts found at the hobby or hardware store.For most of these customers, their primary interest in buying solar panels is to generate electricity (rather than simply heat water), which means that the type of technology to look for is called “photovoltaic” (or PV) solar cells.
The primary “part” was a sheet of copper that cost me $10 at the hardware store. These are the abbreviated steps that follow. I cooked one half of the sheet of copper on my stove. After awhile, I took the cooked, blackened sheet and put it in a jar. I took a clean sheet of copper the same size and placed it in the jar. I filled the jar with salt water and tested my “solar cell” with a voltmeter.
It worked! As I moved my homemade solar cells in the sun, it registered more voltage than it did in the dark. But you know what? The voltage was so small, that it wouldn’t even power a flashlight.
Calculations show that I would need to build acres of these mini solar jars to even make a difference in generating electricity for a home.
But this experiment was a good start on my adventure.
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Build SOlar Panels From Scratch // Dec 29th 2010 at 2:51 pm
I have been looking for this sort of info for some time now and at last I found it here. Very good stuff you’ve got right here, finally someone who really gets it.
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