Flat Fee MLS Blog

                Quiet as the evening breeze and almost as green-installing an attic fan can bring the ancient wisdom of natural ventilation to your home with modern technology. Man has harnessed natural ventilation to keep his dwellings cool, yet the contemporary house ignores this idea, relying instead on creating a sealed and expensive conditioned environment.

Summer temperatures in an attic can get up to 220 degrees, and fans can bring that down to 100 degrees, cooling your whole house. Make sure you have venting fans in your attic, the temperature controlled type being the best. The cold air your air conditioner produces is being heated by the hot ceiling, making your AC much less efficient.

Air conditioning is the biggest electricity user in many homes. An AirScape whole house fan (WHF) can reduce or even eliminate the need for A/C and dramatically lower home energy use and the cost by up to 50%. In dry climates where evenings cool off, it just makes sense to harness the cool air that mother nature provides, rather than expensively manufacturing your own.

AirScape whole house fans are much more sophisticated than the old whole house fan: modern, energy-efficient and very quiet using advanced noise -reduction strategies. They are designed to run all night, steadily drawing cool fresh air in through open windows while exhausting hot stale air out through the attic roof vents. This flow creates a comfortable, natural living and sleeping environment while drawing heat out of the structure to reduce A/C load for the next day.

Conserve energy, save money, and help the planet….You’ll be thrilled you did!

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One hypothesis is that cacti evolved to counter the effects of harsh solar radiation. According to researchers at the Institute of Geobiology in Chardonne, Switzerland, they announced in the mid -1980’s that tests showed employees who used to suffer from headaches and tiredness felt better after working for two years with a cactus next to their monitors.

If you’re worried about the uncertainty surrounding possible links to cancer and other problems from electromagnetic fields (the science is unproven) but why not play it safe and enjoy a little nature while you work?

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                                Ceiling fans do a nice job of circulating air in the rooms that you occupy most, and they use only about 1/30th the electricity of a room air conditioner.  But if you can’t live without air conditioning, there are some greener options out there.

A single window unit that  keeps one room cool is far less energy intensive and polluting than central air conditioning that keeps all the rooms in the  house (including those you’re not using) cool. Look for new models that display the federal Energy Star label,  which marks units as energy efficient.

By investing in an Energy-Star certified air conditioner, you will see substantial savings in your energy bills, as well as enjoying high quality. Maximizing energy efficiency is a great way to relieve stress on the over-taxed power grid. Room air conditioners must be a t least 10% more efficient than typical models to achieve Energy Star, and central air must be at least 14%.

When the heat is sweltering , cooling costs really add up across the country. Home buyers and sellers, FSBO, and those listed on the MLS are all interested in saving money and decreasing our carbon footprint while staying cool.

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              Collecting rainwater for use during dry months in rain barrels or other depositories is an ancient and traditonal practice. Historical records show that rainwater was collected in simple clay containers as far back as 2,000 years ago in Thailand and throughout other areas of the world after that.  With the rising price of municipal water and drought restrictions now facing much of the United States during the summer months, more and more homeowners in our own modern society are turning to the harvesting of rainwater to save money and protect this precious natural resource.                                                                                

        If you aren’t ready to install a green roof yet, you can accomplish much the same thing by directing water from your roof into a rain barrel.

The main goal is to reduce the amount of storm water that runs off your property and into an overburdened sewer system. If you save that runoff and use it to water your plants, lawn or garden, you will be both conserving a valuable resource and saving money on your utility bill.

Most German houses have a rain gutter that leads to a collection water drum, which is used to hold rain runoff to water plants. Use of such devices is kinder to our ecosystem. This is a simple energy and water conservation technology that is easy to import.

If you are selling your home FSBO or listing on the MLS, this is a great tip to pass along to your home buyers.

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