ReCraft is chosen as the head contractor and green construction consultant for Houston’s Energy Home Makeover Contest! Check out Brent Farrell of ReCraft Construction – SEE VIDEO: Houston’s Channel 2 News.
Energy Efficiency Pays Off
In 2011, a city-wide contest, called “Energy Home Make-Over”, asked Houstonians to submit their homes for a complete home makeover focused on energy efficiency. ReCraft was honored to have been chosen as the head contractor on this project.
We started the project by doing a whole home Energy Audit measuring the energy loss and finding the “holes” in the house (around windows, doors, attic access, openings in ceilings where lights and ac vents were located, low or no insulation in walls and attic, etc). We started in the attic and made our way through the house adding radiant barrier, solar attic vent, gable and soffit venting (attics need to breath properly), insulation in walls and attic (non-toxic), new low e windows, super efficient HVAC, etc.
The net result of all of these upgrades resulted in a whopping 80% savings (documented results) of the winning family’s energy bills. Average monthly bills that were previously over $900 a month dropped to around $200 a month on a 1700 square foot home. These results gave us an Emerald Certification from the NAHB Research Center….a very difficult task and the highest level of certification a building can receive.
Some of the products and best practice techniques that ReCraft uses to cost-effectively reduce energy use on our projects include:
- Radiant Barrier
- Solar Shingle Roofs (blocks 75%+ of the radiant energy from entering the home)
- “Green” (non-toxic) insulation materials
- Leak proofing techniques to create a tight seal in the house – find out where your attic, doors and windows are
leaking - Design and techniques to get the attic “breathing” correctly – you must have the correct amount of air intake and output to properly ventilate your attic
- High quality, low E, double pane, insulated windows
- Energy Star appliances
- New high efficiency HVAC systems
- Low voltage fixtures and lighting
- Solar panels
