NJ Clean Energy Cash Rebate Update

THE NJ CLEAN ENERGY/HOME PERFORMANCE WITH ENERGY STAR PROGRAM IS NOW OFFERING CASH REBATES UP TO $3,000.00 IN ADDITION TO FEDERAL TAX CREDITS UP TO $1,500.00 TOWARDS GREEN FIXES AND HOME IMPROVEMENTS! CALL GREEN DOMAIN TODAY TO SCHEDULE YOUR RESIDENTIAL AND/OR COMMERCIAL ENERGY AUDIT AND BE THE FIRST TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE SAVINGS!!! 

 

CONTACT YOUR GREEN DOMAIN SPECIALIST TO LEARN MORE 908 534 6464 

OR VISIT WWW.GREENDOMAINUSA.COM

 

Recessed Lighting

Recessed lighting can be a key element in both the function and the style of any space. Offering a sleek, streamlined look; increasing the amount of light in a room; highlighting the artwork and other special features of a house are a few of many advantages of recessed lights. There are hundreds of options and products available to create the look you are looking for in recessed lighting.

However if not installed properly, they can certainly make your house less energy efficient. Installed on the second floor of a house recessed lights are holes open into your attic that allow unwanted air flow between conditioned and unconditioned spaces. If there is not proper sealing, they can cause a room to be warmer in summer. Humidity is another problem caused by improper sealing of these fixtures. When the moisture-laden warm air leaks into the ceiling cavity and comes in touch with a cold surface condensation and mold-growth may occur. To make matters worse, when the light is on, the heat from the lamp accelerates the air flow (stack effect) through the fixture, increasing the energy loss.

These potential problems can be avoided if recessed lighting is installed and sealed by certified professionals. You should also use Energy Star qualified lighting fixtures to reduce your energy costs. One of the many advantages of having a home energy audit is to determine whether or not the recessed cans in your house are causing any air leaks. A certified consultant would test the sealing around these fixtures for any leaks that may cause energy loss as well as moisture and mold problems.

Homes With CFL Bulbs Are Cool!

Did you know that Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs produce 75% less heat than standard bulbs thus cutting down home cooling costs? They also use 75% less energy than ordinary bulbs even though they provide the same amount of light. By installing CFLs in your home’s six most frequently used light fixtures you could save $30 or more per year on energy costs. To gain the most financial benefit from your CFL, leave it on for more than 15 minutes at a time. Frequent switching on and off will shorten the bulb’s life. You can buy CFLs at discounted prices at NJ Clean Energy’s online store. At the end of its useful life, dispose them carefully and safely. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that consumers take advantage of local recycling options for disposal of CFLs.

Home Performance with Energy Star®

Home Performance with Energy Star®, a program by New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program, is a comprehensive whole-house approach to improving both energy efficiency and comfort of your home. The program provides cash incentives to NJ residents who reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient.

The first step in taking advantage of these incentives is to get a home energy audit. At the end of your audit, Green Domain’s BPI-certified consultants will prepare a detailed report that advises what Greenfixes need to be implemented. As a result of these Greenfixes, you will receive cash rebates based on your energy savings:

• Projects that will result in 5%-25% savings on monthly energy bills will receive up to $1,300 in cash rebates;
• Projects that will save 25% and higher on monthly energy bills will receive up to $3,000.


Federal tax credits are also available for energy efficient home improvements!

Blower Door Test

Appliance Combustion Test

A home energy audit conducted by our expert consultants is a comprehensive four-hour-long assessment of every aspect of your house from air sealing, windows, and doors to combustion testing of all your appliances. In addition to financial and fiscal benefits, Greenfixes will provide you a healthier and more comfortable home with fewer drafts, consistent temperatures across rooms, and better humidity and ventilation control.

Call Green Domain today to schedule your home energy audit! 908 534 6464.

Energy Saving Tip of the Week: Be a Fan of Ceiling Fans!

Did you know that you could lower your air conditioning costs by up to 14% during the cooling season if you increased your thermostat by two degrees and used your ceiling fan? The blades of a ceiling fan push down the air to create a cool breeze in hot summer days.

Ceiling fans cool only the people and not the rooms, though. So don’t forget to turn it off when you leave the room!

Easy way to Save Energy!

Energy Efficiency Tip of the Week:

Sell that old Refrigerator!

 

Get rid of that older, energy-hogging second refrigerator! One large refrigerator is cheaper to run than two smaller ones. $$$You will save on average $240.00 a year on your utility bills$$$

 

Find us on Facebook for weekly tips on how to save energy! 

What is Air Sealing?

Learn All About Air Sealing and Stack Effect with Green Domain-- Your Friendly Energy Efficiency Specialists.

By John Romansky, LEED AP, Green Domain Field Technician

Air sealing to reduce stack effect, may be terms that are not clearly understood by the average homeowner when compared to say, insulation.

So let me use an analogy:

Insulation can be compared to wearing a fleece. On a cold calm day you would most likely be comfortable just wearing the fleece but add a breeze and the air flow through the material will not hold the trapped heat in. Add a shell or wind breaker over that fleece and you are all comfy again because the air flow is stopped or reduced. Air sealing is like the addition of that shell to your home’s insulation.

Stack effect caused by pressure differences between the inside and outside of your home causes air to flow through it. The air finds its way through holes, cracks, and crevices around wiring, pipes, ducts, vents, flues, wall connections, drop soffits, attic hatches, recessed lights, etc. Although some of the cracks are very small, the cumulative area could be quite large - like leaving a window or door open 24/7. You need a certain amount of air exchange to control the build-up of indoor pollutants, for your water heater, boiler or furnace to work properly and to have a healthy home. But any excess air flow is stealing your heating and cooling dollars. After calculating the volume of your home and performing a blower door test we can measure the amount of excess air flow through your home. Air sealing methods performed by a BPI certified professional are confirmed by a blower door test once again after completion. This can quantify the amount of air flow reduction and energy is no longer wasted.


If you have ever felt drafts in your home on a cold and windy winter's day, you have felt the result of stack effect. If so, please give Green Domain a call to schedule a green analysis today. It will be the best $125 you have ever invested. Call today at (908) 534-6464

>>Click here to: Rate Your Home's Energy Efficiency or Ask your Green Domain associate for more information. 

Green Domain at Green Brook Family Fun Day!

GREEN BROOK, NJ; Monday, June 28, 2010: Green Brook Little League Fields hosted the 2nd Annual Green Brook Family Fun Day on Saturday June 19th.  In addition to entertainment for kids such as train rides, face painting, and dunk tanks; local merchants set up displays in designated areas. Green Domain, as one of the 66 exhibitors who attended the event, distributed CFLs (compact florescent lamp) to families who signed up for a home energy audit.; Conducted by BPI-certified professionals Green Domain’s home energy audit is a three-hour comprehensive assessment where both the inside and outside of your home is inspected for energy efficiency. A $125 energy audit will pay for itself in a few months in savings on energy bills after implementing the fixes that we recommend as a result of your home’s audit. It is your energy. Use it, don’t lose it!

www.GreenDomainUSA.com

Green Domain Wins 2010 CBA Awards of Excellence

New Jersey’s Energy Efficiency Specialists, was presented with two Awards of Excellence from the Community Builders Association of New Jersey on Thursday, June 10^th. The Awards of Excellence Program is designed so that the Community Builders Association of NJ and Builders and Remodelers Association of Northern NJ may have the opportunity to recognize and promote members of the New Jersey Builders Association who have reached high levels of achievement in the fields of new home construction, remodeling, commercial building, sales and marketing.  The company, only a year old, received Best Video Commercial Advertising for the ‘How Green is Your Domain?’ commercial, a spot shown on Comcast Cable Television, and Best Company Brochure, ‘Color Your World Green’. Both categories were judged based upon creativity, concept, and appropriateness for target market.  Green Domain®, still a growing company, could not be more ecstatic.


About the Company: David M. Chewey, LLA, NJLLA #748, founder and principle of Garden Associates Landscape Architecture, inc., launched a sister company, Green Domain® LLC, in May of 2009.  Green Domain® is an innovative green home renovation company that specializes in energy efficiency to assist homeowners in living an environmentally responsible, sustainable lifestyle. Being the only company of its kind in New Jersey, Green Domain® was established to coincide with Garden Associates’ strive to provide clients with the option of having both interior and exterior sustainable solutions for their residence.
Since the launch of Green Domain® practically a year ago the company has nearly tripled in size, growing from a staff of one Building Performance Institute (BPI) certified employee to now six.  To support having such an emerging clientele base with a booking of two months out, the company has initiated a flock of company vehicles the staff likes to call ‘green mobiles’, all hybrids of course, equip with state-of-the-art auditing gear to get the most precise energy readings possible.


The amazing company growth owes most of its success to working in conjunction with the New Jersey Clean Energy Program, which provides homeowners with unbelievable cash rebates for both their comprehensive energy audit to most home improvements and energy fixes. The company offers a wide range of services from innovative project consultation, comprehensive interior / exterior auditing- Green Domain® distinctively calls a GreenAlysis© Report, sustainable landscape design services, solar/geothermal energy solutions, and the construction resources needed to achieve energy saving and green improvement objectives, known as ‘green fixes’

If you would like more information on Green Domain®, or would like to schedule your own home energy audit, visit www.GreenDomainUSA.com or call (908) 534-6464 to speak to your friendly energy efficiency specialist.

{In the photo above from right to left: Glen Lumia, President of Builders & Remodelers Association of Northern NJ, Barry Krinsky, David Chewey President and founder of Green Domain®, Jeff Jacobus, Veliana Baratta, John Romansky, and Robert Bracken, President of Community Builders & Remodelers of NJ)