How to improve gas mileage-

With gas prices hitting record highs and fuel costs as high as $4.65 a gallon in Lincoln Park, here are a few suggestions we found to help improve your MPG!

Lighten the Load- Removing excess things from your trunk and back seat can increase your MPG with every 100 pounds removed.

Drive 55- Because wind resistance increases expontially with speed the typical engine loses 1% fuel economy for every mile faster than 55 and double that over 60. Keyword here is “typical”

Roll the windows down- In-town driving will increase fuel economy, but at higher speeds it will increase the drag will reduce the fuel efficiency.

GreenWerks recommends investing in technologies such as hybrids and Toyota Prius. Current oil futures only showing the price of fuel in this country rising with no coming down in sight. The current market predicts prices for seven years out and is showing a steady increase over the next few years. We are looking forward to seeing the new line of plug-in, hydrogen and other next generation vehicles.

- Source Chicago Tribune Redeye

Chicago Green Home Fair- Center for Green Technology

Come explore how you can create a more environmentally-friendly home for you and your family. Whether you’re planning to remodel, or just want to learn what’s new on the green building scene, spend some time meeting vendors and retailers with sustainable products to help you make a greener home.

You are invited to join GreenWerks on Saturday, July 19, 2008, from 10:00AM – 3:00PM, for the Chicago Green Home Fair! This event will be held at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, offering an opportunity to see green products and services from Chicago professionals. The Center for Green Technology is located at 445 N Sacramento. Come and stop by at the GreenWerks table, see you Saturday!

Here is the flier for the event if you want to send it to your friends-
Chicago Green Home Flyer

Energy Efficiency with Building Code

Currently Illinois is one of the 9 states with no energy efficiency electric code. The legislature is currently working to pass house bill HB 1842 and Senate SB 526 to implement a energy efficient building code. Lucky enough many cities and counties (122 to be exact) have adopted a version of the current ICEE code. That covers 60% of the population in Illinois and includes Chicago and Cook County. In Illinois 70% of the energy consumption is from building and 50% of the electricity in this state is produced from Coal. Coal power is very dirty and produces more pollution than cleaner technology such as nuclear.

So why hasnt Illinois taken action? You may ask does it cost more to implement these ICEE standards into residential home market? The additional cost is very small and the return with energy savings is seen in 3-10 months according to the US Dept of Energy. Currently the Realtor’s and Illinois Home Builders are the lobby groups that are preventing passing of the code. So write and call your congressman or woman, to lower Illinois pollution and energy consumption.

July Chicago Green Events

Taste of Chicago (Grant Park, Now till July 6th)
If you haven’t made your way out to Chicago’s annual food gorge-a-thon, you’ve still got a week. While it may not be the greenest of festivals, there have been efforts to provide more recycling outlets for all the plastic cups and forks used. Cooking oil will also be recycled into biodiesel fuel, of which generators will provide power for some of the entertainment stages.

Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility Open ( July 5, 8 am till 3pm., 1150 N. North Branch St.)
Rid your home of unwanted chemicals, paints, and computers and other household materials by bringing them in this Saturday to the City’s permanent facility at 1150 N. North Branch St., 2 blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division St. For a complete list of accepted materials, visit www.cityofchicago.org/Environment and click on “Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility” in the right-hand column.

Green Drinks (July 9, 2008, 5:30–8:30pm, Jefferson Tap & Grill 325 N Jefferson Chicago, IL 60661)
Don’t miss this Green Drinks meeting as they have a panel discussion with some of Chicago’s top green Entrepreneurs . The topic is Sustainable Chicago Entrepreneurs: After the Start-Up

L.A.T.E. Ride (Grant Park, July 12-13)
Friends of the Parks is sponsoring the twentieth anniversary of this all-night bike riding affair. Join 10,000 other bikers as you pedal 25 miles throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods and lakefront. Proceeds benefit the creation of new Chicago parks as well as better management of resources, not to mention your own cardiovascular system. Check out www.lateride.org to sign up.

Sustainability & the City: A Panel Discussion (Harold Washington Library, July 16th)
Stop in for a debate on Chicago’s sky-scraping architecture and its effect on the environment, as well as steps towards green architecture and green retrofitting in the city. Panelists include Gordon Gill of Smith+Gill Architects; Christopher Kennedy, President of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.; Sundee Wislow, Director of Sustainability of U.S. Equities Realty and Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Commissioner of Chicago Department of Environment. Visit the Chicago Public Library for more information on this event as well as many others.

Green City Market Chefs’ Summer BBQ Festival (Green City Market, July 17th)
Buying fresh meats and produce from Chicago’s Green City Market is one thing, creating a delicious and tasty meal is another. For those of us whose culinary skills fall a bit short, this event features the dishes of over 50 of Chicago’s top chefs using the same foods you bought last weekend. For reservations, contact the Green City office at (773) 435-0280.

Summer Tree ID Walk (Garfield Park Conservatory, July 18th)
When you walk down the street to catch the el or grab a bite to eat, can you name the types of plants you see? Visit the Garfield Park Conservatory and take a tour with tree keeper Jim DeHorn of Openlands Project as he points out Chicago’s native plants. Dress appropriately for weather, as the walks take place rain or shine! For location and time, as well as many other events, check out the Garfield Park Conservatory online.

Chicago Green Home Fair (Chicago Center for Green Technology, July 19th)
Find out how to create a more environmentally-friendly home for your family at the Chicago Green Home Fair. The conference will include information on what’s new on the green building scene and will feature various vendors and retailers with sustainable products to help create a greener home. Call 312-746-9642 for more information. Make sure to stop by the GreenWerks table!

Chicago Green Drinks (July 23, 2008, 5:30–8:30pm, Jefferson Tap & Grill 325 N Jefferson Chicago, IL 60661)
Personal savings and checking accounts, retirement planning, mortgages, stocks, bonds, home equity loans, college loans, etc., what is a sustainability-minded person to do?! While socially responsible investing tends to get the most attention, there are a myriad of other personal financial management choices we make that, ideally, we’d like to keep in line with our values. This month we delve into as many of these areas as possible, exploring the issues, opportunities, and sometimes contradictions of pursuing this kind of alignment. Whether you’ve amassed a sizeable nest egg, or have just started repaying student loans, we’ll strive to provide something for everyone.

Chicago Solar Powerup! ( Wednesday, July 30, 11:30am – 1pm, Daley Plaza, 50 W. Washington St.)
Chicago Solar Powerup gives kids ages 9-11 the opportunity to design, build and race model solar cars while learning about renewable energy resources. Join us on Daley Plaza for the exciting finale and cheer on the contestants. Note: The event will be canceled if there is unfavorable weather. Call (312) 746-4155 for more information.

Environmental Resource Event (Saturday, August 9, 9am – 3pm, Northeastern Illinois University, 3701 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.)
Be safe at home. Participate in the Department of Environment’s third Environmental Resource Event of the year and take the opportunity to:
• properly dispose of your household hazardous waste
• recycle your old computers, monitors, laptops and cell phones
• bring in your expired or unused medications and keep them out of our water system
• pick up a free compact fluorescent light bulb (limit one per household)
• drop off your old gas-powered lawn mower and receive a $100 rebate towards an electric or push mower
• purchase a $30 outdoor compost bin to reduce your landfill waste (available to Chicago residents only, must pay with check or money order, limit 1 per household)
• purchase a $40 rain barrel (available to Chicago residents only, must pay with check or money order, limit 1 per household)

Call the Chicago Department of Environment at (312) 744-7606 for more
Information

Tax Credits and Incentives for Solar Panels

Residential Example:
Solar systems qualify for a 30% Federal Tax Credit – up to $2,000. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the tax payment required by a person and typically has a greater value than a tax write-off. Learn more on the IRS website.

This is an example of a Residential Hot Water System:

Cost of Installation and Solar Unit- $10,000
State of Illinois Rebate: -$ 3,000
Federal Solar Tax Credit: -$ 2,000
$10,000 Solar Hot Water System now only cost 50% of orginal cost, $ 5,000, with the current government incentives.

Commercial Systems are another story:
Solar systems qualify for a 30% tax credit with no limit. A tax credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the tax payment required by a person and typically has a greater value than a tax write-off. In addition, an accelerated 5-year tax write-off is available for businesses that have solar energy systems. Business can also take advantage of the 30% rebate from the state of Illinois. To learn more about the Federal Incentives, click here.

Some of the Additional Incentives:

• Exemptions from property tax for solar systems

• Additional grants available through the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation for municipalities and not-for-profit groups.

With this financial help from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Federal Government and other funding sources, solar systems are more affordable than ever!

What is a Zero Energy House?

Simply a house that produces more than it consumes, is what we consider a Zero Energy Home. In the Chicago area you can accomplish this with a tight building envelope, efficient mechanical systems and an alternative energy generating system. You can accomplish a tight building envelope with proper insulation around windows, walls and attic. Proper insulation will cut down on transfer of heat and cooling. Efficient mechanical refers to HVAC and appliances. You want to make sure they are have high energy efficiency to reduce utility bills. For alternative energy systems you can integrate a geo-thermal energy to heat and cool your building and use solar panels or wind to power the electricity of the home. Zero Energy can be achieved in the Chicago area. Estimated savings over a 30 year mortgage is over $90,000 for a 2300 sqft home. Let us show you how we can build a zero energy home for you!

Eco-Friendly Painting

With numerous choices for eco-friendly paints, it makes it difficult to understand the difference. The most common choice for an green paint is a standard latex. There are dozens of decorative paints, stains and sealers but we will talk about that in a future post.

When selecting a green paint look for a third party verification like Green Seal or Green Guard. These two non-profits have much stricter standards than what is required by the federal government. You should ask to see if the paint has formaldehyde and how many VOC’s are in the paint. While many paint bases are traditionally low VOC paint, the tints and colorants that are added to paint are the real cause. Many paint companies are starting to reformulate these colorants by creating color rich organic pigments. Paints that are great are LoVo, Co2, American Pride, Mystic and Yolo to name a few. Green Paint is applied slightly differently but these brands are just as durable and colors just as bold as traditional paints.

Eco-Friendly Kitchen

They have a green alternative option for almost every component of a kitchen. The canister lights can be changes to CFL or LED. LED’s can produce the same amount of light, full dimmable and only consumes 2 watts compared to a standard 75 watt bulb. Cabinets can be produced without any toxins in the wood and non-toxic finishes. Appliances can be converted to high efficiency, an appliance that is 93% or higher efficiency will pay for itself several times over compared to a standard 70 or 80% efficiency appliances. Tile for the backsplash can be made from recycled glass and the floor from recycled ceramic. You can also put in engineered hardwood or bamboo flooring as eco-friendly flooring options. Green Counters can be made from a recycled glass and concrete mixture from local manufacture glassi or ice stone. PaperStone makes a very cool countertop made from recycled paper that is even used in commercial applications. You could also install bigger windows to maximize the light intake. Solartubes can also be a great addition to a kitchen to bring in some natural light. You can change the water fixtures to low flow to conserve water and the list goes on and on.

How we are a Green Company

We often get the question, How are you a green company?

We are a triple bottom line company- meaning we look at Social responsibility, the Environment and Profit. Social responsibility by giving back to the community, over 500 hours of community service to date, creating scholarships for students and paying our employees a fair wage. Environment is an obvious one with our construction practices, energy reduction and by using non-toxic products. Our office is powered by certified wind energy and we are currently in the process of becoming a carbon neutral company. Our transportation is usually the CTA or bike, but soon our trucks all be running on bio-diesel or vegetable oil. This is how we consider ourselves green as a company, we will talk about our green construction practices in a future post.

Zero Energy House in Oak Park

GreenWerks and 2 Point Perspective have teamed up to build a a Zero Energy Home, which is also pursuing LEED Platinum certification! (See the attached renderings, click to download)

As a finalist, we are moving forward to begin specifying the materials, systems, and labor that will make this home spectacular. Please consider submitting your your product or service for consideration.

There is a designated six week ‘educational series’ at the end of the build, when all those who have contributed have a chance to be recognized and to educate the public (and other building professionals) about their product or service. Thousands of local Chicagoland residents will be experiencing the home through seminars, workshops, and tours. In addition, our PR firm will be reaching out to publications- local and national- to create a significant ‘buzz’ for the project. There is also potential to be included on all signage and in brochures. In short, your potential exposure is substantial.

We hope that you will be interested in joining our team on this exciting project. Please contact us by Friday, June 6 to let us know what contribution you may be interested in making. I look forward to hearing from you, thank you for your consideration. Have a great week!