Making your home more comfortable

It’s October, and the days are getting shorter and the temperature begins to drop. Your home might fell drafty and somehow cold, you are uncomfortable and the heating system it does not work properly. Here we go again, every winter you wish this problem would be resolved, but nothing gets done. In the sense that even with the heat on, either it get too hot and then drops down cold again and up again.

Well if you want to have that fix, I would suggest you get on with one of the program where they come in and they test the whole house performance to find out what’s is not working properly, and after a complete analysis process, they will analyze the data and then make specific recommendations. I did participate in some of this retrofits and its incredible the improvements that can be accomplished. Usually it encompasses improvements in making your home more energy efficient, make the house more comfortable and with better indoor air quality.

You are probably aware of some of the rebates and tax credit programs offered by Federal, State and Utility organizations. The company who comes to your house and does the evaluation collects data during a comprehensive energy assessment, and verifies how the systems were working. Then they analyze and formulate the best solutions for you, the home owner; detailing the specific areas of work involved and the estimate annual savings in energy and utilities bills. Bottom line is that your house after the retrofit not only becomes more comfortable it also will save you money with the utility bills since now is more efficient, and you contribute in reducing the environmental carbon footprint.

Posted by: Alberto Isoni

Color, paint with better interior air quality

When it comes to decorate and remodel our homes interior, we tend to choose paint mostly for the color combination and esthetics, but now we know for fact that within the paints or finishes lays the “VOC” (volatile organic compounds).Maybe is a little less fun to talk about it and more technical, but why not to have a healthy indoor air environment quality? The fact is that Indoor paints and finishes release low-level emissions into the air for years after initial paint or finish application is completed. The sources of these emissions as we said are volatile organic compounds (“VOC”), which are carbon compounds that react to atmospheric photochemical reactions causing them to vaporize at normal room temperatures. Now recently with the progressive environmental green movement, has led to the development of low or zero-VOC paints and finishes. These new paints are just as durable and cost-effective as their previous versions, but now are less harmful to indoor occupants. The intent is to reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, irritating and/or silent but harmful to the occupants. Paints, coatings, composite wood, adhesives and sealants used on the interior should comply with VOC content limits established in Green Seal Standard. Afterall Studies have shown that individuals can spend as much as 90% of their time indoors whatever at home or office. Are you still thinking about it? Posted by Alberto Isoni.