OKCMAR’s Green REsource Council
In January, Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors launched a Green REsource Council. Our mission is to make the knowledge of green real estate practices available to everyone and to encourage our industry to produce greener homes and buildings. We have had two meetings to date and our agenda gets longer each time. The committee includes, Sarah Del Valle, Ryan Hukill, Katrina Washington, Shawna Vann, Simon Shingleton, Vickie Dupree, Elizabeth Foraker, Gayle Hough and myself.
Things to Think About When Buying a Home
Before you hop in your car and start blindly driving up and down every street in Oklahoma City searching for your perfect home, figure out what you want and need in the home you plan to purchase.
“Live Well Within Your Means”
What a motto to live by! As I took Fiona to Wilson Elementary for enrollment a couple of weeks ago, I parked across the street in front of the “Modern Family Bungalow,” home to Andy and Tracey Zeeck. With a smile on my face, I tell Fiona “This is the very first Gold LEED certified home in the state of Oklahoma!” Being four years old, she says “cool!” having no clue what I am really telling her.
How Much Energy is Your House Losing?
Twitter….what an interesting concept. I know you are thinking “What does this have to do with ENERGY?” and I will get to that in a minute. A couple of years ago when I first began to tweet, I used Twitter to see who was coming to dinner or who was up for a game of bones. Although that was a good way to eat up time during my daughter’s nap, Twitter has become so much more of a tool in recent months. A few weeks back, I found Temur Akhmedov, founder of the Oklahoma Green Business Alliance, on Twitter. This was the first I had heard of the OGBA and I wanted more information so we set up a meeting.
Last week, I met Temur (and Daryl from Safe and Green) for coffee. I started asking questions about OGBA, their role in the community and how we could work together, but then the conversation strayed to his livelihood. Temur is an energy auditor. Oooh. Cool! I had to get the scoop.
Temur explained to me that his energy audit consists of a two part testing process. The first being the blower door test which tests the air-tightness of the home. The second part is thermal infrared imaging or thermography. The thermography detects air leaks, gaps in insulation and changes in temperature. I watch Planet Green so I knew that much but what I did not know was that you can actually detect a water leak or other moisture issues, which can save you tons of money by being able to pinpoint the exact location of the problem.
He brought his thermal imaging camera in to Cuppie’s and Joe and actually showed us how it worked. I didn’t ask him if I could take it for a spin but I did make an appointment to have an energy audit done on my home!
He will be here tomorrow afternoon and I cannot wait to see the results. I was told that the process would take roughly 2-3 hours. Once he is finished with the audit, he puts together a comprehensive summary detailing items of concern. He also goes a step further to tell you which ones you can cost effectively tackle now and which should be addressed when making major repairs such as installing a radiant barrier the next time you replace the roof.
Right now, OK Energy Savers is running a special on their energy audits!
Homes up to 2,000sf $99.00
Homes 2,000 – 3,000sf $149.00
Homes 3,000sf + $199.00
Those chilly winter months are quickly approaching. Make sure that you are ready by scheduling your audit now. Proper insulation not only helps save energy and protect the environment but also cuts back on your energy bills. I, personally, don’t know anyone who wouldn’t enjoy that!
Call Temur at (405) 229-9165 to set up your appointment! You can also email him at info@centaurustech.com.
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