Energy Tips

Help save the environment, and your Wallet with Energy Efficient Upgrades

Going Green to Stay Warm

A recent NBC news program aired a story on how “going green” will help keep your home warmer throughout the winter months.  One great way to keep your home warm is by switching from a shingle roof, to a standing seam metal roof.  Global Home Improvement can install a customized standing seam metal roof so you can start to reap the benefits of a warmer home and lower energy bills though added air space and insulation.

Another great way to save on expensive energy bills is to replace your current windows with energy efficient ones.  Global Home Improvement offers great replacement windows that will help keep the heat in during those cold winter months.  The custom made Challenger Vinyl Window has not one, not two, but three panes of glass to ensure the cold air stays out of your home.  In between the three panes of glass are double Krypton gas chambers that serve as extra insulation!!!!

Adding insulated siding to your home is another way to cut back on your energy bills.  Prodigy Insulated Siding offers you added insulation that will lower your energy bills not only in the cold winter months, but all year-round.  Prodigy Siding has industry-leading, energy star rated technology with an astounding 5.0 R-Value.

So do your part and help save the environment by making your home more energy efficient.

CALL GLOBAL TODAY at 888234-2929 TO RECEIVE A FREE ESTIMATE ON HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOME ENERGY EFFICIENT!!!

Global Home LIVE on 610 WIP: Rescheduled…12/16/09

610-wip-logo-globalGlobal Home Improvement will be promoting our “green” products on air, December 9th at 1 pm on 610 WIP, the leading AM sports talk station, live with Anthony Gargano and Glen Macnow. The special program will feature the latest information on green remodeling projects such as:

If interested you can tune in to 610 AM and listen for Global’s Marketing Manager Adam Parnes and Owner Paul Kazlov, or go online to any of the above links to find out more info on the specific products!

A Window To The World: Fiberglass Replacement Windows by Marvin

EverWood_replacementYour windows provide you with a view to take in, but can they provide you with a view of the future? Marvin’s new Infinity windows can… and the future looks incredible!

We’re not just talking about the future of window materials, led by Marvin’s patented acrylic-coated Ultrex framing technology and their Lodz-366 glass panes – which reflect 95% of the sun’s harmful UV rays. We’re also talking about a cleaner, healthier, more efficient future due to Marvin’s commitment to sustainable manufacturing and product design.

The Ultrex fiberglass and glass panes used in Infinity windows are made from partially recycled materials. In addition, the Ultrex uses between 39-80% less energy to produce than vinyl/wood framed competitors! But Marvin Windows’ commitment to going green doesn’t stop there. Just take a look at some of their recycling and waste reduction efforts:

  • They fully recycle all corrugated cardboard from vendor shipments, diverting all usable cardboard from the plant waste streams. A local recycling company picks up three 3 yard containers of cardboard twice a week.
  • They separate their polyethylene waste and ship it to the Recycle/Re-Use department at Integrity. Previously, polyethylene films went to the landfill as waste, today between Infinity and Integrity more than 4,000 pounds per year are recycled.
  • They recycle sheet steel, prepared steel and metal banding, realizing a 75% energy savings. Currently, Infinity and Integrity combined recycle 3,348 pounds of this metal per year.
  • Currently, between Infinity and Integrity they collect and recycle nearly 6,000 pounds of aluminum per year. This is fantastic because producing recycled aluminum uses 95% less energy than producing aluminum from scratch.

As you can see, Marvin is dedicated to keeping things green and efficient on both their end and your end. Now might be a good time to improve your home with highly-functional and beautiful Infinity windows, so check out the company that stands behind their promise of a Global product. For a free estimate call 888-234-2929

Getting your home’s roof ready for winter: Think Metal!

Article from Metal Roofing Alliance News October, 5th 2009

metal roof winterThe sun is setting on a long, hot summer—one that’s had Americans across the country tightening their belts and looking for creative, new ways to cut corners. With fall just around the corner, it’s a great time to alert homeowners/customers/consumers of the benefits of metal roofing during the cold, winter months. Consumers may not be aware of the thousands of homeowners that, thanks to energy-efficient metal roofing, enjoyed lower air-conditioning bills all summer—up to a whopping 40 percent lower—not to mention a federal tax credit and, depending on their state of residence, lower home insurance premiums.

Much attention has been focused on metal roofing’s eco-friendliness during the sweltering summer months, but homeowners should be aware the sustainable roofing material can save them money all year long, even in the winter. With summer just barely behind us, homeowners are likely not thinking about winter wear and tear on their roofs. However, whether homeowners have asphalt, slate, clay or wood shingles, cold weather can take its toll on not only their roof, but their wallet as well.  Unlike these options, metal roofing sustains little to no damage throughout the harshest winter weather, and requires virtually no maintenance throughout the year. Or how it also can shave off up to 10 percent on heating bills.

With metal roofing, homeowners can wave goodbye to dangerous ice buildup, as both snow and ice easily slide off metal roofs (snow guards keep snow and ice from falling below), and save gutters from heavy icicle buildup. As the leaves begin to change and the days shorten, it’s a great time for homeowners to start considering the benefits of metal roofing, which saves money—and peace of mind—during a harsh winter and an even harsher economy.

Recycled Content of Metal Roofs Explained

metal-roof-recycle-galvalumeDREXEL METALS CREATED THE FOLLOWING TO BETTER EXPLAIN THE RECYCLED CONTENT OF GALVALUME PRODUCTS INSTALLED BY GLOBAL HOME IMPROVEMENT

  • Recycled-content product is an item that contains recovered materials. Recovered materials are wastes that have been diverted from conventional disposal such as landfills for another use. Recovered materials include both pre-consumer and post-consumer wastes.
  • Pre-consumer materials are generated by manufacturers and processors, and may consist of scrap, trimmings and other by-products that were never used in the consumer market.
  • Post-consumer material is an end product that has completed its life cycle as a consumer item and would otherwise have been disposed of as a solid waste. Post-consumer materials include recyclables collected in commercial and residential recycling programs, such as office paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, plastics and metals.
  • Post-industrial recycled material is derived from manufacturing waste or sub-standard products that have not been used.

Steel is the world’s, as well as North America’s most recycled material. In the United States alone, nearly 70 million tons of steel were recycled in 2000. Every ton of steel that is recycled saves 2500 pounds of iron ore, 1400 pounds of coal and 120 pounds of limestone. New steel made with recycled material uses as little as 26% of the amount of energy that would be required to make steel from raw materials extracted from nature.

According to the Steel Recycling Institute the total recycled content from Basic Oxygen Furnace production of 59,485,000 tons of steel in North America during 2002 was 18,848,000 tons or 31.7% total recycled content. Drexel Metals LLC steel products installed by Global Home Improvement are produced using this meathod. Call 888.234.2929 for more information.

Calculate Energy Savings with Cool Metal Roofing

solar-reflectance-and-emmitanceResearch by the Heat Island Group found that buildings with lightly colored, more reflective roofs use up to 40 percent less energy for cooling than buildings with darker roofs.iii To calculate the possible savings in energy provided by a cool roof, there are two online roof calculators that estimate savings.

The DOE Cool Roof Calculator was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Laboratory. This calculator provides an estimate of cooling and heating savings for small to medium size buildings. DOE Calculator Link

The EPA Cool Roof Calculator is provided by ENERGY STAR. This calculator allows the designer to input specific details about a building, including heating and cooling systems as well as location and the cost of energy. Energy Star Calculator Link

The two radiative properties that characterize cool roofs are solar reflectance and thermal emittance. A cool roof minimizes the solar heat gain of a building by first reflecting incoming radiation and then by quickly re-emitting the remaining absorbed portion. As a result, the cool roof stays cooler than a traditional roof of similar construction. The measured fraction of solar energy that is reflected by a roofing material’s surface is called solar reflectance.

Thermal emittance is the relative ability of the roofing material to re-radiate absorbed heat as invisible infrared light (relative to a black body radiator). This absorbed heat will either be gradually or quickly re-radiated away from the roof; the quicker the better because the longer the heat is trapped at the surface of the roof the more likely it is to penetrate the building below.

Though most roofing materials have a fairly high thermal emittance, in order to accurately determine a roofing product’s “coolness,” or its ability to shield the building beneath it from heat, both solar reflectance and thermal emittance must be measured. Cool Metal Roofing offers both these characteristics and allows for an Energy Star Rating on all colors with proper coatings.

Pennsylvania Announces Energy Efficient Building Incentives

HARRISBURG, Pa. — April 13, 2009 — Pennsylvania’s $25 million High Performance Building program will provide grants and loans to families and businesses constructing or renovating buildings that meet standards that measure a building’s overall sustainability. The program’s guidelines were approved today by the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

The cheapest, cleanest energy is that which we do not use and by making our buildings more energy efficient, we’ll be able to significantly cut our energy bills and the pollution in our environment,” said Governor Edward G. Rendell, who noted that Pennsylvania is second only to California in the number of green buildings and that there are more than 5,000 manufacturers in the state producing green building products.

According to the United States Green Building Council, buildings account for nearly 40 percent of the nation’s total energy consumption and climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as almost 75 percent of total electricity use.

Loans of up to $2 million are available for small businesses; the maximum loan for an individual residential project is $100,000. Grants are not to exceed $500,000, or 10 percent, of total eligible costs, whichever is less. Applicants may apply for a grant or a loan, but not both.

For more information visit newpa.com