Gary Smith

What is 2 to 1000 times greater inside than out, is impossible to see but at the same time has the potential to damage your eyes, can cause dizziness and nausea, and vaporizes at normal temperature and atmosphere? You guessed it…VOCs or volatile organic compounds.

Many of us spend more than 90% of our time indoors. Clean indoor air is as important as breathing. Some of the most critical factors influencing indoor air pollution concern our ability to eliminate or reduce specific sources such as tobacco smoke, radon, chemical irritants, and pesticides. It’s also as important that you control moisture, which can lead to mold growth and bacteria.

Ideally, it would be best to prevent these pollutants from being released in the first place, but that is not always possible or practical. An increased focus on proper ventilation can play a critical role in determining whether our indoor environment is healthy or not.

As a green building verifier my role is to help eliminate these conditions by teaching practical and proper building practices.

Listen to this National Public Radio program (Windows Media Player) conducted at Syracuse University on indoor air quality.

To learn more about VOCs and how to eliminate poor indoor air quality during construction contact Gary N Smith toll free at 877.809.6139 or visit him online at http://www.garynsmith.net.

Before the days of gun powder and lead the mighty shield was used for protection from unwanted elements during battle.

In our struggle to save energy consider using one of the most protective and cost effective "shields" developed. The Radiant Barrier.

It's a foil backed product that's placed in the attic of your home, foil side down, to help protect you from the sun's radiating heat that drives your energy use up and the size of your pocket book down. A radiant barrier:

• is placed foil side down in your attic (opposite of the way you think a shield should face!)
• will lower the cost of your cooling dollars by 40%
• will not effect your roof warranty (when installed as roof sheathing)
• can be installed directly onto your attic insulation
• lowers the negative effects of high heat on stored articles in your attic
• can be installed by you, the homeowner, with little or no experience (however, always take special care when working in the attic)
  

Coupled with caulking and sealing your home's air leaks the radiant barrier has immediate payback.

For more information on energy savings and home inspections call Gary Smith toll free at 877.809.6139 or visit him on the web: http://www.garynsmith.net

If you were shopping for a home and found one that was…

• well-built
• comfortable
• had lower-than-average monthly energy costs
• was easy to maintain
• required no additional income to pay for it

Would you stop shopping? I have good news! This kind of home is being built today.

How can you afford the purchase? That’s Easy! Get an EM - Energy Mortgage. The mortgage is unfamiliar to many homebuyers and believe it or not to many real estate agents.

How does it work? An EM increases your buying power by enabling the mortgage lender to count the monthly energy bill savings that a home’s energy efficient features deliver as extra income. There are two kinds of energy mortgages:

Energy-Efficient Mortgages

• Credits the savings from a home that is already efficient into the loan qualification process and capitalizes the improved features into the appraisal.

Energy Improvement Mortgages

• Increases the buying power of a consumer by financing energy improvements that are shown to be cost-effective and capitalizing the ensuing monthly savings into the mortgage loan.

All of the national secondary mortgage markets--conventional as well as federally insured programs--offer energy mortgage products.

Call Gary Smith for more info on Living Green at 1-877-809-6139 or online: http://www.garynsmith.net

The most important (and easiest) way to assure that you save money on your energy bills is to seal all the holes and cracks in your home. Take a look around your bedroom. See any obvious leaks? I doubt it. Take a closer look at the small holes where you might plug your lamp in. Every unsealed electrical box and light fixture in your home leaks air. A 1" hole will allow 4 pints of water to filter into your home in a average winter. The moisture enters via water vapor in the air. So...what does the moisture do? It forms on the surfaces of your home (in some conditions) as fungus and mildew.

Unconditioned air leaking into your home also brings with it mold spores and if the leaks are near the insulated ceiling can draw tiny particles off fiberglass insulation.

When molds are allowed to grow in wet-damp indoor environments, there is a likelihood that they can develop into enough volume to cause both damage to building materials and harm to some people. Whether or not someone will have an adverse reaction to mold exposure depends on many factors that include, but are not limited to: 1) the amount of molds present, 2) the type of molds present, 3) whether there is a pathway from where the molds are located to the person, 4) how long the exposure may take place and 5) how sensitive the individual may be to the exposure.

Learn more about living greener, healthier and lessening your carbon footprint by contacting Gary N Smith at 1-877-809-6139 or visit him online at www.garynsmith.net.