Getting Started on Going Green
The links below will take you to a wealth of information on "green" topics most relevant to real estate and homeownership. Teaming with a resource in Fredericksburg, TX who is familiar with most (or all) of these topics can save you time and money and help make our world a better place!
Note: A key to being able to "go green" with some of the methods and systems noted below necessitates the ability for a property owner to arrange for a "net metering" or interconnection agreement with the utility providing the service. There are three electric providers in our area and the ability to (or not to) net meter is discussed in more detail HERE...
Another Note: On 10-03-2008 Congress passed and President Bush signed a bill extending for an additional 8 years 
the Investment Tax Credits to homeowners installing solar or small wind generations systems. Further, the bill eliminates the $2,000 monetary cap for residential solar and/or wind electric installations, creating a true 30-percent tax credit (effective for property placed in service after December 31, 2008)and allows Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) filers, both businesses and individuals, to take the credit. This is huge!
Last Note: There are, unfortunately, some downsides to the "green movement". One of these is currently playing out in the form of the debate/fight over proposed LCRA power transmission lines scheduled to carry wind-generated electricity from the massive farms sprouting in west Texas to major populations centers. These massive towers will permanently scar the native beauty of wide swaths of the Hill Country while providing no tangible benefit to customers of our local utilities. Such appears to be the price of "progress".
Energy Efficiency
Energy-Efficient Appliances When buying an appliance, remember that it has two price tags: what you pay to take it home and what you pay for the energy and water it uses.
Energy-Efficient Windows Windows provide our homes with light, warmth, and ventilation, but they can also negatively impact a home's energy efficiency.
Energy Recovery - Controlled Ventilation Systems The growing trend toward "tightening the home" improves a home's energy efficiency by controlling air and moisture movement to and from the home. However, making the home "tight" with poor ventilation can cause the home to retain moisture (which may cause mold) and other factors that compromise indoor air quality. Controlled ventilation systems are a means of increasing the amount of cleaner, fresher air entering the home, without the energy losses associated with simply opening windows.
Sealing & Insulating for Energy Efficiency Sealing and insulating the "envelope" or "shell" of your home — its outer walls, ceiling, windows, doors, and floors — is often the most cost effective way to improve energy efficiency and comfort.
Solar Topics
Passive Solar Heating Step outside on a hot and sunny summer day, and you'll feel the power of solar heat and light. Today, many buildings are designed to take advantage of this natural resource through the use of passive solar heating and daylighting.
Solar Electricity Photovoltaic technology makes use of the abundant energy in the sun, and it has little impact on our environment. Photovoltaics systems are dropping in price and increasing in efficiency at a rapid pace.
Wind Power
Small Wind Energy Generation Systems A wind turbine, which is installed on top of a tall tower, collects kinetic (motion) energy from the wind and converts it to electricity that is compatible with a home's electrical system.
The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M points out that there is much still to be worked out regarding wind generation in Texas. Environmental concerns, nuisance problems, property tax abatements, legal challenges, local zoning and subdivision regulations and federal tax implications are but a few issues to become familiar with in this fast-changing environment.
Many landowners in the Fredericksburg area are familiar with recent exploratory efforts by large wind farm operators to assess the viability of large-scale production in our area. Whether you agree with the concept, or oppose it as does the grass-roots SOS Hill Country , you absolutely must know the right and wrongs ways in which to negotiate "wind leases".
A key to rapid cost recovery (pay back) for either solar or wind systems is the concept of "net-metering". "Net-metering" is a simplified method of metering the energy consumed and produced at a home or business that has its own renewable energy generator, such as a wind turbine or PV system. Under net metering, excess electricity produced by these systems will spin the existing home electricity meter backwards, effectively banking the electricity until it is needed by the customer. This provides the customer with full retail value for all the electricity produced.
Under existing federal law (PURPA, Section 210) utility customers can use the electricity they generate with a wind turbine or PV system to supply their own lights and appliances, offsetting electricity they would otherwise have to purchase from the utility at the retail price. But if the customer produces any excess electricity (beyond what is needed to meet the customer’s own needs) and net metering is not allowed by the servicing utility, the utility company purchases that excess electricity at the wholesale or ‘avoided cost’ price, which is much lower than the retail price.
The excess energy is metered using an additional meter that must be installed at the customer’s expense. Net metering simplifies this arrangement by allowing the customer to use any excess electricity to offset electricity used at other times during the billing period. In other words, the customer is billed only for the net energy consumed during the billing period.
Environmental
Conservation Easements A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement that allows a landowner to limit the type or amount of development on their property while retaining private ownership of the land.
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Indoor Air Quality People spend a large portion of their time inside homes and offices. In fact, the EPA estimates that most people spend 90 to 95 percent of their time indoors. This makes indoor air quality very important to health.
Low VOC Paint Recent EPA studies estimate indoor air quality to be 3 to 5 times more toxic than outdoor air largely caused by toxic emissions of paints and finishes.
Radon Radon is a colorless, tasteless, odorless radioactive gas that can seep into your basement or the lowest livable space in the home from surrounding soil.
The northern reaches of Gillespie County (as well as much of Mason and Llano counties) are home to the Enchanted Rock batholith, a huge, pink granite dome. Non-exposed portions of this
enormous geological feature run throughout these Hill Country counties and are the primary source for the decomposing granite prevalent in the area. It is this granite that is a primary source of radon/radium.
Water wells in "granite country" (including two that supply the City of Fredericksburg) have been found to contain trace amounts of radium. City water from this well is mixed with water from other wells in compliance with TCEQ oversite to eliminate any potentially harmful effects.
Radium is the parent element of radon. Radon is primarily associated with the Radium 226 isotope. The predominant radium found in area wells tested to date is radium 228. As radon has a half life of approx. 4 days, the simple solution to concerns on privates well is to store the water for a few days prior to use.
Home and Buildings - General
Home Energy Ratings A home energy rating involves an analysis of a home’s construction plans and onsite inspections. Owners of existing homes can benefit from obtaining a HERS rating as it clearly points to ways that homes can be made more efficient.
House as a System When building new energy-efficient houses or making existing houses more efficient significant energy gains can be realized, just by treating the "House as a System".
Low-Flow Toilets Low-flow toilets are specifically designed to use less water during each flush
Heating and Cooling
Heating - High Combustion Efficiency Owners and occupants benefit from high efficiency equipment and modern designs that efficiently convert energy contained in the fuel into useful heat for building occupants.
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning HVAC refers to the equipment, distribution network, and terminals that provide either collectively or individually the heating, ventilating, or air-conditioning processes to a building. HVAC accounts for 40% to 60% of the energy used in residential buildings.
Radiant Floor Heat Radiant floor heating can be extremely cost-effective and comfortable. There are three types of radiant floor heat: radiant air floors, electric radiant floors, and hot water radiant floors.
Water Heating - Instantaneous Water Heaters In contrast to the traditional method of keeping 40 to 80 gallons of hot water at-the-ready in an insulated tank, "on-demand" heaters produce hot water only when it is needed.
Building Materials
Alternative Decking Materials Alternative decking materials are rising in popularity because they are durable and long lasting, require little to no maintenance, and most are composed of recycled materials. The two most common types are wood/plastic composite lumber and plastic lumber. A majority of alternative decking materials are made from 90-100% recycled materials that do not require the use of paints or sealers and are not prone to cracking or splitting like their wood counterparts.
Bamboo Flooring Bamboo flooring is a cost-effective and environmentally sensitive choice among traditional hardwood 
flooring options. An appealing building material, it is very durable, strong and long-lasting. Bamboo, a grass product and not a wood product, is harvested every 5 years without damaging the actual bamboo plant, and does not require pesticides due to its hardiness. It comes in four different types of flooring: natural, carbonized, vertical, and horizontal graining.
Building Materials You can save a lot of money and avoid future headaches by choosing and installing building materials that are safe and appropriate.
Roofs - Durable, Lasting Roofing Materials Slate, clay, concrete, and composite shingles, as well as metal roofing, offer longevity advantages over common asphalt-based shingles. Properly maintained, roofs made of slate, clay or composite shingles can easily last a century. Metal roofs in traditional "standing seam" or "batten seam" applications are available in terne (a thin mixture of tin and lead coating a carbon steel core panel) and now in terne-coated-stainless ( TCS, the same mixture covering a stainless steel core panel).
Straw Bale Home Basics Appropriate for a wide variety of climates, straw bale homes can be comfortable and can manage moisture effectively if designed and constructed properly. These structures can provide good thermal (approx. R-30 to R-35) and sound insulation and provide some fire-resistance in ASTM testing. They use low embodied energy, low-toxicity building materials which are usually available locally. NOTE: Some folks are allergic to straw/hay!
Rammed Earth Construction may also refer to stone, brick, caliche, rammed earth, adobe, compressed soil block, cob, superadobe, pisÈ, and a variety of other materials and/or methods. What they all have in common is that they are all made from raw materials naturally occurring in the earth. No matter which method is used, it is usually best to work with indigenous, or locally obtained, materials.
Financing
Energy Efficiency Mortgages Energy-efficient mortgages are one of the most beneficial and under-utilized programs the consumer can find and capitalize upon in today's real estate market. An energy-efficient mortgage can add an additional 15% of a home's appraised value to the principal of a new loan or a refinance, often at no additional cost, no compromise in the loan-to-value ratio for the borrower, and sometimes at a better rate.
