John Neal, age 26, Oakland, Calif.
What I do:
I’m currently the construction manager for Sustainable Spaces in San Francisco. Sustainable Spaces is a home performance retrofitter that offers turn-key solutions for homeowners to improve the health, comfort and energy efficiency of their homes.
The first step of our process is a GreenUP, a comprehensive home energy assessment conducted by Home Performance Specialists trained in building science. This results in a personalized roadmap of each home, which then guides our specially trained construction crews on how to most effectively retrofit the home’s heating, cooling and ventilation systems.
My role is to work with construction crews and our clients during the construction phase to ensure that each job runs smoothly, our crews can work safely, and that every solution performs optimally and every client is satisfied with the work completed.
How it helps:
Our clients, homeowners, feel the benefit of our work first. Depending on what work was performed they will typically lower their energy bills, improve indoor air quality and occupant health, and will live more comfortably in their homes.
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Heal your “sick” house with a green retrofit
February 27th, 2009 · 1 Comment
By Harriet Blake
When a member of your family is sick, you probably call the doctor. But what about when your home is sick? Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters is probably not an option, but invisible house issues need to be dealt with.
A house might be considered “sick” if it never seems warm enough, cool enough or maybe has utility bills that are sky high.
That’s when you want to call in a specialist in sustainable home retrofitting. It’s a relatively new field, although bits and pieces of the industry have been around for a while, just not under one roof, so to speak.
Mike Rogers, senior vice president of GreenHomes America in Syracuse, N.Y. and Irvine, Ca., calls it one-stop shopping. And more and more companies are emerging that can handle the multitude of tasks required for a full home retrofit.
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Tags: · Asdal Builders, BPI, Building Performance Institute, Energy Star, Green Homes, GreenHomes America, retrofit, San Francisco, Sustainable Spaces, Syracuse
Green retrofit step-by-step
February 27th, 2009 · 1 Comment
By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
Reputable companies are emerging that can handle all aspects of weatherizing and remodeling your home into a green abode, improving its energy efficiency and in some cases, its eco-aesthetics too.
Whether you’re in for a dollar or a dime, these new full-service firms will start with a master map of all that you can improve. Got some bucks for the upfront costs? They’ll tick through the to-do list with their own crews. But even if you’ve got limited cash, they’ll help identify how best to seed a green upgrade.
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Tags: · GreenHomes America, home performance, retrofit, Sustainable Spaces, weatherization
I’m currently the construction manager for Sustainable Spaces in San Francisco. Sustainable Spaces is a home performance retrofitter that offers turn-key solutions for homeowners to improve the health, comfort and energy efficiency of their homes.