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Geothermal Just Became More Affordable
There was good news recently for those considering using geothermal units in their homes. The savings can be rather significant and Lars with Nebcon Inc. let wrote this below to help us understand why.
Photo credit: bobvila.com"For several years the City of Omaha has required geothermal drillers to use a Union Steamfitter to hook up geothermal closed loops outside and inside of the house. Nebcon, Inc. has worked with the State of Nebraska and Mayor Stothert to end what we called a restraint of trade. The geothermal drillers according State statute 178 are required to hook up the piping according to the states guidelines. The City said that was not the case and we had to follow their codes causing high prices for loop fields and conflict between the State, city and us, drillers. It also caused builders to be reluctant to pass that cost on to the consumer thus slowing down the geothermal market. As of January the Code in Omaha now matches the State law and builders can now quote geothermal on a regular basis without adding extra cost and/ or problems with permits and inspections." - Lars Clang, Nebcon, Inc.
Why Google's $3.6 Billion Acquisition of Nest is Great News for the High Performance Home Industry
None of Google’s due diligence or reasoning to make such a huge move has been disclosed publicly, but the valuation of a company like Nest is most likely calculated on some combination of current and future:
- Product Revenue
- Patents
- The marriage potential with googles vault of personal data
- A proven stellar design team (the guys that designed the iPod)
- One-upping Apple
But even though Nest is a product company and, in that sense, differs from those of us providing services, the fundamental driver of their future business is completely aligned with high performance homes. The math that anchors Nest's future is fundamentally the same math that drives high performance homes:
The # of new and existing homes that have energy, comfort and/or safety related problems
The Step-By-Step Building Process
So you have decided on a builder for your new home, you've found the perfect lot, the papers have been signed, and you're all set to go. So now what? Below is a general guideline of the typical flow and process of building a new home. While it won't look exactly the same for every builder, this is the general step-by-step schedule that you need to follow in order to build your home in an efficient manner. Keep in mind that all of these items will be managed by your building company, but it can be helpful to know where you are at, where you're headed, and what may be too late or very expensive to change if you decide to modify something that has already been completed.- Apply for building permit
- Stake the house on the lot
- Dig the basement
- Form and pour the concrete basement
- Backfill foundation
- Frame the house
- Plumbing rough-in
- Pour basement and garage floors
- Install duct work
- Install electrical wiring
- Apply roofing and front stone
- City inspections
- Insulation in walls
- Drywall
- Interior doors and window trimmed
- Cabinets installed
- Painter finishes interior and exterior
- Ceramic tile and other surfaces installed
- Fireplace veneer applied
- Plumbing ,heating ,and electrical finishes are done
- Yard grading ,landscape ,sprinkler system, and sod installed
- Flooring and carpet laid
- Punch list (items that need to be tweaked based on the final walk-through)
- Cleaning
- Close on the home and move in!