Is Going Green Worth the Cost?

Actually, I am very interested to know about solar panels- pros/cons- costs- for a brownstone. I know in California, they get huge govt rebates, does anyone know about NYC? Or how it is even done here? Can this be done on a brownstone?

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 9:45 AM

What would the cost be for solar panel instalation on a Brwonstone? What tax breaks are available?

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 10:13 AM

I am going to be renovating a brownstone in Bed Stuy (currently in contract) and will be making as many green choices as humanly possible, definitely thinking in terms of the long-term cost and not the short-term (whenever I can... we are *definitely* not rich, can only afford this because we are doing most of the work ourseves, etc.)

It's just more efficient. Global warming is important to me, but for me it's about the frugality. This can be direct (insulation!!!) or more of a state of mind thing. I prefer bamboo floors to wood even though the price is comparable because they are globally frugal. And I would definitely scrape togethre 11K for solar panels because I love the fact that sunlight is FREE. Besides, solar panels could turn into that pennypinching ecstasy of selling power back to the grid.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 10:44 AM

We are putting cork floors in our kitchen. I guess that is green-lite.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 10:51 AM

I would definitely be interested. I personally think that there would be enough people to start an information sharing group... It should offer practical and realistic information, examples of what has been done in Brooklyn, companies, etc. (the usual Brownstone opinions), etc. Maybe if enough people knew the ins & outs and the prices, a real grassroots effort would become a reality...

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 11:02 AM

Yes there are a lot of rebates through NY State but the cost still ends up being around $15K. However if you know you'll live in the house a long time and thus save money on utilities every year, or if the solar panels will be an appealing factor for resale (which I think they will be, more and more) then you get your money back one way or another.

Green building is going to be huge business. Huge. It's the next thing. Anybody willing to set up shop as an all-green building home reno store in one of the hipper Brooklyn nabes, and establish their name before others jump on the bandwagon, will make good money.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 12:25 PM

To add on to Tony Tone's comments...

Trying to retain as as much of the old Brownstone (or frame) house is as green as it gets.

With all this gut renovating going on that I read over and over on this blog, er-uh, me thinks that this could be one simple way to go green.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 3:59 PM

Unfortunately, much of the money that could be used for going green in renos in NYC has to be used for removing toxins - lead paint, asbestos, etc... It's not like building a new home from scratch and being able to devote your budget to living green. Here in Brooklyn, it's often about making an old home livable -period. Especially when you have kids.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 5, 2007 4:59 PM

Some tips:

#1) Insulate at least to R19 with rigid insulation on all ext. walls! The denim is too expensive for mere mortals though. Sorry to report this. I think that HBO guy must have gotten a big discount for the press he did or else he's just an all around good, super rich dude. It's like a ton more expensive. I can't remember the ratio, but it's huge.

#2) Try to give away as much stuff as you can during demo. And this includes getting your contractor to try to give stuff to recyclers whenever possible too. We used build it green and brooklyn freecycle for our part of it.

#3) Solar is expensive. A good solar contractor (and honestly I think they are probably all pretty good.) should come out and do a survey of your roof and tell you how many panels you need to try to cover as much of your elect. bill as you can and also how many panels can fit up there, etc. They should also run a program and give you a printout on how many years it will take to pay for itself. Odds are that either you will benefit from it directly, or indirectly because even if you sell before you break even on savings you should reap the benefit of a buyer paying more for your property because of the solar panels I think. We opted to do this. If you post your e-mail address I will send you the contractor's name AFTER the job is totally completed.

4) Think about contamination issues that you can prevent during construction. Things like making sure your hvac vents are all sealed off during construction with simple plastic sheeting is a huge benefit to you. Also making sure the insulation in the int. walls isn't dirty with g*d knows what kind of construction debris. And making sure that debris is cleaned out of tight places like walls and between beams. You aren't going to clean it out after the walls are closed are you? And if you are getting rashes or wheezing maybe one day you will start wondering what the heck is still in there??

#5) Try to get sizes right before you install things. You will pay a lot more and waste a lot more if you get a bigger hvac system just because Joe-contractor says you need it. Hire a mechanical engineer to figure out the juice you need. We didn't do this and we regret it.

#6) Don't skimp on windows and appliances. Go for the energy star rated appliances no matter what. And if you don't mind the slightly greenish tint (most people can't notice it, although it bugs me) it's totally worth it to get the energy star rated windows too that are usually treated with an extra layer of I'm not sure what.

Good luck y'all.

Posted by: Anonymous at January 6, 2007 11:06 PM