BuildSmart Expo
At the New Orleans Home and Garden Show
Thursday – Sunday, February 28th – March 2nd, 2008
Informative Workshops, New Products, and Demonstrations
The Build Smart Expo features a special exhibit area for energy efficient and green building businesses and products; a full schedule of informative workshops led by top professionals; and a display of full-scale demonstration models showcasing energy efficiency and green building products and techniques.
Take Control of Your Utility Bills – With Energy Efficiency
The Alliance for Affordable Energy predicts that local homeowners, especially those living in New Orleans’ historically energy inefficient homes, can cut from 10% – 40% off the cost of electricity per year. Many of these savings can be achieved with little or no added costs, while others are sound investments that pay back many times over in annual energy savings.
Are you the ‘do-it-yourself’ type? The Alliance for Affordable Energy is ready to help you get started with relatively easy energy performance improvements that make a real difference. If you are rebuilding or remodeling in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this is the perfect time to make energy performance improvements that will increase the value of your home while saving your family thousand of dollars in utility expenses. With energy efficiency, there is something for everyone, whether you are undertaking major rebuilding or just changing a light bulb.
Green Building – Good for the Environment, Good for Your Family!
Green building is an approach to building that minimizes impact to the environment while improving the quality and health of your home for your family.
Here are some of the typical consideration for building green: Avoid harmful toxins: by minimizing or eliminating the use of toxic chemicals, green building products are better for the environment and safer for your family. Quality non-toxic products to look for include paints, wood stains, carpets, furniture, cabinets, and plastic alternatives, to name just a few. Focus on Energy Efficiency: By eliminating energy waste, you help the planet while saving money on your utility bills.
Efficient Use of Resources: some companies are careful to reduce or eliminate the waste of raw materials in the production process while others avoid this issue altogether by manufacturing their products from recycled content. Wood, metal, glass, even carpets can be recycled and used to make new products. Another method of resource efficiency involves using less water and electricity in the production process.
Use of Sustainable Resources: when you use lumber that is certified as sustainably harvested, that means that ancient forests are less likely to be cut down or that at-risk environments like our Louisiana Cyprus Wetlands will be destroyed.
Natural light and shading: using the sun for pleasant natural light in your home while carefully placed landscaping, trees, and awnings can help keep your house cool in the summer.
Locally Produced: not only do you eliminate energy waste from shipping long distances, you help to create valuable jobs in our local economy.
Renewable Energy: reduce your use of fossil fuels with renewable energy sources like solar power.
These days there are tons of energy performance and green building products that will improve affordability, comfort, and increase the value of your home. Visiting the BuildSmart Expo will introduce you to informative and practical options so you can get started today. If you are rebuilding, remodeling, or just looking for some good projects for your home, you don’t want to miss this!