Go Green
A Blog by WARM Training Center
Replace my furnace with geothermal?
Jan 17th
Hi Jacob, we just found out that we need a new furnace in our house IMMEDIATELY. And rather than make a rash decision, I wanted to at least consider if geothermal is an option in a 2300 sq foot house built in 1941 in Huntington Woods. An energy efficient furnace would cost about $7,000 and I wonder if geothermal is much more than that and how long it takes to get installed? Or if you can suggest who I should call?
– Jodee, Huntington Woods
Yes geothermal is an option for a house like yours. Just to be clear, this is technically called a ground source heat pump (as opposed to geothermal sources like the hot water geysers in the west), but most of us call it geothermal. It will be more expensive than the furnace, especially because you have little yard space in that town (so big vertical drills instead of just scooping out 6 feet of earth running 200 feet across your yard). And I don’t know about how quickly they can do it, but will send you contacts for some local folks so you can call and find out. Note that the geothermal system would also replace your AC (if you have any, and if not, then you would following this install) and so if you’re considering replacing the AC anytime soon, then the cost of the geothermal should really be compared to the replacement cost for both the furnace and the AC. And the time that you have to replace a furnace is certainly the right time to do this (as opposed to replacing a functional furnace) because you’ll already be spending a bunch of money on it. Continue reading “Replace my furnace with geothermal?” »
Next Weekend – One Key to Making Green Affordable
Jan 7th
We know that saving energy and water will save money, but the cost of regular construction materials is a place where Green Building can get a bit trickier. Many great innovations have been developed to make construction materials greener, yet many of them come with a price premium. But the key to making green materials affordable is re-use. This is especially relevant for those DIY home fix-ups, because you don’t pay yourself for labor. As I’ve said before, we’re blessed with a bunch of great local re-use centers for construction and remodeling materials. And next weekend, the local Habitat for Humanity ReStores are having a huge winter sale, with many items 50% off.
It’s just Friday and Saturday, Jan 14-15, so get there early and enjoy the shopping.
Appearing around the net…
Jan 6th
Here are a few videos and articles that I showed up in recently. I promise – a real blog post will come soon — but for now, I figured this might be fun to share. 
1. I had the pleasure of meeting and spending time with someone who was a big early influencer of my thoughts on urban sustainable development this past Summer. Richard Register (who literally, in both senses of the word, wrote the book on eco-cities) was in Detroit, and he writes an article about his experience here.
2. A good series (videos and an article) from the Powering the Nation folks (for whom I did a blog post earlier) about the growth of Green Jobs in Detroit. It’s a nice set of stories, though the last video makes us all look a bit like idiots — but not unreasonably so! Their central point is solid: when it comes to green jobs, clear meaningful definitions are few and far between. Still, I’ll post the video where we all look like idiots here, because who doesn’t love that…
What is a green job? from Powering a Nation on Vimeo.
Bringing these two topics together, I’ll note that Richard Register’s take on the green jobs movement was basically this (in paraphrase):
People are working on all the wrong concepts. A barista at the local coffee shop has a green job if she can live nearby in a multi-unit apartment building and walk to work. The infrastructure that emerges out of truly dense and vertical urban development makes any job more significantly green that what most people are talking about now.
Job Opening – Human Resources Manager
Dec 28th
Download Application – Click Here
Due to growth in 2010 and anticipated further growth, WARM is seeking to add an experienced Human Resources Manager to their team. The Manager will be responsible for establishing and managing the organization’s human resources department. The successful candidate will direct and facilitate all aspects of WARM’s human resources functions including policies and procedures, compliance and benefits. This is initially a part time position that could grow into a full time one. Competitive pay package based on qualifications. For a complete job description, please see WARM’s website, www.warmtraining.org.
To apply, please send resume, cover letter, including salary requirements, and three professional references to Executive Director Robert Chapman at apply@warmtraining.org.
WARM Training Center, named a 2010 Green Leader by the Detroit Free Press, has been promoting sustainable affordable communities since 1981. WARM is an equal opportunity employer, committed to having a diverse workforce.
EECBG Case Studies
Dec 17th
Looking for some case studies about local government implementing energy efficiency projects? Look no further:
The Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office, WARM Training Center, and State of Michigan Energy Office have collaborated on case studies that highlight the challenges for local governments in implementing energy efficiency projects:
Check them out here:
EECBG Case Study 1: Small Governments tells the story of little Yale, MI and its quest to reduce the amount of energy used in the city hall, as well as to be able to see out the windows. Luckily, their city manager sought help from many different organizations around the state for help in making this quest a reality. Due to his persistence, the retrofits are underway!
EECBG Case Study 2: Single Stream Recycling is an account of the challenges and victories of Huntington Woods, MI and SOCRRA as they fought to implement a pilot single stream recycling program in the community.
EECBG Case Study 3: Workforce Development regales us with the tale of how the City of Warren facilitated partnerships between many organizations to integrate workforce development into its green roof projects.
EECBG Case Study 4: Lighting Retrofit tells about what was saved (energy) and what was gained (better lighting) as Lathrup Village implemented a lighting retrofit project in their city hall.
EEECBG Case Study 5: Joint Purchasing is the story of six communities who banded together with the help of the Southeast Michigan Regional Energy Office and saved over $40,000 in lighting supplies through joint purchasing for their lighting retrofits, equivalent to $0.68 cents/capita for residents in those communities.
EECBG Case Study 6: Historic Buildings recounts the story of the preservation and restoration of both historic character and energy in the 130 year old one room school house turned library in tiny Ray Township, MI.