Solar Hot Water class at Green Expo 2009

Austin area homeowners swarmed the Dell Diamond this past Saturday to get their questions answered about solar hot water and other energy saving technologies.

Green Expo 2009, sponsored by the Williamson County Association of Realtors (WCAOR) was a smashing success!

“Homeowners love it!”, said Steve Rosenbaum of BMC West and Home Energy Solutions, a premier sponsor of the event. “Everybody has lots of questions about what they can do right now to save money at home.”

Home Energy Solutions is hands down the leader in bringing consumers, manufacturers and everybody in between together to see, touch, and learn about things they can do. BMC West features Home Energy Solutions products such as solar water system, solar attic fan (part of the Solex Attic System), 3M window film, and the most energy efficient vinyl replacement window and door systems.

“The first step,” says Rosenbaum, “is always the inspection. Make sure to bring in a certified thermographer to shoot your home with an infrared camera so you can see where your home is leaking energy.”

Get all your homeowner energy efficient questions answered at GetRatedNow.com.  Follow us now on Facebook and Twitter.

Still on the way to Washington D. C.  on the Save Housing Express.  Craig and Steve discuss what it means to “Get Rated” and how to weatherize and make your home more energy efficient.

Listen to Steve and Craig talk about their trip.

Follow the progress on the energy efficient homes blitz blog, get rated now Facebook page and get rated now Twitter page.

Larry Kolvoord/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Congratulations Joe Hodge! His is truly an inspiring story of perserverance, love and sharing. We are also very proud of Joe’s work at BMC West!

Joe is our resident expert on home replacement windows, and energy efficient windows for new construction.

The Austin Statesman featured a great story about Joe and his work with the Church and Community on Saturday, April 11, 2009.

Keep up the great work Joe!

Rolling out of Austin, heading to Washington D. C.  on the Save Housing Express.  The trailer is loaded with energy efficient windows, and doors for Youthbuild and American Youthworks.  Tuesday, is the Green Homebuilding Service Day on the National Mall.

Listen to Steve and Craig talk about their trip.

Follow the progress on the energy efficient homes blitz blog, get rated now Facebook page and get rated now Twitter page.

When it comes to getting a replacement window contractor bid, you may feel like you’re way back in the Wild, Wild West!

Most areas do not regulate companies selling windows.  You are going to meet people that make all kinds of promises about how much they will lower your utility bill, how their double pane window is better than a 366 glass triple pane window, and on and on and on…

The bottom line is: you must do your homework.  Learn the facts that are important to your environment.  If you’re in a warm climate, you want to know about Solar Heat Gain Coefficient.  If you’re in a colder climate, U-Value will be  important to you.  Visible Light Transmission tells you how dark the glass is.

Finally, make sure to pay attention to how much Ultra-Violet Light (UV) the window blocks out.  Keeping UV out will protect your furniture, window coverings, wood floors and more.

Don’t just accept the lowest bid on windows.  Take all these factors into account to measure your true Return on Investment.

Home Energy Solutions windows, exclusively from BMC West, feature Cardinal 366 glass as a standard feature and many other features that make it the most energy efficient window on the market.  Email: jhodge@bmcwest.com for more information.