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Rate It Green Team
Member Since: 01/11/2006
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About Me
Activity
Heat Pumps 101 - Comfort, Health, Savings, Energy Efficiency, and Lower Emissions
If you’re even thinking about energy efficiency, or if you’ve been considering HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning system) improvements or building renovations of any kind, you’ve likely heard many mentions in recent communications and news about heat pumps. What are heat pumps, and why are they suddenly everywhere? The short answer is that heat pumps can do the same work as fossil fuel powered equipment when it ...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 05/01/2024 + Show |
Windows and Energy Efficiency - Factors for Making Better Choices
Green Builder Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc . and Mike Barcik, a Technical Principal at Southface, recently teamed up for a helpful conversation about windows and energy efficiency . The two review quite a few key concepts that everyone should know, and many of us likely don’t. Among other topics, Mike and Matt help bust some myths about window replacement. New, m...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 02/06/2024 + Show |
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Introduction and Update
What is the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)? Signed into law on August 16, 2022, The Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, represents the largest US legislative investment in energy efficiency and clean energy, and stands as a significant climate bill in many respects, including that the IRA uses “carrots” to incentivize investment over “sticks” like fees and punishment. Though it’s not apparent ...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 02/02/2024 + Show |
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) - Tools & Resources
This list is an evolving effort to share helpful Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA-related information we have found to date. Please feel welcome to share your favorite tools, platforms, organizations, and additional federal and other energy efficiency and clean energy resources! It's an understatement to say the IRA is big and complicated. We'll learn from each other and make more progress together, so that everyo...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 01/26/2024 + Show |
The Perfect Wall, Explained - and Demonstrated
According to Green Builder Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. , "The Perfect Wall” is an advanced way of insulating, air sealing, and keeping air and water vapor out of buildings in a logical manner. This efficient description supports the idea that green building is really just smart building. If we're logical and aim for best practices and conditions with great products, while minimizing material and resou...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 01/23/2024 + Show |
Welcome to the #1920sMakeoverATL Project! See the Virtual Tour Below, or Click to Visit the full-view version ! Green Builder Matt Hoots of Sawhorse, Inc. and his team and Project Partners will be be gutting a charming 1920s Ansley Park Atlanta home down to the studs and then rebuilding it back with a goal to make this the most energy-efficient house in this zip code! As the ...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 04/25/2023 + Show |
Building Electrification: Why It Matters to Your Wallet, Health, Comfort, and the Environment
What is Building Electrification? Building electrification might sound complicated, but the concept is actually both simple and critically important. Electrification means using electricity to power buildings instead of fossil fuels, which are primarily used in structures to power heating, cooling, water heating, and cooking. Electric vehicle charging capacity has also become a part of building electrification consideration...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 02/28/2023 + Show |
Electric Lawn and Garden Equipment - A Revolution in the Making
Have you woken up or tried to work to the sound of a noisy leaf blower? Have you gotten caught in the gas fumes behind gas powered lawn and other maintenance equipment? Lawn maintenance and outdoor power equipment such as mowers, leaf blowers, edgers, trimmers, and chain saws are clearly pesty, unhealthy, and cause negative environmental and climate impacts. Fortunately, a better option already exists. Due in large par...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 03/01/2023 + Show |
2050 has long been the year cited by which carbon emissions must be reduced by zero, which was already a step more aggressive than the stretch Paris Agreement goal of limited global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050. Now, the authors of the 2035 report and others are increasingly arguing that the new goal for net zero must be 2035 (or even 2030) to prevent the worst effects of climate change from taking place. Why th...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 03/02/2023 + Show |
Reducing the Natural Gas “Bridge,” for Human and Environmental Health
The Risks and Dangers Associated with Natural Gas To reach critical and urgent climate change mitigation goals, we must decrease global carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To achieve this reduction, there is no doubt we must decrease dependence on all fossil fuels, including natural gas, while also producing and consuming these energy sources more cleanly. We must also imme...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 03/03/2023 + Show |
Brett Duffy with Clean Surfaces recently shared a helpful introduction to CASPR Group’s "hands-free” disinfecting technology with Rate It Green’s Matt Hoots. Clean Surfaces is a distributor for CASPR Group, where CASPR stands for Continuous Air & Surface Pathogen Reduction....
By Rate It Green Team 3 replies Last updated: 12/16/2020 + Show |
USGBC Green Building Policy Outlook Panel, A Moment for Optimism and Broad-based Support
On December 10, The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) gathered a panel of policymakers and business leaders to consider the current green building policy outlook in the context of pandemic and the incoming Biden Administration. Panelists included USGBC’s Senior Policy Counsel, Elizabeth Beardsley, Representative Kathy Castor...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 12/10/2020 + Show |
Solatube International - Natural Daylighting through Sun Tunnels for your Home or Business (Video)
If you aren’t aware of daylight or sun tunnels, or you want to know more, join green builder Matt Hoots as he speaks with Dr. Neall Digert, Vice President at Solatube International to learn more about Solatube’s technology and how sun tunnels work, as well as the benefits of these systems. This video is a great 101...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 12/08/2020 + Show |
Caleb Peck from Husqvarna recently spoke with Green Builder Matt Hoots about Husqvarna’s residential and commercial electric mowers and other lawn and maintenance equipment, some of which can also be automated and/or solar powered. Electric lawn maintenance equipment is rapidly gaining attention and adherents, and...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 12/06/2020 + Show |
In this 8-part series hosted by Rockwool, Chris Laumer-Giddens of LG Squared, Inc. walks us through some of the high performance homes he’s built, the basics of well-built wall assemblies, and the top reasons he builds with stone wool. Watch the videos one at a time, or watch them all through. We also highlight the key...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 12/03/2020 + Show |
Green Building Job Opportunity: HVAC Designer with Energy Vanguard
Energy Vanguard is looking for an experienced HVAC designer. If you have strong technical skills and are interested in working for a leader in the field of high performance residential buildings, this might be a great opportunity for you. To succeed in this role, you will have: Desire to learn, ability to overcome...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 11/30/2020 + Show |
What is the "perfect wall"? 10 Years ago, Dr. Joseph Lstiburek, building science expert, published an article detailing the "Perfect Wall." The wall is an assembly that is designed to "keep the outside out and the inside in." This philosophy makes building more energy efficient, while...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 11/01/2020 + Show |
AIA 2030 Recognizes ZeroEnergy Design's Achievements in Portfolio-wide EUI Achievement
Congratulations to Rate It Green Member Zero Energy Design! ZED was recently recognized by the American Association of Architects (AIA) for being one of only 27 US architectural firms where a 70% or greater Energy Use Intensity (EUI) savings was achieved across the entire firm's portfolio in 2019. The AIA 2030 Commitment...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 10/18/2020 + Show |
In this video, builder and green building expert Matt Hoots shares his personal experience with Huber’s Advantech subflooring panels. This is a product he has worked with for over 20 years and uses on the majority of his jobs, whether they are additions, subfloor repairs or a whole new house. One reason for his confidence is...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 09/21/2020 + Show |
VIDEO: Spot Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) - Designed for One Location (vs Whole House)
Learn about spot energy recovery ventilation (designed for one room/location) in this “unboxing” video, and… meet Matt’s dog, Oliver! Matt reviews the components of an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) and why its important to bring fresh air into the home. It’s important to understand that...
By Rate It Green Team Last updated: 09/13/2020 + Show |
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