Though retrofitting buildings can help to save energy, many homeowners do not know how to go about making their homes more energy efficient and may be concerned about the associated costs. However, ‘greening’ a home can also have the benefit of increasing its market value, once homeowners know where to start. On June 5, 2013, NYLCVEF co-hosted a free public forum called “Building Blocks for Energy Efficient Homes” with the Westchester County Executive’s Office. The event was designed to aid homeowners who want to make their homes more efficient but don’t know where to start, or are worried that the projects will end up costing more than they save.
The forum consisted of two panels, each with an audience Q&A session. During the first panel, “Greening Your Home to Maximize its Value,” industry professionals informed the audience about the latest in energy efficiency and environmentally friendly design. The panel was moderated by Judy Martin of Green Home Consulting, and the panelists were Susan Anthony, an Interior Designer, Leah Caro, a real estate broker, Jared Haines of Mercury Solar, Christina Griffin, an architect and Sean Murphy, of Murphy Brothers Contracting.
The second panel discussion, “How Do You Get Started?” was designed to educate homeowners about the existing and future residential incentive and financing programs to help pay for home-greening efforts. The panel was moderated by Pamela Lippe, NYLCV Westchester Chapter board member and principal of e4 inc, and the panelists included Tom Bregman of Energize NY, Kristina Klimovich of PACENow, John Sullivan of Sullivan Architecture, Anthony Marmo of Clover Comfort and Toby Simpson from Honeywell.
In addition to Westchester homeowners, the event was also attended by businesses and energy associations based throughout the county. More than 25 vendors were set up in the room to give attendees more information on taking the next step to green their homes.
In 2014, we once again partnered with the County for another panel discussion on residential energy efficiency which featured Judy Martin, who is consultant for Green Home Consulting and a member of NYLCV’s Westchester Chapter Board.
