Last month we coated the roof over at Hose Guys located at 2569 Hickory Avenue in Metairie, Louisiana – right outside of New Orleans. We used a couple of temperature dataloggers to monitor the temperature for weeks before and days after the coating was applied. Results? An average drop of over Twenty Degrees Fahrenheit.

Instead of bragging on and on about the outcome of this project myself, I’ll simply share parts of an email we got from the business owner.

Just a quick note to let you know how pleased we are with the results of our Insuladd roof coating project. …Our 5,000 square foot shop is used about half for service operations and half for warehouse storage. Even before Larry Haines told me the before and after temperature numbers I could tell that the coating made a significant difference. Previously the inside of the building would be much hotter than the ambient outside temperature even on a mild sunny day and you could feel the heat radiating from the inside ceiling. After the coating was applied it was obvious that there was much less heat radiating down from the ceiling. I also noticed that coming in early on a Monday morning, the building was not near as hot as it would have been in the past after being locked up for two days of constant sunshine. Needless to say our technicians who work in the shop are happy with the improved working conditions and the prospect of the heat of summer not impacting them so dramatically as in the past.

- Stan Benoit

The state of the art Sunconomy homes are a direct result of listening to home buyers. New home buyers repeatedly ask for three specific benefits which include:

1. Homes that save them money on utilities, insurance and maintenance
2. Homes that are durably built and have lower maintenance costs
3. Homes that are healthier to live in

“My grandson had a respiratory problem just after bringing him home from the maternity ward that really scared all of us. His mom took him back to the hospital because of breathing problems where he died but was thankfully revived. He spent the next month strapped down to a board with tubes, needles and doctors keeping him alive.” said Larry Haines, Road Home Builder’s founder. “Even with the deductable our daughter had tremendous hospital bills as a result of this illness and I often wonder what role the indoor air quality played in this near catastrophic event.”

Haines continued, “Many builders are stuck in the “that’s the way we have always done it” mode and typically don’t have resources or the desire to keep up with technology, innovation and consumer trends. For the builders that do want to offer these state of the art homes to consumers, Road Home Builders, LLC offers training and certification in building Sunconomy homes to ensure quality, durability and especially energy savings to the home buyers.”

Green jobs are an important part of the New Orleans rebuilding and expansion.  “The “Big Easy” is a great place to grow a green business” says Haines. “After Katrina we’ve seen thousands of young professionals flock to the city to make a difference in the local rebuilding and also in making a national impact.”
Road Home Builders, LLC expects to see a significant job growth as it ramps up production, training and sales of its many Sunconomy Homes.  For more information, go to www.Sunconomy.com/press

The companies plan to co-locate manufacturing and office space in the in New Orleans, Louisiana market. This partnership is expected to stimulate construction across the Gulf Coast and the entire nation, as well as boost manufacturing, design work, employment and other economic activity in the New Orleans market. The companies will soon launch a national campaign to introduce builders, developers and consumers to Sunconomy Homes built with OceanSafe panels. These state-of-the-art dwellings will include thermal and photovoltaic (PV) systems with the goal of attaining net-zero energy usage. Homes will be capable of withstanding severe weather and also offer healthy living spaces for families. Construction of the first Sunconomy Home built with OceanSafe panels is expected to begin in January 2011.

OceanSafe’s Steel Structural Insulated Panels (SSIPs) will be used as external, load-bearing walls as well as form an integral part of the roof system to create an entire building envelope that is impervious to the destructive forces of nature, including hurricanes and earthquakes. Construction of these energy-efficient and green homes is fast and easy, making them a cost-efficient solution for homeowners, builders and developers. Insuladd ceramic thermal barrier coatings and Ontility solar thermal and PV solar systems will be utilized to reduce each home’s energy usage.

“OceanSafe will supply the ‘shell’ for each Sunconomy Homes building, and together with Road Home Builders, will offer hands-on training classes using materials, systems and designs to educate builders and construction crews in the best methods to properly build Sunconomy Homes. They will learn our techniques for building these safe, energy-efficient homes and bring this know-how back to their companies across the nation,” said Joseph Basilice, President of OceanSafe.

“Sunconomy Homes represent a new concept to home buyers: Homes that pay you to live in them,” said Larry Haines, Managing Partner of Road Home Builders. “By reducing utility bills and saving money on insurance rates and maintenance costs, home buyers now have an easy choice to make between modern, energy-efficient and healthy homes that last a lifetime and homes built to outdated, inefficient standards. Builders will benefit by offering consumers significantly more benefits over conventional homes and they are able to construct Sunconomy Homes faster and easier than stick built structures. Sunconomy Home builders are able to offer a complete, pre-engineered energy rated house to consumers, removing the burden of designing green, efficient homes themselves.”

Sunconomy Home architects as well as those from across the United States will be developing optional designs that will be attractive to builders, developers and consumers. Sunconomy Homes builders will be able to offer consumers energy-efficient homes built with quality materials following the latest in construction methods. Training will be available for building industry professionals who become part of the Sunconomy Homes network. Professionals will be taught the skills that will allow them to build the next generation of technologically advanced, green, durable and energy-efficient homes. Training for builders will include the use of OceanSafe’s SSIP materials and systems as well as other leading construction products and techniques.

For more information, go to www.roadhomebuilders.com or www.sunconomy.com.

-END-

OceanSafe is a manufacturer of steel structural insulated panels. With ongoing building projects here and throughout the Gulf and Caribbean regions, the company is committed to the sustainable rebuilding of New Orleans. Its reach is also worldwide, in providing immediate and permanent volume solutions to both housing and commercial infrastructure needs. The firm has made a commitment to quality, exacting material standards and functional sustainability in every building constructed. The concept behind OceanSafe Building Systems, or SSIPS (Steel Structural Insulated Panels), is both simple and revolutionary. The product consists of Galvalume panels, combined with an expanded polystyrene core (EPS). It is assembled with a patented snap-together system that makes the panels highly resistant to the destructive forces of nature. The result is a finished building that is truly green and enduringly sustainable with unprecedented warranties, energy savings, and insurance reductions. For more information please see: www.oceansafehousing.com

Road Home Builders is a leading green building and construction firm based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The company’s team of qualified green building professionals has over 70 combined years of experience in construction. The company’s management works with homeowners, developers and real estate investors in Louisiana and across the nation, offering professional construction services on time and on budget. For more information, go to www.roadhomebuilders.com.

MEDIA CONTACT
Corbett Public Relations, Inc.
Bill Corbett, Jr.
(516) 775-0435 x 1
wjcorbett@corbettpr.com
www.oceansafesteelsip.com
www.roadhomebuilders.com
www.sunconomy.com

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The article above about “saving tons of energy and money” recently hit home with users of Insuladd’s® new ceramic insulating paint additive distributed by Road Home Builders, LLC. It’s as simple and easy to use as “Add and Stir” and can be used with virtually any paint found in retail stores or home improvement centers.

Commercial and residential building owners in Louisiana and Texas can reduce energy consumption by 20% or more by the proper use of the ceramic insulating paint developed via the Technology Exchange program at NASA. Many ceramic coatings use NASA claims but Insuladd® can prove theirs unlike promoters. Not all technology is the same, even though that’s their claim.

Insuladd® ceramic paint additive has withstood the rigors of the most extreme and demanding conditions including applications on a U.S. Navy Arctic Research Vessel, oil storage tanks in the Middle East, Metal shipping containers, factories and warehouses.

Think of how film manufacturers use thin coatings applied to windows to reduce the heat gain through glass while still letting light in. They are trying to block the thermal radiation out while letting the photons that people want in the house. Why can’t that same concept be applied to the whole house? Well now it can, when you paint your house with Insuladd®.

Thermal barriers on roof sheeting were developed and are used to keep solar radiation from entering the attic space, but who wants to rip off their shingles and roof system to insulate. The ability to apply a sprayed on or rolled on insulation to the underside of the roof decking or directly to the shingles is a much easier sell to the homeowner. Houses with Insuladd ceramic paint additives are easier to sell due to the energy savings and the “green” trend now demanding low and no VOC paints and materials in a house.

Health, durability and Savings are trademarks of a Sunoconomy home, a standard that demands forward thinking, efficient and effective green products. Insuladd® meets the Sunonomy standard and is available from dealers or painters in your area.

Sunconomy recently added Insuladd, an insulating paint additive, that saves homeowners at least 20% on their energy bill. Paint contractors, homeowners and DIY enthusiasts are looking for ways to save money while not being overwhelmed with technical or complex solutions. Insuladd is a simple “mix & stir” solution to save money for every homeowner. “Don’t just Paint, Insulate” is the company’s slogan.

This simple “mix & stir” solution is so easy that Home Depot and Lowes are in discussions to become distributors to the general public. It’s really an easy decision to make because there is so much value to using the product. The easy to use packet is easy to use by pouring one packet into one gallon of paint…..any paint that you want to use.

“Being able to offer flexibility to the homeowner or painter to use whatever brand or color they like is a huge benefit” to the customer, says Larry Haines, Sunconomy founder. Most ceramic coating offer white and can’t change their color. Insuladd allows the customer the most flexibility regarding brand and paint color while saving energy every month. It’s the only paint additive that actually pays for itself through energy savings.

Here’s how it works. NASA needed a coating material that was super light weight yet very temperature resistant due to the rigorous demands of the space program. NASA and Tech Traders (the original NASA partners) developed Insuladd through years of testing and application. Using microscopic ceramic beads, Insuladd works as a radiant heat barrier unlike fiberglass insulation that just retards the heat, Insuladd actually stops the heat from coming through the wall.

Let’s define it from the consumer’s point of view. What’s your take?

It is commonly said that women make 80% of the buying decision when purchasing a house. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand what influences the buying decisions of this market segment.

An article in USA Today by Noelle Knox discusses some of the trends that seem to influence the purchase of a home by single women. These include:

Women are marrying later in life
Divorce is more prevalent than earlier decades
Women are living 5 years (on average) longer than men – 79 yrs vs. 74 yrs.
Women have more money than before
Women have more earning power than before, making it easier to qualify for a loan.

The question is much like Mel Gibson’s Movie “What Women Want,” where his character doesn’t understand women and stumbles through the movie trying to figure out how to relate to his co-star Helen Hunt. So the big question is; When considering a “green home”, what do women really want?

The big picture…

Just how important is reducing carbon emissions to the consumer in making a buying decision?

Personally, I don’t think the consumer can relate to “Million Metric Tons Carbon Dioxide”.

How would you bring it down to the lowest common denominator to influence the home buyer’s decision to purchase one house over another?