the pro's and con's of tankless hot water heaters?

The jury's still out for me on tankless hot water heaters. I was catching up on my reading today and saw an article in Friday's Dallas Morning News Home Center that did a good job of explaining the pro's and con's of going tankless.

PROS:
1. Tankless hot water heaters are 50-70% smaller than traditional water heaters.
2. They generally provide an endless supply of hot water.
3. Tankless hot water heaters use less energy because they don't reheat large capacities of water over time.

CONS:
1. Tankless heaters generally use 15-30% more water and since they require extra warm-up time before they generate hot water.
2. They squeeze water through constricted coil pipes to heat a smaller volume of water which means a reduction in water pressure.
3. The up-front cost of a tankless, on-demand system averages 2-4 times higher than a traditional water heater.

Seems to me like there will be situations where tankless is the way to go and other situations where it would be best to stick with an energy-efficient traditional water heater. There are other options: a solar water heating system or the production of hot water as a by-product of a geothermal HVAC system. Looks like each situation requires a look at all the options to find what is best for you!

NAR's Green Designation

Yesterday I received notification from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) that I had successfully completed requirements and have been awarded NAR's Green Designation. NAR's Green Designation was developed in response to growing consumer awareness of benefits of resource-efficient homes and buildings.

I'm proud to be a member of the first group of NAR's Green Designees and continue to help my clients realize their green real estate and lifestyle goals.

For more information about NAR's newest designation, visit their website at:http://www.greenresourcecouncil.org/

what to do with our old tv's?

The switch to digital is upon us and environmentalists have concerns about the potential waste problem when people throw away their old TVs as they make the switch to digital. Some feel the manufacturers should take the lead on the issue. This morning I heard a report by Shia Levitt on public radio about this issue.

Here's a link to Shia's report, followed by a link to the EPA with tips about how and where to donate your old electronic products.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=marketplace/morning_report/2009/01/15/marketplace_morning_report0450_20090115_64&starttime=00:04:23.0&endtime=00:06:51.23

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm

the greener side

I guess you could call me a "news junkie." Every morning our alarm goes off to the sound of the news on KRLD News Radio. What a pleasant surprise this morning to wake up to this delightful story about the sustainable development at Urban Reserve by Barbara Schwarz. The links below will take you to Barbara's news story, tell you a bit about Barbara, and finally take you to AlexColeRealEstate.com where you can see view the floorplans for several spec homes at Urban Reserve.

http://www.krld.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=3288760

http://www.krld.com/pages/2859.php?contentType=4&contentId=93753

http://www.alexcolerealestate.com/lots_new_homes.htm

I'd love to hear from you! Please email me: joan@AlexColeRealEstate.com.

recent news about our architects

The zeroHouse was designed by our architects, Scott Specht and Louise Harpman, and is being featured in the February 09 issue of Dwell magazine.

"We’re heading into an uncertain future, but two things are clear: Technology is getting better and the environment is getting worse. Fortunately, the former offers solutions for the latter, as zeroHouse sets out to prove. This prefab concept uses the tools of today to paint a digital picture of the house of tomorrow...."

Pick up a copy of the February issue or click on the link to read the article in it's entirety.

http://www.dwell.com/homes/prefab/36198509.html

happy new year!

The first major city to mark the start of 2009 was Auckland, New Zealand, with a spectacular display of fireworks from its Sky Tower. (Photo courtesy of BBC).