Common wisdom says that if you want to know anyone really care what he does and not what he says. Energy expert Mark MaGrann, the walk and talk is the question. A 24 -7 kind of guy, at his home in Medford, NJ double as a living demonstration site for best practices in energy and green applications, and he is quite happy, high school and college students, environmental groups, politicians and potential customers through his living room ensembleto explore their way into his home.
The South Carolina low country style home looks no different from other types of structures - what we would call in this area Cape Cod - but appearances can be deceiving. Although there is no established certification program for sustainable building in New Jersey in 2003, rather than construction, which helped three bedrooms, one-and-a-stick, Energy Star certified much more efficient than a similar house built to the code Time and energy costs are much less predictable.
The family is mixed-use lifestyle was not planned, said Mr. MaGrann. It just happened. They were intending to move, and if no suitable home offered, he decided to build a. At first, he recalls with a fair fight on his hands, because his family were very comfortable with her current home, a not very energy efficient 75 years old building. But the decision was made and Mr. MaGrann onePractice> personal commitment to what he preached, with the involvement of sustainable design practice, he advised the others to his own new house. Everything has been updated. All the flooring was new growth pine from sustainable forests, using water-based stains and sealers so there is no VOC adhesives and paints (volatile organic compounds). It has a central vacuum system, so goes much of the dust in the garage. The energy costs are lower, the house is more comfortable, it performs betterTerms of energy, and is much quieter. It is healthier house. And they are very happy living there.
"This house is green and sustainable in every way we could do it," said Mr. MaGrann. "Because of our sustainable design, we could have smaller heating and air conditioning systems designed specifically for the home, with minimal dimensions. Instead of 8 tons of heating and cooling equipment, we have 6th" When they analyzed their energy bills over the last three yearsthey found the house was 40-50% more efficient than a similar code built with energy bills that were 40-50% less. As a bonus, the MaGranns had managed to stay in their old environment. They have never regretted.
Mark grew up in a family MaGrann insulation contracting business in West Berlin, NJ, a few miles from Moorestown, where he is today. After a brief stint as a teacher, his father became ill, and in 1976 he took over the business. From the beginning he wasInterest in energy codes, which were emerging at the time. He was also in the use of the building diagnostics, including infrared technology, are interested. In fact, he remembers just about the only one he knew who was interested in back then. This constellation of background and interests led him to develop his own code compliance computer program, which in turn allows him to build diagnostic use to sell insulation.
As his business has been developed, Mr MaGrann found therea market for experts in the fields of energy, planning and implementation of new homes. It was a natural step for the company to increase energy efficiency move. However, opening MaGrann Associates in 1982 was a leap of faith, because there is still no great interest in the energy sector. But as energy costs estimated to grow interest and his business grew with it. Green construction is sustainable construction, "he says. It is about resource efficiency and energy contains.
Is heSaving the earth? As much as he is an advocate for green building, is Mr. MaGrann that it is difficult to measure the impact of a house at one point in time. "How can the impact of mine from recycled plastic carpet instead of the normal nylon or wool diversity?" He said. "We can measure the energy performance of buildings, but it is more difficult, the green and sustainable building that we measure incorporate into a building. The results are ratherglobal rather than local terms. "That being said - there is no argument with his heating bills.
MaGrann Associates is a residential engineering and consulting company based in Moorestown, NJ (Philadelphia metro area). The company works in energy and resource efficiency in order to bring the home building industry in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond, some of the largest utility-sponsored support programs for new construction and air conditioning systems in the country. MaGrann Associates is a provider ofHERS / Energy Star Homes and LEED for Homes program and performs professional engineering services directly to builders and architects.
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