Home show features newest energy savers

Photo by Bill Olmsted

The Janesville Holiday Inn Express was the site of a frantic building boom while members of the South Central Wisconsin Builders Association set up displays for their annual home show this weekend. Pictured, the crew from ABC Seamless of Janesville puts the finishing touches on the building facade that they assembled in their display space.

JANESVILLE — Everybody’s going green.

Sometimes you can find green in expected places—such as kitchen cabinets, flooring and even window blinds.

This weekend, local residents will get a chance to see what’s new in green building and remodeling at the South Central Wisconsin Builders Association Home Show at the Holiday Inn Express, Janesville.

The show, which runs today through Sunday, features more than 50 exhibitors including remodeling pros, builders, bankers and businesses that specialize in everything from siding to tile, insulation to water systems and kitchen to flooring.

The theme is “Go Green, Save Green,” and the weekend will feature seminars about green home projects and designs.

Most homeowners know the basics of going green: Adding insulation, replacing old and leaky windows and checking furnace and air conditioning efficiency.

They might be surprised to learn that items as diverse as cabinets, carpets and curtains have green potential.

Budget Blinds, Milton, carries a variety of blinds, screens and shades designed to reduce heating and cooling costs.

For example, the store carries several lines of shades with honeycombed interiors, explained Patti LaRose, Budget Blinds sales manager.

Those honeycombs form a barrier of insulation between the window and the room, helping to keep the heat in and the cold out.

Unlike a heavy fabric shade or blind, the honeycombed shades are surprisingly light, both in appearance and weight.

“The honeycomb shades are pleated, and the lines are very clean,” LaRose said.

In-home consultations and custom fitting mean the shades are designed to fit the windows exactly, increasing their efficiency.

Some of their products are so energy efficient they qualify for the federal government’s energy credit, LaRose said.

“Hunter Douglas makes a product called Architella that has a double layer of honeycombs,” LaRose said.

Architella has an R-value of between 6.25 and 7.5. R-value refers to the insulating capacity of an item.

For the warm weather season, Budget Blinds carries solar shades that block heat and UV rays but allow a clear view out the window.

At Cabinet Country, Janesville, green means carrying products that have a smaller carbon footprint. A carbon footprint refers to the amount of energy needed to create, build and transport an item.

Cabinet Country carries several lines of cabinets and countertops made in the United States including Haas, Wood-Mode and Brookhaven, said Tess Slavin, sales manager and designer.

One line, Holiday Cabinets, is made in Rice Lake.

The store sells cabinets made from bamboo using a process that reduces emissions. Bamboo, a fast growing plant, is considered a highly renewable resource.

Cabinet Country also carries Vetrazzo countertops made from recycled materials and Cambria, a quartz countertop. Both are made in the United States.

Where else will you find green at the home show?

Prairie Tree Landscaping from Elkhorn: The right landscaping can significantly reduce heating and cooling costs.

McCann Floors and several other flooring vendors can show you the newest in “green” carpeting.

Making a choice with your wallet

Why buy local?

And why buy now?

A national movement called the “3/50 Project” is touting buying local as a way of keeping local money local, giving consumers more choices and helping small businesses—which are at the heart of communities—thrive.

The 3/50 movement’s motto is “Pick 3. Spend $50. Save your local economy.”

Here’s the pitch:

3: Think of your three favorite independently owned businesses. What would happen if they went away? What’s best about them? Their selection? Their service? Their contributions to the community?

50: If half of the employed population spent $50 every month at a locally owned, independent business, it would generate more that $42.6 billion in revenue.

68: For every $100 spent at a locally owned, independent business, $68 comes back to the community in taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend the same amount at a national chain, $43 comes back. And if you spend $100 online, nothing comes back.

People often assume they won’t get the same kind of deal from a local business as they would from a big box store.

That’s not always the case, even in a down economy.

“The manufacturers we’re working with have extended some really awesome promotions,” said Tess Slavin, sales manager and designer at Cabinet Country, Janesville.

For example, manufacturers recently offered a free sink—an expensive piece of any kitchen renovation project—with the purchase of countertops.

Patti LaRose of Budget Blinds, Milton, said her store can compete both in service and price and offers free-in home consultations. They also have a five-year, no-questions-asked guarantee.

Finally, every customer matters for an independent business. A big box store can afford to aggravate a couple of customers—it’s large enough to absorb the loss. The stakes are much higher for local businesses because they depend on word-of-mouth recommendations.