Community Education Series

Building science is a relatively new field and it gets confusing quickly.  Conservation Pros has assembled a series of educational offerings, designed to clarify the details.

We offer these educational programs to the community, at absolutely no cost.

Just contact us to schedule one for your organization, church group, neighborhood association, what have you.

Come join us at an area library for our upcoming education series "The Economics of Efficiency"

Come join us at an area library for our upcoming education series "The Economics of Efficiency"

Join us as we take a hypothetical 2,400 sq ft home and conduct a hypothetical energy audit.  Once we’ve determined the needs assessment, we’ll discuss the potential strategies for retrofitting the home, with an emphasis on return on investment calculations.

This class is great for homeowners who might be wondering, "How much will this cost and how much will I save?"

Dates, places, times for this free class are as follows:

October 19th, 9:30-11am  Waynesville Library

October 21st 4-5:30pm Waynesville Library

November 3rd, 5:30 – 7:00pm

North Asheville Library, 1030 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC 28804

November 4th, 5:30pm – 7:00pm

Black Mountain Library, 105 N. Dougherty St., Blk Mtn, NC 28711

November 10th, 5:30pm – 7:00pm

South Buncombe Library, 260 Overlook Road, Asheville, NC 28803

Available Programs:

Energy Efficiency, The Best Investment You Can Make

The existing housing stock in the US consumes roughly 20% of our energy, the single largest sector in the country.  Retrofitting your home for comfort, energy-efficiency and safety offers the values of, not only of dramatically reducing national energy demand, but putting money back in your pocket every month.  

As prices go up, you've hedged your bets and get to put still more money in your pocket.  

Classic win-win.

A Citizen's Guide to the Stimulus Package, Efficiency Tax Credits Demystified

The Obama administration has made available, to every homeowner in the country, a $1,500 tax credit for energy-efficiency retrofitting and efficient technologies.  Known as the Residential Energy Efficiency Tax Credit, this package, of course, has myriad limits and qualifiers to claiming those tax dollars.

Add to that the efficiency rebates and incentives that are popping up with Progress Energy and Duke Energy, and there's never been a better time to retrofit your home.

Conservation Pros can help sort through the details of the various offerings, helping you understand how to claim your share of the ARRA stimulus package.

Greening Your Existing Home, Understanding Return On Investment

Return on Investment (ROI) is a funny beast.  For some reason, it's been applied to residential efficiency improvements like no other household service.  Who calculates the ROI on granite countertops?  What's the payback for a stainless steel dishwasher?

On the other hand, what's the rate of return for making a room that's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter actually comfortable and usable?

ROI is certainly an important calculation, but there are other factors to consider.  We'll walk through how to run the calculations and weigh their merits. 

Principles of Heating and Cooling

The single largest consumer of energy in our homes, most of us have absolutely no clue how our HVAC systems work.  Understanding the principles of furnace and A/C operation will empower you to make wise decisions about how and when to maintain or replace your systems.

We can also create a custom program for your group.  Just let us know what you'd like to discuss and give us enough lead time to get it done.