From Washington D.C. to the local coffee shop, energy efficiency has become a popular topic of conversation. This is good because discussing how to make millions of existing homes more comfortable while spending less on energy is how knowledge spreads. Considering that the average age of an American home is over 30 years old, knowing how to make these homes comfortable and energy efficient is a crucial component of sustainability.
There are currently state and federal tax incentives for efficiency upgrades on existing homes. These tax credits mainly cover a small percentage of upgrade costs while encouraging investment in long-term energy savings and increased comfort and health. Even with the possibility of tax credits defraying some retrofit costs, it is important to avoid wasting money by knowing which solutions will bring the best results.
Begin with an Energy Audit
It requires specialized knowledge to make the right improvements to a home, and this is why energy projects must start with an energy audit from trained professionals. A certified energy auditor will find what can’t be seen by the naked eye, and one of the tools used to do this is an infrared thermal camera which reveals and measures temperature differences inside the home.
Here is an example from a Mosby Energy Audit of how air leaks in. The dark blue in the infrared image shows cold air coming into the bedroom from below the window and where the wall meets the floor. Once the intrusion had been found, the Mosby crew removed only the necessary areas of drywall, added insulation where it was missing, sealed joints below the window and base trim, and did new drywall and paint so it looked exactly as they found it.
Experienced energy auditors know the common weak spots in construction, and where to look for areas that are leaking the most air. Above is an exhaust fan in the bathroom ceiling as seen through the thermal camera, revealing that cold air from the attic is spilling into the bathroom.
After conducting multiple energy tests and analyzing the results, the Mosby energy auditor creates a priority list that begins with health and safety first, and then considers which solutions will bring the greatest return on investment (ROI).
ROI is categorized in an energy audit report as short-term, D.I.Y. solutions (switch to CFLs, install programmable thermostat), mid-term solutions that may require professional help (caulking or insulation, for example) and long-term solutions (like water heaters, windows or furnaces) that are a sizeable expenditure that pays for itself over a longer period of time.
Making energy improvements without an energy audit is like walking through a dark room with a flashlight; we only see what the light shines on while missing the bigger picture. An energy audit shines a bright light and shows the ways we lose energy in our homes and how to correct the issues. For proper guidance, be sure to use only certified auditors who are educated and trained in testing, analyzing and solving energy problems. Mosby Building Arts is your best choice for professional and beneficial energy improvements. Learn more about Mosby energy audit services by calling 314.909.1800 or contact us here.
Lots of stuff requires a place to put it. This is why storage is a top-of-mind need in just about every household of every size.
With a little creative direction, there are many ways to increase storage space. Adding shelving systems, installing more cabinets and buying armoires or antique chifferobes are typical options. Along with these common solutions, let’s consider what other options might maximize storage potential.
Storage Under the Stairs
Put all that square footage under a set of stairs to use as a closet. Just as important as the space to store belonging is ease of access. In the example above, Mosby designers created a unique set of folding doors that expose the entire contents under the basement stairs.
Wall of Bookcases
Floor-to-ceiling bookcases across an entire wall is the dream of many book lovers, as well as a smart way to get maximum storage while using up minimal living space. In the example shown above, the desire for more book space was answered by Mosby designers with built-in bookcases lining three walls of a home office, customized shelving heights and cabinet doors to match the homeowners needs.
Customized Closet
A Christmas tree collection brings about very special storage needs for such large objects. As part of a basement remodel, Mosby Building Arts planners configured space within an exercise room purposely designed to house trees. Behind a pair of sliding doors is a spacious Tree Closet! See more of the home with these 3 clever storage ideas.
Add Space in the Walls
Take advantage of the space between wall studs by adding recessed cabinets or niches. For the master bathroom shown above, Mosby inserted a lighted niche with glass shelves into the marble wall, creating a stylish and useful space that keeps the clean lines intact. See more photos of this master bathroom project.
Built-In Bench Seating
Built-in seating provides a place to sit without taking up valuable floor space, and it doubles as a wonderful place to store things out of sight. With the family room addition shown above, there’s bench seating with storage on both sides of the fireplace. To the right are pull-out drawers, and to the left is a clever way to disguise a pop-up TV screen (as seen in the photo inset). See more photos of this family room addition.
There are so many clever and useful ways to create more storage in every home, and we invite you to work with the space planning designers at Mosby Building Arts to explore the best organization solutions. Call the office at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.
The level of detail in the painted cardboard is awe-inspiring. You can almost ehar the sound of a glass ball ornament rolling across the floor, which awakens…
…Cindy Lou Who, who is no more than 2!
Gingerbread Cube
The level of detail on this cube is overwhelming. The two ladies responsible for this candy land cut out every single piece by hand and pasted it together and up onto the house. The icing is via caulk gun.
Quite the arts & crafts accomplishment!
Old Mosby Logo Cube
Our old company logo featured a house, and one of our carpenters recreated that logo as only a builder can.
The Christmas trees are decorated with our old business cards.
And even his fish Elmo gets a hat (on the tank) and a stocking, which holds his fish food!
NASCAR Christmas
These 2 ladies sit in an extra-wide cubicle which they refer to as “the double-wide trailer.” Thus was born NASCAR Christmas. They have an actual NASCAR tire that was donated by one of our fellow employees.
Their level of cultural detail was accurate and loving. We’ve all fallen in love with Killer, the stuffed pit bull!
When it comes to the best way to heat your home, there is one option that towers above the others: split geothermal systems.
It is a superior choice because it uses no fossil fuels, is 300 - 400% more efficient than the highest-rated gas furnace, and costs less to operate over time which creates substantial savings on energy bills all year round.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency calls geothermal systems “the most energy efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective space conditioning systems available today.” To back up that endorsement, the government is offering a federal tax credit of 30% of the installation costs for homeowners who install a geothermal system in 2009 or 2010.
How Does It Work?
Geothermal essentially means the heat from inside the earth. Unlike traditional heating systems that burn a fuel to create heat, a geothermal system collects and distributes heat that already exists naturally, with 2/3 of it being free energy from the earth right beneath your feet.
The earth absorbs and stores nearly half of the sun’s energy that hits the earth. A geothermal system taps into that free, renewable energy at a constant temperature and puts it to work in the home. The earth’s natural heat is collected in the winter by a series of pipes called a loop system. The loop carries heat to the home where it’s compressed and released to raise the inside temperature (this process is reversed in the summer).
The loop system is what powers geothermal energy, and there are 4 loop configurations available to match the needs of any new or exiting home. For instance, to retrofit an older home in an exiting neighborhood, the vertical loop is often used because it fits in where land area is limited. Certified and experienced installers can find a way to make geothermal work in most every residential situation.
How Much Do Geothermal Heating Systems Cost?
Geothermal heating systems are more expensive than traditional heating systems, but it is a one-time cost to purchase and install it with no monthly bills to the utility company to heat and cool your home. Compare that to traditional systems that require you to continually pay for fuel and maintenance after the initial purchase and install, and the long-term cost savings of geothermal becomes apparent.
With the rising price of oil, gas, and electricity, a properly installed geothermal heat pump system can literally pay for itself in only few years. Plus, the environmental benefits are tremendous: installing geothermal in a home is equivalent to removing two cars from the road or equal to planting a full acre of new trees.
When building a new home, geothermal is absolutely the way to go. When it’s time to upgrade the system of an existing home, explore all the options available for geothermal retrofit. It is important to work only with proven geothermal professionals to get the system and installation that makes it such a worthwhile investment in comfort and efficiency.
We invite you to call the Mosby office for a recommendation of the company we trust to deliver the knowledge and service needed for geothermal heating and cooling. Call us at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.
The Mosby Building Arts office is in preparations for the 1st Annual Christmas Cube Decorating Contest. Final judging for the three top prizes takes place on Monday, December 21st, so many of the cubes are in-progress, waiting until the big day to pull out the show stoppers.
We share with you now the 3 cubes that are gloriously done.
Candy Cane Condo
The stockings hung by the chimney with care are for the judges!
Each window cleverly depicts what is actually on the other side of the cubicle wall.
Holiday Clothing Cube
Where holiday clothing gag gifts go for a little sympathy and lovin’.
Yes, that’s a Farrah Fawcett beauty center head up on the shelf.
Happy Holly Days
Overhead storage space was sacrificed for a Christmas village!
These are the 3 contestants who are done with their cubes. We have more contestants to showcase with photos and video AND announcing the winners! Stay tuned.
As the temperatures get colder, we become hyper-aware of how comfortable - or uncomfortable -our home is. Often the awareness is: “the furnace is running, the heating bills are high, yet why am I still cold?”
A home energy audit is a commonly accepted method of measuring the energy efficiency of a home. There are multiple factors that affect health, comfort and efficiency. Sealing air leaks and beefing up insulation are two ways to increase comfort and save energy. But what kind of heating system is best for you and your home?
Several types of home heating systems are available when building new or adding additional space. The heating systems most common to the Metropolitan St. Louis area include:
Electric Furnace
ADVANTAGES
As an energy source, electricity is currently a less expensive energy compared to natural gas
Electric resistant heat furnaces generally have fewer moving parts so may require less maintenance
Initial purchase and installation cost is lower
No carbon monoxide created in heating process
No flues or exhaust to cause negative pressure in home
DISADVANTAGES
Not a “hot” heat with temperatures at register typically below 110 degrees F
A low-tech energy technology
Gas Furnace
ADVANTAGES
Most common and comfortable “hot” heat
A “hot” heat delivery at the register above 110 degrees F
Units available with 90% plus energy efficiency
Sealed combustion units maintain indoor air pressure
Substantial domestic U.S. supply of natural gas and propane
DISADVANTAGES
Natural gas prices are relatively higher when compared to electricity
Has more moving parts so may require more maintenance
Initial purchase and installation cost is higher than an electric unit.
Standard efficiency unit’s burn home’s air for fuel and creates negative pressure
If gas is your choice for heating your home, we recommend a sealed combustion unit. When installed correctly, this is the gas system with the highest efficiency, health and safety.
A boiler unit - usually gas powered - dispenses heated water to upright radiator units throughout the house.
ADVANTAGES
Maintains the look and feel of historic homes
The heat lingers long after the unit has been shut off
DISADVANTAGES
Home still requires duct work for a central air system
Radiators are hot to the touch so require safety measures for small children
Radiant systems for steam and hot water require frequent maintenance
Radiant Floor Heating
Coils in the floor dispense a water-based or electric heat throughout the house.
ADVANTAGES
Heat is delivered into solid materials rather than heating air in a space
Heat covers an entire floor area
Floors are pleasantly warm to the touch
Electric versions are low maintenance
No change to moisture or humidity in the air
DISADVANTAGES
Home still requires duct work for a central air system
Challenging access to piping if maintenance problems occur
Limited floor covering options
Lag time response when changing temperatures
Get Heat Where You Need It Most
Once the type of heating has been decided, consider how to control the temperature of each room individually. Simple laws of physics make it challenging to keep an entire house at a consistent temperature, with varied conditions of glass and insulation, unless there is a zoned heating system.
A zoned heating system comes in two forms. An electronic retrofit damper system can be installed into existing ductwork to direct air flow into the rooms requiring the most heat. This is a basic manipulation of the flow from the forced air furnace, a way to reduce heat flow into one space and force more volume flow into another.
A damper system is often a retrofit treatment of an unbalanced ductwork design to try and better balance heat in your home. It takes flow from one area to deliver more flow into a new space, effectively under-delivering and under-serving the existing space. A more comprehensive solution is to design and build a specific duct work system sized precisely for seasonal comfort in specific spaces and rooms.
The most efficient, long-term solution for balancing ever-changing heating needs is separate heating systems for specific zones of the home. For instance, with the introduction of a room addition or finished basement, simply adding more ductwork to an existing furnace can potentially unbalance and stretch thin the current furnace system. There is a better option for comfort.
Rather than reduce the efficiency of an existing system by tacking on more ductwork, consider adding a separate heating (and cooling) system to these new spaces. This specific design and sizing also allows for different types of heat within the home. For example, a master bathroom addition is a perfect situation for a radiant floor heating system which will run on a separate system from the gas furnace system in the rest of the home.
There are so many ways to properly heat your home, and enlisting the help of experienced professionals is how to match the correct system to your specific needs and discover what is best for you. We invite you to contact Mosby Building Arts to experience the deep bench of experienced consultants who will devise an energy master plan for your home. Bring comfort and efficiency to your home this winter by calling the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.
This time of year is so festive because we decorate our homes with twinkling lights. Inside and out, this warm glow lifts spirits and makes everything look special. Have you noticed how empty a room feels once the holiday lights come down in January? That’s because the extra lighting has disappeared, which highlights how important the proper lighting is for our spirits.
Every room needs multiple sources of light for the proper balance of productivity and mood. A single, overhead light in a room is only the starting point for the layers of light needed to boost our productivity and mood. An effective lighting master plan often includes the following types of lighting:
• Task Lighting Task lighting illuminates a specific task or work space for function and safety. Applying makeup in the bathroom, cutting vegetables in the kitchen and woodworking in the garage require proper amounts of light aimed exactly where you need it most. Recessed, lamp and pendant lighting are examples of efficient task lighting.
• Accent Lighting Illumination can be used to draw attention and set something apart from its surroundings is the intent of accent lighting. It brightens perimeters, fills in backgrounds, and highlights special objects (such as art work or architectural details). Other benefits of accent lighting is that it contributes to the overall illumination of a space, sets a mood or feel with the light, and can increase home security both indoors and outdoors.
• Convenience Lighting Safety and function are enhanced by convenience lighting when entering spaces, so we need to see clearly and immediately as we enter a space by flipping a switch. Convenience lighting may be a ceiling-mounted light fixture, or lamps connected to a wall switch, even the light that automatically comes on when opening a garage or closet door.
• Energy Efficiency Lighting costs account for about 30% of our energy use and is a smart place to increase energy savings. Dimmer switches and whole-house lighting control systems allow for more precise usage, energy conservation, extended lamp life and a welcoming feel. Low-voltage bulbs such as compact fluorescents (CFLs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs) provide high quality, warm light and last many times longer than incandescent bulbs for a fraction of conventional energy costs.
• Security Lighting Properly seeing our surroundings creates a sense of safety and security. Outdoors at night we need sidewalks and entrances to be properly lit at all times for our safety. Motion detectors can greet us and welcomes us home while also deterring vandals and burglars. Indoors, lights on timers can create the illusion of someone being home at all times. Adequate lighting throughout the home improves safety by illuminating hazards and prevents tripping and falling.
Good & Bad Lighting Design
All the effort we put into creating perfect spaces with carefully chosen paint colors, furniture and flooring can be instantly undermined by bad lighting, and brought alive with good lighting. A room with harsh lighting or that’s too bright may be just as disconcerting as a room that’s too dark. A personalized and thorough lighting plan significantly contributes to a safe, comfortable, familiar and inviting space, and is a key component of a successful remodel.
Lighting design can become overwhelming for even a do-it-yourself veteran because of all the layers of light that need to be considered. We recommend working with the design professionals at Mosby Building Arts, who are experienced in the science and intuition of well-placed lighting. Together, we will map out a master plan that addresses all the exterior and interior lighting needs of your home, and assure that it reflects your taste and style.
To explore the possibilities of lighting design, call the Mosby office at 314.909.1800 or contact us here.
Since 1947, Mosby Building Arts has been improving the lives of Metropolitan St. Louis families. From architecture & remodeling to maintenance and repairs, all the knowledge and performance you need is under the MBA roof.
