Live Cheaper, Better and Greener

Creating a world more in harmony with the environment is a major concern in today’s world with trendy phrases like “carbon footprint,” “eco-friendly” and “going green” enticing people to try their green thumb on more than household plants. Hear fantastic speakers on two stages and visit over 200 exhibitors with new ideas, new products and services.

Entergy Solar Panel Rebate
For residents interested in saving a dollar and the world, Entergy’s new solar panel rebate program offers homeowners an avenue to install the sun-powered generators and, with a combination of the rebate program and a federal tax credit, save up to 75 percent on the system.

Build Green
One way to combat these energy problems is to build a greener house. LaVerne Williams, a Green Building Council Member and architect with Houston-based Environment Associates, designs homes for a future already affected by climate change. Williams emphasizes the need to construct efficient houses with energy-saving measures built in.

Crafting an energy-efficient home is not the cheap route, but it will ultimately save residents money and help them live with the environment instead of just in it.  “It’s a matter of changing habits, changing lifestyles,” Williams said.

Plug those Money-draining Holes
Saving energy is a concept Dan Marshall understands. An energy-efficient expert and president of Innovative Skylights and Attics, Marshall helps residents insulate their attics and plug money-draining holes.

The three major areas are insulation, ventilation and the radiant barrier, the sun’s energy. An attic tent stops the air flow between the house and attic, Marshall said, improving the home’s air quality and reducing dust. The simple solution also creates a noticeable dent in the monthly electric bill.

Marshall said silent solar-powered fans are a ventilation fix with a 30 percent tax credit that provide an efficient way to cool the attic without spending large sums of money and prove cheaper in the long term. He said when he installed solar-powered fans and radiant barrier foil in a home recently, the residents saw a 50 percent drop in their electric bill.
Dan’s presentations are informative and fun.

Earth-friendly and Pocketbook-friendly
Angelique Grado of Green Builders Source returns to the Show with her eco-friendly expertise and ideas and shares numerous ways to save money and be green at the same time. Things she’s high on are solar window films, that allow natural light into the home but filter our radiant heat from the sun, family-friendly cork flooring, and the new, easy-to-install, natural linoleum product, Marmoleum click flooring. For countertops she likes Ice Stone, made from 100 percent recycled glass and concrete. “It comes in 27 colors and can be used for backsplashes, bathrooms, vanities, shower surrounds, table tops, bar tops, bathtubs and kitchen sinks,” said Grado. “This product diverts thousands of tons of trash glass from our landfills and has the look of the old terrazzo.”  She expects to debut the new EcoSmart Fireplace at the show.

Habitat Gardening
Change is an idea Jason McKenzie is selling to suburbanites trimming and mowing their evergreen lawns. Instead of paying thousands of dollars annually for a manicured landscape, the owner of The Pineywoods Nursery and Landscaping in Shenandoah encourages homeowners to invest in fruit-bearing plants.

“Instead of looking at a garden as an ornamental landscape, put in fruit trees as hedge or blueberries as base shrub around the house and strawberries as ground cover,” McKenzie said. “With potted plants on pool decks, I try to talk people into putting in limes and lemons.”

Just this year, McKenzie said he has planted about 20 herb gardens. Enterprising homeowners can grow a batch of strawberries instead of buying a bucket at the store or train blackberries on a trellis for their pies and morning cereal. McKenzie’s presentation will concentrate on how residents can have a beautiful AND bountiful landscape.  

How to Prevent Identity Theft
Michael Garfield, best known as the High-Tech Texan, is in the business of helping
people with his weekly call-in radio show on the 9-5-0 AM. He'll be broadcasting live at the Show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in the hotel’s lobby with a seminar from 2:30-3:30 p.m., Garfield will speak on how to prevent Identity Theft, as well as present cool new gadgets and goodies to the audience and answer attendees questions about cell phones, laptops, computers and home safety systems. He’ll also be focusing on back-to-school items for college and high school students.

Randy Lemmon, host of 740 AM NewsRadio’s GardenLine, will bring his slant on Green at his show presentation.




Ask-the-Expert Booth
Stop by for some one-on-one advice from Houston Chronicle gardening guru Kathy Huber.  Check back for show times.

Saturday Schedule

Sunday Schedule