Certified Green Professional & Member of

Why Green?
The concept of “going green”—sustainability—is both socially responsible and earth friendly. Integrating green methods allows savings in utility consumption while sustaining human comfort. These methods are not just creating desirable habitation spaces, but they could reduce utility operating costs to zero or even allow building owners to harvest energy for profit. The real value of green design is that it achieves ecological harmony between people and their immediate environment, while protecting the planet, improving one’s health, and increasing human productivity.

Incorporating green/sustainable technology into buildings makes business sense:

• It attracts new types of clients, tenants and customers.

• It creates a refreshing image that gives you an edge over your competition and gives you standing as an environmental leader.

• It reduces risks of future energy inflation while reaping profit from lowered operating cost.

• It improves health and morale of people which increases the value of their  working and living environment.

• It uses government-funded incentives and utility rebates to reap immediate construction savings.

• It enables building owners take advantages of tax incentives in form of Federal deferred tax credits while  structure is in service for long term.
  

• It could reduce insurance rates.
  

Residential Green Building Incentives
Many incentives are designed to give additional local and state tax credits, along with utility rebates, should you exceed the current requirements for energy efficiency. In combination, these credits can easily amount to thousands of dollars. See Green Resources for links to more information.

Commercial Incentive Programs
In 2010, governmental agencies will begin requiring 25% more energy efficiency in newly constructed commercial buildings over existing standards, and this requirement will build incrementally to 80% efficiency in 2050. With this in mind, there are multiple incentives for building structures whose energy efficiency exceeds current requirements. The following methods can be used to enhance the tax form 179D-Deduction:

a) Energy Auditing of Existing Facilities: By surveying an existing facility, one can identify potential sources of energy savings by replacing old, inefficient systems with newer technology. Depending on facility type, size and use, it is not unusual for this step alone to cut energy usage by one-half. For larger facilities, this reduction of energy bills could save tens of thousands of dollars per month.

b) Energy Tax Auditing to take advantage of Federal Energy Tax Incentive Programs: Through 2013, providing energy-efficient upgrades for either new construction or renovations can also allow building owners to take advantage of Federal tax deductions that range between $0.60 and $1.80 per square foot. Our firm uses the services of a specialized legal/engineering tax audit consultant, certified and federally licensed to provide this special auditing service.

c) Cost Segregation Tax Methods: When a building is built or acquired, the entire structure (shell with components) can be depreciated over a 20-year time period, or depreciation can be accelerated for the non-shell components, which typically have shorter (5-, 7-, or15-year) usable lives. This accelerated depreciation typically results in savings of 8% to 10% of the building’s construction cost, meaning that a for a commercial building costing $40 million to build, the net present value of the accelerated depreciation could be as much as $4 million.

d) Renovation/Abandonment Study: When buildings are renovated to go green, some components are removed and can no longer be used. The net value of these abandoned assets can be treated as an expense. You reap the advantages of Federal and local energy tax benefits for the new components, but you also benefit by writing off the assets you have abandoned. For example, in a $700,000 green renovation in which you retire $200,000 worth of non-green building components, you could write the $200,000 off as an expense in the current year.

Firm History on Energy Conservation
John Salat has always paid close attention to environmental issues. During his internship following the 1973 Emergency Energy Act, he was personally involved in many energy conservation projects. The projects which he worked was cited for honor in this area, and received several prestigious Owens-Corning Awards. The energy-saving techniques developed for those projects earned much attention from the industry and are still used today.  In a moving technology, our firm receives continuing education from organizations on matters of green innovation. Our firm uses these methods, taking a holistic, “total green design” approach to projects. Our firm is an active member of "BUILD IT GREEN" and certified as a Professional Green Consultant.

Green Links  Green Resources

Our office proudly uses recyclable paper for blue prints 

Contact: John Salat at freeingwinds@earthlink.net or call 949-235-4847