The following building permits were issued between April 20-26 in Mundelein. They are presented as they appear in public records.

Permit: Single family Address: 700 Beach Pl, Mundelein Issue date: April 21 Permit covers: Replace siding Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $2,600

Permit: Single family Address: 1312 Newport St, Mundelein Issue date: April 21 Permit covers: Tear off of roof. Illinois state roofing license #104.015042 105.005138 Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $9,910

Permit: Single family Address: 1308 Newport St, Mundelein Issue date: April 21 Permit covers: Tear off of roof. Illinois state roofing license #104.015042 105.005138 Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $4,955

Permit: Single family Address: 418 Lakeview Dr, Mundelein Issue date: April 21 Permit covers: Replace the 50 gallon gas water heater Permit cost: $45 Improvement value: $760

Permit: Single family Address: 245 N Lincoln Av, Mundelein Issue date: April 21 Application date: Jan. 1 Permit covers: Reroof & reside Permit cost: $50 Improvement value: $8,000

Permit: Single family Address: 12 Birch Ct, Mundelein Issue date: April 22 Permit covers: Tear off of roof. Illinois state roofing license #104.016522 105.006302. Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $3,000

Permit: Single family Address: 829 Benridge Ct, Mundelein Issue date: April 22 Permit covers: Tear off of roof. Illinois state roofing license #104.016452 105.006198. Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $4,213

Permit: Single family Address: 327 E Maple Av, Mundelein Issue date: April 23 Permit covers: Service upgrade from 100amps to 200amps. Permit cost: $100 Improvement value: $1,500

Permit: Single family Address: 752 Norton Av, Mundelein Issue date: April 23 Permit covers: Replace the furnace & air conditioner Permit cost: $70 Improvement value: $13,100

Read the original here:
Recent Mundelein building permits, April 20-26

EMERYVILLE -- When Jeff Silver decided to redo the heating and hot water systems in his Emeryville home, the $32,000 price tag seemed way out of reach.

But through CaliforniaFIRST, a new state-sponsored program for energy efficiency financing that went live Tuesday in 17 counties, Silver was able to buy and install the equipment he needed with no money down and tack the payments on to his yearly property taxes with payments spread out over 15 years.

In the Bay Area, the program is now available in Alameda, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. Contra Costa County should join by the end of the year.

CaliforniaFIRST allowed him to buy and install two natural gas heaters, one for his upstairs tenants and one for his unit, and an on-demand water heater. Financing can be extended to 20 years.

"I couldn't have come up with $32,000," said Silver, who was part of an earlier pilot program, as officials announced the formal launch of CaliforniaFIRST at his home. "There was one heater for both units in this house and the temperature was controlled by the tenant upstairs, so now we each have our own heater. This is great. It allowed me to do all the upgrades at once."

The new program is overseen by a consortium of local governments and financed by Renewable Funding of Oakland, which has $300 million to lend to homeowners at rates slightly less than a home-equity loan, or about 7 percent a year, said Cisco DeVries, CEO and co-founder of Renewable Funding, the financing company that manages CaliforniaFIRST.

A homeowner needs a minimum of $5,000 in projects to get financing. There's a long list of allowable projects homeowners can finance through the program, but they include solar panels, electric car charging stations, drip irrigation systems, home insulation projects, fans, new doors and windows, skylights and heating and air conditioning.

DeVries came up with the idea while working as an aide to Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates in 2008. He said he told Bates he had a crazy idea for making green energy more affordable. Bates backed him all the way.

With DeVries' idea, Berkeley started a small program with 13 homes and got projects financed with the idea of taking the program statewide. But then the mortgage crisis hit and federal and state regulators put it on hold because they were wary of approving any kind of new home financing schemes, DeVries said.

Since then, DeVries continued working on it, convincing 17 counties in California to join the program and working with state and federal regulators to make it happen. Some other counties were already doing similar programs, he said.

Go here to see the original:
Energy efficiency financing now available through state-sponsored program

EMERYVILLE -- When Jeff Silver decided to redo the heating and hot water systems in his Emeryville home, the $32,000 price tag seemed way out of reach.

But through CaliforniaFIRST, a new state-sponsored program for energy efficiency financing that went live Tuesday in 17 counties, Silver was able to buy and install the equipment he needed with no money down and tack the payments on to his yearly property taxes with payments spread out over 15 years.

In the Bay Area, the program is now available in Alameda, Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. Contra Costa County should join by the end of the year.

CaliforniaFIRST allowed him to buy and install two natural gas heaters, one for his upstairs tenants and one for his unit, and an on-demand water heater. Financing can be extended to 20 years.

"I couldn't have come up with $32,000," said Silver, who was part of an earlier pilot program, as officials announced the formal launch of CaliforniaFIRST at his home. "There was one heater for both units in this house and the temperature was controlled by the tenant upstairs, so now we each have our own heater. This is great. It allowed me to do all the upgrades at once."

The new program is overseen by a consortium of local governments and financed by Renewable Funding of Oakland, which has $300 million to lend to homeowners at rates slightly less than a home-equity loan, or about 7 percent a year, said Cisco DeVries, CEO and co-founder of Renewable Funding, the financing company that manages CaliforniaFIRST.

A homeowner needs a minimum of $5,000 in projects to get financing. There's a long list of allowable projects homeowners can finance through the program, but they include solar panels, electric car charging stations, drip irrigation systems, home insulation projects, fans, new doors and windows, skylights and heating and air conditioning.

DeVries came up with the idea while working as an aide to Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates in 2008. He said he told Bates he had a crazy idea for making green energy more affordable. Bates backed him all the way.

With DeVries' idea, Berkeley started a small program with 13 homes and got projects financed with the idea of taking the program statewide. But then the mortgage crisis hit and federal and state regulators put it on hold because they were wary of approving any kind of new home financing schemes, DeVries said.

Since then, DeVries continued working on it, convincing 17 counties in California to join the program and working with state and federal regulators to make it happen. Some other counties were already doing similar programs, he said.

Read this article:
Bay Area: Energy efficiency financing now available through state-sponsored program

Proper Water Heater Install with Re-circulation Pump
Proper Water Heater installation with re-circulation pump includes spring loaded check valves and shutoff valves for post production service.

By: WhittonTraining

Read this article:
Proper Water Heater Install with Re-circulation Pump - Video

BOSTON (CBS) For the last five summers AARP has produced an article in their in July Bulletin on 99 Ways to Save. Last year I reviewed about half the list. Many of them useful, just as many not so useful.

This year they have another crop with 17 experts giving advice. Some of it quite good and some of it you have heard before but just havent done anything with it.

Tips from Bob Vila, home improvement expert

Unplug it! Vampire electronics consume power even when turned off. A typical household can save $100 a year using smart power strips, which cut electricity to devices in standby mode.

Great to use at your desk for your computer and printer, but hard to use in your bathroom for your toothbrush. You could also unplug your chargers after using them.

Install a low-flow showerhead. A low-flow fixture reduces the volume of water but does not affect the water pressure in any way. Saves 2,900 gallons a year, according to the EPA.

In the winter, reverse your ceiling fan. Revolving clockwise, the fan will pull up cool air and send down the heated air thats settled near the ceiling.

I did not know this!

Seal drafty windows and doors. You can save 20% on energy to heat and cool a home that is well sealed and insulated.

Lower your water heater temperature setting. Manufacturers often configure the default to 140 degrees, when for the average home 120 degrees is sufficient. With each decrease of 10 degrees, you save an additional 3-5% in energy costs.

Here is the original post:
99 Great Ways To Save, In Your Home, From The AARP Bulletin

SCE&G hopes to replicate a program that would make as many as 250 homes in northern Beaufort County more energy efficient -- at no cost to the homeowners.

The Neighborhood Energy Efficiency Program already is in place in other areas, such as Columbia, and program manager Gerald Freeman said he would like Beaufort's to be up and running by late August.

Working with planners in the city of Beaufort and town of Port Royal, SCE&G has identified lower-income neighborhoods where the improvements may be most useful to residents.

In Beaufort, that's a part of downtown that starts at the corner of Boundary and Charles streets and zig-zags to Ribaut Road and King Street.

In Port Royal, the Casablanca and the Fort Frederick areas are being considered.

"This is not random," said Brad Samuels of SCE&G. "This is very detailed and has to do with income."

Households that participate will be visited by a team that will evaluate a home's needs. The team will then install as many as 15 CFL lightbulbs, insulation for electric water heaters or hot-water pipes, HVAC air filters, smart-power electrical strips, and window winterization kit, Freeman said. The team will also check the water heater temperature and adjust it.

Residents will then be taught about energy usage and how to further decrease their monthly costs, he said.

Kick-off events will be planned for late August so residents can learn about the program, Freeman added. Direct mail, door hangers and door-to-door visits might also be used to get the word out.

"Tell your neighbors," he said. "Let them know we're coming and we want to install these measures in your home."

See the rest here:
SCE&G to provide free energy-efficiency improvements to as many as 250 homes

Almost everyone in California is talking about the drought: East Bay residents are doing something about it.

Sustainable Contra Costa co-founder and president Tina Neuhausel is using her Walnut Creek home as a proving ground for energy- and water-conservation. Clayton homeowner Linda Cruz recently installed a greywater system. And Oakland-based Greywater Action is leading workshops, presentations and community forums on sustainable water-use practices throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

Greywater systems capture household water from sinks, washing machines, showers and baths, and redirecting the resource to irrigate ornamental plants and fruit trees instead of discharging it into storm sewers.

Using simple plumbing materials, water that contains no toxic substances (like bleach, sodium, boron or shampoos) can also supply essential nutrients to vegetables, as long as it doesn't touch edible parts of the plants.

Laura Allen, Greywater Action co-founder, noted, "Water conservation and reusing greywater is critical this dry year: we must all find ways to use less water in our homes and communities so that we can live in balance with our water supply, and restore and protect our natural water ecosystems."

Now living in Southern California, but still active in the organization, Allen has conducted a study of 83 residential greywater systems in the greater Bay Area and is finishing a book about drought-proofing landscapes, with expected publication by Storey Publishing in January.

For the simplest laundry-to-landscape systems, materials are approximately $200. Depending on how much digging to prepare mulch basins and trenches for burying pipes a homeowner is willing to do, labor for installation of low-tech systems is under $500.

Or, it's entirely free, as it was for Cruz. The 34-year resident agreed to have her home be the site of a Sustainable Contra Costa workshop operated by GWA, after another home presented cement deck problems.

"I was signed up for the workshop and they asked if we'd do it," Cruz recalls. "My husband ... was impressed that there were people who really want to learn. We had people from Sacramento, Half Moon Bay, Salinas -- all over Northern California."

Cruz says she recycled household water during droughts in the '70s and '80s, but then, it was via a hose her husband hooked up to to the washing machine. Every spin cycle, she'd dash out and water the lawn. Now, with arthritis limiting her sprinting days, she's loving the greywater system's three-way valve (allowing her to direct water into sewer channels, or not) and has a small, immersible sump pump to push water from baths to the landscape.

Go here to see the original:
Contra Costa, Alameda counties embracing greywater systems

Syracuse (WSYR) - You could be one of thousands receiving what are being called "thank you" kits from national grid in the mail - some of you want to know what's The Real Deal here.

The kits are mailed to you in little boxes. Inside, you'll get a shower head and an aerator, which goes on your sink faucet. You'll also get directions on how to install both of these, along with information on National Grid's energy efficiency rebates.

National Grid tell says these kits are being sent to around 16,000 Upstate New York customers as a thank you for participating in one of the company's energy efficiency rebate program.

The shower head and aerator are meant to save you money on heating costs. National Grid estimates about $85 in savings over the year for the shower head and about $40 for the aerator. Both are expected to last for 10 years before they need to be replaced.

Along with these cost saving measures, National Grid also recommends you set your hot water heater to 120 degrees fahrenheit.

This kit is also meant to get customers thinking about some of the company's new energy rebate programs. Some are just now starting up and involve incentives for many energy saving measures, including hot water heater equipment. You can go to National Grid's website for more information on how to apply for these programs.

If there's something you want The Real Deal about, give us a call anytime. the number is 446-9900, or you can e-mail: YourStories@LocalSYR.com.

Continued here:
'Thank you' kits for National Grid Customers: The Real Deal

His pilot's license fresh in his hands, an Indiana teenager set out in June for the adventure of a lifetime: an around-the-world flight with

The parents of a construction worker who was killed on Interstate 69 on May 9 are speaking out and hoping for change.

The plane of an Indiana father-son team attempting to fly around the world has crashed after taking off from American Samoa.

Concern was growing for an Indiana group of religious tourists who flew to Israel just before all U.S. airlines were grounded from leaving or

The Indiana Department of Child Services handles cases appropriately most of the time, but "there's always room for change," said a leader

A Lake County judge struck down Indiana's right-to-work ban on certain union fees in a second legal blow to the contentious law passed in 2012.

Originally posted here:
Carmel restaurant faces health dept. violations

The following building permits were issued between March 30-April 5 in Mundelein. They are presented as they appear in public records.

Permit: Commercial Address: 220 Oak Creek Plz, Mundelein Issue date: March 31 Permit covers: Remove drywall to view bottom plate where damage occured. Permit cost: $35 Improvement value: $0

Permit: Single family Address: 1365 Kettering Rd, Mundelein Issue date: March 31 Permit covers: Replacement of a 50 gallon gas water heater. Permit cost: $45 Improvement value: $780

Permit: Single family Address: 445 Hickory St, Mundelein Issue date: March 31 Permit covers: Tear off of roof. Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $6,000

Permit: Single family Address: 229 Dunton Ct, Mundelein Issue date: March 31 Permit covers: Tear off of roof. illinois state roofing license#104.016452 105.006198. Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $3,600

Permit: Single family Address: 418 N California Av, Mundelein Issue date: March 31 Permit covers: Install a low voltage wireless security system Permit cost: $25 Improvement value: $99

Permit: Single family Address: 574 Farina Ct, Mundelein Issue date: April 1 Permit covers: Replace driveway & front walkway. all work to be done in concrete. Permit cost: $35 Improvement value: $5,480

Permit: Commercial Address: 551 N Lake St, Mundelein Issue date: April 2 Permit covers: Modify/upgrade existing hood & duct system to protect (2) hoods, (3) ducts & new appliances Permit cost: $70 Improvement value: $2,800

Permit: Single family Address: 52 S Hawthorne Bl, Mundelein Issue date: April 2 Permit covers: Foundation repair/underpinning Permit cost: $35 Improvement value: $6,700

Permit: Single family Address: 513 E Orchard St, Mundelein Issue date: April 2 Permit covers: Install a subfloor drainage system with existing sump pump and pit Permit cost: $45 Improvement value: $3,000

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Building Permits, March 30-April 5