Let me quickly introduce myself. My name is Chad Ray, also known as “that green builder guy” and this is my website. I am a partner in two small businesses - Olde Heritage Builders and Energy Savers of NC. Olde Heritage Builders certifies and builds 20 green homes each year while Energy Savers of North Carolina helps over 200 existing homeowners make their current home more comfortable and cost less to operate. Both companies’ objectives are fairly simple, we help people live better at home. We like to say “what we do isn’t rocket science, it’s building science.”
The topic of this blog is to ask the question what does “normal” mean post the “great recession.” More specifically, ask yourself the following three questions:
- Do I see the world as a whole and my immediate environment differently than 2-3 years ago?
- Am I using resources including time, money, food, and energy more efficiently than 2-3 years ago?
- And lastly, ask yourself am I looking at my future or my children’s future differently than 2-3 years ago?
As we now begin “the recovery” period, I feel we all are figuring out new normals in our life. I see great opportunity in this new thought process for plenty of us. As a small business owner, I control my future destiny on some level. My parents’ generation and beyond know what real tough times were. I, too, now see the payoffs to disciplined savings, smart planning, calculated risk taking, and the value of great people who can depend on each other. My new normal is to do more in life while being smarter, being better, and relying on a great team more than ever.
Let’s change gears now into the world of green building and existing home energy retrofits. I believe the days of building McMansion energy hogs that drain the pocketbooks of their residents forever are over. I also believe the days of the average house in North Carolina wasting 30-50% of its utility bills on air loss and inefficiencies should also be over. As individuals and as a nation we can’t afford to be wasteful anymore. Never before have so many put so much emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency. The time is now to make a difference. Those are the biggest tools in the shed towards energy independence one day.
Would it make a difference in “normal” if 100% economic recovery happened in one day? Not really and here’s why. Many experts say energy prices could double as early as 2020 due to population growth increased plug load, and the world’s emerging markets. In short this falls into “the big three” as I like to say. We need more energy, food, and water in our world today. This process has only started. The recession has brought energy costs to the forefront which is why we believe everyone should live in a home that uses less energy, is more comfortable, and makes less impact on our global environment. Again that’s not rocket science, just good sense.
The new “normal” is a world when we have to do more, and use less. The cross over of this concept was inevitable for new home building and energy retrofitting of existing homes. We are also seeing this in many other aspects of our lives. For example our farmers, soldiers, doctors, factory workers, scientists, and many others have to figure out ways to provide more while using less resources. We must in order t0 compete in another new “normal”, the global economy. Russia, China, India, and many other developing markets have seen the American way of life our leaders and soldiers have provided for us. New capitalistic markets are emerging all over the world. That is a subject for another day in itself; but in short, people all over the world want to enjoy the things like Americans do - like meat and potatoes, cars, and electricity.
I believe anyone willing to work for these things has a right to them. The problem goes back to “the big three.” There is not enough food, water and energy to sustain almost 9 billion people to our standard of living. Make no mistake, we must develop ways to do more while using less. We must develop ways for individuals, companies, and countries to be profitable and sustainable. That’s right, I said profitable. One of the top challenges of the twenty first century is to develop cleaner and greener ways of life that cost less than dirtier alternatives if we want the world to do them. We are not there yet, but maybe one day that too will be the new “normal.”
Sincerely,
Chad Ray “that green builder guy”
Olde Heritage Builders and Energy Savers of NC
