Solar Powered Attic Fans Help Texas Low-Income Residents Beat the Heat and Electricity Bills Affordably

By installing 100+ Texas solar powered attic fans, GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS helps low-income community to lower electricity bills, and create cooler, healthier homes.

RICHMOND, TX – September 7, 2011 – http://www.TexasSolarPoweredAtticFans.com – Celebrating the long-awaited end of 40 100-degree days, and responding to ERCOT’s repeated Energy Emergency Alerts across Texas in August, GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS installed over the last week 100+ Texas solar powered attic fans at a Section 8, affordable housing multi-family apartment community in southwest Houston in Fort Bend County.

This year, Houstonians suffered 40 100-degree days in a single year – the most 100-degree days Houston has ever experienced in a single year since 1889 when record keeping began. Five of Houston’s top ten 100-degree days happened since 1998.

For reference, the surface temperature of the composite roof shingles at Brazos Bend Apartments reached 133 degrees Fahrenheit last week. And, attic temperatures at a typical, poorly insulated, one-story house also with composite roof shingles ranged from 81 to 129 degrees Fahrenheit last week.

One morning before school, GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS’ solar installers fed and taught Brazos Bend Villas’ residents – kids and adults – about green jobs, and how solar panels and attic ventilation systems work. One elementary school student said, “I have never seen a solar panel before.”

“You should have seen the children’s fascinated eyes and smiles at sunrise today when the fans started whirling, and as camera crews from KRIV FOX 26 News Houston and Momentum Bay made sure the kids knew they are our future," said Mark Alan Robinson, Partner at GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS (http://www.greenpower4texas.com).

"After school, the same kids ran up to us proclaiming that they had told all their friends that today they had learned about green jobs, had learned how solar panels work, and had even been on TV."

Whether old, new or recently renovated like these Section 8, low-income apartments now featuring other energy efficiency best practices - like radiant barrier foil and new insulation – single family and multi-family residents can all benefit from cooler, less humid, well-circulated attic air achieved with solar powered attic fans.

Even at record low electricity prices, these Texas solar powered attic fans offer a fast pay back – typically in just two to three years.

“This low-cost, proven best practice for retrofits and new construction offers a rapid payback to apartment occupants, managers and owners,” said Kenneth Tann, President of Multi-family Mission Ministries, Inc. (MMM Housing) which redeveloped and manages Brazos Bend Villa Apartments and other affordable housing apartments in Texas and Louisiana. “Tenants with lower bills and more comfortable living spaces are happier. And, our maintenance staff finds it easier to work in cool attics, when needed.”

By ventilating the attic air 15 to 30 times per hour for free over the next 30 years, these roof-mounted and gable-mounted solar powered attic fans are expected to reduce attic temperatures to within just a few degrees of outside air temperatures, to mitigate humidity, to lower residents’ utility bills, and to improve apartment occupants' thermal comfort.

“At a time when the volatile economy, extreme weather – like hurricanes, droughts and wildfires – and so many other factors can get you down, it has been a joy to see other local businesses join us in caring for this community’s residents,” said Mark Alan Robinson, Partner at GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS (http://www.greenpower4texas.com).

GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS, the solar powered attic fan manufacturer and freight carrier collaborated to make this solar attic fan installation even more sustainable than most. They accepted back for reuse nearly all of the packaging materials.

La Madeleine’s Meyerland bakery donated breads and pastries for a community-wide breakfast each day.

And, Ruggles Green’s CityCentre restaurant (http://www.rugglesgreen.com) donated a healthy, local, organic and natural lunch for the solar installation crew.

“Probably the most inspiring coincidence was the fact that the freight delivery driver’s family had lived at Brazos Bend years ago,” said Robinson. “The driver and his wife had their first baby here. His mom and aunt had lived here. He was happy to see how well the recent renovation had improved the community.

Robinson said, “It is an honor to be part of Brazos Bend’s ongoing mission and faith-based ministry."

For more information about Texas solar powered attic fans and other healthy, affordable, and practical green energy, green building and green business best practices, call 877-ECO-TEXAS or email research@greenbestpractices.com.

About Multi-family Mission Ministries, Inc.
MMM Housing is a non-profit, Christian ministry that loves its neighbors by acquiring, operating and maintaining low and moderate-income apartment housing and other affordable housing properties in Texas and Louisiana.

About Momentum Bay’s GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS
GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS (http://www.greenpower4texas.com) is a Texas-based full-service energy management consulting firm focused on sustainability. The firm procures and manages energy for primarily green businesses and green buildings, particularly those pursuing LEED, ENERGY STAR and Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR certification. For more about GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS’ service offerings – including energy strategy, energy demand, energy supply (offsite and onsite procurement), energy marketing and communications, and energy monitoring, visit:

• Offsite: TexasRECBroker.com, TexasElectricityBroker.com, TexasElectricityAggregator.com, GreenPowerMarketer.com, GreenPowerProcurement.com
• Onsite: TexasWindDeveloper.com, TexasSolarDeveloper.com
• Managed: EnergyManagementTexas.com

About Ruggles Green
Formed in late 2008, Ruggles Green is a premium fast-casual health food restaurant offering delectable, healthy, organic, all natural foods and wines, a great dining atmosphere. Ruggles Green is Houston's first Certified Green Restaurant®. In 2011, Ruggles Green at CityCentre also became Texas’ first 4-Star Certified Green Restaurant, the Green Restaurant Association’s highest level of certification.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

GREEN POWER 4 TEXAS: Mark Alan Robinson, media@greenpower4texas.com, 877-ECO-TEXAS

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