The Construction Source America

8 | Oneida Builders ings from reduced utility costs. That’s critical as Sinisgalli reports that in recent years elec- tricity prices have increased by more than 70 percent, but “green” homeowners are spared from the impact of elevated costs. Sinisgal- li acknowledges that this may often mean more in up-front costs, but they more than pay for themselves in the long run. “Some customers have air conditioning running for nine months of the year and heat running three months out of the year, but no idea about how much energy they’re using. Some have no interest in embracing the efficiencies which come from green practices, but I’ll ask them, ‘If I take my drill and drive five pin- holes in your gas tank, would you spend the two thousand dollars to repair it?’ Most will say, ‘Of Course!’ because they’re concerned about wasting gas. I tell them it shouldn’t be any different when it comes to energy be- ing wasted, they might have fifty percent of their air leaking air through ducts … so I try to educate them on solutions to overcome these problems… and I never recommend a green practice that I haven’t already done in my own house,” says Sinisgalli.