What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?
--Henry David Thoreau

This is my motivation for launching Ponizil Energy, a home improvement construction and consulting company. I want to save future homeowners the frustration we felt when we remodeled, trying to upgrade both the size and energy efficiency of our home, and do so using the least toxic, “greenest” materials available. And I want to help save the planet for our kids.

When we asked our architect to install plumbing to make our house solar-ready, she said they don’t work.

And when I wanted to plumb the drains to allow graywater collection, the plumber thought I was nuts. When we wanted to reuse the old lumber, or use reclaimed windows, our contractor gave us a kind, sympathetic look saying, that’s “too much monkey business” and politely declined to build for us.

In retrospect he was right about the windows, but for the wrong reasons. He was thinking of construction uniformity, not energy efficiency: those single glazed windows would have been a huge mistake.

But that’s my point in developing this venture:

we needed someone not only to understand construction but also advise us on energy usage, comfort, recycled content, sustainable materials, heating and cooling loads, renewable energy sources—in short, someone who understood a whole new construction discipline that has become “green building.”

I realize my motivation for this business may not be yours. In order to educate the public and attract new clients, I need to understand how you, the homeowner, views home improvement. So please feel free to contact us and share your thoughts, ask questions, and help us serve you better.

As I tell all my clients, I want it all, the good the bad and the ugly.

Overall, I strive to learn humbly, share knowledge confidently, work in concert with nature, and make the world a better place for this and future generations.