About a month ago, my wife and I were enticed by a sale ad to visit our local Sherwin Williams store. We were about to embark on another room remodel and we needed paint.

We had bought Sherwin Williams’ Harmony low-VOC paint — aka “green” paint that doesn’t have harmful volatile organic compounds in it — a couple times before and had great experiences with it. The color and spread were great, but perhaps best of all, it was actually fun to paint with because we didn’t get headaches or have to open every window in the house to ventilate like did when we last painted a few years before. Sure, we weren’t thrilled at the higher cost of this paint when we bought it, but the old saying “you get what you pay for” rang true when the rubber hit the road, or in this case, when the paint hit the walls. 

This time, though, we’d find the best of both worlds. Looking at the sale prices on the low- and no-VOC paint compared to the regular options, I did a double take. Per gallon, the Harmony paint was a few cents cheaper. Really? Really.

If memory serves, the last time I bought the Harmony paint it was about $9 more per gallon than the conventional options (exactly how much more varies throughout the year and from region to region). But today the entire Harmony line was on sale. It was our lucky day. As if we had discovered some pricing mistake that was going to be corrected at any second, we quickly told the salesclerk which colors we needed and bought four gallons. The next day, I actually went back to get more for a down-the-road room redo. 

Such sales typically happen at least once or twice a year. So if you can wait for the right time and plan accordingly, it is possible to find low-voc paint at a comparable — or even lower — price than the regular stuff. Here are two more general tips: 

• Sign up for the promotional e-mails from paint companies who make green paints because every so often they’ll put these paints on sale and/or send you general coupons.
• Buy the paint when it’s on sale, add specific color later: For no additional charge, some stores will let you add the specific color tint whenever you’re ready. So don’t let a color debate between you and your significant other stop you from getting the paint when it’s on sale.

So what about you? Have you used low- or no-VOC paint before? Did you notice a difference in the color quality or ease of application from regular paint? Do you have a favorite brand? How much did you pay for that green paint? Got any tips to find smoking deals? Please share your stories by posting a comment below.

Learn More about Low VOC Paint, More

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Green Rookie: Adding Color With Low-VOC Paint

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Say you had $1,000 to invest in green home improvement — how would you spend it? 

Don't worry about where the money came from — if you must, say you earned it, or it came from the green home improvement leprechaun.

Would you buy new, energy-efficient windows? Or bamboo flooring for the living room? What about more insulation for the attic to help lower your heating and cooling bills? What about an on-demand water heater? Or perhaps an upgrade for the exterior of your house, such as a new paint job or fiber-cement siding? Speaking of paint, would you add new color to rooms with low- or no-VOC paint? Would you want new, energy-efficient appliances, such as a new refrigerator? In general, would you want to focus on energy-efficiency improvements to help you save money over time? Or aesthetic improvements you can feel good about?

Obviously $1,000 may not cover all expenses for some of these projects, especially at a large scale. But take a second to daydream: If you were handed a grand of green to make your home more green, what would you most want to do? Share your daydreams by posting a comment below.

The Department of Energy released its net-zero energy initiative in commercial buildings this August. Not even three months later, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Commercial Buildings team, under the direction of DOE’s Buildings Technology Program, released a study outlining ways for some commercial buildings and grocery stores to reduce their energy by 50 percent.

The study is split into two PDF files, each containing around 200 pages of design elements to achieve at least 50 percent reduction of energy for medium-sized (requiring 1.76 watts per square foot) business buildings and any grocery store.

The study supports the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative – which calls for the production of market-ready, net-zero energy buildings by 2025. The building initiative is just one aspect of the department’s umbrella initiative, which is to attain net-zero energy sometime in the foreseeable future.

A new mayors’ alliance hopes to help K-12 students read Green Eggs and Ham in green buildings and classrooms.

Two mayors from opposite ends of the country announced Thursday the formation of the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Schools — an initiative to support the construction and modification of K-12 schools to reduce carbon emissions and increase their commitment to conservation.

The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is supporting the initiative by providing 79 local USGBC chapters to help the Alliance’s cause.

Click here to read more the Mayors’ Alliance for Green Building.

Curious about whether your home is a good candidate for solar power? Check out Roofray, a handy tool that takes advantage of Google’s complex map data to project your home’s solar power potential. Roofray also makes educated guesses about energy bill savings and installation costs for your location.

Stone is one of the most natural building materials available. It’s also durable. Certainly, it’s a green choice — if it’s not shipped a long distance. So why should you carefully consider your options before purchasing a granite countertop? In some instances, the granite emits radioactive waves. Read What’s Lurking in Your Countertop? to learn more.

What’s your recommendation for the greenest, safest countertop? What about the lowest cost? Share your response in the comments section below.

Whether you’re interested in an energy retrofit, remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, or completely gutting a house to prepare for a green remodel, you’ll want to read the ReGreen Residential Remodeling Guidelines. The American Society of Interior Designers’ Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council has assembled this 182-page manual that has great ideas, practical illustrations and beautiful photos. Downloading the PDF is free.