What is an ENERGY STAR home, and how does it save money and resources?
A Raleigh/Triangle home that has earned prestigious ENERGY STAR certification is significantly more energy-efficient than a standard home. The stamp is a guarantee that the home meets higher government-regulated standards regarding specific resource saving processes and products.
Details that translate into savings within an ENERGY STAR home include:
Inside the Walls - Insulation
All insulation must be rated and installed at ENERGY STAR standards.
This results in balanced temperatures that require less energy to heat and cool your home.
Looking Outward - Windows
High-performance windows are required in an ENERGY STAR home. These specially coated windows deflect more UV rays, helping keep heat outside during the summer and inside in the winter.
Detailed Construction and Sealed Ducts
Advanced techniques are used to seal every part of the home, from heating and cooling ducts to every portion of the exterior walls, floor, and roof. This does more than reduce energy costs - it also adds up to less moisture, dust, pollen, and noise.
Heating and Cooling Equipment
Heating and cooling systems must be specially rated to earn ENERGY STAR certification. Energy efficiency is only the beginning - most have longer warranties as well.
Independent Testing
An ENERGY STAR qualified home must be inspected and tested by an independent, ENERGY STAR certified third party inspector throughout the building process.
The ENERGY STAR home payoff:
Lower Energy Costs
Raleigh ENERGY STAR homes are designed to be at least 15% more efficient than a home built to the national Model Energy Code. This means lower energy bills, every month.
Higher Resale Value
ENERGY STAR homes are certified for life. Resale values are strong.
Discounted Energy Costs
Progress Energy of the Carolinas offers a 5% discount for life in addition to all the other energy savings in an ENERGY STAR home. Some Raleigh home builders will make sure Progress Energy is aware your home is an ENERGY STAR home before you even move in, jump-starting your two-fold energy savings.
Home Loan Incentives
According to Energy Star, there are a variety of home loan incentive programs available for the purchase of a certified Energy Star home. FHA Energy Efficient Mortgages allow lenders to add the cost of energy efficient improvements to an already approved mortgage with no additional downpayment required. Fannie Mae guidelines allow the projected energy cost savings to be added to the income of the buyer. Go to Energy Star Lending for the latest information.
Environmental Protection
Homes use an estimated 17-20% of the nation's energy. By reducing energy requirements, Raleigh builders of ENERGY STAR homes are also helping to reduce smog, global warming, acid rain, and greenhouse emissions. At present rates, ENERGY STAR homes are expected to reduce annual carbon emissions by about 4 million metric tons by 2010.
The Bottom Line
A Raleigh ENERGY STAR home costs 1-3% more than a standard home. But the increase in comfort, benefits to the environment, reduced energy costs, and home loan incentives are helping homebuyers across the nation make the decision to go ENERGY STAR.
With extra discounts from Progress Energy in the Raleigh/Triangle area, the benefits are even better in North Carolina.
Raleigh Green Home Information:
Green Home Building in the Triangle
What Is Geothermal? Geothermal News and Information
Bayer MaterialScience High Performance Residential Program - Guaranteed Savings
Finding Your New Home in the Raleigh Area
Stanton Homes makes it easy! We'll guide you through the entire process - select from thousands of different floor plans, and hundreds of different locations, with a focus on new custom homes in the upper $100s to the $500s. Custom design build options available too!
Call 919-278-8070 or visit www.StantonHomes.com to find out more about new homes in the Raleigh area today.
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Articles copyright Stanton Homes 2006-2011. Unauthorized use is not permitted. Provided for informational purposes only, no claims are made by Stanton Homes regarding the validity of any statements. Please note: all listing information per MLS, and current as of posting date. Information subject to change. Stanton Homes does not make claims to ownership of any lot listings, but can work with homebuyers to purchase available lots and build. Home plans to be approved on an individual basis, subject to neighborhood restrictive covenants and lot restrictions. Ask for further information regarding any community, lot or floor plan. Photos represent typical homes and details of each neighborhood, to help highlight different options available in the Raleigh/Triangle area. No claim of ownership is made to homes or land pictured.
Penny - great post with awesome statistics. In today's environment IMHO this is the minimum standard to which homes should be built! Excellent comments regarding conservation! That is where the focus should begin!
Darleen - The upfront cost for an Energy Star home is minimal with Stanton Homes because we already incorporate many of the Energy Star processes into our standard building techniques. And the payback continues for many, many years.
Michael - We're fortunate in the Raleigh area because Progress Energy really encourages homebuyers to buy homes that use less energy. The 5% off program they offer is really great.
Mary - It's amazing how using less energy can improve so many things! The fact that even lenders offer incentive programs for Energy Star homes is terrific.
Hi Penny, your post is right on, Energy Star certification adds value!
You provided a lot of great information. For all of the Realtors out there "Comfort = Energy Efficiency".
Penny,
Do you seal the crawl spaces as well? I'm sure you know that you do not need to insulate the floor (cost savings) nor do you need crawl space vents. The HVAC system load is decreased significantly since you are not drawing damp crawl space air into the home with a sealed crawl space. Estimates show that a sealed crawl space in Raleigh NC pays for itself in about 3-5 years - not a bad deal. Plus I love inspecting sealed crawl spaces - they are so nice and clean!
Jayme - I believe most of our Energy Star homes will offer sealed crawlspaces. We included sealed crawl spaces in select homes before we became an Energy Star builder - they can be a little pricey, but we believe they are beneficial.