ENERGY STAR
comes standard in every True Home
When you purchase a True Home, which is ENERGY STAR standard, you receive all the features you desire in your new home, plus better performance and up to 30% lower utility bills—all while helping prevent greenhouse gas emissions. ENERGY STAR qualified homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC) and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20-30% more efficient than standard homes. Each True Home received a certified Home Energy Rated Score (HERS) and qualifies your home for an energy efficient mortgage.
WHAT MAKES A HOME ENERGY STAR?
Homes that earn the ENERGY STAR are significantly more energy efficient than standard homes. ENERGY STAR builders achieve this high efficiency for you by selecting from a variety of features:
Tight Construction and Ducts
Advanced techniques for sealing holes and cracks in the home’s "envelope" and in heating and cooling ducts help reduce drafts, moisture, dust, pollen, pests, and noise. A tightly sealed home improves comfort and indoor air quality while lowering utility and maintenance costs.
Effective Insulation Systems
Properly installed and inspected insulation in floors, walls, and attics ensures even temperatures throughout the house, while using less energy. The result is lower utility costs and a quieter, more comfortable home.
Efficient Heating and Cooling Equipment
An energy-efficient, properly installed heating and cooling system uses less energy to operate, which reduces your utility bills. This system can also be quieter, reduce indoor humidity, and improve the overall comfort of your home.
High Performance Windows
Energy-efficient windows employ advanced technologies, such as protective coatings and improved frame assemblies, to help keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer. These windows also block damaging ultraviolet sunlight that can discolor carpets and furnishings.
Efficient Products
Your home may also be equipped with ENERGY STAR qualified products—lighting fixtures, compact fluorescent bulbs, ventilation fans, and appliances—that offer additional energy savings.
Independent Testing
While it’s easy to claim that homes are energy efficient, ENERGY STAR builder partners back that up with verification by an independent Home Energy Rater. The Rater conducts on site inspections and testing to verify the performance of the energy efficiency features in your home.
ENGERY STAR PROVIDES LONG TERM BENEFITS
By purchasing a True Home that is ENERGY STAR standard, you will receive many benefits that not only save you money but also reduces the impact on the environment.
Added Confidence
Home buying is complex enough without having to know all the details of energy-efficient construction. Instead, look for the government-backed ENERGY STAR to easily identify homes that are truly energy efficient. Find the house of your dreams and enjoy peace of mind knowing that it also meets rigorous energy efficiency guidelines set by EPA and verified by an independent Home Energy Rater.
Lower Ownership Cost
Compared with standard construction, ENERGY STAR qualified homes use substantially less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating—delivering $200 to $400 in annual savings. Although these energy savings may seem small relative to the cost of monthly mortgage payments, no one likes to waste money. And over the 7 or 8 years that a typical buyer lives in a home, it can add up to thousands of dollars saved. Additional savings on maintenance can also be significant. Duke Energy provides a 5% discount for your ENERGY STAR home.
Better Performance
Properly installed energy-efficient improvements deliver better protection against cold, heat, drafts, moisture, pests, pollution, and noise. An ENERGY STAR qualified home helps ensure consistent temperatures between rooms, improved indoor air quality, and greater durability.
Smarter Investment
To date, more than 6,500 home builders have partnered with EPA to construct nearly 940,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes. By 2010, more than 1 million homes are expected to earn the ENERGY STAR. The trend is clear. By choosing a home with the ENERGY STAR, you can be confident that it will have an increasingly valued feature when the time comes to sell.
Environmental Protection
Energy used in our homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants. Because ENERGY STAR qualified homes use less energy, they help prevent greenhouse gas emissions—an added benefit for today’s environmentally conscious consumers looking for "green" choices. Greater energy efficiency helps us all make the most of our energy resources, mitigates the impact of high energy prices, decreases the need for new power plants, lowers our reliance on energy imports, and reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants at the source.
Source: EPA 430-F-09-053 March 2009
 |
 |
 |
 |
