By now I’m sure you’ve heard about the fact that you can buy all sort of Energy Star-rated home products—from appliances to ceiling fans. But did you know you can actually live in an Energy Star house?
It’s true—and a great idea. Homes that earn the Energy Star meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They’re at least 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code, and they include additional energy-saving features (such as those aforementioned appliances and ceilings fans) that make them 20 to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes.
In order to earn the Energy Star, you’ll need to make sure your home has effective insulation, energy-efficient windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment, and Energy Star products such as lighting fixtures, ventilation fans, and appliances. And, of course, you can’t just build your house and say it’s Energy Star-qualified—you’ll need to get an independent inspection.
If you’re not sure if all that trouble is worth it, find out about the benefits—from saving $200 to $400 a year on energy costs to increasing the value of your home.
Then, if saving money and keeping as much as 4,500 pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air each year sounds like a good deal to you, learn even more about building an Energy Star home.
And don’t forget to tour Energy Star qualified homes—at the end of December 2007, there were 850,000 of them in the United States. Expect that number to keep growing! (Oh, and while you’re at it, want to tour some other cool green homes?)
Once you decide to move ahead with your own home, be sure to find a qualified builder.
Even if building an entire home that’s Energy Star-certified is out of the question right now, there are still a slew of steps you can take to make your home more efficient. Don’t believe me? Check out the Energy Star Home web application, which gives you a room-by-room tour of a virtual house and details easy energy-saving tips for each room.
Until tomorrow,
The Home Know-It-All
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