Benefits of the ENERGY STAR®  New Home Program

ENERGY STAR Homes: Many extra benefits mean more value!
Home buyers can expect much more value from their home purchase including:

 Improved Comfort

Homes with additional insulation and high performance windows are blanketed in comfort because surrounding surface temperatures are warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Tightly-constructed homes will not experience annoying drafts and airborne dust. Better insulated walls, sealed ducts and properly sized efficient mechanical systems can deliver quiet performance year-round.

 Improved Indoor Air Quality

Where ENERGY STAR homes and ducts are field verified to be tightly sealed, significant sources of indoor air pollution are effectively blocked from entering your home. These pollutants include moisture, dusts, pests, pollen and radon that could otherwise enter through leaks in attics, basements, and garages.

 Quality Construction

Look for ENERGY STAR homes to have greater attention paid to many important construction details. Where provided, high-efficiency equipment, such as ENERGY STAR air conditioners, heat pumps, and furnaces may include quality features beyond improved performance, such as higher-grade heat exchangers, fans, motors, and longer-term warranties.

 Higher Resale Value

ENERGY STAR homes are more likely to have a higher resale value regardless of how long you own your home. A typical ENERGY STAR home reduces utility bills by 30% per month or $1220 a year. A recent EPA study revealed that these savings can add $15,400 to the market value of an ENERGY STAR home.

 Access to Preferred Financing

National and local ENERGY STAR mortgages can make it easier for home buyers to qualify for ENERGY STAR homes. In some cases, loan origination fees may be discounted along with easier loan qualification requirements. Call the EPA ENERGY STAR Hotline about ENERGY STAR mortgages.

Experience All These Benefits and Help the Environment Too!

 It's a great feeling to know that you can have an important impact on helping the environment. American house-hold energy use contributes significantly to air pollution, including 20 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. By constructing more energy-efficient homes, we can make a difference. ENERGY STAR homes, built by the year 2012, are projected to lock in over $100 billion in utility bill savings and prevent pollution equivalent to removing more than three million cars from U.S. roads.
 

The Benefits of a Green Home

There are many very real benefits to living in a green home, and every day, more and more Americans are discovering those benefits. That’s why green homes are expected to make up 10% of new home construction by 2010, up from 2% in 2005, according to the 2006 McGraw-Hill Construction Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report. Owning or renting a green home is good for your health, your wallet and our environment.

        A Healthier Home

 
  • Green homes’ use of toxin-free building materials helps combat indoor air pollution, which can be much worse than outdoor pollution. Unhealthy air inside can pose serious health risks for residents, including cancer and respiratory ailments like asthma. Such non-toxic materials include wheat-derived strawboard, natural linoleum made from jute and linseed oil, paints with little or no volatile organic compounds and toxin-free insulation made from soybeans, recycled paper or even old denim.
  • Green homes have far fewer problems with mold or mildew.
  • Natural ventilation in green homes, as well as use of mechanical ventilation systems to filter and bring fresh air inside and vent stale air outside, keep residents breathing easy.

       A Cost-Efficient Home

 
  • The net cost of owning a green home is comparable to – or even cheaper than – owning a standard home. If upfront costs are higher, it is often because many architects, homebuilders, engineers, plumbers and other industry professionals just don’t have the knowledge and experience to cost-effectively plan, design and build a green home. Finding a professional familiar with green-building techniques will save you money and ensure you’re getting the best-quality work possible.
 
  • Month to month, people who live in green homes save money by consuming 40% less energy and 50% less water than standard homes. Over the years, that adds up to big savings.
  • A healthier home means fewer expensive doctor’s visits and fewer days of missed work.
  • Soon, it will cost less to insure a green home than a standard home. The Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company already offers a 5% discount to LEED-certified commercial buildings.
  • A green home is more durable than most standard homes because of its high-quality building materials and construction processes, requiring fewer repairs.
  • The value of a green home is typically higher than that of a comparable standard home, and the market demand for green homes continues to rise. The Solaire, a green residential high-rise in New York City, brings in rents 10% to 15% higher than market rates, and in Rocklin, Calif., the LEED-certified homes in the Carsten Crossings development outsold the competition 2-to-1.
  • Local, state and federal governments are increasingly offering tax breaks and other incentives for building LEED homes or adding green features to your home.

       An Environmentally Friendly Home

 
  • Residential cooling and heating alone make up 20% of the United States’ yearly energy use. Throw in household lighting, appliances and other electronic equipment, and homes are clearly a major source of energy consumption. Most of that energy comes from greenhouse gas producers like oil and coal, contributing to global climate change. Green homes use 40% less energy than comparable standard homes.
 
  • Some green homes further reduce our dependence on conventional energy sources as they generate some or all of their energy needs through alternative energy sources like the sun, wind, geothermal energy and biomass.
 
  • Efficient plumbing and bathing fixtures, drought-tolerant landscaping and water-conserving irrigation systems help green homes use, on average, 50% less water than standard homes.
 
  • Far fewer natural resources are used in the construction of a green home. Many green building materials have significant recycled content. Some companies, for example, now make carpets and floor tiles from recycled tires and bottles. Green homes can also be constructed with salvaged materials from demolished buildings. Green homes use materials made from rapidly renewable materials, like bamboo, hemp, agrifibers and soybean-based products. And the use of wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council helps promote socially and environmentally beneficial forestry practices.
 
  • Building a standard 2,500-square-foot home creates approximately 2 tons of construction waste that ends up in landfills. Construction of a green home, however, generates 50% to 90% less waste.
 

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