Southern Energy Management’s Building Performance Team recently hit a major milestone: at the start of 2012, we qualified our 10,000th ENERGY STAR home in the Carolinas. It’s a huge number, and a testament to the great work our builders are doing. To better put this accomplishment into perspective, 10,000 ENERGY STAR homes has the equivalent effect of removing emissions from 4,900 vehicles on the road, saving 29.6 million pounds of coal, planting 8,100 acres of trees, or saving homeowners an estimated $4.5 million on their utility bills.[1] That is no small feat! (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘energy star’
10K ENERGY STAR Homes And Counting…
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012Thirteen Henderson County School Buildings Earn ENERGY STAR Label
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
This has been a busy semester for more than a dozen schools in Henderson County. They have put a priority on building performance — by having 13 different buildings qualify for the Energy Star label. It’s always seems to mean a little more for the SEM team when we get to do work like this. Meghan McDermott, the building science engineer who did most of the work for us, said it well: “We’re not just teaching students the importance of sustainability, we’re showing them how to achieve it.” (more…)
A Growing Trend: Energy Efficiency & Multifamily Housing
Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Admit it. When you think of energy efficient construction or building to green standards, you usually think of businesses or single-family homes. It’s OK, I’m used to it. The reality, though, is that multifamily housing is quickly becoming a much bigger player when it comes to building performance. That should make sense, because those large residential buildings offer (more…)
It’s Here! Energy Star 2.5 Officially Taking Effect.
Thursday, March 31st, 2011
Builders taking advantage of the Energy Star label have had this week circled on their calendars for a long time. The program is going through a series of changes designed to make Energy Star labeled homes more efficient. April 1st is one of the most significant dates, signaling the start of “Energy Star 2.5” for all new homes permitted through the end of the year. This is essentially an 8-month long transition period designed to ease builders into “Energy Star 3.0;” all of the new rules take full effect on January 1, 2012.
We’ve held several workshops for builders over the last few months, and in November we put together a video blog about the process for verifying a house with the new Energy Star 2.5 standards. Now we’re ready to (more…)
Bottom Line: Certifications Sell
Thursday, March 24th, 2011
Since Southern Energy Management started working with builders back in 2001, we have encouraged them to educate homebuyers about the advantages of homes with enhanced energy efficient design and construction practices. The benefits to homeowners are many. Homes earning the Energy Star label tend to beA First-Hand Look at How Energy Star for New Homes is Evolving
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
By far, the most common energy efficiency program for new home builders in the U.S. is Energy Star. In the next year and a half, that program is undergoing some changes that will make Energy Star certified homes even more efficient, comfortable and less costly to own and operate for the eventual homeowners. These improvements are going into effect in the next few months, and we thought it would be helpful to show builders a first-hand look at some of the key differences between the old and new Energy Star for new homes requirements.
Feel free to take a few minutes and watch this clip as we go through an insulation inspection on one of the first homes in the Carolinas being built to the new “Energy Star 2.5″ requirements: (more…)
A Different Approach – Energy Star for Commercial Buildings
Thursday, August 12th, 2010
Over the last decade, according to the EPA, some 9,000 Energy Star partners in the commercial marketplace have offset more carbon dioxide emissions than it would take to power 60-million homes. That’s a big deal — and adds up to roughly 120-million tons of CO2. (more…)
Energy Star 3.0 – What Do New Changes Mean For Builders?
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010Since 2006, builders wanting an Energy Star qualified home have been following a set of rules commonly referred to as “Energy Star 2.0.” This April, Energy Star announced Energy Star 3.0, changes to the qualification process for new construction that had a lot of builders scrambling to figure out exactly what the implications will be. In general, the altered requirements will make for more efficient homes and a higher standard for builders to meet. That may not make some people happy at first, but I think it really protects the Energy Star name and bolsters its reputation for builders who want to distinguish themselves and provide more efficient homes for home buyers. (more…)
What’s in a Name? Sorting Out Your Green Building Options
Thursday, July 15th, 2010As part of my new job as a writer and multimedia specialist at SEM, I’m getting a crash course in all sorts of sustainability issues. For this post, I thought I’d take you along as I learn a little more about some of the energy efficiency and green building choices that builders are making nowadays. Jamie Hager, an SEM green buildings specialist, was the perfect tutor, and she was kind enough to sit down with me and go through some of the most common options. (more…)
