Builder Success Story #1

A large production homebuilder in the Denver area ran into moisture management issues in a number of new homes, a fact first brought out by a homeowner’s call to an E-Star™ Energy Rater.

The builder faced significant homeowner dissatisfaction, costly repairs to fix the existing problems, and potential liability issues. In addition to these serious concerns and their market effect, the builder realized it had to identify and correct the poor building methods that were leading to moisture control and water management problems. The builder turned to E-Star for help.

E-Star technical staff inspected the home in question and offered recommendations. E-Star then directed the builder to other building science experts available through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program, facilitating the builder’s pursuit of durable, healthy, and energy-efficient building techniques.

The builder recognized the opportunity for not merely correcting the original problem, but taking a system-wide look at building methods and raising consumer satisfaction levels. The builder chose to leapfrog from their original position of poor building practices to exemplary ones. Following energy-efficiency guidelines, the builder tightened the building envelope, and then balanced this with mechanical ventilation to address the moisture issue, thus keeping moisture from attacking the structure from both the outside and the inside.

E-Star is proud to have this company as an E-Star Builder. The builder has all of its homes tested by an Energy Rater thereby surpassing sampling requirements for both the E-Star and ENERGY STAR^® programs. Overall, it is a leader among homebuilders for energy efficiency, comfort, safety, durability, and affordability. In addition, all homes produced by this builder now receive US EPA ENERGY STAR^® designation, indicating a superior level of energy efficiency.

On the E-Star home energy rating scale of 0-to-100, this builder’s homes first scored around 80 points. In contrast, the builder’s current average in year 2003 is 88.77 points. Each point above 80 represents a 5% increase in energy efficiency; this increased energy efficiency is a real economic benefit to buyers of the builder’s homes. The builder enjoys greater customer satisfaction and decreased callbacks, and was recognized through a US EPA New Millennium Builder’s Award in 2002. Perhaps most importantly, however, the builder’s focus on quality construction is allowing it to achieve financial success by selling homes, even in the midst of the 2003 recession.