Builder Success Story #2
A privately held, medium-sized production homebuilder in Northern
Colorado responded to market pressures, environmental concerns,
and a sense of patriotic duty by making a commitment to energy
efficiency. The builder expanded its partnership with E-Star™
to meet these objectives.
The builder operates in an environment of stiff competition
with larger builders, where the choice of producing energy-efficient
homes had to support the bottom line and position the builder
well in the local market. The September 11th terrorist attacks
also prompted the company’s owner to do his part to
decrease reliance on the Middle East. The builder saw the
energy-efficiency challenge as both an opportunity to make
wise environmental decisions and take a strategic business
position.
Home Energy Ratings were adequate, but each point above 80
on the 0-to-100 E-Star scale represented an additional 5%
increase in energy efficiency. Accomplishing changes to increase
home scores required more than just adding additional insulation.
The builder’s commitment to energy efficiency meant
it had to take a system-wide look at the building process.
The builder turned to E-Star for support in moving up the
performance of his product a few notches.
The builder connected with Built Green Colorado, attended a
“Build It Better” hands-on training session hosted
by E-Star, and joined a group of E-Star professionals, Raters,
and other builders in a trip to visit a New Mexico based builder
of High Performance Homes. The builder then turned to using
a systems approach to homebuilding and included environmentally
friendly products and construction techniques in its homes.
Now all of its homes reach 86-points or higher on the E-Star
rating scale; as a result, each home receives the U.S. EPA's
ENERGY STAR®
designation indicating an exceptional level of energy-efficiency.
The builder accomplished all of this change within an amazingly
short twelve-month time span.
E-Star continues to provide support as the builder distinguishes
itself in the market as a quality provider of energy-efficient
and environmentally conscious homes. The builder uses E-Star
Raters to obtain Home Energy Ratings for all the homes it
builds, exceeding minimum sampling requirements for both the
E-Star and ENERGY STAR®
programs. The resulting benefits of this builder’s efforts
go beyond altruistic ones since it has reaped financial rewards.
Even in a down market, all of the homes the builder constructs
are sold quickly.
Today, this builder offers a unique solution to its homebuyers
the competition does not: the Space Heating Consumption Guarantee.
The guarantee promises that living space and water heating
costs will not exceed a certain dollar figure each year or
else the builder will cover the additional utility bill costs.
This utility savings guarantee further demonstrates the builder’s
commitment to both the homebuyer and the cause of energy efficiency.
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