Energy Star Rated New Homes: the Real Green Choice

Today’s new home construction projects, such as new home developments on Long Island, now offer the “green” choice: Energy Star rated new homes. Energy Star new construction new houses are new homes that meet certain stringent government guidelines regarding energy efficiency.

To be an Energy Star efficient new home, these houses must meet these guidelines set by the government at www.energystar.gov:

1. Effective Insulation 2. High-Performance Windows 3. Tight Construction 4. Efficient Cooling and Heating Equipment 5. Efficient Appliances 6. Third-Party Verification

What precisely is an Energy Star rating and why is it the green choice?

We’ll talk about green . Regrettably, the term is thrown around so often that people claim many products are “green” simply because they produce less damage to the environment than another product. When we talk about green, we’re discussing a significant reduction of pollutants or a significant conservation of energy.

When it comes to new homes, the main green impact is energy savings. Electricity and heat can be conserved in a number of ways, reducing the requirements for fossil fuels. Electricity, which is clean when used, still needs to be produced. Most often, it is produced by burning coal or other fossil fuels with massive negative effects on the environment. By cutting the electric demand, you can help reduce the amount of fossil fuel that needs to be burned. By doing a few things in your house, you can greatly reduce your electric demand.

First, you need to use high quality insulation in new construction. Make use of enough insulation to adequately protect your home from the environment. Ideally, you should insulate your basement, walls, floor and attic to help keep an even inside temperature. The more consistent the inside temperature, the less often your heat will kick on, using energy to level the temperature.

Next, think about your windows. With new homes, you can use higher efficiency windows that reduce breezes, insulate outside cold temperatures and help block UV light (which can fade fabrics, paint and carpets, requiring you to replace them sooner).

Tight construction is critical. Small gaps can create significant drafts that can allow heat to escape in the winter and air conditioning to escape in the summer. When this happens, your heating and cooling systems need to work overtime to compensate. Fixing these leaks will significantly reduce your energy costs. With new homes, tight and solid construction, especially around external pipes and duct work, you will have a major savings.

Finally, as you choose a builder, for example www.EmmyHomes.com on Long Island, be sure the new houses have a verification of their Energy Star rating. This protects you to make sure that you receive the energy benefits that you should get from your new construction.

Craig Axelrod is one of the senior developers from Emmy Homes. Emmy is which is one of Long Island’s premier real estate developers. Emmy’s Commack development features luxury homes in Commack. Visit EmmyHomes.com for more details.

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