Dallas-based Centex Corporation has rolled-out a green line of home development in St. Louis, building new homes with its Centex Energy Advantage designs.
The homes the company has begun building in the St. Louis metro area are considered as much as 40 percent more efficient than the typical 10-year-old home.
In a region of the United States looked upon as flyover land, usually implying it’s behind the times, Centex is claiming to be the first national homebuilder to install energy monitors in every home it builds, going forward.
The other standard features of the Energy Advantage package, as listed by Centex, are:
- Whirlpool brand Energy Star(R) qualified appliances
- Lennox high-efficiency HVAC system
- Programmable thermostat(s)
- Low-emissivity windows
- R-49 insulation in the attic (with radiant-barrier roof decking available as an optional upgrade)
- Compact fluorescent lights in high-traffic areas
- Information for maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing the impact of home operation on the environment
Centex says that with this package of energy efficiency, Centex homes are as much as 22 percent more efficient than other new homes.
According to the NAHB Research Center, each Centex Energy Advantage home avoids 1.78 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide per year than a comparable new home, roughly equating it to the greenhouse gas emissions from a family car during four months or the CO2 emissions from about 183 gallons of gasoline consumed.
Of course, home buyers don’t have to start new to get these advantages. Judging from the list of newly standard features Centex is providing, they have not cornered the market on efficiency via top-secret designs.
I think it would be pretty cool to have an energy monitor, just because I like to play with numbers and statistics like that. I’d probably make it a challenge to always get leaner, just to watch the information on the monitor.
But the next time you’re looking for a new house appliance, you can get an Energy Star one to improve efficiency. Compact fluroescent bulbs can be picked up at most stores as soon as you can get to one. Information about energy efficiency is sprinkled liberally across cyber space, and is free.
But what I get from knowing Centex is making this step, is to see progress for more efficient lifestyles, in general. They are raising the bar for what’s “standard” in American homebuilding.
