Mar 2 2009
Centex Corporation today announced that construction is under way on Centex Energy Advantage homes across the St. Louis area. Collectively, Centex Energy Advantage homes now in progress are projected to avoid thousands of tons of carbon emissions over time, preventing more than 26 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in just the first year of occupancy.
Centex Energy Advantage is now available in all to-be-built homes ordered from Centex in 16 neighborhoods around the St. Louis metropolitan area. The area's first Centex Energy Advantage home, located in the Providence neighborhood near Herculaneum, Mo., is scheduled for delivery in May. Please visit any Centex neighborhood sales office for more information or see centex.com/energyadvantage.asp for details and centex.com/stlouis/ for details about homes and prices.
"With these homes, you can experience measurable energy efficiency every day for the life of your home," says Mike VanPamel, division president for Centex Homes in St. Louis. "Our customers are usually surprised to learn that these features are standard in every Centex home, while other builders treat many of these components as upgrades."
Centex Energy Advantage homes are up to 22 percent more efficient than comparable new homes built to the most widely used energy efficiency code (the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code), according to a study commissioned with the NAHB Research Center. When compared to a typical 10-year-old home (as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program), the Centex Energy Advantage homes in the study were shown to be up to 40 percent more energy efficient.
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. That's roughly the same as the greenhouse gas emissions from the family automobile over four months or the CO2 emissions from about 183 gallons of gasoline consumed.
Features of the Centex Energy Advantage standard package in the St. Louis area include:
- Energy monitor: homeowners who use energy monitors to actively manage their consumption of electricity can reduce their electricity use by 4-15 percent; Centex is the first national homebuilder to announce the installation of an energy monitor in every home it builds
- 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