Energy Star

One of the reasons we chose Reid's Heritage Homes as our builder was the Energy Star certification. Yes the same Energy Star sticker that you see on your computer monitor, or dishwasher is on our House. In 2005 Reid's started to build Energy Star certified homes not only to generate business with the new environmentally conscious customer, but to build a better performing home in general.
So what do they do to make a house Energy Star certified? Well there are a bunch of things that are needed, and Reid's adds a couple of things extra that go beyond what is needed.
First off there is an HRV installed. What is an HRV you ask? It is an air to air heat exchanger, so more fresh air gets circulated through the house, as well the furnace doesn't have to work as hard heating the fresh air when it is on. Of course Wikipedia has a great article on what it does. Not only does the furnace not have to work as hard, but allergy and health wise it is much better due to no stale air in the home.
What else? Well all the equipment put into the home by the builder is itself Energy Star certified. From the Furnace to the Appliances (if you have them buy them for you) all are certified Energy Star. All of the light bulbs put into the house are compact fluorescent. All of the seams on the duct work are sealed (you would expect every house to be this way but apparently it isn't code) Even all the wiring is spray foamed where holes are made to make the house air tight.
Most of the insulation in the house have R values above code or recommended requirements. For example I believe Code requirements for a cathedral ceiling is R28, they put in R32. The Basement walls are insulated R12 all the way to the floor, not just halfway down like most houses are. To also help with heating and cooling requirements, the house comes with a compliant programmable thermostat.
All the windows in the house are Low E Argon which lets a lot of energy in, but very little out.
One of the COOLEST things Reid's does isn't part of the Energy Star initiative, but it is a real nice addition, it is called the Power Pipe. No this has nothing at all to do with electricity directly, but plumbing. What happens to all that hot water when you take a shower? It just goes down the drain into a sewer correct? What if there was a way to recover the energy from that hot water? Well there is, and the Power Pipe is it.



That is a picture of one installed. Basically what it does is, when you take a shower or use the dishwasher etc, the hot water goes down the drain, and your water heats up more to replace what you use. Where the Power Pipe helps is when the hot water goes down the drain, it preheats the water going into the water heater by using the heat from your waste water. Pretty damn cool eh? According to their website, the Power Pipe can save up to 40% on water heating costs just by reusing your wasted hot water.
Right now the Demo model that they have that is the same as ours was built before the Energy Star initiative from Reid's so it will be slightly different. I did walk through one of the newer model homes that is certified, and I must say I cannot find a draft anywhere, the thing is sealed tight. Which makes it a good thing that there is an HRV to give us fresh air.