EPA names 2003 Energy Star Award winners for Colorado

"Our good fortune can't possibly last any longer than our natural resources."
- Will Rogers. 1930s

If the leaves are changing it's Energy Awareness Month again, the perfect time to hand out awards to Colorado leaders in energy efficient residential design and construction. And that's just what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did earlier this month. Homes meeting the EPA's Energy Star criteria must score at least 86 on the 0-to-100 uniform home energy rating scale. That makes such homes 20 percent more efficient than the International Energy Conservation Code, the latter of which is also the threshold for participants in the Colorado Built Green Program. Yet the high-performance home "systems approach" (seeking to enhance health. safety. comfort. durability. affordability and green building) was also a key driver among the awards criteria evaluated by the 11-member panel of experts convened at E-Star Colorado's offices.

Winners of this year's EPA's Energy Star New Millennium Home Awards. funded this year by Xcel Energy, included a number of repeaters. But they faced tougher competition in this the third year of the selection process. If some hadn't raised their internal corporate bars a little higher, others might have edged them out.

What follows is a description of selected details and angles that set the winners apart, plus a couple comments about a few up-and-comes who gave the winners a run for their money.

Bottom line to remember in this day of rising,* energy prices: all these winners will cost their buyers a little more in initial purchase price but no more to own. The energy savings offset the higher first cost to homeowners.

Denver metro production builder

In the Denver region, Engle Homes of Colorado won the production builder award for the second year running. After building homes with E-Star scores averaging 88 last year, their scores this year inched up to 89.

To achieve this high level of performance, Engle installs high-efficiency furnaces, sealed ductwork, year-round fresh air ventilation, low-c windows and a well-insulated shell with fastidious attention to product installation.

Comprehensive performance testing by HVAC contractors and energy raters has allowed Engle to determine which details work best with their choice of products and building practices. After building close to 700 homes that exceed the Energy Star criteria, Engle can now brag that they build the tightest houses in Colorado - tighter than all but two custom homes since E-Star began testing in 1995.

To maintain consistency. the company relies on a variety of training tools and team coordinating concepts. That level of details is nicely exemplified in their 17-step window flashing diagrams. These show exactly how the company wants door and window installers to integrate pan flashing, drainage planes and vertical flashing to ensure that all doors and windows properly manage common water intrusion problems during driving rains. These and a hundred other little details cost time and money. Engle tries to recoup that investment by training their sales staff how to educate consumers about the many distinctive features and benefits associated with their high-performance-home system.

Extending this education effort, Engle also sponsors seminars taught by Mark LaLiberte for real estate agents and buyers. They also share information with fellow builders, with the assumption that as more builders learn the details. it will be easier to find qualified contractors who can properly install the key components.

Despite their key leadership role in Colorado's home building industry. Eagle probably shouldn't think of itself as a lock for this award. Oakwood Homes' application shows their considerable step up this past year; by next year at this time they too aim to have every home meet or exceed the Energy Star threshold.

Front Range production builder

Aspen Homes of Colorado Inc., a first-time winner, won in convincing style among the non-Denver-metro Front Range builders. Last September they switched to 100 percent high-performance home building. Today their homes average 88 points on the home energy rating scale - right up there with Engle.

Energy features are impressive: R-20 walls, 92 percent AFUE furnaces. sealed-combustion water heaters, consistently very tight construction, a fresh-air ventilation system in every home, engineered and sealed ductwork. hacked up with 100 percent performance testing of every duct system and home.

Last year Aspen's consumer education efforts were notable, from their informative sales office to educational seminars. But they broke new ground with a number of innovations earlier this year: offered the first heating bill guarantee by a production builder in Colorado: pre-paid for a block of Wind Source energy for each buyer. Purchased a grinder (Packer Industries) to chew up and recycle waste that used to go to the landfill: installed compact fluorescent lighting in all their model homes: and offered an optional water-saving drip irrigation system. It may be a while before another Colorado builder can introduce this many "firsts" in one year.

Denver metro custom builder

Another repeat winner, Kurowski Development Company.. had some serious competition from Harvard Communities
and Lahr Construction, among others. But Kurowski's Built Green homes averaged 91 on the rating scale tops among all competing applicants. For the third year running, every home has met the EPA Energy Star home threshold.

The company's winning entrant incorporated passive solar features - something Kurowski has relied on whenever possible for over two decades. Three key elements of that passive solar system are thermal mass floors, properly sized overhangs for window shading, and windows "tuned" by orientation; those on the south side have a higher solar-heat-gain coefficient for enhanced winter-time heating benefits, while those on other orientations included lower solar-gain glass.

The well-insulated shell was built from insulated concrete forms. Other systems features include a high-efficiency, sealed-combustion boiler with a smart controller (outdoor reset value), an efficient sidearm water heater, plus insulation beneath the heated concrete slab.

Greater Colorado custom builder

Phil Bailey of Balanced Construction Inc. is always researching and trying something new. This year. after detailed analysis of the long view for natural gas and propane prices, the two-time award winner opted for a ground-source heat pump in one of his homes.

Bailey's highest scoring home for the year earned a 92 rating. The systems approach to design and construction is standard in all his homes. as is Built Green construction and Energy Star qualification. Some key features this past year included R-26 exterior walls, a heat-recovery ventilator, good windows, very tight construction, plus equipment and ductwork sized according to detailed calculations. Homes are commissioned to verify proper air flow to each room. The latest home includes some passive solar features.

Here's an angle that's helping Bailey's buyers. "The owners make it a point to tell their bankers, and to alert their appraisers, about the Energy Star qualifying homes, giving them greater buying power, built-in equity and higher resale value."

One of Bailey's homes earned 228 points from the Built Green checklist. That may he a record. (Anyone with a higher Built Green score should contact this writer.)

Affordable home builder

The competition is going to have a tough time heating out three-time winner Habitat for Humanity of Denver in this category. If anyone is close to a lock, they're it.

Consider the following: of the roughly 100 homes built by Habitat Denver in the last five years. all have met or exceeded the Energy Star threshold - a performance level that no other builder in the state and few in the country can match.

This year's "advanced technology house" earned 95 energy-rating points, best score in the state this year. Credit the R-27 wall insulation, solar water heating system. passive solar features, super tight construction, high-efficiency super-small boiler, scaled combustion appliances, good windows. excellent moisture management features, and a state-of-the-art crawlspace design combined with whole-house fresh-air ventilation.

This represents some serious, kick-ass construction. They keep pushing the bar higher. Anyone want to take them on?

Specialty-housing builder

Wonderland Hills Development Company continues to feature energy-efficient design and construction in their co-housing projects. Last year, 10 homes in their 34-unit Casa Verde Commons project in Colorado Springs were performance tested: all 10 met or exceeded the Energy Star threshold, meaning that all 34 homes could he labeled Energy Star compliant.

Environmental and sustainable design and construction are hallmarks that help bring buyers to co-housing projects. Wonderland Hills' energy efficiency plan starts with a well-insulated building envelope: R-22 spray-insulated walls, It-38 ceilings, R-19 basements, low-c windows and tight construction. Buyers could chose between 90 percent-efficient furnaces or boilers. Passive solar energy helps heat the development's common house plus one-third of the housing units.
Indoor air quality starts with all gas appliances being either sealed-combustion or power-vented design. Good IAQ is aided by smart product choices: low-VOC paints and adhesives: VOC-free kitchen cabinets made of certified, sustainably harvested wood; and recycled content carpeting with low-VOC padding. Super-efficient Panasonic bath fans and Tamarack whole-house fans with timers provide winter and summer (respectively) whole-house air exchange.

Use of Energy Star appliances and lights is a strategy recommended to all co-housing buyers. Given the huge problem when the electric grid crashed in the East two months ago, the need to look more carefully at electricity saving options in the residential sector is bound to ratchet up in the coming years.

Steve Andrews consults with builders for E-Star Colorado and writes on energy issues (sbandrews@att.net). E-Star (www.e-star.com), is a nonprofit home energy rating system that works with both new and existing homes statewide.

2008 Built Green Colorado

Home Builders Association of Metro Denver, 9033 E. Easter Place, Suite 200, Centennial, CO 80112
(303) 778-1400 fax: (303) 733-9440  info@builtgreen.org

Last Updated: 10/05/2007