Designer Home Builders, Custom Homes, Energy Star Partner, certified Green builder

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Designer Home Builders

email: ken@DHBColumbia.com Office: 573.446.6946 Cell: 573.529.6601

A proud builder of Energy Star qualified homes

What exactly makes a home green?

Green building means improving the way that homes and homebuilding sites
use energy, water, and materials to reduce impacts on human health and
the environment. Building a green home means making environmentally-
preferable and sustainable decisions throughout the design and building
process-decisions that will minimize the environmental impact of the home
while it is being built and over the many years it will be lived in.

There are nearly 50 regional and national green home labeling programs
around the country. While each program approaches green building a little
differently, each incorporates important elements such as:

Energy efficient construction techniques and products.
Improved indoor environments through environmentally-preferable
materials and building practices.
Water-efficient products and processes.
Renewable energy options, when feasible.
Waste reduction and recycling during the construction process.
Smart growth and sustainable land development practices.

For more information on the Energy Star program, please visit
Energy Star Fact Sheets

Did you know that
a typical home can
cause twice the
greenhouse gas
emissions of the
typical car?

What should homebuyers look for first
in a green home?

Energy efficiency is the place to start. That's because the energy used
in homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants,
which contributes to smog, acid rain, and risks of global climate change.
So, the less energy used, the less air pollution generated. And the easy
way to make sure a new home is energy efficient is to look for the blue
ENERGY STAR mark, the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency.

ENERGY STAR qualified homes are independently verified to meet strict
guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. These homes save money on utility bills, provide a more
comfortable living environment with better indoor air quality, and help
protect the environment.

Typical features to look for in ENERGY STAR qualified homes include:

An Efficient Home Envelope, with effective levels of wall, floor, and
attic insulation properly installed, comprehensive air barrier details,
and high-performance windows.

Properly installed insulation that meets or exceeds national
code requirements helps achieve even temperatures throughout
the house while using less energy. The result is lower utility
costs and a quieter, more comfortable home.
Advanced window coatings help keep heat in during winter and
out during summer. They also block damaging ultraviolet
sunlight that can discolor carpets and furniture;

Efficient Air Distribution, where ducts are installed with minimum
air leakage and effectively insulated.

Attention to detail by sealing all holes, cracks, and seams in
ducts and construction assemblies helps eliminate drafts,
moisture, dust, pests, and pollen. This improves comfort and
the quality of indoor air, while lowering maintenance costs;

Efficient Equipment for heating, cooling, and water heating.

More efficient and properly sized heating and cooling systems
use less energy, which reduces utility bills. These systems also
turn on and off less frequently, removing more humidity and
providing better comfort;

Efficient Lighting, including fixtures that earn the ENERGY STAR,
or an advanced lighting package (ALP) option; and
Efficient Appliances, including ENERGY STAR qualified appliances.

Monthly energy savings can easily exceed any additional mortgage cost for
the energy efficiency improvements, resulting in a positive cash-flow from
the first day of home ownership. As a result, the cost-effectiveness of
ENERGY STAR improvements can help offset additional costs associated
with other green home features.

What comes after energy efficiency?

Homebuyers can also look for the ENERGY STAR Indoor Air Package label—a new
specification developed by EPA to address the indoor environment component of green
building. Homes that achieve this level of excellence are first qualified as ENERGY STAR,
and then also incorporate more than 60 additional home design and construction features to
control moisture, chemical exposure, radon, pests, ventilation, and filtration. Together,
these features help protect qualified homes and their residents from mold, chemicals,
combustion gases, and other airborne pollutants.

Completing the green home picture

Through ENERGY STAR qualified homes and the ENERGY STAR Indoor
Air Package, homebuyers can address two critical green home
elements. Then, look to the wide variety of available green home
programs to complete the picture with water-efficient products,
renewable energy technologies, waste reduction, recycling, and
sustainable land development practices.

Each ENERGY STAR
qualified home can keep
4,500 lbs of greenhouse
gases out of our air
each year. And because
homes have such long
life-spans, this benefit
lasts for many years!

Designer Home Builders
now installs rain gardens
as a standard feature in
addition to Energy Star
certification. Also, we
provide as a standard
feature mechanical
ventilation that meets
ASHRE 62.2 indoor air
quality standard.

We can provide the
complete Indoor Air
package as an option.

Designer Home Builders
uses as many material
sources as possible that
use sustainable raw material
or are certified to be good
environmental stewards.
Examples include Ainsworth
sub floor and roof decking
material. See Forest
Stewardship Council
Certification

Designer Home Builders
recycles material
accepted by the City of
Columbia and the
University of Missouri,
and minimizes land
disturbance through
home placement on the
lot and best construction
practices.

Designer Home Builders
provides blown cellulose
insulation and R-38 attic
insulation as a standard
feature.

Designer Home
Builders provides low E
argon gas filled, tinted
windows as a standard
feature.

Quality RUUD 93% effiency
gas furnaces and high
efficiency air conditioners
are provided as a standard
feature, with heat pumps
and/or ground source
heating and cooling
available as options.

We will be happy to go over
the 86 page Energy Star
thermal bypass checklist
guide, complete with photos,
to help you understand what
you should look for and request
in an energy efficient home!

For more information on the two national green building
programs (NAHB and LEED), please visit Green Programs