Energy Star certified homes....sm

[Myra]

Does anyone here have an Energy Star certified home? I am looking at Southern Energy homes and they will do the Energy Star for $2000-$2500 more. Is it worth it? I am very cold-natured, have lived in old, drafty houses all my married life, and am SO ready for a tight, draft-free, warm home! Any thoughts will be appreciated.

[Kimmy]

My Palm Harbor is not EnergyStar rated, because they dictate how many windows you can have, and we love windows.....however we opted for the double pane windows, extra insulations, and we have a full OSB wrap.....so we know the home will be energy effcient.

Also important is having a heat unit powerful enough to heat/cool your size home. We have a 2030 sq ft home and a 12 seer heat pump. As far as the cost go, we figured our upgrades at about$3200....if we save only $20 monthly...which I believe will be closer to $30, maybe more, we would have saved $7,200 over the course of the loan.....plus the fact that we have an oil furnace...drafty home...our oil bill averages $100 monthly...plus electric....I figure to save on average including oil thru the winter $55 monthly.

[rmurray]

Energy Star includes many things...
Thermo pane windows.
Very high r values
12 SEER a/c
programable thermo stat
Substancially different seals and close up materials...
If you go to energystar.gov ...you will see how much energy you will save..They say 30% from the former best energy rated homes...
This will cost about $ 18/ month...You must decide..