Joe and Tara Johnson stand in front of their newly constructed ENERGY STAR Certified Home with their three children. Tara is the daughter of Dawson PPD retiree Mike Coughlin.
When you see the word, ENERGY STAR, you may think of appliances, insulation and light bulbs. But what about a house as a whole? ENERGY STAR Certified Homes are an innovative way to look at new home construction. For one Kearney family, the long-term cost savings was enough to convince them that the only way to build was the ENERGY STAR way.
Joe Johnson considers himself strong willed. His wife, Tara, agrees. But that determination to meet a laundry list of ENERGY STAR Certified Home requirements was all worth it in the end.
“For us, the decision to go for an ENERGY STAR Certified Home was for financial reasons,” Joe explains. “Over the course of our mortgage loan, we will save about $120,000 in interest.
The ENERGY STAR Program offers a two percent interest rate buy down on a standard home mortgage loan with a qualifying Home Energy Rating System score. A HERS score evaluates the efficiency of a home with a numerical and star rating. The Johnson’s completed home received an incredible score of 30 and a five plus star rating.
In fact, the rating was so exceptional that Bruce Hauschild, Nebraska Energy Office Energy Technical Advisor, said via email on May 31, 2016, that the score was “the lowest we’ve had in the program.”
According to the ENERGY STAR Certified Home Report, the Johnsons should expect almost $1,900 in utility savings annually.
Homeowner Joe Johnson shows Dawson PPD Energy Services Specialist Bobby Johnson (left) the connections between his geothermal heat pump and heat pump water heater.
ENERGY STAR Certified Homes are different than an energy efficient home – they’re built to higher construction standards and typically use 15-30 percent less energy than the standard new construction requirements. Hundreds of critical details are inspected and verified to meet strict energy efficiency requirements set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
“It took about eight months to draft a floor plan that meets the ENERGY STAR Certified Home requirements,” Joe said. “There were times when my wife and I would look at each other and ask, ‘Is it worth it?’, but we’re so glad we built an ENERGY STAR Certified Home.”
One of the biggest challenges the Johnson family faced was finding a builder qualified to construct an ENERGY STAR Certified Home.
“We couldn’t find anyone around here, so I took online courses and became a certified ENERGY STAR contractor,” Joe said.
Working closely with the Nebraska Department of Energy and a home energy rater from Omaha, the Johnsons constructed their four bed, three bath, 3,800 square foot dream home. Features include a closed loop geothermal HVAC unit, a smart thermostat controlled by a mobile phone app, LED lighting and fixtures, ENERGY STAR appliances, windows and doors, and six inches of spray foam insulation on all exterior walls. The duct system is unique because the return air duct does not use wall space or floor space. Instead, the specially constructed columns that house large diameter ducts allow air to move easily through the house. Outgoing duct work reduces in width as it branches off and approaches its final destination.
The extra 15-20 percent in costs to meet ENERGY STAR Certified Home requirements were considered “a wash” for the Johnsons compared to the savings of completing other tasks themselves, like caulking, painting, flooring and backsplash.
“Looking back and knowing what we know now, there’s probably a couple of things we’d do differently,” Tara said. “But overall, we’re pretty happy with the end result and are glad to have a place to raise our children and eventually retire in.”
Joe echoed his wife’s thoughts and encourages anyone considering building a home to look into the ENERGY STAR Certified Home Program.
“We want to share our story with others to let them see that it is possible to have an affordable, high efficiency home and that they will see the savings now and long into the future.”
September 2016