Harvest Park Homes unveiled its energy-efficient Energy Star housing development in Mapleton Friday (May 19, 2006) in honor of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s "Energy Star Day."
The unveiling comes at the heels of an April 26th announcement Huntsman made concerning an energy efficiency policy with the goal to increase the state's overall energy efficiency by 20 percent by the year 2015.
Harvest Park Homes showcased its model homes to press and special guests Friday. The development, which is presently under construction, will consist of 500 energy-efficient homes equipped almost entirely with Energy Star-labeled appliances.
Blake Howell, account manager with Ecos Consulting, said each home will be qualified by Energy Star inspectors. He said a large part of the homes' energy savings comes from skilled construction practices. Poor air duct construction can account for tremendous energy losses.
"When you get 40 percent duct leakage, it means 40 percent of the air leaves the system," Howell said.
He said the highest amount of leakage allowed in the Energy Star-qualified homes is a six percent leakage. Officials from the U.S. Department of Energy said most of the Harvest Park homes will operate on a 30 percent energy savings compared to ordinary homes, and ten of the homes will meet Building America energy-efficiency specifications for a 40 percent overall energy savings.
Building America is a public/private partnership with the DOE dedicated to energy-efficiency research and implementation. Rachel May, marketing communications coordinator for IBACOS Consulting, said Building America designs the entire house to be thrifty with its energy expenditures.
"We look at it as a whole-house system integration," she said.
She said some of the variables in a home's energy-economy are the type of appliances used, the type and size of windows and the light fixtures used. The Building America pilot home also includes specialized insulation, specialized heating and air conditioning and a natural gas water heating system.
When all of the variables are taken into account, Building America can make some of its homes with a zero energy requirement, meaning they produce as much energy as they use. This is achieved through thrifty energy use and production effects like solar panels.
Margaret Oler, spokesperson for Utah Power, attended the "Energy Star Day" festivities. She said she was impressed with the project.
"This is such a positive thing all the way around," she said with a wave of her hand.
Patty Crow, a representative for the Environmental Protection Agency, said the objective behind Energy Star qualification is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Crow said when the energy doesn't need to be produced for these homes, there are fewer emissions from the production of electricity.
"It's the equivalent of taking cars off the road," she said.
Copyright Brigham Young University 22 May 2006
