Award Winning ENERGY STAR Partners

Each year ENERGY STAR presents Partner of the Year awards* to outstanding partners who have helped to establish a significant presence for ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in one or more regional markets. These partners have typically demonstrated a commitment to the construction of ENERGY STAR qualified new homes, contributed to the growth of ENERGY STAR in their market(s), and effectively included ENERGY STAR in their marketing and sales efforts. These organizations have recognized that energy-efficient homes are good for business and the environment. We proudly recognize their efforts as ENERGY STAR partners.

2006 Award Winners

• Anderson Homes
• Aspen Homes of Colorado
• Astoria Homes
• Bosgraaf Homes
• Bureau Veritas
• CenterPoint Energy
• D. R. Horton, Inc. — Sacramento
• Ence Homes
• Energy Sense
• Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems, Inc.
• Haven Properties, Inc.
• Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners
• Pardee Homes
• Segal & Morel
• Southwest Home Energy Raters
• TexEnergy Solutions, Inc.
• The California Investor-Owned Utilities
• TXU Electric Delivery ENERGY STAR Homes Program
• Veridian Homes
• Winton/Flair Custom Homes

2005 Award Winners

• Astoria Homes
• Cambridge Homes
• CenterPoint Energy
• David Powers Homes
• D.R. Horton, Inc. — Sacramento Division
• Ence Homes
• Energy Sense
• Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and the Maryland Energy Administration
• Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems — West, Inc.
• MidAmerican Energy Company
• Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners
• Pardee Homes
• The California Investor-Owned Utilities
• TXU Electric Delivery
• Veridian Homes

2004 Award Winners

• CenterPoint Energy
• David Powers Homes
• D.R. Wastchak, LLC
• Ence Homes
• Energy Services Group
• Engle Homes Colorado, a division of TOUSA Homes, Inc.
• MaGrann Associates
• Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners
• New England Joint Management Committee
• Oncor Electric Delivery Company
• Pardee Homes
• Pulte Homes Nevada Operations
• The California Investor-Owned Utilities
• Veridian Homes
• Vermont ENERGY STAR Homes Service

2003 Award Winners

• Astoria Homes
• CenterPoint Energy
• Clayton Homes, Inc.
• Energy Sense
• Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems — West, Inc.
• Las Vegas Breakfast Club
• Oncor Electric Delivery Company
• Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Pardee Homes
• San Diego Gas and Electric
• Southern California Edison
• Southern California Gas Company
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

2002 Award Winners

• Champion Enterprises, Inc.
• D.R. Wastchak, L.L.C.
• Ence Homes
• New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes
• Reliant Energy HL&P
• Vermont Energy Investment Corporation

2001 Award Winners

• Guaranteed Watt Savers Systems, Inc.
• Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
• Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• Southwest Gas Corporation
• The Connecticut Light and Power Company
• Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation
• Woods & Associates

2000 Award Winners

• Atlantic Design & Construction
• Barry Andrews Homes
• Beazer Homes Arizona
• Bosshardt Realty, R&D Division
• D.R. Wastchak, L.L.C
• First Energy Corporation
• Florida Power Corporation
• Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE & G)
• Tierra Concrete Homes
• Town & Home, Inc.

1999 Award Winners

• Andersen Windows, Inc
• Bruce Davis Homes
• Colorado Dream Homes
• Conectiv Power Delivery
• Continental Homes
• Ence Homes
• Energy Diagnostics
• Energy Rated Homes Midwest
• Energy Rated Homes of Utah
• Energy Services Group
• Florida H.E.R.O.
• Habitat for Humanity of Houston
• The Florida Department of Community Affairs & the Florida Solar Energy Center
• The New England Joint Management Committee

1998 Award Winners

• Andersen Windows, Inc.
• Best Homes
• Energy Rated Homes of Indiana
• Gainesville Regional Utilities
• Palm Harbor Homes, Inc.
• Pulte Homes of Phoenix
• Southlake Development, Inc.
• Watt Homes

1997 Award Winners

• ConSol, Inc.
• Energy Design Technologies
• Greenstone Industries
• National Home Energy Resources Organization (HERO)
• North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA)

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2006 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Anderson Homes, Cary, North Carolina

Anderson Homes, a locally owned and operated homebuilder, began its strong push toward ENERGY STAR over the past year. The Anderson Homes product development department spent long hours in 2005 converting existing plans to meet ENERGY STAR performance guidelines. They worked closely with their home energy rater who personally visited and provided education to staff, and also met with trade partners to establish the importance of ENERGY STAR and how it affects all building practices and products used. The Anderson team’s hard work shows. In just a short time, ENERGY STAR has become the main distinguishing feature of their homes, and the ENERGY STAR logo appears everywhere. It is featured prominently in marketing and promotions ranging from the company Web site, to billboards, to newspaper, radio, and TV spots. Dave Servoss, President of Anderson Homes, is excited and proud to offer ENERGY STAR. “We feel honored to partner with ENERGY STAR in providing a better future for our homeowners. And while it does take a bit more work to craft an ENERGY STAR qualified home, Anderson Homes feels that investing our energy into building a high performance energy-efficient home is well worth the effort.”

Aspen Homes of Colorado, Loveland, Colorado

Aspen Homes has embraced ENERGY STAR, building on their belief that everyone has the right to own an affordable, healthy, energy-efficient home. Aspen Homes, a family-owned builder established in 2000, builds 100 percent of its homes to ENERGY STAR performance levels. The company promotes ENERGY STAR in a number of ways, such as using the logo on all customer outreach materials, on its Web site, in all model homes, and on all company trucks. Aspen Homes staff train the building community, including realtors, through presentations at conferences, local universities, and other venues. The homes come standard with a variety of ENERGY STAR qualified products, including windows, sliding glass doors, heating systems, dishwashers, thermostats, and bath fans. Aspen Homes offers the ENERGY STAR Advanced Lighting Package as an option to homebuyers and is an early adopter of the ENERGY STAR for Homes Indoor Air Quality pilot in Colorado.

Astoria Homes, Las Vegas, Nevada

Astoria Homes, winner of the ENERGY STAR award for the third time, is being recognized for its continued, outstanding commitment to delivering and promoting ENERGY STAR qualified homes in the Las Vegas market. In 2005, more than 900 Astoria homes earned the ENERGY STAR label, bringing its total to more than 3,600 qualified homes. Astoria’s philosophy is to build the highest quality yet attainable homes in Las Vegas by offering “More for Your Money.” Building 100-percent ENERGY STAR qualified homes provides “More Quality and More Savings” for the homebuyer while protecting the environment. Astoria Homes uses the ENERGY STAR logo in all point-of-sales materials and ads, on signs and billboards, on its Web site, and in direct mail pieces. The company also created a homeowner welcome gift basket containing ENERGY STAR qualified lighting and educational pieces. Astoria continuously trains its sales agents on the features and benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes and has been instrumental in the success of the Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners group.

Bosgraaf Homes, Holland, Michigan

Bosgraaf Homes, a family-owned business in western Michigan, is notable for being one of the first builders to promote ENERGY STAR in a market where ENERGY STAR qualified homes had not been readily available. When joining ENERGY STAR in 1999, Bosgraaf Homes committed to qualifying 100 percent of its homes as ENERGY STAR. Six years later, the company has constructed and qualified 784 homes, including 200 homes in 2005 alone. Bosgraaf has incorporated ENERGY STAR into many aspects of marketing and sales, including the Web site, radio and newspaper ads, press releases, and energy-saving tip sheets for new homeowners. Bosgraaf provides homeowners with a home heating and cooling guarantee and offers ENERGY STAR qualified appliances and HVAC equipment. As a result of its commitment to ENERGY STAR, Bosgraaf reports improved customer service, reduced customer callbacks and complaints, easier development and code approval, optimal home performance, and reduced costs from suppliers through the use of high-efficiency furnaces. Through advertising efforts, prospective Bosgraaf home buyers come in knowing the builder’s dedication to ENERGY STAR and its benefits.

Bureau Veritas, Plano, Texas

Bureau Veritas provides plan reviews and inspections for ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The company verified more than 2,500 ENERGY STAR homes in 2005, a 90-percent increase over 2004. After opening its doors in 1998 with fewer than six employees, Bureau Veritas has grown into a corporation of more than 40. In a market where 36 percent of all new homes earned the ENERGY STAR, Bureau Veritas alone verified one-fifth. The company also acts as a third-party building inspection department for a number of municipalities. Through these relationships, Bureau Veritas has the opportunity to promote ENERGY STAR to general contractors, architects, and engineers. In cooperation with the Nelrod Company, Bureau Veritas is working to increase awareness of ENERGY STAR through advertising in local homebuilder publications, producing brochures and other handouts, enhancing its Web site, participating in trade shows, using direct mail, and marketing to cities.

CenterPoint Energy, Houston, Texas

CenterPoint Energy has been recognized multiple times for its outstanding commitment to promoting energy efficiency in residential new construction in the Houston market. In 2005, CenterPoint marked its fifth consecutive year sponsoring the Houston area’s ENERGY STAR Homes program. Its program seeks to achieve peak demand reduction and energy savings through the increased sale of ENERGY STAR qualified homes. In addition, the program aims to transform the residential new construction market by increasing consumer demand for ENERGY STAR qualified homes and improving the building industry’s ability to construct them. To attain these goals, CenterPoint emphasizes education for all industry segments to ensure they understand the features and benefits that ENERGY STAR qualified homes provide. In 2001, CenterPoint qualified more than 1,400 new homes as ENERGY STAR; in 2005 the number rose to 9,000, bringing the grand total in the Houston area to 40,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes. To maintain the success of the program in 2005, CenterPoint provided integrated training sessions, built a strong advertising campaign, and sponsored numerous outreach activities. CenterPoint worked with builders, home energy raters, realtors, consumers, and industry organizations to increase the regional support for ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

D.R. Horton, Inc. — Sacramento, Gold River, California

D.R. Horton continues to embrace ENERGY STAR in its effort to help home buyers “Make the Intelligent Decision,” to fulfill its promise to continually improve the quality of new homes, and to set the standard for the homebuilding industry in Sacramento. D.R. Horton joined ENERGY STAR in 2002 and committed to qualifying 100 percent of its homes as ENERGY STAR. The company increased the number of qualified homes by more than 50 percent in the past year, from 677 in 2004 to 1,049 homes in 2005. D.R. Horton uses the ENERGY STAR logo in many different promotions-featuring it in model homes, marketing materials, "Home Advantage" commercials on local radio stations, and local newspaper ads. The company’s efficient homes have been featured in newscasts on three major local networks, earning D.R. Horton several energy efficiency awards, in addition to the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 2004. As further evidence of its commitment to energy efficiency, all homes in the Sacramento Division are backed by a 3-year heating, cooling, and comfort guarantee. D.R. Horton includes ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers standard in all homes and offers the ENERGY STAR Advanced Lighting Package in two communities.

Ence Homes, St. George, Utah

Ence Homes, an ENERGY STAR partner since 1998 and a four-time ENERGY STAR award winner, is being recognized for its continued, outstanding commitment to ENERGY STAR in the Utah market. From the start, Ence has built 100 percent of its homes to ENERGY STAR performance levels and actively promoted the program. In 2005, 400 Ence Homes earned the ENERGY STAR label, bringing its total to nearly 1,800 qualified homes. All of the company’s collateral material carries the ENERGY STAR logo, including newspaper and magazine ads, in-house flyers, inventory booklets, price sheets, maps, brochures, banners, construction signs, and billboards. Ence Homes places a brass plaque with the ENERGY STAR logo on all new homes and includes information on ENERGY STAR in the homeowner’s manual. Ence Homes is on the Utah map thanks to its advertising and promotional efforts, its dedication to energy-efficient, quality building standards, and the awards bestowed by EPA. In 2005, Ence Homes received the 2-10 Home Builder’s Warranty Award, which is the highest award given for superior customer service and home warranty performance in the nation. Home sales in 2005 surpassed all other years.

Energy Sense, Houston, Texas

Energy Sense, a Houston-based energy services company that has worked with ENERGY STAR since 2001, provides a variety of marketing, inspection/rating, and contracting services to builders, homeowners and utilities. Energy Sense performs home energy ratings, diagnostics, inspections, indoor air quality monitoring, and energy efficiency training. Since signing the first builder contract for 500 homes in 2001, Energy Sense has certified more than 40,000 ENERGY STAR new homes, including more than 16,000 homes in 2005 alone, representing a 19 percent increase over 2004. The company’s success in the greater Houston area allowed it to take ENERGY STAR to an even wider audience, including Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas, El Paso, and San Antonio. Energy Sense also works with builders in Arizona and Colorado. A key reason for the market’s transformation has been quarterly training during which Energy Sense staff work with builders and their subcontractors, sales staff, superintendents, and realtors to give them a full understanding of the value of ENERGY STAR.

Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

For more than 7 years, Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems, Inc., (GWSSI) has built its business model around helping builders and homeowners achieve a higher standard of energy efficiency through ENERGY STAR. GWSSI has been instrumental in creating two of the largest markets for ENERGY STAR qualified homes in the country: Houston and Dallas. The company has worked with more than 350 builders in Texas alone. In 2005, Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems verified more than 6,700 homes as ENERGY STAR. In addition to providing home energy ratings, the company conducts technical training, recruiting, marketing and outreach, and program evaluation. GWSSI’s achievements in 2005 include spearheading a successful campaign to include ENERGY STAR among the listed attributes of homes in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in Texas and Oklahoma; assisting in the writing and implementation of technical aspects of an Oklahoma energy-efficiency tax credit bill; expanding services to San Antonio, Texas, and to New Mexico, North and South Carolina, South Dakota, and Delaware; achieving full-scale deployment of ENERGY STAR promotional products by distributing them in more than 30 states; expanding training services to include insulation contractors; and enhancing communication technologies for the rating business.

Haven Properties, Inc., Alpharetta, Georgia

Haven Properties, Inc., has made a significant contribution to the growth of ENERGY STAR in Atlanta, a new market for ENERGY STAR qualified homes. Haven has committed to qualifying 100 percent of its homes as ENERGY STAR and has incorporated the logo and ENERGY STAR messaging into marketing and sales efforts. Haven Properties promotes ENERGY STAR during its weekly 2-minute TV spot that airs on Sunday mornings and in weekly print ads. ENERGY STAR is featured prominently in all Haven communications to the realtor community, on billboards and onsite signage, in all collateral materials, and on its Web site. Haven holds bi-monthly formal training programs for onsite sales teams to educate them about ENERGY STAR, and staff conduct site visits and field training to reinforce ENERGY STAR messaging. Haven Properties’ mortgage company offers Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) to further promote energy efficiency. Haven’s commitment extends to offering ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers, central air conditioners, furnaces, and thermostats in their homes. The collective impact of these efforts can be seen in fewer warranty call backs, an increased level of quality in trade partners, and more buyers asking for ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners — a special collaboration of utilities, homebuilders, home energy raters, local press, and other interested organizations — are being recognized for the fourth time for their outstanding commitment to promoting ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in the Las Vegas market. Since 2001, this group has joined forces every year to create a 3-month promotional campaign. In 2005, the integrated campaign succeeded in increasing consumer awareness in Las Vegas to nearly 90 percent and boosting sales of ENERGY STAR qualified homes by more than 16 percent. The marketing campaign featured newspaper and magazine advertising, numerous feature stories, TV spots on a local home show, radio and billboard ads, other signage, sales training, an art contest in public elementary schools, a retail coupon booklet, and a dedicated Web site. The group also garnered a declaration of July 2005 as ENERGY STAR month by every governmental agency in the Las Vegas Valley. Their efforts yielded impressive results. The number of ENERGY STAR qualified new homes reached 55 percent of an estimated 35,000 new homes built in the Las Vegas Valley in 2005. More than one half of all new home communities in the Las Vegas Valley now offer ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

Pardee Homes, Los Angeles, California

Pardee Homes is a four-time Award winner for its outstanding commitment to ENERGY STAR in California and Nevada. Pardee joined ENERGY STAR in 2002, committing to build 100 percent of its homes to ENERGY STAR performance levels. Since then, Pardee has constructed more than 9,800 ENERGY STAR qualified homes — almost one-third of them in 2005 alone. Because of reduced energy costs, ENERGY STAR boosts the appeal of all new Pardee homes. Multi-layered implementation of ENERGY STAR is a critical part of the company’s successful business strategy. Pardee goes all out to broadcast ENERGY STAR messages via billboards, ad campaigns, brochures, point-of-sale displays, and its Web sites. Working collaboratively with energy agencies, product suppliers, project consultants, and homebuyers, Pardee Homes continues to expand ENERGY STAR’s reach. In 2005, Pardee maintained its leadership role in the Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners group, a consortium of organizations pooling funds for education and advertising. In addition to receiving the ENERGY STAR award, Pardee Homes recently became the first homebuilding company to earn the prestigious Governor’s Economic and Environmental Leadership Award.

Segal & Morel, Bridgewater, New Jersey

Segal & Morel is a leader in promoting ENERGY STAR qualified homes in a market where they had not been readily available. Segal & Morel has committed to qualifying 100 percent of its homes as ENERGY STAR. The company built 94 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in 2005, bringing its total to 260 homes. To build consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR in 2005, Segal & Morel adopted an integrated marketing plan that features ENERGY STAR in media and public relations, advertising, seminars, direct mail, displays in sales center and model homes, newsletters, brochure inserts/flyers, and on its Web site. The company frequently places advertorials and testimonials in regional publications and holds special financing promotions with its onsite mortgage lender. Segal & Morel also conducts seminars for subcontractors to explain the methodology and installation requirements of ENERGY STAR and seminars for sales associates to show them how to effectively communicate the benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes to prospective homebuyers.

Southwest Home Energy Raters, El Paso, Texas

Southwest Home Energy Raters (SWHER) began operations in June 2004, when there were five ENERGY STAR builder partners in El Paso. Through the company’s efforts, within 19 months the number of builder partners grew to 33. El Paso had 200 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in 2005, up from 14 in 2004. For a young organization, SWHER is involved in a notable variety of activities to promote ENERGY STAR, including training for more than 75 builder supervisors, six HVAC subcontractors, and four insulation companies. Southwest Home Energy Raters promotes ENERGY STAR to building material suppliers, conducts seminars for bankers and realtors to increase awareness of ENERGY STAR, places advertising and articles in local homebuilder publications, and participates in local trade shows. In addition, SWHER promotes energy-efficient mortgages (EEMs) to its customers and offers builders up to two free HERS ratings to entice them to join ENERGY STAR. ENERGY STAR has been a key element in SWHER’s rapid growth, its success, and its credibility in the El Paso market.

TexEnergy Solutions, Inc., Irving, Texas

Over the past 4 years, TexEnergy Solutions has transformed itself from being primarily an HVAC installation company to a full-service energy performance company. This change is the direct result of its involvement in ENERGY STAR, and the company sees an untapped potential to use ENERGY STAR as a tool to set it apart from the competition. In 2005, TexEnergy verified approximately 6,000 homes in the North and Central Texas Markets. The company gives builders tools and data to measure and evaluate their building processes and purchasing decisions; as a result TexEnergy has seen a significant trend toward higher levels of performance. TexEnergy also recruited two new builders to participate in the ENERGY STAR for Homes Indoor Air Quality pilot planned for North Texas in 2006.

The California Investor-Owned Utilities

Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Francisco, California
Southern California Edison Company, Rosemead, California
Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles, California

California’s investor-owned utilities (IOUs) continue to embrace the ENERGY STAR logo, message, and platform as they promote the construction of energy-efficient homes in California. This is the fourth consecutive year that these utilities have won an ENERGY STAR Award. Inaugurated in 2002, the group jointly implements the California ENERGY STAR New Homes Program, creating a powerful, integrated ENERGY STAR message for California. Their marketing activities in 2005 included a joint advertising campaign reaching an audience of nearly 50,000 building industry professionals. In addition, the utilities produced and distributed tailored point-of-sale marketing materials, which included table tents, site flags, lawn signs, window decals, consumer brochures, recognition certificates, consumer advertisements, and direct mail pieces. The California IOUs also produced and distributed identical program applications statewide and a statewide builder and industry brochure. They promoted ENERGY STAR on their Web sites and at local outreach events and trade shows. The utilities offer training and education programs targeted to the design, construction, and building community. The California IOUs support market transformation in other ways as well, such as strengthening the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) infrastructure in California, which is critical to the continued success of the program, and educating the building industry on upcoming code changes and new performance thresholds for ENERGY STAR. As a result of their comprehensive statewide efforts, more than 100,000 homes have qualified as ENERGY STAR.

TXU Electric Delivery ENERGY STAR Homes Program, Dallas, Texas

TXU Electric Delivery, an ENERGY STAR Award winner every year since 2002, is being recognized for its outstanding commitment to transforming the Dallas new construction market to ENERGY STAR. TXU’s efforts in 2005 centered on its goal to create sustainable market conditions that lead to a continuous supply of energy-efficient homes and perpetual improvements in home performance. TXU had outstanding achievements in 2005: 91 homebuilders constructed and sold more than 13,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in the TXU Electric Delivery service territory. In 2005, TXU helped expand the home energy rating (HERS) infrastructure, conducted a comprehensive consumer and homebuilder outreach and education campaign incorporating ENERGY STAR, and demonstrated the value of ENERGY STAR to market allies by showing them how it can help achieve their goals. In partnership with participating homebuilders, the outreach campaign included TV and radio spots, print advertising, the “Home Improvement Giveaway” contest, appearances at home and garden shows, and sponsorship with the Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks radio broadcasts. TXU also created a traveling promotion “Live Like a Star,” which visited events and festivals around the state to educate consumers. Visitors were invited to “Live Like a Star” by walking the red carpet while having their photo taken and learning about the benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes from staff, posters, and brochures. TXU also continued to provide point-of-sale marketing materials to homebuilders; sponsor year-round technical training courses for builders; conduct training for builder sales staff, realtors, mortgage lenders, and building material manufacturers; and collaborate with Fannie Mae and the Texas Veterans Land Board.

Veridian Homes, Madison, Wisconsin

For a third consecutive year, Veridian Homes is being recognized for its outstanding commitment to ENERGY STAR for Homes in Wisconsin. One hundred percent of Veridian’s more than 500 single family homes and condominiums built in 2005 qualified as ENERGY STAR, bringing the total to more than 1,900 homes. Veridian uses ENERGY STAR extensively across its marketing and advertising activities. All 21 furnished models have informational binders promoting the benefits of qualified homes, and the Veridian Homes Design Studio dedicates one wall to ENERGY STAR. ENERGY STAR is also featured prominently on its Web site and in all press releases, brochures, radio commercials, newspaper print ads, signage, and direct mail. Veridian facilitates regular ENERGY STAR training for its sales team, construction managers, and customer relations team. The Veridian Customer Relations Department provides an orientation to all new homeowners so they learn how to use the energy-efficient features of their homes to achieve optimal energy savings. Veridian broadly supports ENERGY STAR by encouraging other builders to join, providing ongoing support to Wisconsin ENERGY STAR Homes through budget hearings, sponsoring local conferences on energy efficiency, and promoting ENERGY STAR lighting and appliances to home buyers.

Winton/Flair Custom Homes, El Paso, Texas

Winton/Flair Custom Homes, a builder in El Paso and Southern New Mexico, has aggressively promoted ENERGY STAR since joining the program less than 2 years ago. Working with another of this year’s ENERGY STAR Award winners, Southwest Home Energy Raters, Winton/Flair has committed to building 100 percent of its homes as ENERGY STAR. ENERGY STAR is an integral component of its marketing strategy, and the logo is featured prominently on the company’s Web site, street signs, model home displays, construction design center displays, trucks, and shopping mall kiosks; in the company magazine; and on airport signs, bus benches, billboards, and city buses. Winton/Flair displays a brass plaque with the ENERGY STAR mark at the entrance to model homes and actively promotes special financing for energy-efficient homes. The partnership with ENERGY STAR is good business: in the first 9 months of 2005, Winton/Flair Custom Homes reports that sales were nearly 30 percent higher than the first 9 months of 2004.

2005 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Astoria Homes, Las Vegas, Nevada

Astoria Homes, a locally owned homebuilder in the Las Vegas market, built 975 ENERGY STAR homes in 2004, and has built 100 percent of its homes according to ENERGY STAR guidelines since 2000. Astoria Homes’ philosophy is to build the highest quality homes at the best price by offering “More for Your Money.” Building 100 percent ENERGY STAR homes represents “More Quality and More Savings” for the individual while protecting the environment. Astoria Homes uses the ENERGY STAR logo in all sales collateral and in its ads, signs, billboards, Web site, and direct mail pieces. Point-of-sale materials illustrate the features and benefits of ENERGY STAR. In addition, Astoria’s sales agents are regularly trained on the ENERGY STAR features and benefits. Astoria also has been instrumental in the Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners group.

Cambridge Homes, Altamonte Springs, Florida

Cambridge Homes was established in 1991 and has grown to become the eighth largest privately held company in central Florida. In 2004 Cambridge qualified more than 550 homes as ENERGY STAR. Cambridge is committed to building 100 percent of its homes to meet ENERGY STAR guidelines, and in 2005 the company will build in 22 communities with projected sales of 750 homes. ENERGY STAR is an important part of the company’s marketing strategy and is promoted as a key difference that distinguishes a Cambridge home. Cambridge displays the ENERGY STAR logo in all model homes, advertising, collateral materials, and public relations efforts. The company’s ENERGY STAR Benefits Checklist details important reasons to buy, including reduced utility bills, healthier air, a more comfortable, quiet home, and environmental protection. Cambridge helps its homebuyers with efficient products as well: 23 percent of its buyers purchased ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers and 5 percent purchased ENERGY STAR qualified refrigerators. Cambridge sold a total of $90,000 in ENERGY STAR appliance upgrades in 2004.

CenterPoint Energy, Houston, Texas

CenterPoint Energy is successfully building consumer awareness and demand for ENERGY STAR qualified homes, while also increasing the building industry’s willingness and ability to construct ENERGY STAR qualified homes around Houston, TX. Since its inception 4 years ago, the CenterPoint program has worked closely with consumers, realtors, and builders to ensure that they understand the value associated with ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The number of qualified homes in CenterPoint’s program grew from 1,400 in 2001 to more than 13,000 in 2004. Exemplary efforts in 2004 include CenterPoint’s extensive outreach campaign highlighting the value of ENERGY STAR. The campaign included a television commercial, outdoor billboards, radio and newsprint coverage, participation in home shows, Web site content, and consumer education sessions. In addition, CenterPoint’s realtor outreach included cosponsoring a continuing education course for Houston realtors that explains the value of ENERGY STAR to assist them in selling new homes. CenterPoint also regularly conducts training for and reaches out to builder sales staffs and home energy raters. In 2004 CenterPoint found that more homes were labeled ENERGY STAR than incentives were paid out, reflecting the value consumers and others now place on energy efficiency.

David Powers Homes, Houston, Texas

David Powers Homes was one of the first home builders in Houston to become an ENERGY STAR builder and commit to building 100 percent of its homes to ENERGY STAR levels. In 2004, 429 David Powers Homes earned the ENERGY STAR label. David Powers Homes is successfully delivering efficient, quality homes and in 2004 received the highest possible rating for quality of workmanship and materials in the J.D. Power Houston Home Survey. President David Powers believes ENERGY STAR played a key role in securing this rating. “ENERGY STAR adds a lot of credibility to our building program,” he says, “and by constantly exceeding the requirements, David Powers Homes is able to achieve a significant competitive advantage. We truly value our partnership with ENERGY STAR.” Since becoming an ENERGY STAR Partner, David Powers Homes has seen a 57 percent increase in new home sales, a 60 percent increase in traffic into model homes, and a 43 percent increase in Realtor co-op sales. David Powers Homes is a leader in an important sea change in Houston. “Before ENERGY STAR, we rarely had buyers ask about energy efficiency,” Powers add, “and now they walk in the door asking if we are an ENERGY STAR builder, or they come to us because we are an ENERGY STAR builder.”

D.R. Horton, Inc. — Sacramento Division, Fort Worth, Texas

The Sacramento Division of D.R. Horton, Inc., embraced ENERGY STAR in an effort to “do the right thing and do the thing right,” striving to provide homeowners with a home that is more durable and more energy efficient with improved indoor air quality. D.R. Horton committed to building 100 percent of its homes to meet ENERGY STAR guidelines. In Sacramento, 1,200 D.R. Horton homes have earned the ENERGY STAR label, with more than half of these delivered in 2004. Each D.R. Horton model home has a room devoted to showing and describing the ENERGY STAR features, which include qualified lighting, HVAC equipment, windows, and appliances as either standard items or options. The company’s homes have appeared in newscasts on the local affiliates of three major networks.

Ence Homes, St. George, Utah

Ence Homes is being recognized for its continued and outstanding commitment to deliver energy-efficient homes in the Utah market. Since beginning its partnership with ENERGY STAR in 1998, Ence has enthusiastically embraced ENERGY STAR, building 100 percent of its homes ENERGY STAR compliant and actively promoting ENERGY STAR in its market. In 2004, 322 Ence homes earned the ENERGY STAR label, bringing its total to almost 1,500. The company actively promotes the value of an ENERGY STAR home in all of its marketing materials, including newspaper, magazine, and phone book ads, handouts used in model homes, banners, signs, the Ence Home Map, billboards, a CD-ROM given to prospective homebuyers, and a looping DVD played in all model homes. Ence requires its salespeople and employees to watch Ence Homes’ Training DVDs and pass a test. The builder actively reaches out to realtors through weekly meetings, breakfast tours, and sales training. Ence Homes also works with vendors offering ENERGY STAR qualified products such as lighting, heating and air conditioning systems, appliances, programmable thermostats, and windows. Some products are offered as standard features, while others are upgrades. Ence Homes continues to be a true leader in building efficient new homes.

Energy Sense, Houston, Texas

Energy Sense, an energy services company that provides a variety of marketing, inspection/rating, and contracting services to builders, homeowners, and utilities, has played a key role in transforming the market for new housing in Houston. After signing its first builder contract in June 2001, which included 500 homes, the company certified 14,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in 2004, representing nearly 50 percent of new home starts in the greater Houston area. Energy Sense works with builders and their subcontractors to ensure that they have a full understanding of the value of being an ENERGY STAR builder. They provide program-specific technical training on ENERGY STAR to sales staff, superintendents, HVAC and insulation contractors, and realtors. Energy Sense also played a key role in helping establish ENERGY STAR as a method for code compliance in Texas, resulting in widespread acceptance of ENERGY STAR among builders.

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and the Maryland Energy Administration, Annapolis, Maryland

In January 2004 Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) launched the Maryland ENERGY STAR Program to promote energy efficiency throughout the state. The Program will educate consumers, retailers, and manufacturers about the benefits of energy efficiency by purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified products and homes. As a major initiative, the program has a cooperative advertising campaign with Maryland ENERGY STAR homebuilders. The campaign includes a television commercial featuring Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and print advertising. MEA also encourages builders to build to ENERGY STAR levels by offering a free analysis of home plans and free ENERGY STAR verification. MEA also published a Residential New Construction Field Guide, instituted a series of builder training courses, and established a partnership with Arundel Habitat for Humanity to demonstrate that construction techniques for ENERGY STAR homes can be applied at all price points in new home construction. Together these approaches have helped Maryland improve the efficiency of new homes built in the state.

Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems — West, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems — West, Inc. (GWSSI), a company specializing in energy-efficiency engineering and building science consulting, has worked with ENERGY STAR for more than 6 years. In 2004 builders working with GWSSI committed to build more than 6,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The company has worked with more than 300 builders in Texas alone. Since its inception, GWSSI’s business model has focused on helping builders and homeowners achieve a higher standard of energy efficiency through ENERGY STAR. As the first rating provider in Oklahoma and Texas, GWSSI has been instrumental in building two of the largest markets for ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in the country: Houston and Dallas. In addition to providing home energy ratings, the company conducts other activities like technical training, recruiting, marketing and outreach, and program evaluation. GWSSI’s achievements include organizing the first EPA advertising co-op for ENERGY STAR homes in San Antonio, achieving full-scale deployment of ENERGY STAR promotional products by distributing them in more than 30 states; and being instrumental in developing the San Antonio market, where the company expects to rate more than 1,500 homes in 2005. GWSSI reports that ENERGY STAR has had a positive impact on its bottom line: in the past year, revenue, certified houses, the number of inspections performed, and the number of builders signed have all increased. In addition, GWSSI has averaged 71 percent growth each year over the past 4 years, and the company expects this growth to continue.

MidAmerican Energy Company, Des Moines, Iowa

MidAmerican Energy Company embraced ENERGY STAR in 2000 to promote energy efficiency in residential new construction in Iowa, working with production builders within its service territory. MidAmerican certified an estimated 2,900 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in 2004, up from 870 in 2000. MidAmerican promotes ENERGY STAR through a variety of marketing venues, including participation in local home builders’ associations and advertising in local newspapers, guides, and specialized home magazines. The company incorporates the ENERGY STAR logo on certificates, Web site content, brochures, and bill inserts. MidAmerican recognizes three regional builders annually with Builder of the Year awards. According to MidAmerican, its ENERGY STAR homes initiative “increases the knowledge level of the homebuyer and increases homebuyers’ expectations of the new construction market to improve building practices, even in non-participating homes. The new construction standard bar has been raised for this current building boom in Iowa to the benefit of all homebuyers and builders.”

Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners, a unique collaboration of homebuilders, home energy raters, utilities, and other organizations. are being recognized for their continued and outstanding commitment to providing affordable, comfortable, ENERGY STAR quality new homes in the Las Vegas market. For the fourth consecutive year, the group joined forces to create a 3-month promotional campaign that succeeded in increasing consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR by more than 12 percent and sales of ENERGY STAR qualified homes by more than 13 percent. Consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR qualified homes reached 87 percent, and the number of ENERGY STAR qualified homes reached 58 percent of an estimated 28,000 new homes built in the Las Vegas Valley. The marketing campaign featured newspaper and magazine advertising, a multitude of feature stories, TV and radio spots, billboards and other signage, direct mail, sales training, an art contest in public elementary schools, a Web site, and a declaration of July 2004 as ENERGY STAR month by every governmental agency in the Las Vegas Valley. The 2004 campaign also included an innovative retail coupon book. Working with two of the area’s largest local retailers, the group distributed more than 150,000 coupon books, and participating retailers reported an increase of 18 percent in sales of ENERGY STAR products. Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners provide another big win for the environment.

Pardee Homes, Los Angeles, California

Pardee Homes began its solid commitment to building 100 percent of its homes ENERGY STAR compliant in January 2002, firmly establishing energy efficiency as a core value of the company. First test marketed in 1998, Pardee’s ENERGY STAR marketing commitment will account for nearly 7,000 qualified homes built during 2004 in the California and Nevada regional markets. Pardee broadcasts ENERGY STAR messages via billboards, ad campaigns, brochures, point-of-sale displays, and Web sites, and the company continues to identify innovative opportunities for expanding the reach of the ENERGY STAR message. The most recent example is Pardee’s role as the first builder to showcase ENERGY STAR qualified products, systems, and programs as a key design focus in the television series “Extreme Makeover Home Edition.” The show reaches an estimated 23 million viewers each week and is a great platform for demonstrating the benefits of energy efficiency that an ENERGY STAR qualified home offers. In addition, Pardee showcases standard and optional ENERGY STAR qualified products, such as appliances, HVAC equipment, and lighting, offered in its new home model centers. Pardee is a founding member of the Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners, which has been instrumental in transforming the Las Vegas market to ENERGY STAR. Further, its corporate headquarters reside in an ENERGY STAR qualified building in downtown Los Angeles. Pardee demonstrates that efficiency is good business across the board.

The California Investor-Owned Utilities

Pacific Gas & Electric Company, San Francisco, California
San Diego Gas & Electric, San Diego, California
Southern California Edison Company, Rosemead, California
Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles, California

Building on outstanding achievements in 2002 and 2003, California’s four investor-owned utilities (IOUs), Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), Southern California Edison Company (SCE), and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), continued to jointly implement the California ENERGY STAR New Homes Program with even greater results. Through advertising campaigns and outreach to builders, the partners helped nearly 75,000 homes receive the ENERGY STAR label in California. And as a result of the 2004 effort, close to 24,000 new ENERGY STAR homes will be built in California over the next 2 years. The 2004 efforts included a joint advertising campaign reaching an audience of nearly 50,000 professionals in the building industry; targeted point-of-sale marketing materials including table tents, site flags, lawn signs, window decals, consumer brochures, recognition certificates, consumer advertisements, and direct mail brochures; promotion of ENERGY STAR on the utilities’ Internet sites; statewide identical program applications, a statewide builder and industry brochure, and localized outreach events and trade show participation featuring ENERGY STAR. All four of the utilities offer training and education programs targeting consumers and the design, construction, and building community. In addition, the California ENERGY STAR New Homes Program has contributed to market transformation in other ways, like strengthening the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) infrastructure in California, which is critical to the continued success of the program. As a result of the utilities’ efforts, large national production homebuilders have embraced ENERGY STAR, in some cases as the standard for new home building in California, as have housing authorities, low-income builders, and apartment developers.

TXU Electric Delivery, Dallas, Texas

TXU Electric Delivery is being recognized for its comprehensive efforts in transforming the Dallas new construction market to ENERGY STAR. In 2004 TXU expanded to 54 homebuilders and delivered more than 14,000 new ENERGY STAR qualified homes, bringing the total to more than 34,000. Key to this success is the company’s emphasis on increasing local consumer awareness of the value of ENERGY STAR homes. Through a partnership with participating homebuilders, TXU conducted a multimillion dollar outreach campaign in 2004. Highlights of the campaign include working with a national retailer to host the Home Zone, an educational event in multiple Texas stores; sponsoring the Player of the League as part of a marketing plan with the Texas Rangers baseball team and presenting ENERGY STAR Outstanding Achievement Awards to recipients before a Rangers game; joining efforts with Fannie Mae to promote financing for energy-efficient homes; and collaborating with the Texas Association of Builders to cosponsor the Excellence in Energy Performance Award. In addition, TXU Electric Delivery educated each homebuilder’s sales staff, as well as area realtors and home energy raters, so they can effectively convey the value of ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

Veridian Homes, Madison, Wisconsin

Veridian Homes, the largest builder in Wisconsin to commit to building all of its homes to ENERGY STAR levels, built 560 homes in 2004. ENERGY STAR is an essential part of Veridian’s overall commitment to the environment, as each of its homes meets both ENERGY STAR and green construction guidelines. The company prominently features ENERGY STAR in advertising messages, newspaper and magazine ads, radio spots, Web site material, direct mail, brochures, and press kits. Veridian also works with a regional retailer to promote ENERGY STAR appliances to its homebuyers. The company provides ongoing education through employee “Lunch & Learns,” sales team seminars, team meetings, and vendor training. In addition, in 2004, Veridian conducted four new home seminars for prospective homebuyers, with energy efficiency and green building principles among the key topics. Veridian says it receives fewer draft and insulation callbacks and achieves overall greater profitability by delivering efficient, quality homes.

2004 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

CenterPoint Energy, Houston, Texas

CenterPoint Energy is the third largest publicly traded natural gas delivery company in the U.S. CenterPoint’s ENERGY STAR Homes Program provides incentives and training for homebuilders to construct ENERGY STAR qualified homes. In 2003, the CenterPoint program resulted in the construction of more than 11,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in the Houston and Gulf Coast areas-more than doubling the program’s successful 2002 effort. The utility’s marketing efforts have included a successful advertising campaign in cooperation with participating builders, which helped CenterPoint’s ENERGY STAR Web site reach 500,000 hits in 2003, compared to 1,000 two years prior. CenterPoint has been instrumental in developing the home energy rating infrastructure required to deliver ENERGY STAR qualified home verification in the Houston market and has implemented new quality control procedures to ensure more consistent and accurate home ratings.

David Powers Homes, Houston, Texas

Since becoming an ENERGY STAR partner in 2000, David Powers Homes has provided strong leadership in promoting ENERGY STAR in the Houston market and experienced a 33 percent increase in sales. David Powers Homes was one of the first builders in the nation to commit to building 100 percent ENERGY STAR qualified homes and, as a result, more than 300 David Powers’ homes earned the ENERGY STAR in 2003. The company also played a key, early role in a Houston advertising partnership campaign that promoted the benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes to Houston homebuyers. This impressive dedication goes right to the top — the company founder attends all homebuyer closings and personally reviews the home’s energy efficiency features with each David Powers homebuyer.

D.R. Wastchak, LLC, Tempe, Arizona

As a three-time ENERGY STAR award winner, D.R. Wastchak, LLC has proven that promoting ENERGY STAR qualified homes is good business. Since becoming a partner in 1999, the company has qualified more than 20,000 homes as ENERGY STAR-more than any other organization in the country. The 7,000 ENERGY STAR homes qualified by D.R. Wastchak in 2003 represented 18 percent of all housing starts in the Phoenix market. The company’s activities also include quality control testing and inspections, marketing assistance for homebuilders, and training for construction and sales personnel. Always looking for ways to promote ENERGY STAR, D.R. Wastchak organized the ENERGY STAR advertising partnership campaign with Phoenix homebuilders in 2003. In addition, the company created a sales program and presentation package to facilitate communicating the benefits of ENERGY STAR to homebuyers.

Ence Homes, St. George, Utah

Since becoming an ENERGY STAR partner in 1999, Ence Homes has built more than 980 ENERGY STAR qualified homes, 265 of which were completed in 2003. The company has made ENERGY STAR a key element of its business strategy and prominently promotes ENERGY STAR in all of its marketing and sales materials. Ence also seeks out vendors that offer ENERGY STAR qualified lighting, appliances, HVAC, and windows. As a result, Ence homes save even more energy than a typical ENERGY STAR qualified home. They deliver lower utility bills for homebuyers and enhanced protection of the environment.

Energy Services Group, Wilmington, Delaware

Energy Services Group (ESG) has played a key role in transforming the new housing market in Delaware and the eastern shore area of Maryland. In 2003, ESG qualified 10 percent of all housing starts in Delaware as ENERGY STAR, representing a 90-percent increase over the previous year. ESG integrates ENERGY STAR into all of its marketing materials and sales training, providing free materials that promote ENERGY STAR. ESG is also active in the ENERGY STAR Home Sealing program for existing homes. It is a frequent exhibitor at local home and remodeling shows, bringing the ENERGY STAR message directly to consumers in the region. ENERGY STAR has had a positive impact on ESG’s bottom line; revenue from ENERGY STAR-based services has grown 30 percent in the past year.

Engle Homes Colorado, a division of TOUSA Homes, Inc., Englewood, Colorado

Engle Homes Colorado, a division of TOUSA Homes, Inc. is a leading builder that uses energy-efficient and green construction practices. The company has committed to building 100 percent ENERGY STAR qualified homes for its homebuyers. Nearly 500 Engle Homes earned the ENERGY STAR in 2003, and approximately 800 have been qualified to date. Engle’s customers have indicated that energy efficiency is becoming more of a factor in their home buying decisions. Engle has responded by providing ENERGY STAR sales training for its entire sales and marketing team, architectural design team, and purchasing department. In addition, Engle conducts pre-start, pre-drywall, and pre-closing orientations to educate homebuyers on the energy efficiency features of their ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

MaGrann Associates, Moorestown, New Jersey

MaGrann Associates has a long history of partnership with ENERGY STAR and plays a key role in implementing the highly successful statewide New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes Program. To date, MaGrann has worked with more than 400 of New Jersey’s homebuilders. In 2003, it qualified over 4,000 homes as ENERGY STAR, which represents 15 percent of all housing starts in the state. In addition, more than 11,000 future homes are already committed to ENERGY STAR construction in New Jersey. MaGrann Associates combines technical expertise, marketing support, and administrative services to help support the state’s residential energy efficiency programs. MaGrann has played a significant role in persuading local and state government agencies to support ENERGY STAR, resulting in new rules from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency requiring all funding applicants to have their projects qualified as ENERGY STAR.

Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners, Las Vegas, Nevada

The Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners — a unique group of more than 35 homebuilders, home energy raters, utilities, and other organizations — are being recognized for their outstanding commitment to promoting ENERGY STAR in the fast-growing Las Vegas housing market. The Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners’ 2003 effort was designed to promote consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR and increase the number of ENERGY STAR qualified homes sold in Las Vegas. The 13-week multimedia campaign, including an ENERGY STAR month for the State of Nevada resulted in a 16 percent increase in consumer awareness and a 16 percent increase in sales of ENERGY STAR qualified homes in the Las Vegas Valley. Consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR qualified homes reached 76 percent and the number of ENERGY STAR qualified homes jumped to represent 46 percent of the estimated 24,000 new homes built in Las Vegas. More than one-third of all new home communities in the Las Vegas Valley now feature ENERGY STAR qualified homes; and Summerlin, the largest master-planned community in the United States, is now committed to building only ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

New England Joint Management Committee

Bay State Gas, Berkshire Gas, Cape Light Compact, KeySpan Energy Delivery, Massachusetts Electric, Nantucket Electric, Narragansett Electric, New England Gas, NSTAR Electric, NSTAR Gas, Unitil/Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, and Western Massachusetts Electric Company

The New England Joint Management Committee (JMC) is a consortium of 12 electric and gas utilities across two states that have been supporting ENERGY STAR at a regional level since 1998. In 2003, 10 percent of the new homes in the New England JMC’s service area qualified as ENERGY STAR, and 18 percent of home starts were committed to ENERGY STAR for 2004. One of the New England JMC’s many strengths is educating builders and homeowners about ENERGY STAR. In 2003, these utilities developed a technical field guide for participating builders, sponsored a series of builder education seminars, and published an ENERGY STAR homebuyers guide that included information about maintaining the performance of ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The New England JMC also pursued extensive efforts to educate New Englanders about ENERGY STAR through newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews, TV stories, and advertising. As a result, homebuyer awareness of ENERGY STAR in New England rose to more than 26 percent.

Oncor Electric Delivery Company, Dallas, Texas

Through Oncor Electric Delivery Company’s ENERGY STAR Homes Program, 13,500 homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area qualified as ENERGY STAR in 2003, representing 33 percent of housing starts. This success exceeded Oncor’s annual goal and nearly doubled the program’s total from the previous year. The utility is committed to helping builders achieve ENERGY STAR performance guidelines for new home construction through incentives, technical support, and training. Oncor conducted consumer seminars to increase awareness of the benefits of owning an ENERGY STAR qualified home and generate demand for them. The utility organized realtor training on ways to successfully sell ENERGY STAR qualified homes, as well as mortgage lender training to increase awareness of energy-efficient mortgages (EEMs) and ways in which consumers can use these loans to afford more expensive homes. Home energy rating certification training, also offered by Oncor, expanded the number of raters and increased their understanding of the issues facing builders. In its quest for innovative ways to market ENERGY STAR, Oncor sponsored an ENERGY STAR Charity Challenge hockey game at the Dallas American Airlines Center in 2003.

Pardee Homes, Los Angeles, California

Pardee Homes’ outstanding commitment to ENERGY STAR resulted in 4,000 homes across six regional markets earning the ENERGY STAR over a 2-year period. The company has also experienced a significant increase in homebuyer satisfaction since committing to ENERGY STAR. As the first large corporate builder to commit to building 100 percent of its homes as ENERGY STAR qualified, Pardee provided significant early credibility for ENERGY STAR in the production homebuilder community. ENERGY STAR, as well as other environmentally sensitive building programs in which the company participates, featured prominently in Pardee’s marketing, sales, and collateral materials in 2003. Pardee Homes is also a founding member of the award-winning Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners group, which has been instrumental in transforming the Las Vegas market to ENERGY STAR.

Pulte Homes Nevada Operations, Las Vegas, Nevada

Pulte Homes Nevada Operations has played an important role in the growth of ENERGY STAR in Las Vegas, from building the first ENERGY STAR home in the market to participating as a founding member of the award-winning Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners group. Since becoming a partner in 1996, this division of Pulte Homes has built 4,000 ENERGY STAR qualified homes, making it one of the top five builders in the ENERGY STAR program. In 2003 alone, nearly 900 Pulte Nevada homes earned the ENERGY STAR. The company features ENERGY STAR widely in its comprehensive multimedia “Performance for Life” marketing campaign and for good reason — Pulte notes that customer satisfaction has dramatically increased since the company became an ENERGY STAR partner. Pulte Homes’ commitment to ENERGY STAR extends corporate wide, with 35 Pulte Divisions in 15 states actively building ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence in Energy Efficiency and Environmental Education

The California Investor-Owned Utilities
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Francisco, California
San Diego Gas and Electric, San Diego, California
Southern California Edison, Rosemead, California
Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles, California

The California ENERGY STAR New Homes Program is a statewide initiative, jointly implemented by California’s Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), that committed an impressive 17 percent market share for ENERGY STAR qualified homes across the state, or 32,000 qualified homes in 2003. The program offers technical training and incentives to encourage builders to construct both single-family and low-rise multifamily homes that earn the ENERGY STAR. Its effectiveness can be attributed to a smart marketing and implementation strategy tailored to a large, highly diverse state. For consistency, the IOUs use one builder brochure and application and advertise jointly statewide. In 2003, they reached 50,000 building professionals. To connect with consumers individually, each utility creates specialized point-of-sale materials (brochures, direct mail pieces, etc.) for customers in their respective service territories. The California IOUs are also helping to increase demand for ENERGY STAR qualified major appliances. Through the second quarter of 2003, California achieved 55 percent market share for ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers, 34 percent market share for qualified residential air conditioners, 28 percent for qualified refrigerators, and 27 percent for qualified clothes washers.

Veridian Homes, Madison, Wisconsin

Veridian Homes made a commitment to building 100 percent of its homes to ENERGY STAR performance guidelines, making it Wisconsin’s largest homebuilder to do so. This commitment resulted in more than 300 homes earning the ENERGY STAR in 2003, and more than twice that number is projected for 2004. ENERGY STAR is one part of Veridian’s overall commitment to the environment, with all of its homes meeting both ENERGY STAR and green construction guidelines. Veridian incorporates the ENERGY STAR message across its entire suite of marketing materials. Internally, the company’s sales team, construction managers, and customer relations team receive ongoing training and education on the features and benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes. This training translates into a better informed customer, as Veridian provides all of its homebuyers with an orientation on the energy-saving features of their new ENERGY STAR qualified homes. Veridian recently widened its ENERGY STAR commitment by incorporating ENERGY STAR qualified lighting and fixtures, HVAC equipment, windows, and appliances as standard items or optional upgrades.

Vermont ENERGY STAR Homes Service

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Burlington, Vermont
Vermont Gas Systems, South Burlington, Vermont

The Vermont ENERGY STAR Homes Service is jointly administered by Vermont Gas Systems and Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) through their statewide efficiency utility contract (Efficiency Vermont). As proof of its success, ENERGY STAR qualified homes represented more than 25 percent of all Vermont housing starts in 2003 (including 70 percent of all new home starts in the Vermont Gas service territory). This is quite an achievement, given that Vermont is a market dominated by small regional builders. The Vermont ENERGY STAR Homes Service provides one-on-one assistance to participating builders and homebuyers. It also offers no-cost technical assistance and home energy ratings, state energy code compliance, cash incentives for meeting ENERGY STAR performance guidelines, and bonus incentives for installing ENERGY STAR qualified appliances and additional high-efficiency ENERGY STAR qualified lighting.

2003 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Astoria Homes, Las Vegas, Nevada

Astoria Homeshas shown impressive dedication to ENERGY STAR, effectively communicating the benefits of efficient homes to consumers in the Las Vegas market. Astoria Homes has accomplished this through educational forums with homeowners and prospects and incorporating ENERGY STAR messages in its advertising, sales models, and community brochures and newsletters. Astoria Homes was one of the first builders in the country to commit to building 100 percent of its homes to ENERGY STAR performance guidelines. Last year, over 500 Astoria Homes earned the ENERGY STAR label.

California ENERGY STAR New Homes Program

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Francisco, California
Southern California Edison, Rosemead, California
Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles, California
San Diego Gas and Electric, San Diego, California

California’s four Investor-Owned Utility Companies, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Southern California Edison, Southern California Gas Company, and San Diego Gas and Electric, have joined together to deliver a consistent ENERGY STAR New Homes program across their service areas. As a result of their efforts in the last nine months, more than 19,000 homes have been committed for labeling in 2003, representing 20 percent of all new home starts in the state. The utilities collaborated on an extensive advertising and marketing campaign to recruit builders into the California ENERGY STAR New Homes program and to educate consumers about the benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

CenterPoint Energy, Houston, Texas

CenterPoint Energy’s outstanding efforts in Houston, TX have resulted in 8,800 homes earning the ENERGY STAR label in 2002, representing nearly 30 percent of all new home starts in the market. These homes were constructed by 20 different ENERGY STAR builder partners participating in CenterPoint’s program. CenterPoint’s $1 million advertising partnership employed innovative marketing approaches to greatly increase consumer recognition of the ENERGY STAR label in the Houston market. CenterPoint Energy, formerly Reliant Energy HL&P, is now a two-time winner of an ENERGY STAR Award in the new homes area, having received an award in 2001 as well.

Clayton Homes, Inc., Maryville, Tennessee

Clayton Homes is the nation’s first manufactured housing builder to certify all of its plants to be capable of producing ENERGY STAR qualified homes. By certifying all 20 of its plants, Clayton Homes can now manufacture more than 20,000 ENERGY STAR ready homes per year, available across 33 states. Clayton Homes has also developed innovative point-of-sale educational materials, signage, and technology displays to communicate the value of ENERGY STAR to consumers.

Energy Sense, Houston, Texas

Energy Sense is a home energy inspection company providing verification and marketing services to ENERGY STAR builder partners in several Texas cities, including the highly successful Houston market. In 2002, Energy Sense saw tremendous growth; qualifying 4,000 homes for the ENERGY STAR label, up from only 300 homes in 2001. Energy Sense works closely with its builders to ensure that they realize the full benefit of their partnership with ENERGY STAR; providing marketing training for builder sales staff and technical training for builder construction personnel and subcontractors. Energy Sense also offers a variety of ENERGY STAR promotional and pointof-sale tools to its builder partners.

Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems — West, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Guaranteed Watt Savers Systems — West provided the diagnostic, verification, and training services that helped nearly 7,500 homes earn the ENERGY STAR label in 2002. Guaranteed Watt Savers supports the highly successful utility programs in the Houston and Dallas markets, and also works with builders in Oklahoma City. Guaranteed Watt Savers has also pioneered an initiative to offer a variety of ENERGY STAR promotional and point-of-sale tools to builder partners across the country. Guaranteed Watt Savers is now a two-time recipient of an ENERGY STAR award in the new homes area, having won this award in 2001 as well.

Las Vegas Breakfast Club (Special Recognition-ENERGY STAR New Homes Outreach), Las Vegas, Nevada

The Las Vegas Breakfast Club is the steering committee and driving force behind a unique and successful group of ENERGY STAR partners in Las Vegas. As a result of a dedicated team approach, this group is working cooperatively to increase consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR new homes in this fastgrowing market. The 2002 Breakfast Club included Sia Howe from Astoria Homes, Kathy Hilty from Pardee Homes, Christy Stratton from Pulte Homes, Claire De Jesus from Southern Nevada Homes Guide, and Marcia and Steve Bottfeld from Marketing Solutions and Southern Nevada Homes Guide. The Breakfast Club oversaw the development of a highly successful advertising campaign that leveraged the time and resource contribution of nearly 30 ENERGY STAR partners and resulted in a 10 percent increase in consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR in the Las Vegas market. Based on their success in 2002, this group of highly-motivated ENERGY STAR partners is planning an all-new campaign for 2003.

Oncor Electric Delivery Company, Dallas, Texas

Oncor Electric Delivery Company’s extensive marketing, training, and incentive programs have resulted in 6,300 homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area earning the ENERGY STAR label in 2002, representing 14 percent of all new home starts in that market. These homes were constructed by 35 different ENERGY STAR builder partners participating in the utility’s program. Oncor has been highly instrumental in developing a robust infrastructure of independent verification organizations in the market by sponsoring a series of home energy rater training sessions. Oncor has also leveraged more than $550,000 to fund a comprehensive advertising partnership that encompassed a variety of media outlets.

Pardee Homes, Los Angeles, California

Pardee Homes is the first large corporate builder in the nation to commit to building 100 percent of its homes across all divisions to meet the ENERGY STAR performance guideline. Last year, more than 2,000 Pardee Homes earned the ENERGY STAR label. ENERGY STAR underscores the company’s value message to consumers and anchors its lifestyle marketing approach. Pardee has measured the impact of its partnership with ENERGY STAR, charting a significant increase in customer satisfaction since fully implementing its commitment to build ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (ENERGY STAR Award for Affordable Housing), Washington, District of Columbia

Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development assists more than five million renters and homeowners-approximately 5 percent of all housing in the nation-through its various programs. The Department spends some $4 billion each year on energy, primarily through utility allowances to renters, housing assistance payments to private building owners, and operating grants to public housing authorities. In July 2001, Deputy Secretary Jackson established a department-wide task force to identify measures that HUD could undertake to reduce these public expenditures and energy consumption within this housing sector. The task force identified use of ENERGY STAR including new homes, home retrofit, and ENERGY STAR qualified products as a key step in addressing these issues. Then, in September 2002, HUD Secretary Martinez, EPA Administrator Whitman, and DOE Assistant Secretary Garman signed a joint memorandum committing HUD to work with DOE and EPA to promote ENERGY STAR throughout its housing programs. Today, HUD, with assistance from EPA and DOE, is working toward the goals of promoting the purchase of ENERGY STAR qualified products and appliances to its block grant program recipients and housing authorities, constructing ENERGY STAR qualified homes in its HOPE VI Program, and promoting ENERGY STAR home improvement web tools and recommendations in its retrofit housing programs. For these reasons, HUD is this year’s recipient for ENERGY STAR’s Excellence in Affordable Housing.

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2002 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Champion Enterprises, Inc., Auburn Hills, Michigan

Champion Enterprises, Inc., is the world’s largest producer of manufactured housing. Champion’s corporate commitment to achieve ENERGY STAR qualification in each of its 49 North American plants stands to significantly reduce national energy consumption and carbon emissions. Champion is incorporating a standard compliance program to facilitate the labeling of their homes as ENERGY STAR, including a standardized design package, 3rd party design approval, and revision of Quality Control procedures. Approximately 45 percent of Champion’s entire product line is already qualified to be ENERGY STAR. Champion is also embarking on a national print, radio and television marketing campaign to expand marketing and financial incentives for use of ENERGY STAR qualified new homes.

D.R. Wastchak, LLC, Tempe, Arizona

With over 15,000 homes certified to date, D.R. Wastchak, LLC has labeled more ENERGY STAR qualified homes than any other ratings provider and fueled much of the growth in ENERGY STAR housing starts in the rapidly expanding Phoenix market. In 2001, D.R. Wastchak verified and labeled over 3,600 homes, representing nearly 15% of all ENERGY STAR qualified homes labeled nationwide last year. D.R. Wastchak was also active in recruiting, bringing twelve new builders into the ENERGY STAR program last year. D.R. Wastchak has been a key champion in ENERGY STAR marketing and advertising efforts in Phoenix. In 2001, D.R. Wastchak was a primary coordinator of the highly successful 2001 Phoenix Showcase of ENERGY STAR qualified new homes, an ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes magazine which showcased ENERGY STAR builders in the Phoenix market, its Web site, and training sessions for realtors and builder sales personnel.

Ence Homes, St. George, Utah

Ence Homes joined the ENERGY STAR for Homes program in 1999 and has been vigorously promoting the ENERGY STAR label ever since. Ence Homes has built over 500 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes and has grown to command about 10% of the residential market share in Southern Nevada and Southern Utah, attributing much of their success to ENERGY STAR. Ence has consistently used newsprint, radio, and television, in addition to its Web site, to educate homebuyers about the benefits of ENERGY STAR. Every Ence Homes employee undergoes training in ENERGY STAR and their realtors must pass tests that include questions on ENERGY STAR before selling Ence Homes. Ence also utilizes ENERGY STAR labeled products, such as heating and air conditioning systems and appliances, in its homes.

New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes, Mount Laurel, New Jersey

New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes was created under the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities Clean Energy Program as an umbrella initiative by the seven electric and gas utilities in New Jersey. Its goal is to transform the residential new construction market to ENERGY STAR. The participating utilities are Conectiv Power Delivery; GPU Energy, a FirstHand Energy Company; New Jersey Natural Gas; NUI/Elizabethtown Gas; Public Service Electric & Gas Company; Rockland Electric; and South Jersey Gas. The creation of New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes represents the first time that a single uniform utility-sponsored program is being offered throughout the State. In 2001, the statewide initiative succeeded in qualifying over 1,000 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes, bringing the total number of labeled homes in the State to nearly 3,500 to-date. New commitments for 2001 jumped 78% from the prior year, to 4,554 units. Working with the NJ Department of Community Affairs and other state and local housing agencies, New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes also championed low-income housing by labeling 650 ENERGY STAR affordable housing units in 2001, with another 1,700 scheduled for 2002. The program also aggressively promotes the broader ENERGY STAR brand, including labeled HVAC equipment, lighting fixtures, and washing machines.

As part of this award, ENERGY STAR would like to acknowledge MaGrann Associates through a special certificate of appreciation. MaGrann Associates has served as a contractor to New Jersey ENERGY STAR Homes, and works under the ENERGY STAR banner to provide comprehensive energy engineering, inspection, consulting, and related sales and market development services to builders, architects, engineers, and contractors. MaGrann Associates has qualified over 3,400 homes for the ENERGY STAR label and supports ENERGY STAR beyond homes though its HVAC design services by featuring the brand in sales, training, program requirements, and service delivery.

Reliant Energy HL&P, Houston, Texas

Reliant Energy HL&P, the 8th largest investor owned utility in the nation, has been a key champion in transforming the growing Houston residential market to ENERGY STAR. Reliant Energy has supported the labeling of over 1,400 ENERGY STAR qualified homes labeled homes in 2001. Reliant Energy has already signed contracts with ten production builders and four custom builders, and projects to qualify over 4,500 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in 2002. The utility has also dedicated substantial resources to advertising and marketing efforts. In 2001, Reliant Energy raised funds to run advertising for 22 weeks in the Houston Chronicle and developed ENERGY STAR handouts and brochures for the Houston Home Show. For 2002, Reliant Energy is partnering with fourteen builders and doubling their advertising budget to launch a new campaign involving newsprint, billboards, radio, television and special events.

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Burlington, Vermont

Vermont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) is a nonprofit energy services organization with a mission to reduce the economic, social, and environmental costs of energy consumption with cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. VEIC is a local, regional, and national leader in efforts to support ENERGY STAR qualified new homes and has made an organizational commitment to the ENERGY STAR label throughout its programs, services, and consulting efforts, demonstrating recognizable market transformation progress. These include Energy Rated Homes of Vermont, which has qualified nearly 900 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes since 1997, and Efficiency Vermont’s “Vermont ENERGY STAR Homes Program”. As a result of these efforts, the State of Vermont stands as one of the nation’s leaders in percentage of homes built to ENERGY STAR. Vermont consumers now recognize the ENERGY STAR label and routinely demand it as part of the home buying process.

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2001 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

The Connecticut Light and Power Company, Berlin, CT

The Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northeast Utilities Systems, has long supported builders who construct and label homes as ENERGY STAR. CL&P provides technical assistance for complying with the Model Energy Code, with meeting the performance requirements and for verifying that homes meet program guidelines. To encourage its builders to exceed program guidelines, this utility also offers financial incentives for the installation of ENERGY STAR labeled appliances and lighting. As part of its marketing efforts, CL&P operates the SmartLiving^TM Center, a resource center for builders, architects, and consumers. The center contains a training facility, library, computer workstations with internet access, lighting displays featuring ENERGY STAR labeled fixtures, and a working kitchen equipped with ENERGY STAR labeled appliances. The SmartLiving Center is located just outside of Hartford, CT and is open seven days a week.

Guaranteed Watt Savers Systems West, Inc., Oklahoma

Guaranteed Watt Savers Systems West, Inc. (GWSS), an Oklahoma City based enterprise has generated an impressive amount of ENERGY STAR labeled homes growth in the Oklahoma - Texas region. The year 2000 witnessed GWSS’s expansion beyond the borders of Oklahoma, solidly into Texas’s Dallas and Houston markets. This was accomplished by offering a variety of services that include: building science, training, and sales seminars, as well as home inspections, diagnostic testing and consulting services, GWSS is able to interface, and add value to various entities throughout the residential building industry.

Additionally, GWSS’s future is particularly bright as it is poised to play a critical role in the emerging Dallas and Houston markets. The primary utilities in Dallas and Houston, TXU and Reliant, have adopted the ENERGY STAR labeled homes program in preparation for deregulation in 2002; and GWSS is slated to be a key player in the marketing, training and verification activities associated with each of these programs.

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Lexington, Massachusetts

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) works strategically with organizations and businesses across the country to build on successful energy efficiency programs that have served the Northeast over the past ten years. Its primary goal is to reduce the harmful pollution that results from energy use. NEEP accomplishes this by recommending government policies that promote efficient energy consumption, such as ENERGY STAR.

Through its consumer education campaign, NEEP aims to increase consumer awareness and sales of ENERGY STAR labeled products, including lighting, appliances, and new homes, encourage retailer and manufacturer support, and position ENERGY STAR as a preferred brand. In collaboration with Conservation Services Group and Bozell Kamstra, NEEP uses many multi-media tactics to reach its audience throughout the greater Boston, Providence and Hartford areas and succeeded in increasing awareness by 65 percent.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Francisco, California

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is a wholly owned subsidiary of PG&E Corporation and maintains its headquarters in San Francisco, California. PG&E’s primary business is the transmission and delivery of energy. The company provides natural gas and electric service to approximately 12 million people in Northern and Central California.

PG&E strives to increase consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR, thereby increasing consumer purchase of new products that carry the ENERGY STAR label. It also aims to increase outreach to harder-to-reach market segments such as Hispanic and Chinese populations. In collaboration with J. Walter Thompson and ICF Consulting, PG&E divided its efforts into two sections: new homes outreach and a lighting and appliance campaign. One of its most inventive promotional pieces was the sales video and brochure for contractors, “Selling the Green”, which describes the financial benefits of ENERGY STAR.

Southwest Gas Corporation, Nevada

Southwest Gas Corporation (SWG) is the fastest growing natural gas distribution company in the country, providing service to over 1.3 million customers in Arizona, California, and Nevada. SWG’s partnership with ENERGY STAR for Homes has begun to have a significant impact in its service territory. There are over 17,000 estimated new homes committed to ENERGY STAR in SWG’s major markets. These include completed homes, those under construction, and those planned. As a partner in ENERGY STAR FOR NEW HOMES, SWG assists participating builders in effectively marketing and communicating its involvement in ENERGY STAR FOR NEW HOMES. Along with other support activities, SWG creates customized marketing plans for each builder.

SWG firmly believes that customers benefit from living in ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED HOMES. Homeowners enjoy cost savings, reduce pollution, and their homes are more comfortable.

Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation, Madison, Wisconsin

Established in 1980, Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC) is a private, nonprofit corporation and a national leader in the application of energy conservation and efficiency for utilities, consumer and environmental groups, and regulatory agencies. Its ENERGY STAR consumer education awareness campaign focuses on lighting, appliances and homes. The appliances and lighting campaign began in 1998 and homes began in 1999. Both campaigns have been on-going through 2000.

Newspaper and radio advertising, co-op advertising, media outreach, point-of-purchase materials and after-sale marketing are just some of the tactics WECC uses to promote ENERGY STAR. Energy Squirrel, a fun, super hero cartoon, is its spokesperson for ENERGY STAR lighting and appliances. Wisconsin ENERGY STAR Homes builds on the national ENERGY STAR program by adding building standards that are more specific to Wisconsin’s extreme weather.

Woods & Associates, Las Vegas, Nevada

Woods & Associates is a consulting firm that provides design and diagnostic testing services to residential builders in the Southwestern United States. Woods & Associates has been participating in ENERGY STAR FOR NEW HOMES since 1998. It offers clients a wide array of services that include plan reviews, ratings, and testing of homes. In 2000, it was responsible for the certifying over 2,100 homes as ENERGY STAR.

Woods & Associates continue to actively promote ENERGY STAR QUALIFIED HOMES. It places the ENERGY STAR label on all its service vehicles and aggressively labels its corporate headquarters and builder sites. The logo is also used in most of its corporate communications.

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2000 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Atlantic Design and Construction Gainesville, Florida (Small Builder of the Year)

Atlantic Design and Construction is the top selling ENERGY STAR community in Gainesville. To demonstrate their commitment to ENERGY STAR, they include the ENERGY STAR option in all of their inventory homes. In fact, 47 of 48 homes built last year proudly bear the ENERGY STAR label! All of Atlantic Design and Construction’s preferred lenders offer discounted mortgage rates for ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. In cooperation with Florida HERO and The Building America Partnership for Industrialized Housing, they strive to be on the cutting edge of cost effective, energy saving building technologies in order to improve quality of life as well as promote sound environmental stewardship and reduce energy usage for Atlantic Design and Construction home buyers.

Barry Andrews Homes Bel Air, Maryland (Medium Builder of the Year)

Barry Andrews Homes is dedicated to providing consumers with homes that exceed current typical standards. Their sincere approach to providing quality, energy efficient homes that exceed ENERGY STAR guidelines has brought them much success in the past two years since they joined the ENERGY STAR program. Their most recent model home prominently displayed ENERGY STAR promotional materials and promoted the millennium power house solar backup system. Barry Andrews Homes has been very active in building ENERGY STAR qualified new homes and does an outstanding job of creatively promoting the ENERGY STAR label through advertising, model home signage, and collateral production.

Beazer Homes Arizona Tempe, Arizona (Large Builder of the Year)

Since January 1, 1999, Beazer Homes has been committed to building ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. Currently, 525 of their homes bear the ENERGY STAR label. Beazer’s goal is to maximize the performance of their homes in regard to energy efficiency, indoor air quality, comfort, and quality construction and they have creatively promoted the ENERGY STAR label through advertising, model home signage, collateral production, sales training, and research studies with Southwest Gas. In June 2000, Beazer executed a Memorandum of Understanding to become the first builder owned ENERGY STAR mortgage partner. They are able to factor in the monthly energy savings into qualifying ratios and therefore allow more borrowers to be approved. Many buyers can qualify to buy a home they otherwise could not afford! Beazer also underwrites the cost of the HERS report for the homebuyer as part of their participation in the program. Both buyers and employees of Beazer have reported great satisfaction with the ENERGY STAR program and Beazer is committed to expanding their ENERGY STAR program in the future.

Bosshardt Realty Services, Inc., Gainesville, Florida

Bosshardt Realty Services, Inc.’s Research & Development Division is recognized for demonstrating that ENERGY STAR qualified homes reduce utility bills and recapture the initial investment through future energy savings. Senior officials of Bosshardt frequently speak at builder conferences throughout Florida about ENERGY STAR qualified homes. These efforts have led to the development of a new company, GreenSmartTM, which features a sales and marketing tutorial called How to Pioneer an ENERGY STAR Market. This training offers the first green certification for building industry professionals who wish to succeed in selling and marketing homes using green building technologies.

D.R. Wastchak, L.L.C., Tempe, Arizona

D.R. Wastchak, L.L.C., a new private company in the Phoenix metro area, certified 855 ENERGY STAR qualified homes during its first six months of operation. Working with some of the largest home builders — Beazer, Continental, Centex and Pulte Homes — the company hopes to certify 5,000 homes in the year 2000, roughly one-seventh of the new homes expected to be built in the local area. The company serves builders, lenders and others by collaborating with local utilities to provide marketing support and training. Working with builders, utilities, and product manufacturers, D.R. Wastchak has made Phoenix one of the leading markets in the U.S. for ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

FirstEnergy Corporation, Akron, Ohio

FirstEnergy Corporation, an energy services company, works closely with the Home Builders Association of Greater Akron and nine local builders to promote ENERGY STAR qualified homes in Ohio. Through its efforts to educate consumers about energy efficiency, FirstEnergy is increasing the demand for ENERGY STAR qualified homes in Ohio by sponsoring events such as the All Geothermal-All ENERGY STAR Parade of Homes.

Florida Power Corporation, Winter Park, Florida

In their first year of partnership with EPA, Florida Power Corporation aggressively recruited builders into ENERGY STAR for New Homes and certified more than 260 new ENERGY STAR qualified homes during 1999. Florida Power used the ENERGY STAR label to promote energy efficiency in their demand-side management programs. Along with providing marketing materials, signage, training, and technical assistance for trade allies, Florida Power also provides financial incentives. Florida Power increased consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR by partnering with the University of Florida to provide energy efficiency workshops and conducted a media campaign with local news media. These efforts made ENERGY STAR qualified homes available to all buyers in Florida Power’s service territory, including affordable housing, tract and custom homebuilders.

Public Service Electric & Gas Company of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey

Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G) of New Jersey takes a unique approach to labeling homes as ENERGY STAR. In addition to the more traditional marketing methods, PSE&G’s Energy Efficient 5 Star program works with state agencies to make ENERGY STAR the construction standard for publicly-funded projects. Their efforts have resulted in the construction of several hundred units that are affordable to buy and operate. PSE&G provides builders with financial incentives, plan analysis, subcontractor training and on-site performance testing.

Tierra Concrete Homes Pueblo, Colorado (Systems Builder of the Year)

Tierra Concrete Homes is well-known for their high standards in energy efficiency and insist that every home they build meets ENERGY STAR standards. Every home they have built in the past five years has actually exceeded the ENERGY STAR standards for energy efficiency! Their owner’s manual, “How to Live in a Passive Solar, Energy Efficient Home”, teaches homeowners about the features and benefits of their ENERGY STAR labeled products, such as appliances, lighting fixtures, and light bulbs. Tierra’s mission is “…to build affordable sustainable homes using environmentally friendly building materials and methods” and through working with other ENERGY STAR partners such as Enercept (for ENERGY STAR roofs) and Countrywide (for ENERGY STAR mortgages), Tierra has become a leader in the energy efficient building industry.

Town & Home, Inc., Simi Valley, California

Town & Home, Inc. has designed family housing on military bases for over 15 years. Through a rigorous quality control program, Town & Home significantly decreased the federal government’s utility bills in military communities. In 1999, Town & Home successfully completed 423 ENERGY STAR qualified homes in bases across California and Texas.

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1999 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Andersen Windows, Inc., Bayport, MN (Manufacturer Ally of the Year)

Andersen made support of the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes a key marketing priority. Andersen aggressively developed several educational and promotional tools to reflect its commitment to the program. The primary objective of these tools is to increase builders’ awareness and preference for ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. Andersen promotes and supports the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes through its regional sales representatives, by hosting sales training sessions, and incorporating ENERGY STAR into its marketing materials. Learn more about Andersen Window Inc. by viewing this pdf file.

Bruce Davis Homes La Plata, MD (Systems Builder of the Year)

Bruce Davis prides itself on the energy efficiency of its homes, and even provides a warranty to its homeowners. By using ENERGY STAR in its efforts to market its cutting-edge concrete homes, Bruce Davis is ensuring the success of the ENERGY STAR Program in Maryland.

Colorado Dream Homes Pagosa Springs, CO (Small Builder of the Year)

This Colorado builder has constructed 11 affordable, ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. Colorado Dream Homes has prominently featured ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in their marketing materials and every member of its sales staff wears a shirt featuring the ENERGY STAR logo. Additionally it educates its clients about the importance of energy efficiency and provides each home buyer with a certificate verifying their home’s energy performance.

Conectiv Power Delivery, Wilmington, DE (Utility Ally of the Year)

Conectiv is committed to community involvement and environmental stewardship in all aspects of its work, products, and decision making. Since joining the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes last year, Conectiv Power Delivery has aggressively promoted energy efficiency in new homes by creating brochures for builders and consumers, offering rebates to homeowners and builders, hosting builder kick-off dinners, incorporating the ENERGY STAR label into its marketing materials, and increasing the market penetration of the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes. By providing superior energy services, Conectiv has become a valuable contributor to the energy-efficient housing industry.

Continental Homes Scottsdale, AZ (Large Builder of the Year)

Continental Homes in Scottsdale has built 350 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. Continental has embraced the marketing differentiation benefits that ENERGY STAR qualified new homes offers by incorporating the ENERGY STAR message into its marketing and advertising materials, price sheets, and subdivision maps. Continental’s participation in ENERGY STAR has demonstrated that building energy-efficient homes is good for business, good for their customers, and good for the environment.

Ence Homes St. George, UT (Medium Builder of the Year)

Ence Homes has constructed 55 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. Ence Homes has taken several innovative steps to familiarize their customers with ENERGY STAR, including working with local realtors, conducting direct mailings, placing newspaper advertisements, and using the ENERGY STAR logo on all of their marketing materials. Ence Homes has differentiated itself as a leader in Utah’s housing industry.

Energy Diagnostics, Valparaiso, IN (Special Recognition)

Energy Diagnostics, a participant in ENERGY STAR for Homes for the past three years, demonstrates its commitment through vigorous marketing endeavors and extensive efforts to increase both builder and consumer awareness. The company’s “one-on-one” approach and customized programs have led to the recruitment of 28 builders and five local lenders to ENERGY STAR. The extensive distribution of ENERGY STAR signage, numerous HomeCalc software demonstrations, and the company’s expansion are a reflection of Energy Diagnostics’ successes and its contribution to the future of energy efficiency.

Energy Rated Homes — Midwest (ERH-MW), Indianapolis, IN (Technical Support Provider Ally of the Year)

ERH-MW demonstrates its support of the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes through recruiting, financing, and technical service activities. ERH-MW has recruited more than 50 builders and allies — including HVAC contractors, universities, utilities, and marketing companies — to join the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes. In addition, ERH-MW has worked with several local and regional lenders to increase the availability of energy-efficiency financing in the Midwest. Since joining the Program, ERH-MW has provided technical verification for more than 800 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes.

Energy Rated Homes of Utah (ERH-UT), Orem, UT (Special Recognition)

ERH-UT is a statewide, non-profit organization working with lenders, realtors, builders, home buyers, sellers, appraisers, and utilities to promote energy education and affordable, energy-efficient housing throughout the State. ERH-UT is one of the top five builder recruiters in the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes. The organization sponsors training seminars, the “Excellence in Residential Energy Efficiency” award, and consumer outreach activities that include newsletters, brochures, Web sites, press releases, and trade and home expositions. To date, ERH-UT has rated more than 300 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes.

Energy Services Group, Wilmington, DE (Special Recognition)

For the past 18 years, the Energy Services Group has been instrumental in the field of residential energy conservation by providing HERS ratings, solving specific energy problems, and exploring new energy-efficient building techniques that offer cost-effective solutions. Energy Services Group integrates the marketing goals of ENERGY STAR into its own. Through active builder recruitment, the company’s proactive role in facilitating energy efficiency mortgages, and consumer awareness initiatives such as brochures, model home displays, and Realtor training seminars, Energy Services Group has proven its commitment to the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes and the promotion of energy efficiency.

The Florida Department of Community Affairs and the Florida Solar Energy Center, Coca, FL (State or Local Government Agency Ally of the Year)

The Florida Department of Community Affairs and the Florida Solar Energy Center administer Florida’s home rating system. In 1998 these organizations trained, tested, and certified 242 raters, informing each of the market opportunities for ENERGY STAR qualified new homes. They also produced and distributed EnergyGauge rating software to help users identify cost-effective, energy-efficient upgrade opportunities. Other education efforts included hosting an ENERGY STAR qualified new homes forum that attracted more than 130 attendees and 11 exhibitors and participating in more than 20 seminars to educate realtors, raters, lenders, state officials, utility representatives, and builders about the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes.

Florida H.E.R.O., Newberry, FL (Special Recognition)

The cornerstone of Florida H.E.R.O. has always been the promotion of the many benefits of the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes. Founded only two years ago, this company is dedicated to helping developers, builders, architects, and homeowners construct energy-efficient buildings that benefit everyone economically and environmentally. Florida H.E.R.O., recipient of the 1999 Rater of the Year Award for the State of Florida, is responsible for more than 20 builders and allies joining the Program and is proud to be “Part of the Solution…One Home at a Time.”

Habitat for Humanity Houston, TX (Special Recognition)

Habitat for Humanity’s Houston Affiliate is being recognized for integrating ENERGY STAR qualified new homes into its 1998 Blitz Build project. Working with volunteers from the community, local industry, and the Florida Solar Energy Center, Habitat built 101 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes during a two-week period. This project demonstrates the important connection between energy efficiency and the affordability of housing, and should serve as a model for other affordable housing projects across the country.

The New England Joint Management Committee (JMC), Boston, MA (Utility Ally of the Year)

JMC is composed of Boston Edison, COM Electric, Eastern Utilities, Fitchburg Gas & Electric Light Co. and New England Electric Systems, which participate in a collaborative process to steer and fund program activities. Implemented and managed by its vendor, Conservation Services Group (CSG), the committee developed a comprehensive marketing, certification, rebate, and technical support program for home buyers and builders in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. Following on the successful launch of the program in 1998, the committee forecasts penetrating at least 5 percent of the housing market in 1999. Since the program began in 1998, more than 50 builders have signed Memoranda of Understanding and more than 500 projects have been or are in the process of being certified.

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1998 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

Andersen Windows, Inc., Bayport, MN

Recognized as one of the leaders in the high-performance window industry, Andersen Windows has long espoused a commitment to environmental stewardship. Andersen promotes and supports ENERGY STAR through its regional sales representatives by hosting sales training sessions and incorporating ENERGY STAR into its marketing materials.

Best Homes Indianapolis, IN (Medium Builder of the Year)

Best Homes, a division of Davis Homes — Indiana’s largest residential homebuilder — constructed 270 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes as of 1998. By following the ENERGY STAR guidelines, Best Homes is providing a means to measure construction quality while reducing consumer costs by up to 30% on energy bills. Best also has embraced the ENERGY STAR marketing messages.

Energy Rated Homes of Indiana (ERH of IN), Indianapolis, IN

ERH-Indiana provides home energy ratings throughout the state of Indiana, and has developed an extensive network of raters and participating home builders. As of 1998, ERH of IN rated over 450 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes — more than any other organization — in addition to recruiting numerous builders.

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), Gainesville, FL

GRU facilitated and developed a well-attended event to support the City of Gainesville’s official proclamation of July 21 as ENERGY STAR Homes Day. GRU’s support has substantially helped the market penetration of ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in Gainesville. Because of GRU’s hard work, Gainesville’s 1998 Parade of Homes featured 14 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes.

Palm Harbor Homes, Inc. Dallas, TX (Manufactured Builder of the Year)

Palm Harbor has pioneered the application of ENERGY STAR labeled manufactured homes in the manufactured home industry. They have effectively made critical changes in their production line system and integrated field verification diagnostics for the first time in manufactured housing. They are marketing the performance and cost advantages of ENERGY STAR.

Pulte Homes Phoenix, AZ (Large Builder of the Year)

Pulte Homes in Phoenix built 137 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in 1997. Pulte has embraced the marketing differentiation benefits that ENERGY STAR offers by incorporating the ENERGY STAR message into their promotional campaign. They also have promoted the ENERGY STAR brand name in their marketing materials, advertisements, and point of sale pieces.

Southlake Development, Inc. Crown Point, IN (Small Builder of the Year)

This Indiana builder constructed 27 affordable, ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in 1997. Southlake has prominently featured ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in their marketing materials. Additionally they perform quality control and third party inspections on every home they build and then feature this information for consumers to increase their understanding of energy efficiency.

Watt Homes Salt Lake City, UT (Medium Builder of the Year)

Watt Homes constructed 350 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes in 1997. This organization truly embodies the spirit of ENERGY STAR in their home production. It has included an impressive array of improvements into its building practices, as well as incorporated a strong marketing program to convey these advantages to consumers.

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1997 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

ConSol, Inc., Stockton, CA

This company helped bring ENERGY STAR to the attention of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), which resulted in NAHB’s full endorsement of the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes. ConSol also actively recruits builders to join the program.

Energy Design Technologies, Fredericksburg, VA

This company organized a major event to introduce the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes to local companies, resulting in the recruitment of several financing institutions and more than ten builder partners, including one of the nation’s largest home builders.

Greenstone Industries, Elkwood, VA

Greenstone launched the “Buyer’s Choice” program, which supports the goals of the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes. This program provides warranties to ENERGY STAR qualified new home owners, guaranteeing that their energy bills will not exceed a fixed amount. The company also fully integrated the ENERGY STAR qualified new homes concept and logo into its marketing materials and actively recruits builders to join the program.

National Home Energy Resources Organization (HERO), Richmond, VA

HERO brought effective marketing skills to the home energy rating industry. The organization has also promoted the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes to builders and financing organization throughout the country that provide energy-efficient mortgages. To date, HERO has provided tens of thousands of ratings for home builders.

North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA), Washington, D. C.

NAIMA support resulted in a year-long “Builder” magazine campaign promoting successful ENERGY STAR qualified new home builders. In addition, NAIMA secured program coverage for the ENERGY STAR Program for labeled homes on a PBS program, the Discovery Channel, and the Outdoor Channel.

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Questions about the ENERGY STAR for New Homes Awards? E-mail us at hotline@energystar.gov

*Award category titles have changed over the history of the program.

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