For Your ENERGY STAR® Home
When you build an ENERGY STAR home, Efficiency Vermont helps you and your builder evaluate options to create a home that works efficiently as a system. The following are some tips to help you build an ENERGY STAR home.
Plan Ahead
Talk to Efficiency Vermont in the planning stages of your project so we can assist you in achieving ENERGY STAR certification.
Size matters
The smaller the footprint and the less the exterior surface area of your home, the more efficient it will be. In addition to requiring more energy to operate your home, larger homes use more natural resources for materials and more energy to produce those materials.
Understand how the laws of physics apply to your home.
Hot goes to cold. The greater the temperature difference between the two extremes the faster this heat transfer will occur. You can't stop heat transfer you can slow it down. This is accomplished by properly insulating and air sealing your home to reduce heat loss and air transfer through the building envelope.
Properly Size your HVAC system
A properly sized heating, cooling, and ventilation system will ensure that your home is comfortable, healthy, and energy efficient. Oversized systems cycle on and off more often, leading to decreases in efficiency and comfort. With proper ventilation controls, you can make sure that there is sufficient fresh air circulating through the house.
Moisture is the enemy of most building materials
Moisture is the enemy of most building materials and is the staff of life for mold, mildew and unwanted critters. The design of your home must keep water out and must ensure that moisture you generate inside the home doesn't cause problems.
Keeping water out requires an effective unbroken drainage plane.
Keeping water out requires an effective unbroken drainage plane that uses a variety of materials installed in shingle fashion to shed water away from the building.