Realty Times April 15, 2009

Environments for Living Certified Green Homes Inspired by GE's Ecomagination Program
by Peter L. Mosca

In a recent report, NBC Universal, who one day in 2008 had all of its TV programming go 'green,' said it saved $2 million last year with its environmental efforts furthering its reputation as the green network.

The White House, with Michelle Obama as a champion of sustainability has planted an organic herb and vegetable garden; a swing set with recycled tires as the playground's flooring and energy efficiency is targeted next.

In the neighboring state of Maryland, buyers now have the opportunity to own smart innovative homes that can reduce their energy and indoor water usage - as well as emissions associated with the home - while changing the way they interact with their indoor environments.

The homes built by BUILDERS ONE Corp. at Spencer's Crossing blend the beauty of gated carriage home living with the innovations of green technology creating a lifestyle of comfort, elegance, and efficiency. These high-performance, energy- and water-efficient homes are remarkably comfortable, designed to help homeowners reduce their utility costs and allow homeowners to track their use of energy and water.The homes built by BUILDERS ONE Corp. at Spencer's Crossing blend the beauty of gated carriage home living with the innovations of green technology creating a lifestyle of comfort, elegance, and efficiency. These high-performance, energy- and water-efficient homes are remarkably comfortable, designed to help homeowners reduce their utility costs and allow homeowners to track their use of energy and water. A 2007 Energy Source report states that 86 percent of recent homebuyers said they would choose an energy-efficient home over one that was not energy-efficient.

When you compare the Spencer's Crossing homes inspired by ecomaginationSM to average industry-accepted construction standards of other new homes in the area, Spencer's Crossing homes developed by BUILDERS ONE achieve the following:

  • A 53% reduction in household heating and cooling cost savings

  • A 25% savings on household indoor water consumption

  • A 32% reduction in emissions associated with the home.

Homes inspired by ecomaginationSM include advanced features such as:

  • New GE SmartCommandTM Enviro Monitor: an interactive wall panel that provides current and historical feedback on electricity and indoor water consumption. The Dashboard's available options include programmable thermostat and security system interface, and whole-home lighting control, intercom and home audio interface.

  • GE and GE ProfileTM ENERGY STAR qualified appliances.

  • GE advanced lighting package: indoor and outdoor lighting, with at least 60 percent of the lighting fixtures using GE Energy Smart(TM) compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) that use up to 75 percent less electricity than standard incandescent lamps.

  • GE BrillianceTM Solar Electric Power Systems (optional): engineered to install quickly and reliably to provide years of virtually maintenance-free operation.

  • GE tankless gas water heater (optional): the GE tankless gas water heater provides a continuous flow of precisely heated hot water.

  • The Environments for Living Certified Green program standards: tight construction, fresh-air ventilation, improved insulation, efficient HVAC equipment, humidity control, pressure balancing, combustion safety which helps provide two comfort and energy guarantees*.

The Spencer's Crossing homes built to ecomaginationSM Homebuilder Program specifications are classified Environments for Living Certified Green, as they use advanced building science techniques to deliver both comfort and energy efficiency. Environments for Living offers two guarantees* to the original homeowner:

  1. there will be no more than a 3 degree temperature differential from the center of any conditioned room within each thermostat zone,

  2. their heating and cooling costs won't exceed the homes predetermined usage calculations. From media conglomerates to the White House and to Main Street, green is providing consumers what they want and higher satisfaction ratings as a result for builders who provide them with these products.

Note: For more information, please visit www.spencerscrossinghomes.com, www.buildersone.com, and www.ge.com/yourhome.



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