Benefits of
ENERGY STAR^® for an Existing Home


Savings on Utility Bills
The true cost of a house is not its "sticker" price, but what it costs you to own and operate every month. The ENERGY STAR home cost advantage is based on the concept that monthly utility bill savings can significantly exceed the increase in the improvement costs for extra energy efficiency measures. A typical new home built to ENERGY STAR specifications reduces utility bills by $35 per month or $420 a year. A recent EPA study revealed that these savings can add $8,400 to the market value of an ENERGY STAR home. ^*

Improved Comfort
Homes with additional insulation and high performance windows are blanketed in comfort because surrounding surface temperatures are warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Tightly-constructed homes will not experience annoying drafts and airborne dust. Better insulated walls, sealed ducts and properly sized efficient mechanical systems can deliver quiet performance year-round.

Improved Indoor Air Quality
Where ENERGY STAR homes and ducts are field verified to be tightly sealed, significant sources of indoor air pollution are effectively blocked from entering your home. These pollutants include moisture, dusts, pests, pollen and radon that could otherwise enter through leaks in attics, basements, and garages.

Higher Resale Value
New homes built to ENERGY STAR specifications are more likely to have a higher resale value regardless of how long you own your home.

Experience All These Benefits and Help the Environment Too!
It's a great feeling to know that you can have an important impact on helping the environment. American house-hold energy use contributes significantly to air pollution, including 20 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. By constructing more energy-efficient homes, we can make a difference. ENERGY STAR homes, built by the year 2012, are projected to lock in over $100 billion in utility bill savings and prevent pollution equivalent to removing more than three million cars from U.S. roads.


For more information on the benefits of improving your home with ENERGY STAR visit the EPA's website at http://www.epa.gov/hhiptool/HomeSealing.html. For information on other ENERGY STAR programs, call the U.S. EPA hotline at 1-888-STAR-YES or visit their website at http://www.energystar.gov.

Read this article in its unmodified form: "Home Buying Just Got Simple"