Ezell-Morgan's ENERGY STAR® Home Package

What is an ENERGY STAR Home?

Products that carry the ENERGY STAR trademark have met strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) helping us all save money and protect the environment. ENERGY STAR products saved enough energy in 2007 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 27 million cars -- all while saving $16 billion in utility bills.

For a home to earn an ENERGY STAR rating it must meet or exceed strict requirements of indoor air quality and be at least 20-30% more energy efficient than a standard home. Adherence to the standards must be verified through inspection and testing by a licensed Home Energy Rating System (HERS) inspector.

Ezell-Morgan was the first custom builder in Douglas County to become an ENERGY STAR PARTNER. They have made the commitment to provide quality homes that meet these rigorous standards.

There is now up to $12,000 in tax credits and energy efficiency incentives available for a new home. This is in addition to the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit or the new $6,500 tax credit. Contact us for more information.

Look at real data from our recently completed ENERGY STAR Home

Our Philosophy on Energy Efficiency

Today, Americans spend nearly 90% of their lives indoors and our buildings account for more than a third of the energy consumed in the United States. If a consumer chooses to save energy by purchasing a more efficient vehicle, the decision will necessarily require some sacrifice in the size or performance of the product. Choosing a more efficient home is just the opposite. More efficient equipment often lasts longer and a tight, properly ventilated envelope is healthier and more comfortable. We believe that these facts make our industry obligated and uniquely predisposed to provide substantial reductions in our nation's energy consumption, while minimizing our impact on the environment.

The Building Envelope

Polyicynene Spray Foam Insulation

When discussing energy efficiency, one of the first topics is normally R-value. R-value is simply a measure of a particular component's ability to resist the conduction of heat. Focusing only on R-value ignores other important causes of energy loss to a structure. As an example; if an R-13 batt of fiberglass insulation is installed in a stud cavity, but is left uncovered on one side, the effective R-value of the wall is perhaps only R-3. In order for this insulation to work properly, it must be placed in air-tight cavity and must completely fill the cavity. Other factors that can greatly affect R-value are humidity and air velocity.

While R-value is important, an insulation's ability to block air leakage can be far more important. Air leakage alone can account for 25-40% of the energy required to heat and cool a home. Locating and sealing leaks is tedious and time consuming and often yields marginal results. For this reason, Ezell-Morgan uses polyicynene spray foam in the walls, rims, and ceilings. In one simple step the home is thoroughly insulated and sealed in even the most inaccessible places.

The average new home that is properly insulated with conventional insulation will normally have an air infiltration rate of about 0.50 Air Changes per Hour (ACH). In other words, 50% of the air in the home will be exchanged with unconditioned, unfiltered, outdoor air every hour. This air brings contaminants with it like dust, mold spores, pollen, insects, water vapor and car exhaust. It also makes it more difficult to maintain proper levels of humidity and constant temperature in all areas. Most leaky homes require a humidifier for the winter months, since cold infiltrated air is so dry. If not maintained properly, humidifiers can also become a source of mold.

Spray foam reduces the air exchange rate to less than 8% or 0.08 ACH. It makes no sense to spend money to add extra insulation to the home if air is allowed to simply leak around it or through it. An excellent example of the effectiveness of spray foam is around recessed can lights. Can lights that are rated for direct contact with insulation must have internal temperature sensors that will shut their power off if they get too hot. If one uses a normal 65W bulb in a can that is covered with just 3 inches of spray foam, the thermostat will eventually trip off the light. Yet covering a can with 4 feet of blown fiberglass will generally not cause the can to trip. Icynene installers commonly place 5-gallon buckets over the cans before spraying foam to prevent this. Instead, Ezell-Morgan simply installs 14W Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs that produce very little heat.

ENERGY STAR requires testing of the air infiltration rate of the home. This is done by performing a blower door test. This apparatus uses a fan operated by computer to precisely depressurize the home. The fan speed required to maintain this vacuum is used to calculate the total leakage.

Low-E/Argon-filled glass in windows

Low-E/Argon-filled glass offers an excellent and cost-effective way to improve the performance of windows. The Low-E refers to the low-emissivity coating on the inside of the outer pane that reduces radiant heat transfer by about 50%. The space between the panes is filled with argon gas, an inert gas that increases R-value and reduces sound transmission. The average double-pane window is about R-2, while the Low-E/Argon window is about R-3.

R-10 foil-faced polyisocyanurate on all unfinished concrete walls

One of the most cost effective ways to improve the efficiency of the average home is to insulate unfinished concrete walls. In fact, there is no energy efficiency code standard that does not suggest, if not prescribe, this feature. This is because concrete has almost no measurable insulating value and normally the top foot of wall is exposed directly to outside air. The wall should be insulated to at least 3 feet below grade where the soil temperature stays about 55 degrees in this climate zone. Foil-faced polyisocyanurate must be used because of its fire rating. Covering only the top half of the wall also allows concrete walls to dry to the inside if they become damp from small imperfections in the damp-proofing.

Indoor Air Quality

Whole House Ventilation System

To assure optimum indoor air quality in our nearly air tight homes Ezell-Morgan has adopted the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineer's (ASHRAE) standard for whole house forced ventilation called ASHRAE 62.2. It specifies a formula that uses the total square footage of the structure and the number of occupants to determine the proper amount of forced ventilation in cubic feet per minute (cfm). For most homes this equates to approximately 0.15 ACH.

It may at first seem contradictory to go to the effort to seal a home's envelope only then to be forced to artificially ventilate it. However, this systems approach allows the accurate control of ventilation that yields optimum comfort, health, and energy efficiency of the home.

A Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) provides controlled ventilation by delivering filtered air to the home from outside, while exhausting a balanced amount of stale indoor air. It uses a variable speed fan to pull outside air through a heat exchanger that warms it with the air it is exhausting. The heat exchanger has an efficiency of 86%. The fan has five speeds from about 40cfm to 150cfm or 200cfm for larger homes. The internal filters are washable and its fan is quiet and efficient. The fan is normally preset to run continuously at a specific rate. An override switch is installed that the owner may use to temporarily override the fan setting to its highest speed. This is helpful if several friends come over, something burns in the kitchen, or just if extra ventilation is desired on a nice day. The system is equipped with a defrost mechanism that makes it effective down to temperatures of -40 degrees.

Separate air intakes for the HRV are placed in each bathroom. These intakes draw a minimum of 20cfm per bathroom continuously per ASHRAE, thereby eliminating the need for noisy bath fans. The incoming fresh air is routed to the return air duct. By controlling the infiltration rate, the humidity in the home is also better controlled which can eliminate the need for humidifiers.

 

Minimizing sources of indoor pollutants

With a tightly sealed home Ezell-Morgan takes special care to ensure good indoor air quality by reducing sources of pollutants and humidity.

The air filter on the furnace is a box type unit that has a minimum MERV 6 rating. This type of filter box is gasketed to prevent air from by passing.

The kitchen fan is vented directly outside to remove odors and is sized accordingly.

Gas appliances like the furnace, water heater and fireplace must be "direct vent" or "power vented" to ensure their combustion products are isolated from inside air. If these are not used in a tight home, a large exhaust fan like that on a clothes dryer can draw air down from the flue on standard water heaters and furnaces, which can cause carbon monoxide to backdraft into the home.

Ezell-Morgan recommends using only carpet and padding that carries the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label . This label identifies these products as producing very low emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

All Ezell-Morgan homes include a passive radon mitigation system. Upon completion of the home a radon test is conducted to assure that radon levels are within EPA acceptable limits with this fan-less system. If excessive radon is still present a fan is added at no charge to the customer.

Plastic vapor barrier under concrete floors in finished spaces

Ezell-Morgan uses a plastic vapor barrier to seal the bottom of concrete floors from the ground below. This greatly reduces the amount of moisture that finds its way into the home. This moisture can also breakdown the adhesives used on floor covering and rot padding and the backing on carpet. It is also largely responsible for making a basement smell musty. Moisture will move through unprotected concrete floors by a process called diffusion. Visit this link for more information.

Inside the Envelope

Heating & Cooling Equipment

Ezell-Morgan recommends the use of a high-efficiency Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) or a Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP). Each of these systems feature 2-stage cooling and 2 or 3-stage heating with high-efficiency variable speed fans. This allows the use of a differential temperature control system that can vary the intensity of heating and cooling in response to the rate with which the temperature is changing. This maintains a much more constant temperature and humidity. In most two storied homes, this is combined with a zoning system that controls dampers to deliver conditioned air to just the area that needs it. ENERGY STAR requires that the equipment is sized based on industry standard software simulations of the home.

Air Duct System

ENERGY STAR requires that the duct system be properly designed to optimize proper air flow thoughout the structure. The ducts must be sealed to strict tolerances and must be pressure tested for leakage. Duct mastic and special foil-faced duct tape is used to seal joints. Traditional gray "duct tape" is not an approved method for sealing ducts. A small amount of duct leakage to the outdoors can cause huge energy losses and drive infiltration that will contaminate indoor air.

 

Fast Hot Water System

Excessive wait times for hot water is not only a nuisance, it wastes water and energy. Ezell-Morgan uses several methods to greatly reduce wait times to only 5 seconds to every fixture the home. A properly installed recirculation line requires no pumps and is insulated to minimize heat losses. Cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) piping is used throughout, which is safer, longer lasting, has improved thermal characteristics and allows the installation of a parallel piping configuration.

 

ENERGY STAR Appliances

Ezell-Morgan uses appliances that carry the ENERGY STAR logo. These use 10-50% less energy than standard appliances.

 

All Fluorescent Lighting

Ezell-Morgan uses Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) in all fixtures that are not already pin-type fluorescent. These bulbs use less that 1/4 the electricity and last up to 13 times longer than standard bulbs. Regular 60W and 65W, 750 hour incandescent bulbs are replaced with 14W, 10,000 hour bulbs. These bulbs are so important for saving energy that the 2007 Energy Bill passed by congress will phase out the use of all incandescent bulbs by 2020.