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Publication Date: Friday, March 19, 2004 Pulte Homes wins PG&E energy award
Houses 45% above national standards
Pulte Homes of Pleasanton has been awarded a special Energy Star award from California utility companies for its efforts to build energy efficient homes throughout Northern California.
The award, given to Pulte Homes' division president Steve Kalmbach, for constructing energy efficient homes in Pleasanton and elsewhere that have exceeded both federal and state standards.
"Last year, Pulte was among California builders who completed 19,000 new homes that met the rigorous Energy Star standards," said PG&E spokeswoman Christy Dennis. "That was a 1,200 percent increase compared to the 1,500 homes built to those standards in 2001."
Four utilities, including PG&E, were recognized early this month in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The other California companies are San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas Co. and Southern California Edison.
The utilities' program provides builders with information on the benefits of energy-efficient homes plus financial incentives for their customers. Dennis said that approximately $11.5 million in incentives were provided by the utilities in 2003, alone. These helped offset the added construction costs of energy-efficient building practices.
Because California has some of the most rigorous energy efficiency requirements in the country, homes achieving Energy Star certification must be 45 percent more energy-efficient than the National Model Energy Code, Dennis said. Other states have a 30 percent criteria requirement.
Even so, a record 32,000 new homes conforming to the Energy Star guidelines were issued building permits in the state last year because of the utility companies' campaigns.
"The massive statewide effort by California's investor-owned utilities exemplified the best in national, regional and local teamwork," said Kathleen Hogan, director of EPA's Climate Protection Partnerships Division. "California is fortunate to have this strong coalition of utilities delivering Energy Star information and resources to consumers."
When complete, the electricity savings of the state's 2003 Energy Star homes will equal approximately 1,100 megawatt ours, the output of one large power plant, according to Dennis.
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