Benefits of Buying a Power Smart New Home in 2011

By Kari Kylo, BC Hydro Power Smart

If you are like most new homebuyers, you are hoping to move into an affordable, comfortable and healthy home. New Homes that receive a Power Smart gold label meet all three of these criteria, plus they are more environmentally friendly than standard homes.

By maximizing energy efficiency, Power Smart New Homes can save homeowners money on energy costs year after year; making them more affordable. These savings result from extra insulation, air sealing, better heating methods and improved efficiency of water, appliance, and lighting systems.

A comfortable home is a happy home. ENERGY STAR® labelled windows as well as increased levels of air tightness and insulation in attics, walls and basements of Power Smart New Homes reduce heat loss and drafts; keeping the heat in during the winter and out during the summer. You’ll also find that most Power Smart New Homes feature modern and efficient lighting designs that include ENERGY STAR® labelled lights such as compact fluorescents (CFLs). CFLs last almost eight times longer and use about ¼ of the energy of standard incandescent bulbs.

Mould, air pollutants and smells may not only affect your comfort in your home, but also your wellbeing. With reduced air leakage in energy efficient homes, it’s important to ensure that your new home has an efficient ventilation system for your comfort and health. Most Power Smart New Homes incorporate a highly efficient ventilation system (such as a heat recovery ventilator or an ENERGY STAR® labelled bathroom fan) to help circulate fresh air throughout the home and regulate moisture levels and air quality. A heat recovery ventilator (HRV) is a highly efficient way to ventilate your home year round that works by warming incoming air with the heat contained in outgoing stale air.

A Power Smart New Home also leaves a smaller environmental footprint compared to a standard home by producing less green house gases and using less water. The appliances in a Power Smart New Home are typically ENERGY STAR® labeled including refrigerators, dishwashers and clothes washers. ENERGY STAR® dishwashers and clothes washers not only use over 25 per cent less energy than the minimum federal standard, but also use less water. In addition, other common features of Power Smart New Homes like programmable thermostats, variable speed furnace motors, highly efficient furnaces, and heat pumps reduce the amount of carbon dioxide the home produces through burning fossil fuels.

Buying an energy efficient home reduces operating costs, provides a more comfortable and healthy place to live, and is overall better for the environment.

To view a Power Smart New Home, visit some of these feature developments:

• Green: 7488 Byrnepark Walk, Burnaby, 604.439.8858
• Salus: 6628 120 St., Surrey, 604.507.0065
• Pathways: Display Centre, #110 – 5779 Birney Ave., Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver 604.221.8878
• Springfield Village: 8676 158 St., Surrey, 604.780.8946
• Red Boat at Port Royal: Presentation Centre, 260 Holly Ave., New Westminster, 604.520.9890
• Copperstone Ridge: 22206 124 Ave., Maple Ridge, 604.466.4555

For more information on current Power Smart Gold Home developments, the Energuide Rating Service and other BC Hydro Power Smart residential programs such as the Fridge Buy-Back program, discounts on ENERGY STAR® light fixtures and CFLs and mail-in rebates, visit www.bchydro.com/powersmart.