ENERGY STAR® Homes Program

Are you building a new home or undergoing a complete gut-rehab of an existing home (rehab down to the studs, including: new insulation, windows, and heating/cooling system)? Why not build your home to ENERGY STAR standards. ENERGY STAR Homes save money on utility bills, provide a more comfortable living environment with better indoor air quality, and help protect the environment.

Developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ENERGY STAR Homes Program is a nationwide effort to make new homes more energy efficient. As a New Hampshire sponsor of the ENERGY STAR Homes Program, PSNH can show you how to build and certify your new home to ENERGY STAR specifications.

Homes that earn the ENERGY STAR label are independently verified to meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency and through PSNH's ENERGY STAR Homes Program are compared, using a software program, to a reference home using your home's design dimensions and characteristics but built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC) which is similar to New Hampshire's Residential Building Code which is currently the IECC 2006 (and is the least energy efficient home that you can build by law in NH).

PSNH offers two tracts of the ENERGY STAR Homes Program. In both cases a Nationally Certified Home Energy Rater (HERS Rater) is used to provide: design assistance, efficiency recommendations, testing and certification for your home. They act in a consultive manner to help ensure that your new home meets the required Program guidelines. In either Program track your new ENERGY STAR rated home will be substantially more efficient than a standard home built to code.

Additionally, PSNH offers financial incentives to help offset the costs of building your new home to higher performance standards. Typically, the incentives go to the "decision maker" for the project, the person making the decision to and paying for building to a higher performance standard - in some cases the builder and in others the homeowner. The two tracts are summarized below:

ENERGY STAR Homes Program - Traditional Track

ENERGY STAR Homes Program - Geothermal Track

Geothermal heat pumps differ from outside air heat pumps in that they take advantage of the relatively stable earth temperature, making them ideal for heating and cooling New England homes. Because its benefits are believed to make such an impact, PSNH offers higher incentives for the installation of geothermal heat pumps in new home construction. In this tract the homeowner or builder pays for the HERS Rater services, however, incentives up to $7,500 are available. Homes participating through the Geothermal Program are at least 35% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 IRC. Be sure to check out our HEATSMART Program too!

For more information click on the following links or contact one of our customer service representatives at: 800-662-7764.

• ENERGY STAR Homes Program Info
• ENERGY STAR Homes Project Enrollment Form
• ENERGY STAR Homes with Geothermal Q&A