This week, we are highlighting some of the components that help make our homes Energy Star v3 certified. By understanding these elements, we feel that you can be a more educated home buyer or home owner.

One of the products we use that helps make your Fulton Home an Energy Star v3 Certified Home are vinyl low-e windows.

Here are the highlights about what you should know about vinyl low-e windows:

• High-performance Vinyl Windows (minimum of .35 & .25) – reduces UV rays from entering home
• Vinyl frames are low maintenance and provide good thermal insulation. (Sections may be hollow or filled with foam insulation. Wide vinyl sills may be reinforced with metal or wood.)
• Windows and skylights protect you from the elements just like a winter coat. But like a winter coat, you want the windows and skylights that make the most sense for your climate.
• While some windows and skylights are better at keeping you warm, others excel at keeping you cool.
• Performance criteria for windows and skylights are based on these climate zones and ratings certified by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC).
• With low-e glass, special coatings reflect infrared light, keeping heat inside in the winter and outside in summer.
• The also reflect damaging unltra-violet light , which helps protect interior furnishings from fading.

We hope this helps you feel more comfortable and familiar with the Energy Star system and low-e windows!

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An Energy Star Certified Home uses the latest building practices and technologies to ensure that your new home is energy efficient and comfortable. Fulton Homes Energy Star v3 Certified Homes include products like the Carrier Comfort Series Central Air Conditioner.

What can this product do for you? It can cut your central air conditioning utility bills (with up to a 17 SEER efficiency rating). It runs as quietly as a dishwasher (as low as 72dB). And it resists the elements to run reliably for years with Carrier’s WeatherArmor™ louvered coil guard.

Sit back, relax and enjoy your Fulton Energy Star V3 qualified home with products like the Carrier Comfort Series Central Air Conditioner!

Stay tuned for more product reviews.

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This week, we’d like to focus on some of the components that help make our homes Energy Star v3 certified. By understanding these elements, you can be a more educated home buyer or home owner.

One of the products we use that helps make your Fulton Home an Energy Star v3 Certified Home is Lousiana Pacific Tech Shield Radiant Barrier.

It might not sound fun and glamorous, but this innovative product helps block radiant heat in the roof from entering the attic. What does this do for you? It helps keep the attic cooler, lowering energy costs and making the home more comfortable. That sounds better, right? LP TechShield is the only radiant barrier sheathing that features patented VaporVents™ technology, which allows it to dry more quickly from construction moisture than other radiant barriers.

LP TechShield offers a variety of homeowner benefits: potentially reduces tonnage of the HVAC system, cuts monthly air conditioning bills up to 17%, and may qualify for utility rebates.

As a bonus: Several other factors make LP TechShield Radiant Barrier an environmentally friendly building material. Their manufacturing process uses wood certified underSustainable Forestry Initiative^® standards. That wood comes from small, fast growing trees, and the entire log is used. This means less waste and more efficient use of resources. Plus, LP TechShield Radiant Barrier contains no urea-formaldehyde, and they use only low-emitting, safe resins as a binder.

The bottom line is, it’s one of the many elements we use that makes your home more efficient and better for the environment!

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Arizona’s Largest Privately Owned Homebuilder Built 16.8 % of all Energy Star Qualified New Homes in Phoenix During the Past Year

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced its Energy Star rankings for homebuilders in the Phoenix metropolitan market and Fulton Homes ranked second highest on the list. From July 2009 to June 2010, Fulton Homes closed 544 Energy Star Qualified homes, 16.8% of all Energy Star homes in the Valley of the Sun. Only the combined companies of Pulte, Del Webb and Centex built more.

To earn the Energy Star qualification, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the EPA, making them 20 to 30% more energy efficient than standard homes. Homes achieve this level of performance through a combination of energy-efficient improvement, including efficient insulation systems, high-performance windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment, and Energy Star Qualified lighting and appliances. To ensure that a home meets Energy Star guidelines, third-party verification by a certified Home Energy Rater (or equivalent) is required. This energy specialist works closely with builders like Fulton Homes throughout the construction process to help determine the needed energy-saving equipment and required construction techniques. They also conduct on-site diagnostic testing and inspections to document that the home is eligible to earn the Energy Star label.

“We’re proud of this designation; helping our community save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and technologies, while incorporating the latest building practices” remarked Dennis Webb, Vice President of Operations for Fulton Homes. “Our customers want more energy efficient homes and through our contemporary designs and work with our trade partners, we’ve designed homes that meet the strict criteria of the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy. All of the homes in our new communities are 100% Energy Star Qualified homes. ”

In addition to helping consumers save money on heating and cooling costs, according to the EPA, Energy Star Qualified homes built nationally in 2009 are the equivalent of:

• Eliminating emissions from 52,132 vehicles
• Saving 315,345,888 pounds of coal
• Planting 86,178 acres of trees
• Saving the environment 618,456,696 pounds of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)