GE announces new ecomaginationSM Homebuilder Program

A blueprint for building green homes

Today in Los Angeles, GE and Masco Contractor Services' (MCS) Environments for Living® division celebrated the announcement of the ecomagination Homebuilder Program. This new program helps residential developers and builders design homes that are not only comfortable, but that are more efficient in their energy consumption and indoor water consumption than industry–accepted average new homes.

In the last two years, natural gas costs have risen 42 percent and electricity costs have risen 17 percent, according to a report in Energy Source, March 2007. The same report noted that 86 percent of recent homebuyers said they would choose an energy–efficient home over one that was not energy–efficient.

Versus industry–accepted average new homes, a home built to GE ecomagination Homebuilder Program specifications is designed to achieve:

• at least 20% household energy savings
• at least 20% savings on household indoor water consumption
• at least 20% fewer household emissions of CO2, SO2, and Nox 

Energy–Efficient Components
Top reasons why homebuyers who want to live in a high–performance, energy–efficient home will choose homes built to GE ecomagination Homebuilder Program specifications include:

• New GE SmartCommand™ Dashboard: this interactive wall panel provides current and historical feedback on electricity and water consumption.
  
  
• GE® and GE Profile™ ENERGY STAR® appliances: pair innovative energy efficiency with groundbreaking features and cutting–edge design. Among the appliance choices are the GE Profile SmartDispense™ dishwasher, the GE Profile Frontload laundry pair, and GE or GE Profile refrigerators.
  
  
• GE advanced lighting package: includes indoor and outdoor lighting. At least 50% of the standard socket lamps in the home will use GE Energy Smart™ lamps with compact fluorescent technology. GE CFLs consume up to 75% less electricity than standard incandescent lighting.
  
  
• GE Brilliance™ Solar Electric Power Systems (optional): if the home is equipped with solar power, this system is designed to produce power year after year and typically meets 20–30% of a home's electricity needs and works in conjunction with the local utility to provide complete service.
  
  
• GE Mortgage (optional): builders of these homes will have the option to recommend to qualifying homebuyers a mortgage offered by GE Money with financial incentives.
  
  
• The Environments for Living Certified Green program standards: apply to heating, ventilation, air–conditioning, ductwork and the outer shell or "building envelope" that surrounds a home's living quarters. This "envelope" includes tight construction, fresh air ventilation, improved insulation, efficient HVAC equipment, humidity control, pressure balancing and combustion safety.

Comfort and Energy Limited Guarantees Homes built to ecomagination Homebuilder Program specifications will be built with an Environments for Living Certified Green classification. This standard employs advanced building science techniques in order to deliver both comfort and energy efficiency. Environments for Living offers a guarantee to the original homeowner that there will be no more than a three degree temperature differential from the center of any conditioned room within each thermostat zone.

Just this month, GE signed the first of several anticipated agreements with RWO Acquisitions to build the nation's first community built under the GE ecomagination Homebuilder Program in Myrtle Beach, SC. The 900–acre residential community is being developed by RWO in harmony with the master–planned redevelopment program under the direction of the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority (MBAFRA). This impressive public/private project includes a 3,970–acre parcel of land with $30 million of new infrastructure including 29 acres of lakes, over 200 acres of new community parks and four miles of new roads.

For more information about the ecomagination Homebuilder Program, please visit: http://www.geappliances.com/energy_efficient_home.