Centex Homes, Del Webb Communities and Pulte Homes Commits to Having Homes Energy Rated and Marketing the Homes HERS Index
RESNET and the PulteGroup have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together in promoting improved home energy performance and home energy ratings of new homes.
The intent of the MOU is to raise consumers knowledge of new home energy performance by using RESNET's HERS Index scale. This will clearly differentiate homes built by Centex, Del Webb Communities and Pulte Homes and put competitive pressure on the new home industry to follow suit. It is expected that this agreement will serve as a model to other large production builders that would have positive outcomes for consumers, RESNET and the new home industry.
With the agreement the PulteGroup companies commits to having their homes it builds energy rated by RESNET certified Home Energy Raters and it will provide a label on every new home built that contains the HERS Index score of the home and advertise the home's index rating. The PulteGroup's label is a modification of the RESNET HERS Index.
"Providing clear, visible energy ratings for homes makes sense for today's energy-conscious consumers who want to save on their utility bills and reduce their carbon footprint," said Steve Baden, executive director, RESNET. "Marketing the energy efficiency of homes is a winning proposition for homebuyers, builders and the environment. Innovative homebuilders like PulteGroup are issuing a call-to-action to the industry."
"We know energy performance matters to today's homebuyers. The RESNET HERS Index enables buyers to understand how they can start to lower their monthly utility bills," said Jim Petersen, director for research and development at PulteGroup, Inc. "We find that consumers increasingly are scrutinizing energy savings, but it can be difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons. A tool like this that measures home energy efficiency in a consistent way can help homebuyers make more knowledgeable choices about their purchase."
PulteGroup, Inc. based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., is among America's largest homebuilding company with operations in 68 markets, 29 states and the District of Columbia. The Company has a brand portfolio that includes Pulte Homes, Centex Homes and Del Webb. As the most awarded homebuilder in customer satisfaction, the brands of PulteGroup have consistently ranked among the nation's top homebuilders as surveyed by third-party, independent national customer satisfaction studies.