[CoolCommunities] Energy-efficiency standards make sense for new homes

[Diane Brandon]

Ken Zamarchi, a retired Eliot builder sent this along as an FYI. He  
received it from the Maine Home Builders Assoc. email list.
Diane

> From: KZBUILD at aol.com
> Date: February 8, 2008 1:07:10 PM EST
> To: diane.brandon at verizon.net
> Subject: Fwd: PPH: Energy-efficiency standards make sense for new  
> homes

> From: "Robert S. Howe" <howe at maine.com>
> Date: February 7, 2008 12:04:43 PM EST
> To: "List: MHBA" <list.mhba at howeandcompany.com>
> Subject: PPH: Energy-efficiency standards make sense for new homes
>
>
>
> http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story_pf.php?id=167696&ac=PHedi
>   
>
> Energy-efficiency standards make sense for new homes
> More efficient homes would save owners money and protect the  
> environment.
>
>
> February 7, 2008
>
>
> — With heating-oil prices approaching record heights, it's time to  
> do something that should have been done long ago.
>
>
> Maine has no standards for energy efficiency in new construction,  
> leaving decisions about insulation and window type to individual  
> builders.
>
>
> A bill now before the Legislature would create the state's first  
> unified building code, which would include energy-efficiency  
> standards for new homes.
>
>
> Energy-efficient homes save fuel and money. That's good for the  
> home's buyer, but it has a much broader benefit as well. Energy- 
> efficient homes also produce less greenhouse-gas pollution, which  
> are a cause of global warming.
>
>
> Maine is the only state in New England without such standards, and  
> Maine people would benefit from them. As proposed, the bill would  
> create minimum standards for new construction and optional higher  
> standards that would qualify the home for state and federal tax  
> credits.
>
>
> Such standards are already being used by affordable-housing  
> developers, who find that by reducing energy costs, people who  
> could not otherwise qualify for a mortgage can get one.
>
>
> Enforcement has been an impediment in the past. Most Maine towns  
> have no building code and no code- enforcement officer.
>
>
> The bill submitted to the Legislature calls for a system of  
> training and registering private inspectors, who could be hired to  
> approve projects in towns that do not have a code-enforcement officer.
>
>
> As long as the minimum standards are reasonable, they will not put  
> too heavy a burden on builders or home buyers. And if they help  
> people save money on fuel while protecting the environment, these  
> standards would be worthwhile.
>
> Copyright © 2008 Blethen Maine Newspapers
>
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>

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