Centex offers energy-efficient homes in Minneapolis

Centex has announced that its Centex Energy Advantage homes are under construction across the Minneapolis metro area. The scheduled 63 new homes should avoid thousands of tons of carbon emissions, preventing more than 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in just the first year of occupancy.

Centex Energy Advantage is available in 10 neighborhoods around the Minneapolis metropolitan area. The first is a single-family home in Carver's Spring Creek neighborhood southwest of Minneapolis, which is scheduled for delivery in May.

According to a study commissioned with the NAHB Research Center, Centex Energy Advantage homes are up to 40 percent more efficient than a typical 10-year-old home.

"In today's economic conditions, our customers are just as concerned about the cost of living in a house as the cost of buying it," said Marv McDaris, division president for Centex Homes in Minnesota. "These standard energy-efficiency features put more control over energy costs in their hands from the minute they move in. Avoiding surprises in the monthly utility bill is good for our customers -- avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions is good for the whole community."

Features of the Centex Energy Advantage homes include:

• Energy monitor: real-time information about electricity usage and expense that can result in a 4% to 15% reduction in electricity use;

• Whirlpool brand Energy Star-qualified appliances;

• Lennox high-efficiency HVAC system;

• Programmable thermostat(s);

• Low-emissivity windows;

• R-49 insulation in the attic;

• Compact fluorescent lights in high-traffic areas; and

• Information for maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing the impact of home operation on the environment.