More Home Owners Seeking Energy-Efficiency Upgrades

As home owners grapple with skyrocketing energy costs, more of them are turning to remodelers for money-saving solutions, according to a recent NAHB quarterly Remodeling Market Index (RMI).

“It’s no surprise with rising energy prices and other costs draining the piggy bank that home owners want to maximize home performance with green remodeling options,” said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Lonny Rutherford, CGR, CAPS, CGP, president of Legacy Construction, Inc. in Farmington, N.M.

According to the RMI, 33% of the remodelers surveyed said that they are increasingly called on to improve the energy efficiency of their client’s homes.

The RMI measures remodeler perceptions of market demand for current and future residential remodeling projects.

The growing home owner interest in green remodeling comes just as NAHB prepares for the upcoming National Green Building Standard, which includes the only consensus rating system for remodeling. The standard provides a roadmap for green remodeling and assures consumers that remodelers know how to plan and complete authentically green remodels.

According to the survey, remodelers have installed a number of efficiency-enhancing products in recent months, including:

• Windows — 73% of surveyed remodelers installed more energy-efficient windows that are insulated to prevent outdoor heat exchange.
  
  
• Insulation — 65% made upgrades such as insulation replacement and spraying foam or fiber insulation into enclosed walls and roof cavities, while 27% insulated foundations and 52% installed insulated exterior doors.
  
  
• High-efficiency HVAC systems — 56% of surveyed remodelers installed them.
  
  
• High-efficiency kitchen appliances ― 47% installed them.
  
  
• Water-saving faucets and fixtures ― 46% installed them.

“Newer technologies are also quickly gaining in popularity,” said Rutherford. “Thirty-five percent of remodelers reported installing tankless water heaters, which can save on energy costs by heating water on demand instead of continuously eating energy.”

For more information, e-mail Kelly Mack, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8451.