Beazer Homes debuts green model home in Indianapolis

Beazer Homes debuts green model home in Indianapolis
Tags: Building Green, Heating & Cooling, Sustainable Communities
August 31, 2010

Beazer Homes has unveiled its new eSMART Green showcase home at South Avalon Estates in Indiana. The high-performance, energy-efficient green homes utilize innovative construction methods, advanced air sealing techniques and an array of energy-saving features to make the home 44 percent more energy efficient than comparably sized houses built 10-15 years ago.

"Our eSMART Green homes are designed to maximize savings while minimizing the overall environmental impact of building and maintaining a home," Bruce Craig, president of Beazer's Indianapolis new homes division, said in a press release. "We've built in greater efficiency from the ground up, and the result is significantly lower energy bills for our homeowners."

Beazer's eSMART Green homes also incorporate features that help conserve water usage and provide for healthier indoor air quality. In developing the eSMART Green series, Beazer's design team took a whole-house systems approach to ensure all of the multiple components work together for optimal performance. Specifications were developed following extensive collaboration with energy experts, building scientists and a partnership as principal investor in Imagine Homes, a two-time National Association of Home Builders' award-winning green residential builder based in San Antonio, Texas.

The eSMART Green home combines R49 blown-in cellulose insulation in the attic, R19 on exterior walls and high-efficiency low-e windows with additional sealing around exterior penetration points to create a highly efficient air barrier between the indoor and outdoor environment. Additionally, the high-efficiency furnace and all of the home's ducting for the 16 SEER HVAC is located in conditioned space, which greatly improves the operating efficiency of the system.

"Roughly half of a home's energy usage goes to heating and cooling. By placing the entire HVAC system in conditioned space, we're able to gain much greater operating efficiency. Less energy is wasted, which drastically cuts heating and cooling costs," said Craig. "And, the temperature inside our homes is more consistent and comfortable throughout."

Additional energy-saving features incorporated into the eSMART Green model home include Energy Star appliances, a tankless water heater, programmable thermostats, compact fluorescent light bulbs and a home energy monitor.