EPA seeks energy-efficient homes

For some new homeowners in Las Vegas, when they turn on the lights or crank up the air conditioner, their energy-efficient houses will save money for them.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its Energy Star program in Las Vegas today for making homes use energy efficiently and reduce air pollution in the bargain.

About a dozen developers in Southern Nevada design new homes to meet stricter federal energy efficiency standards, EPA Energy Star Home Manager Sam Rashkin said.

With 22,000 new homes expected to be built in Las Vegas this year, this is one of the many metropolitan areas growing rapidly and breaking the clean air rules.

"It's a perfect area for the Energy Star program," Rashkin said.

Southern Nevada breaks the environmental limits set for the air pollutants carbon monoxide and dust. With the average household in Las Vegas spending $1,128 on utility bills every year, homeowners can save energy and help the environment at the same time, Rashkin said.

"How does the homeowner know the home meets EPA standards? Here's the certificate to prove it," Rashkin said, showing the certification that the house passed a test that pressurizes the air inside to see how much leaks out.

Hidden pollution drifts out of drafty, poorly insulated homes all of the time, Rashkin explained. Houses add to gases that warm the atmosphere and cause area power plants to pollute the air with everything from carbon monoxide to particulates in order to keep up with demand to produce electricity.

So far, 1,300 developers nationwide are joining the Energy Star efficiency program.

In Southern Nevada, Pulte Homes is one of the developers that designs energy efficient houses from the roof down, said the developer's spokesman, David Beck, as one of the model homes underwent a pressure test.

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