For Immediate Release: Thursday, January 5, 2012

Contact: Brenda Callaghan, Executive Director or Chris Tsonton, HBA President
Phone: 216-447-8700
Email: bcallaghan@hbacleveland.com

Northeast Ohio, This year’s 3rd Annual Green Home Tour presented by the Home Builders Association of Greater Cleveland provides a glimpse into just how luxurious an energy efficient home can be. The Tour allows homeowners to see firsthand homes that demonstrate energy efficiency; sustainability practices; green interior design; and construction using environmentally friendly materials.

Some of the homes along the tour have locally harvested wood products and locally preserved (recycled/reused) wood products from pre-existing structures. All and all, each home has a unique style and a different series of energy efficient components to the home.

Tim Palmer of Green Street Solutions, a Gold Star accredited home performance company adds, “A few of the efficiency up grades in some of the homes are ICF(insulated concrete forms) foundations, spray foam insulation, cellulose insulation, geo thermal heating systems, high efficiency furnaces/air conditioners, high efficiency water heating systems, high efficiency windows, lighting and much more.

The Green Home Tour will take homeowners from Concord to LaGrange while showcasing six beautiful, green friendly homes depicting a myriad of styles, designs and price ranges.

George Davis, president of ProBuilt Homes is pleased that his model home, The Whitfield located in Concord scored a 50 on the HERS Index – meaning the home is 50% more energy efficient than the HERS reference home. The HERS Index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network, the lower the home’s HERS Index the more energy efficient it is in comparison to the HERS Reference Home. Each 1-point decrease in the HERS Index corresponds to a 1% reduction in energy consumption, thus a home with a HERS Index of 85 is 15% more energy efficient than the HERS Reference Home and a home with a HERS Index of 80 is 20% more energy efficient.

The Green Cottage model home built by Premier Custom Builders is located in Solon and is a single-story home built with insulated concrete form construction. The 2640 square foot home has geothermal heating and cooling that includes geothermal flooring so you’ll never have to worry about cold feet while walking through your home in the winter months. There is eco-friendly materials used throughout the entire home and monthly utility bills are estimated to be about $70 a month.

This is the last weekend of the Tour; the hours are 12 noon to 6 p.m. Admission is FREE. Visit www.hbagreenhometour.com or call the HBA at 216-447-8700 for additional home information and locations.

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