5/31/05

DOE Offers Free Guide to Building Energy Efficient Homes in the American Southwest Outlines Ways Homes in Hot, Dry Climates Can Reduce Energy Use by 30 Percent

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of the continuing effort to provide consumers guidance on saving money through improving home energy efficiency, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a free guide to the construction of energy-efficient homes specifically in the hot, dry climate of the American Southwest.

"Homes use nearly 21 percent of Americans’ total energy use," said Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. "This useful guide will help American families save money and energy when building new homes in the arid southwest."

The second guide in the Building America Best Practices series, "Volume 2: Hot-Dry, Mixed-Dry" addresses the challenge of maximizing energy efficiency while preserving the comfort of homes in hot-dry and mixed-dry climates. Equipped with this guide, builders and home owners will be able to build high-quality, energy-efficient homes that can save 30 percent in space conditioning and water heating each year in hot-dry and mixed-dry climates.

DOE’s regional building guides offer tips to families and contractors on how to build energy-saving homes in different climates across the country. DOE’s Building America program conducts and sponsors research and development in building technologies aimed at improving the comfort and efficiency of American homes, while reducing their need for electricity.

Volume 1 of the Best Practices series, focusing on hot-humid construction, was published earlier this year. Upcoming releases in this series will include Volume 3: Cold-Severe Cold, available June 22; Volume 4: Mixed Humid, available July 29; and Marine, available in early 2006. For more details and to download these guides, please visit the Building America website at http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/.

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