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Home Design & Remodeling

An ultra-efficient home can be designed and built to produce as much energy as it uses -- or even more!

Passive solar design takes advantage of a building’s site, climate, and materials to minimize energy use.

A whole-house systems approach considers the house as an energy system with interdependent parts, each of which affects the performance of the entire system. This approach helps homeowners, architects, and builders develop successful strategies for optimizing home energy efficiency.

Energy-Efficient Home Design
The Home Energy Score is a national rating system developed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Score reflects the energy efficiency of a home based on the home's structure and heating, cooling, and hot water systems. The Home Facts provide details about the current structure and systems. Recommendations show how to improve the energy efficiency of the home to achieve a higher score and save money.

Before you design a new home or remodel an existing one, consider investing in energy efficiency.

Advanced House Framing
Two-story home using advanced framing techniques.

Advanced house framing, sometimes called optimum value engineering (OVE), refers to framing techniques designed to reduce the amount of lumber used and waste generated in the construction of a wood-framed house.

Energy-Efficient Manufactured Homes
There are many opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of manufactured homes. | Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/Marje

Like site-built homes, new manufactured homes (formerly known as mobile homes) can be designed for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Sunrooms and Sunspaces
This attractive sunspace can be isolated from the rest of the house by closing doors in the wall between the house and the sunspace. | Photo courtesy of www.danieloconnorphoto.com.

Sunspaces serve three main functions -- they are a source of auxiliary heat, they provide space to grow plants, and they are pleasant living areas.

Financing Energy-Efficient Homes
Home Design & Remodeling

You can benefit from energy-efficient financing whether you're buying, selling, refinancing, or remodeling a home. If you're shopping for an energy-efficient home, an energy-efficient mortgage (EEM) can help you qualify for a more expensive home.