One of the recently built Gwinnett Habitat for Humanity houses is now ENERGY STAR® certified, thanks to the cooperative spirit at work. Jackson EMC partnered with Gwinnett Habitat and vendors of high-quality energy-efficient technologies to give a family of five the opportunity to live in a comfortable, energy-efficient home. Cooperative employees volunteered during demolition day, spending the day tearing out sheetrock, insulation and shingles to prep the home for its energy efficient retrofit.

“We wanted the family’s hard-earned dollars to go toward the important things like caring for their family and furnishing their home, and wasting energy dollars shouldn’t be part of that equation,” says Amy Bryan, Jackson EMC Residential Marketing Director. In addition to energy savings, the Habitat home will meet the handicapped needs of two of the family’s children.

Jackson EMC partnered with Gwinnett Technical College and R.E. Michel Company, Inc., to install a geothermal heat pump. Ground-source heat pumps are considered to be one of the more energy efficient heating, cooling and water-heating systems, according to the Department of Energy. Geothermal heat pumps are similar to regular heat pumps, but rely on the more constant temperatures of the earth in their exchange systems rather than on outside air temperatures to provide heating, air conditioning and water heating.

The first Habitat home in the state to receive a geothermal or ground source heat pump, the home is also Right Choice™ certified, qualifying the family for Jackson EMC’s lowest residential electric rate, the Energy Advantage rate. Bryan says the team worked on every aspect of the home’s energy needs to ensure the family would be comfortable for years to come.

To earn the ENERGY STAR® qualification, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the Environmental Protection Agency. ENERGY STAR® homes are at least 15 percent more efficient than homes built to local code and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20-30 percent more efficient than standard homes.

“Jackson EMC’s Right Choice new home program has been ENERGY STAR®-qualified for more than two years now, and it has been an outstanding partnership,” says Bryan.

“The ENERGY STAR® brand assures our members that their home will be comfortable and provide them with energy savings for the life of the home.” Jackson EMC’s ENERGY STAR® program uses home performance testing to create energy efficient homes that guarantee higher levels of comfort and lower energy costs.

Jackson EMC is also providing product and service support to two more Habitat homes to ensure they receive the ENERGY STAR® qualification, the Habitat High and Women’s Build projects in Hall County Habitat High is a joint venture between the Hall County School System, Habitat for Humanity of Hall County, and the Gainesville-Hall County Home Builders Association designed to give Hall County construction students homebuilding job experience. The Women Build program, in which most of the volunteers on a particular house are women, helps women develop building skills.

“Our commitment to Habitat for Humanity allows us to use our extensive contractor network and experience to ensure these homes are built to high energy efficiency and performance standards,” says Bryan.

To view our employee voluteers at work on this Habitat project, please see our YouTube(R) video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqtX-SCERDk.