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DS News Jan 2023

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11 SHARE OF ENERGY- EFFICIENT HOMES RISING NATIONWIDE Homeowners and homebuyers alike are beginning to understand and appreciate the value an energy-efficient home provides in terms of savings on heating and cooling, as analysis from Porch looks into exactly where in the country such homes are being built. Key Findings • ere are over 2.4 million homes and apartments certified with the Energy Star label in the United States • Over 120,000 such homes were built in 2022, 9% of the total number of new hous- ing units built, up from 7% in 2021 • Arizona leads the way in energy-efficient construction with some 42% of all newly built homes earning the Energy Star certification • Among metros, Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan, has the highest percentage of green homes (39% of all new housing units built) • In five states (Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin) the share of housing units certified as energy efficient is under 1% • Seattle, Chicago, and Cape Coral, Florida, had the lowest share of energy-efficient new homes (all under 1%) One way to measure this efficiency is to look at the government's Energy Star certifica- tion for housing. According to EnergyStar.gov, homes that receive this certificate are built with high-quality insulation and HVAC systems, have minimal drafts and pollution, and deliver durability, comfort, and even resale value. With that in mind, Porch looked at eco-conscious home building in the U.S., see how it changed in recent years, and identify which states and metropolitan areas are leading the way in building green homes. Gradual Growth: Share of Energy-Effi- cient Homes Is Rising Slowly Over 124,000 homes built in 2022 received the Energy Star label as being outstanding in terms of energy efficiency, just 1% more than were built and achieved certification the year before. at said, these efficiency-optimized homes now account for a larger share of all new homes built in the United States. Almost one in 10 (9%) new homes built in 2022 got the Energy Star certification, compared to 7% in 2021. Raising e Bar, Arizona: Grand Canyon State Leads in Green Construction One state that stands out in terms of how many of its newly built homes are certified as energy-efficient is Arizona. Here, 42% of newly built homes in 2022 got an Energy Star label—a percentage far higher than in any other state. Maryland is in second place, where roughly a third (34%) of housing units built this year received the efficiency distinction. New Hampshire (20%) and Nevada (19%) are two other states where about one in five new homes is energy conscious. While some states appear to be prioritizing energy efficiency in their residential construc- tion, others appear to be trailing behind. In five states, the share of newly built residential units in 2022 that received an Energy Star label is below 1%. ese states are Maine (0.9%), and the four Midwestern states of Iowa (0.9%), Kansas (0.8%), Nebraska (0.5%), and Wisconsin (0.2%). Michigan Metro Tops Green Home Construction Ranking Looking at metropolitan areas in the United States, a handful of them have the share of newly built homes that were certified as energy-efficient is approaching 40% in 2022. Kalamazoo-Portage, Michigan, tops the ranking with 39% of new homes built in 2022 getting an Energy Star label. Echoing the state-level findings, Baltimore-Columbia-Tow- son, Maryland, is in second place in the metro rankings, with 37% of its new housing stock recognized for energy efficiency. Two of Arizona's largest metros—Tucson, Arizona (35%) and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona (34%)—aren't too far off the top in terms of building energy efficiency in 2022. By contrast, there are some metropolitan areas where the construction of energy-effi- cient homes isn't registering very high in the overall number of housing units built. e percentage of homes built in 2022 receiving an Energy Star label for efficiency is the lowest in Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida (0.4%). In metro areas of Seattle-Tacoma-Bel- levue, Washington (0.8%), and Chicago-Na- perville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin (0.9%), that share is just under 1%. Curiously enough, four of the six metros with the lowest percentage of energy-efficient homes in new construction are in Florida. Besides Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, they are North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida; Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida; and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida (all ≈1.6%). Journal

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