ARC News and Events

NOT ALL HOMES ARE CREATED EQUAL. SOME EARN THE ENERGY STAR®.

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:26:00 GMT

OUR ENERGY GOES INTO SAVING YOURS

NOT ALL HOMES ARE CREATED EQUAL. SOME EARN THE ENERGY STAR®

With growing concerns about rising energy costs, new homes that earn the ENERGY STAR offer home buyers lower utility and reduced maintenance costs, while providing improved comfort and greater durability.

If you are in the market for a new home and are interested in: quality construction, affordability, home performance, return on investment, and environmental protection, then it is time to learn more about ENERGY STAR® qualified homes and how ARC can help you.

With ENERGY STAR, you will make the right decision, for your wallet, for your family, and for the environment. And, ARC’s customers who have built these homes certainly agree!

"No hype, no bull! You be the judge--a 3600 square foot house with two kitchens, two HVAC units and two living areas--and an electric bill less than $100 per month!"

- ARC Customer and Energy Star Homeowner

Learn more about the benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes:

Peace of mind
As you already know, or will soon find out, the process of purchasing a home is complex enough without trying to figure out all the details of energy-efficient construction. Instead, you can simply look for the government-backed ENERGY STAR label to identify homes that are truly energy efficient. Find the house of your dreams and enjoy the peace of mind knowing it has been third party verified by a certified home energy rater to meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

LOWER OWNERSHIP COST
Compared with standard construction, ENERGY STAR qualified homes use substantially less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating—delivering an average of $400 in annual savings. More importantly, monthly energy savings can easily exceed any additional mortgage cost for the energy efficiency improvements, resulting in a positive cash-flow from the first day of home ownership. Homeowners may also benefit from additional savings on maintenance and energy efficient mortgages offered for ENERGY STAR homes.

BETTER PERFORMANCE
Properly installed energy-efficient improvements deliver better protection for you and your family against cold, heat, drafts, moisture, pests, pollution, noise, and rising energy prices. An energy-efficient home ensures more consistent temperatures between and across rooms, improved indoor air quality, and greater durability. And, the home is tested and inspected by a third party HERS rater to be sure of this!

SMARTER INVESTMENT
As you may know, green construction is continuing to grow. It is becoming more of a standard as opposed to being something that is unique, and home builders as well as home buyers are becoming more interested in green construction. More than 8,500 home builders have partnered with EPA to construct more than 1 million ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The trend is clear. By choosing a home with the ENERGY STAR label, you can be confident that it will be a smart investment when the time comes to sell.

Realtor study: for every $1 saved in energy costs à $20 in resale value.

$400 saved annually = $8,000 benefit

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Greater energy efficiency helps us all make the most of our energy resources, mitigates the impact of high energy prices, decreases the need for new power plants, lowers our reliance on energy imports, and reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants at the source. Because ENERGY STAR qualified homes use less energy, they help prevent greenhouse gas emissions—an added benefit for today’s environmentally-conscious consumers looking for “green” choices.

Learn more about ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes at http://www.energystar.gov/.

NOT ALL HOMES ARE CREATED EQUAL. SOME EARN THE ENERGY STAR®.

Thu, 10 May 2012 15:26:00 GMT

OUR ENERGY GOES INTO SAVING YOURS

NOT ALL HOMES ARE CREATED EQUAL. SOME EARN THE ENERGY STAR®

With ENERGY STAR, you will make the right decision, for your wallet, for your family, and for the environment. And, ARC’s customers who have built these homes certainly agree!

"No hype, no bull! You be the judge--a 3600 square foot house with two kitchens, two HVAC units and two living areas--and an electric bill less than $100 per month!"

- ARC Customer and Energy Star Homeowner

Learn more about the benefits of ENERGY STAR qualified homes:

Realtor study: for every $1 saved in energy costs à $20 in resale value.

$400 saved annually = $8,000 benefit

Learn more about ENERGY STAR Qualified New Homes at http://www.energystar.gov/.

Earth Hour event - Winning numbers for a free Home Energy Audit

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:56:00 GMT

Thanks to everyone who came out to the farm Saturday to support Montgomery’s first Earth Hour celebration and another big thanks to all of the sponsors who helped make our event a success!

Over 300 people turned out for the lights out celebration, participating in the world’s largest action for the environment We are looking forward to Montgomery’s 2nd annual Earth Hour celebration in 2013!

The winners of a comprehensive home energy audit provided by ARC Energy Consulting as part of our effort to go beyond the hour, increasing energy efficiency in our community, are…

Earth Hour flyer numbers: 143, 67, 8

Please call 334.386.0365 or email anna@mygreenlogic.com to claim you prize!

Earth Hour 2012

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:44:00 GMT

On Saturday 31 March 2012 at 8:30pm, ARC Energy Consulting, the Hampstead Institute, and our employees will join hundreds of millions of people across the globe for in switching off the lights of our businesses and our homes for one hour – Earth Hour, the world’s largest public environmental action. By taking part in the 60+ Earth Hour event we will be acknowledging our commitment to personal and operational actions that benefit the planet in the year ahead.

ARC Energy Consulting and the Hampstead Institute will host a “lights out” event in celebration of Earth Hour from 7 to 10pm. The event will take place at the Hampstead Institute Downtown Farm, located at 425 Molton Street, over looking the river. At 8:30pm we will watch the lights go out as our community participates in Earth Hour, and we would like to invite you to join us in what promises to be an amazing and inspiring celebration of our collective commitment to the planet.

Earth Hour began as a single-city initiative – in Sydney, Australia – in 2007 and has since grown into a global movement with hundreds of millions of people across every continent switching off their lights for Earth Hour 2011, creating history as the world’s greatest ever environmental action. Some of the world’s most famous global icons, including the Eiffel Tower, Great Pyramids of Egypt, Buckingham Palace, Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and many more stood in darkness as a powerful symbol of landmark environmental action.

We hope you will join us and encourage you and your employees to switch off your lights for Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday 31 March 2012.

Lights out, entertainment on!

Again, please join us in turning off your lights on March 31, 2012 from 8:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Anna Bern is available at anna@mygreenlogic.com or 334.386.0365 to answer any questions.

Please take a moment to watch the Earth Hour 2012 official video at www.youtube.com/earthhour.

ARC Partners with Goodwyn Building Company

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:31:00 GMT

ARC Partners with Goodwyn Building Company

To ensure that a new home is truly energy efficient, many contractors are employing certified HERS Raters to assist with both energy efficient designs and with green building programs such as ENERGY STAR® for homes. A certified Home Energy Rater is trained in energy saving techniques used to assist the builder in achieving a home’s certification or rating. This certification or rating verifies that the design and construction of the home is truly energy efficient.

ARC's staff includes certified HERS raters and third party verifiers for several nationally recognized programs such as ENERGY STAR. We conduct onsite inspections and diagnostic testing of new homes aiming to either meet a program’s rigorous guidelines or receive a home energy performance measurement. ARC has been working with Goodwyn builders as they invest in quality design and energy efficiency improvements.

We recently provided an energy performance measurement to one of Goodwyn’s Cotton Lake’s homes using RESNET’s HERS Index. The HERS Index is the industry standard to which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. This home, which recently sold, was given a 5 star HERS rating, and indicated an estimated annual savings of $700.

To calculate this measurement, ARC completed several comprehensive tests, including: a blower door test to measure air leakage in the house, a duct blaster test to measure duct leakage, and a comprehensive series of inspections to assure proper construction details which demonstrate that the home is tightly sealed.

We are proud of our ongoing partnership with Goodwyn Building who shares our value for creating high performance structures. We are working together as Goodwyn is taking a lead in the home building industry, an industry that is moving toward a higher standard of energy efficiency. Goodwyn’s energy efficient new construction provides the consumer with a home that is more comfortable, durable, healthy, and, of course, more cost effective to maintain.

ARC and Goodwyn are currently in the beginning stages of their work on a new ENERGY STAR home. We hope to maintain this partnership as the building industry continues to recognize that homes with increased energy performance are the future standard of living. At ARC, our goal is to ensure your home is built better and built to last.