Greenwood, DE – November 17 2008 – Beracah Homes has received official certification from the Energy Services Group in Wilmington on the first Energy Star Certified home built out of their Greenwood, Delaware plant. The home marks an introduction into an option line that will be available on all Beracah Homes. “Energy Star Certified” increases a home’s operating efficiency through increased construction efforts, and in turn provides significant savings on energy usage & utility bills. As more builders are finding homeowners increasingly interested in energy saving values on newly constructed homes, a true Energy Star Certified home is only legally achieved through certification by a 3rd party inspection and testing agency and will have documentation of its HERS Index Score.

A 2,800 square foot Cape Cod built near Seaford, Delaware and built by Bay To Beach Builders (a Beracah Preferred Builder), is the first Energy Star Certified home built by Beracah Homes. Said Roger Collison of Beracah, “The standard specs and quality control on any Beracah Home already make it extremely efficient. Energy Star Certified enables us to completely finish a home and be confident that it has met or exceeded Energy Star regulations and will perform as a valuable energy-saving home”. True Energy Star Certification does not involve how many Energy Star appliances a home has or uses (though they are important in aftermarket values). Instead, Energy Star certification comes from a series of field tests a home endures; testing it for gaps and leaks where air might escape and decrease a home’s operating efficiency. Duct blast tests, and a blower door test are performed which decreases the pressure inside a home and measures the value of air leakage. In addition, a thermal image scanner is used to pinpoint areas of heat loss/gain so remedial steps can be taken. Upon completion, a home either passes or needs a little adjustment to complete certification (gaps sealed, etc). The Cape Cod from Beracah scored an initial 1180 cfm at 50 pa on the blower door test, which, said Collison “will be lower on many of our standard homes” and achieved a HERS Index Score of 78. Of the two numbers, the HERS Index Score is easier to understand. A HERS Index Score of 100 would be expected of a home built to standard building codes. The score measures heating, cooling, water heating, lighting, appliances, and onsite power generation. Required numbers for Energy Star certification vary depending upon the region in which a person resides. This home passed under the highest rated zone (North Atlantic/New England/Upper Midwest) where winter temperatures get much colder than Delmarva.

Energy Star Certification is a new option available on new homes constructed by Beracah Homes, and available through their preferred builders. “Once our plant is completely certified, little extra effort will be required to complete Energy Star Certification on a home, on-site. Our commitment to quality has a new standard to which our customers will come to know as the most efficient home they’ve owned”.

Beracah Homes is a wholesale builder of modular “off-site, stick built” homes, located in Greenwood, Delaware. More information about Beracah Homes and Beracah Builders can be obtained by visiting their website www.BeracahHomes.com, or by stopping by their office on Rt. 13 in Greenwood, DE.