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.