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A Builder Perspective

The Comfort Home Program is one of the most technically advanced residential energy efficiency processes available. Comfort Home has combined proven energy conservation techniques and a solid marketing approach that makes it easy to build and sell energy efficient and comfortable homes.

Comfort Home Process

Energy Design Analysis

Heat Loss/Gain Calculations The first step in the Comfort Home Process is to complete heat loss/heat gain calculations per ACCA's (Air Conditioning Contractors of America) standards. Provided with plans and specifications of your new home, Comfort Home will determine the energy requirements of each room. This can be used to size heating and cooling equipment, design air distribution systems and establish warranted energy consumption.

Increased Insulation Levels
The Comfort Home Program incorporates insulation levels that represent the best balance between cost and energy efficiency. While these values may vary regionally, Comfort Home Standards meet or exceed the National Association of Home Builders thermal performance guidelines plus all HUD and state standards.

Thermal Integrity

Every Comfort Home requires specific thermal integrity measures to be completed during construction. The objective of these measures is to minimize air movement between conditioned and unconditioned spaces, to maximize insulation performance, and to insure proper sizing and integrity of the heating and cooling system. Most of the work is completed from inside the home and, therefore, does not interfere with construction schedules. Typically, work is completed in two phases during construction:

Phase I -- Just prior to Exterior Wall Insulation

Form a continuous air barrier behind all areas that will be insulated and dry walled

• Seal seams in exterior sheeting
• Caulk plates to the subfloor
• Seal all electrical and plumbing penetrations
• Close and seal soffits and chases from unconditioned areas
• Seal around windows and doors

Verify proper air distribution system design.

Phase II -- After drywall but before attic insulation

Form a continuous air barrier between the vented attic and the living space...

• Seal the top of all interior walls from the attic
• Seal the electric and plumbing penetrations from the attic

Seal all accessible ductwork.

Thermal integrity work can be complete by Comfort Home or other contractors. However, it is highly recommended Comfort Home complete the thermal integrity work until the builder or his subcontractor is familiar with the standards and the work that is required.

Final Inspection

Comfort Home Corporation completes a final inspection of your home including...

• Blower door testing to verify home tightness
• Infrared scanning to assure insulation and building performance
• Calibrated air flow measurement to confirm acceptable heating and cooling system operation
• Tracer smoke testing of ductwork to validate compliance to Comfort Home standards
• Visual inspection

The Final Inspection Process is designed to assure that new homes meet the Comfort Home standards. When compared to other approaches, the Comfort Home process has been shown to achieve higher levels of construction quality and customer satisfaction than any other. In one customer satisfaction survey 89% of the respondents indicated it was important to them to build or buy a home that met the Comfort Home standards and 91% would build or buy a Comfort Home again.

Warranty

The Comfort Home Program is backed by a comfort and energy consumption warranty. The warranty guarantees homeowners that, during the first year, Comfort Home will correct any comfort problems that occur. Also, heating and cooling energy usage is guaranteed for three years so that any longer term problems can be corrected if they arise.

Utility Support

An increasing number of electric utilities have found the Comfort Home Program to be supportive of their marketing and demand side management goals and as such offer various incentives to encourage customer participation. Contact your electric utility to confirm if they offer a Comfort Home Program and what incentives might apply.