Currents

An Energy Newsletter for Local Governments

USDOE Guide to Energy Efficient Homes in the Southwest

As part of the continuing effort to provide consumers guidance on saving money through improving home energy efficiency, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a free guide to the construction of energy-efficient homes in the arid climate of the southwestern United States, a region that stretches west from central Texas and the Oklahoma panhandle, encompasses southern New Mexico and Arizona (including parts of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada), and extends into the non-coastal parts of California, continuing north to near the Oregon border.

"Homes use nearly 21 percent of Americans’ total energy use," said Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman. "This useful guide will help American families save money and energy when building new homes in the arid southwest."

The second guide in the Building America Best Practices series, "Volume 2: Hot-Dry, Mixed-Dry" addresses the challenge of maximizing energy efficiency while preserving the comfort of homes in hot-dry and mixed-dry climates. Equipped with this guide, builders and home owners will be able to build high-quality, energy-efficient homes that can save 30 percent in space conditioning and water heating each year in hot-dry and mixed-dry climates.

DOE’s regional building guides offer tips to families and contractors on how to build energy-saving homes in different climates across the country. DOE’s Building America program conducts and sponsors research and development in building technologies aimed at improving the comfort and efficiency of American homes, while reducing their need for electricity.

Volume 1 of the Best Practices series, focusing on hot-humid construction, was published earlier this year. Upcoming releases in this series will include Volume 3: Cold-Severe Cold, available June 22; Volume 4: Mixed Humid, available July 29; and Marine, available in early 2006. For more details and to download these guides, please visit the Building America website at http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/building_america/.

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