Home Energy Audits, Efficiency Upgrades, and Green Building Certified by Energy Star™

Banister Homes offers home energy audits and upfits to help make your existing home comfortable and energy efficient, improving homeowner value and reducing operating costs.

Banister Homes strives to excel in providing new homes that are altruistically pleasing and environmentally conscious. In order to ensure our homes are the best possible for our environment, Banister Homes subscribes to the Energy Star HERS Rating system, ensuring our homes meet all Energy Star performance guidelines. For more information about HERS Rating with Banister Homes, please see: HERS Rating.

Banister Green Building

Many different aspects of a home can help define the house as green, or environmentally friendly. Here is a brief summary of some of the aspects of residential green building.

Some of the environmental building items in green home projects include:

• Solar hot water
• Solar electricity (photovoltaic)
• Passive solar heating
• Solar tube natural lighting
• Rainwater collection and usage systems
• Salvaged wood from demolished houses
• Energy Star? appliances
• Energy Star? lighting
• Recycled content carpets
• Wood carpets and insulation
• Salvaged hardwood flooring
• Recycled content and salvaged wood countertops
• Tankless water heaters
• Bamboo flooring and countertops
• Blown cellulose insulation
• Formaldehyde-free batt insulation
• Spray foam insulation
• Low VOC paints and finishes
• Thermal Low-e windows
• High-efficiency (14+ SEER) HVAC systems
• Radiant heat systems
• Recycling of carboard and drywall construction waste
• Dismantling of homes for salvage
• Reusing construction material

  

  Energy Star Qualified Homes

  As part of the green home certification prerequisites, an independent Energy Star Rater will perform a blower door test on the house after completion to certify the homes as Energy Star homes. Homes that exceed Energy Star home standards receive a five percent discount from Duke Energy.

  To earn the Energy Star, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20 to 50% more efficient than standard homes.

  http://www.energystar.gov

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  LEED for Homes

  LEED for Homes is a voluntary rating system that promotes the design and construction of high performance "green" homes. A green home uses less energy, water, and natural resources; creates less waste; and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. Benefits of a LEED home include lower energy and water bills; reduced greenhouse gas emissions; and less exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. The LEED Rating System is the nationally recognized standard for green building. LEED certification recognizes and rewards builders for meeting the highest performance standards, and gives homeowners confidence that their home is durable, healthy, and environmentally friendly.

  Banister Homes is committed to building LEED homes and built the first LEED for Homes certified house in Charlotte. The firm's second LEED for Homes project is nearing completion.

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  Healthy Built Homes
  The NC Healthy Built Homes Program provides third-party certification for homes meeting green home guidelines built by residential builders who practice sustainable, high performance building strategies making the home a comfortable, healthy and affordable place that reduces energy and water usage, promotes renewable energy use and helps protect the land where the home is built.

  Banister homes has experience with new home construction and gut remodel with projects certified through Healthy Built Homes in the Charlotte area, including a Silver gut remodel in historic Elizabeth, a Bronze new construction home in Cotswold, and a Bronze new construction home in Dilworth.

  http://www.healthybuilthomes.org

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  EarthCraft House

  EarthCraft House is a green building program that serves as a blueprint for healthier, more comfortable homes, which reduce utility bills and protect the environment.

  • Offers the benefits of a healthy living environment
  • Integrates a systems approach to building that ensures increased comfort and improved indoor air quality in the home.
  • Reassures home builders and buyers so they can have the peace of mind knowing that they have done the right thing for the environment. Homeowners benefit from:
  • Savings on operating, health, and repair costs
  • Conservation of resources and energy
  • Improved air and water quality
  • Enhanced quiet, durability, and comfort

  Banister Homes has completed an EarthCraft House Certified home, a new construction home in Charlotte. http://www.earthcrafthouse.com