7/12: Energy-Efficient Home Design at Sterling Ranch

Energy-Efficient Home Design at Sterling Ranch

Welcome to the seventh installment of Sterling Ranch's crash course on energy! You might be aware that Sterling Ranch homes are designed and built to be extremely energy efficient. In this email, we'll share with you some information about the energy-efficient features of your home so that you can better understand what actually makes your home efficient and how you can do your best to maintain its efficiency!

Energy Efficiency in Sterling Ranch's Design

From the beginning of its development, energy efficiency has been built into the very the foundation of Sterling Ranch. The Sterling Ranch Community Authority Board maintains a set of guidelines with strong conservation features that direct community builders to construct quality homes that meet high energy efficiency standards. These guidelines are open for the public to read, so click the button below if you're interested in learning more about the efficiency regulations in place in your community!

Read the CAB's Universal Design Guidelines Here

Sterling Ranch is a Truly 21st Century Community - Part 3: Smart Cities & Smart Homes

Video: Sterling Ranch is a Truly 21st Century Community: Smart Cities & Smart Homes

Smart Homes in Sterling Ranch

Smart home integration is a powerful tool in enabling sustainable energy management in homes. On top of providing residents with high speed internet, the fiber optic network in our community keeps residents connected to a continuous stream of information about the conditions inside their homes. This level of connection allows residents the unique opportunity to adjust their energy use in real time by changing their climate or lighting settings at the touch of button in their STEWARD app.

Other Environmental Benefits of Fiber

Beyond the connection benefits we receive from our fiber network, fiber optic cables themselves use 3.5 times less energy than traditional copper coaxial internet cables to transmit signals.¹ Furthermore, fiber optic cables generate significantly less heat, so much less energy is required to operate cooling systems to support fiber networks.

Through the varied ways that our fiber optic cables allow us to operate efficiently, Sterling Ranch's fiber network supports energy efficiency at a foundational level in our community!

Home Efficiency Standards

ENERGY STAR®

All Sterling Ranch Homes are required to be in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) most current EnergyStar Program for New Homes. To meet EnergyStar requirements, homes must be built according to EPA guidance on heating and cooling equipment, ductwork, lighting and appliances, and window, door, and building envelope insulation.

Find Your Home's HERS Index

The Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index is a measure of a home's energy efficiency. The lower the index, the more efficient the home.

Each home in Sterling Ranch is assessed by a certified Home Energy Rater before closing. The rater performs blow tests and inspections on key areas in the home including surfaces adjacent to unconditioned spaces such as garages, exterior walls, and windows and doors to measure how well your home's building envelope holds up against air leaks that force heating and cooling systems to work harder. According to the US Department of Energy, a standard new home today has a HERS index of 100.²

Find Your Home's Public HERS Index

Making Clean Technologies Accessible

Solar Pre-Wiring

All homes in Sterling Ranch are required to have the necessary conduit pathways to enable wiring for rooftop solar panels. This makes it easy for Sterling Ranch residents to put solar panels on their homes without having to cut through their roof and disturb other systems in their home.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Pre-Wiring

The Colorado Energy Office has an established goal to increase the number of light-duty EVs in the state to 940,000 by 2030.³ As EV infrastructure improvements make the technology more accessible, Sterling Ranch is equipping every new home's garage with the wiring necessary to install chargers to make it easy for Sterling Ranch residents to make the switch to an EV.

Solar Made Simple Program

In April 2021, Sterling Ranch introduced a Solar Made Simple program to make it easy for new residents to lease solar panels on their homes. Through the program, all of Sterling Ranch's homebuilders formed contracts with approved community solar partners and began offering new residents the opportunity to connect with solar consultants as a standard part of the homebuying process. These consultations help new residents learn more about how a 20-year solar lease can actually save them money on energy bills and add value to their home!

After-Purchase Solar Options

The Solar Made Simple program was deployed by Sterling Ranch as a strategy to make it easier for incoming residents to connect with renewable energy resources in support of our Energy Action Plan, but Sterling Ranch has resources available to residents who moved in prior to April 2021 as well! If you're interested in adding solar to your home, open a support ticket on the Lumiere website to receive assistance in learning more about your options.

Tips for Energy Action

Make sure that you're taking full advantage of your smart home's features! You have the ability to set up lighting schemes in your home and control your AC remotely, so if you aren't already familiar with how to use these features, consider learning so that you can utilize them to manage your energy use throughout the day.
Check out your home's HERS index. How does it compare to a standard new home built today? Keep in mind that as your home ages, your building envelope will become weaker and your home's energy efficiency will decrease. If you're interested in finding out your current HERS index rating, Xcel Energy’s Home Energy Squad® PLUS can provide you with a blower door test and recommendations for keeping your home as efficient as possible. Visit www.xcelenergy.com/homeenergysquad to schedule your visit.

References

¹Nexus-Net. https://nexus-net.info/fiber-optics-road-to-an-eco-friendly-network/

²RESNET HERS Index. https://www.hersindex.com/hers-index/what-is-the-hers-index/

³Colorado Energy Office. https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/zero-emission-vehicles/colorado-ev-plan-2020