Buildings

ENERGY STAR-certified affordable housing could be duplicated around the country…
Advanced Energy, Partners Build First ENERGY STAR-Certified, Multi-Family, Affordable-Housing Development in N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 19, 2008)—Advanced Energy, a resource for creating economic, environmental and societal benefits through innovative and market-based approaches to energy issues, announced the completion of the first large-scale, multifamily, mixed-income community in North Carolina to achieve ENERGY STAR certification. The Chavis Heights housing development in downtown Raleigh, made possible with a HOPE VI grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and through partnerships with the Raleigh Housing Authority, Progress Energy and Southern Energy Management, is an affordable housing development with 168 units including town homes, condominiums (half of which were built to accommodate the disabled) and a senior center.

“Building energy efficiency into low-income homes is not an impossible venture as some developers perceive it to be,” said Brian Coble, director of affordable housing programs at Advanced Energy. “By building affordable housing units to ENERGY STAR standards, we not only make homes more efficient and more comfortable, but we also make the residents’ monthly bills more affordable long-term.”

Energy-saving features in the Chavis Heights development include tight and properly insulated building shells, sealed and tested duct systems, high-efficiency windows, fresh-air ventilation, compact fluorescent lighting and on-demand water heaters in the senior center. Residents can expect to save up to 15 percent on their energy bills.

“The housing authority wanted to ensure that each unit was as energy efficient as possible so that residents could enjoy utility bills that are consistently low. This created such a winning combination for everyone and it is not difficult to achieve,” said Gail Keeter, director of development at Raleigh Housing Authority. “It only makes sense for everyone involved in building affordable housing to use ENERGY STAR guidelines. We are looking forward to working with Advanced Energy in the future and collaborating with them to achieve the goals we have for our next project.”

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) helping consumers save money and protect the environment through energy-efficient products and practices. To earn the ENERGY STAR certification, a home must meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by the EPA. These homes are at least 15 percent 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 30 percent more efficient than standard homes.

In addition to building the homes to meet ENERGY STAR standards, the group improved the ventilation systems beyond the specifications to make the units even more comfortable and durable.

The project was funded by a HOPE VI Grant from HUD and Progress Energy and was managed by Advanced Energy. The Raleigh Housing Authority was the developer of the project, which was designed by J.Davis, Architects. Southern Energy Management, a Raleigh-based firm, did most of the on-site quality control and performance testing work. The Advanced Energy team is eager to act as a resource and facilitator to builders, developers and agencies wanting to do projects like this one.

“We’re excited by the success of this project, because it’s something we hope to repeat not just across North Carolina, but around the country as well,” said Coble.

About Advanced Energy
Advanced Energy is a Raleigh, N.C.-based nonprofit serving as a local and national resource that focuses on industrial process technologies, motors and drives testing, and applied building science. Its facility houses state-of-the-art laboratories for testing and applied research in all three of these evolving disciplines. Advanced Energy creates economic, environmental and societal benefits through innovative and market-based approaches to energy issues. For more information, visit www.advancedenergy.org.

About Progress Energy
Progress Energy, headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., is a Fortune 250 energy company with more than 21,000 megawatts of generation capacity and $9 billion in annual revenues. The company will observe its 100th anniversary in 2008. Progress Energy includes two major utilities that serve more than 3.1 million customers in the Carolinas and Florida. The company is the 2006 recipient of the Edison Electric Institute's Edison Award, the industry's highest honor, in recognition of its operational excellence. The company also is the first utility to receive the prestigious J.D. Power and Associates Founder’s Award for customer service. Progress Energy serves two fast-growing areas of the country, and the company is pursuing a balanced strategy for a secure energy future. That balance includes aggressive energy efficiency programs, investments in renewable energy technologies and a state-ofthe- art electricity system. For more information about Progress Energy, visit the company’s Web site at www.progress-energy.com.