Increasing Number of Home Buyers Want Energy Efficiency, Geothermal

If you are interested in a geothermal system to decrease the energy bills for your home and help you be eco-friendly (and if you’re on our website, then that is a ‘yes’), then you’re not alone. Far from it, in fact.

According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 84 percent of millennials are glad to pay 2-3 percent more for an energy-efficient home if they can see a return on their energy bills.

“Our builder members are telling us that more and more buyers are looking at new homes for their efficiency in design and functionality,” said NAHB chairman Tom Woods, a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo. “Whether it’s improved insulation or sustainable building materials, today’s new homes can reach higher energy performance and greater durability than was possible even 20 years ago. And programs like the National Green Building Standard help consumers achieve their efficiency needs.”

And home builders are meeting that demand. An NAHB poll shows that almost 25 percent of home builders installed alternative energy-producing equipment, including geothermal heat pumps (also known as ground-source heat pumps), in new single-family homes.

The survey also said that ENERGY STAR®-rated appliances are among the top 10 features home builders are most likely to include in homes they build in 2015. (As an aside, many ClimateMaster geothermal systems are ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2015 certified, which recognizes the most efficient products of those that qualify for the ENERGY STAR program.)

It’s also important to remember that the 30 percent geothermal tax credit is set to expire at the end of 2016, so now is a great time to look at geothermal.