The Centex Energy Advantage is available in all to-be-built homes in 54 neighborhoods across the Hilton Head, Charleston and Myrtle Beach areas:

The Hilton Head area’s first Energy Advantage home, located in Shadow Moss near the Shell Point community, is scheduled for delivery in April 2009.

The first Energy Advantage home in Charleston is located in Rice Field at Carolina Bay in west Charleston. It is scheduled for delivery in April 2009.

The first Energy Advantage home at Myrtle Beach is located in the Barefoot community’s Brookstone neighborhood near North Myrtle Beach. It is scheduled for delivery in May 2009.

In today’s economy, buyers are just as concerned about the home’s operating price as its purchase price, said Will Cutler, division president for Centex, Coastal Carolinas division. We can put real-time information about monthly energy costs in their hands. Reducing energy use is good for their budgets — reducing emissions is good for the Lowcountry.

According to a study conducted by NAHB Research Center, Centex Energy Advantage homes are up to 22% more efficient than comparable new homes built to the most widely used energy efficiency code (the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code). When compared to a typical 10-year-old home (as defined by the US Department of Energy’s Building America Program), the Centex Energy Advantage homes in the study were shown to be up to 40% more energy efficient.

According to the NAHB Research Center, each Centex Energy Advantage home avoids emission of an average 1.78 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year compared to a typical new home. That’s roughly the same as the greenhouse gas emissions from the family automobile over four months or the CO2 emissions from about 183 gallons of gasoline consumed.

Features of the Centex Energy Advantage standard package in South Carolina include:

Energy monitor: real-time information about electricity usage and expense can lead to a 4-15% reduction in electricity use; (5) Centex is the first national homebuilder to announce the installation of an energy monitor in every home it builds;

Whirlpool brand Energy Star qualified appliances;

Lennox high-efficiency HVAC system;

Programmable thermostat(s);

Low-emissivity windows;

R-38 insulation and radiant-barrier roof decking in the attic;

Compact fluorescent lights in high-traffic areas;

Information for maximizing energy efficiency and minimizing the impact of home operation on the environment.