Homes for sale in Tampa

Ashton Woods Homes announced it is committing to build and label its homes to meet the new and more rigorous ENERGY STAR requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) for 2012.  Ashton Woods Homes has already built 1,070 new homes in Florida that have earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR to date, representing savings of  $478,290 on utility bills while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from more than 524 vehicles.

“We’re proud to be making a commitment to continue building ENERGY STAR qualified homes in 2012, said Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods Homes the Central Florida region.   “By stepping up to the new requirements, we’re going to be offering customers state-of-the-art performance in our homes with a comprehensive package of features that deliver greater value, quality, and comfort than ever before.”

Homes built to the new, more rigorous requirements (referred to as “Version 3”) will be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and will include additional features to give them a performance edge of 20-30 percent compared to typical new homes and even more when measured against most re-sale homes on the market today.

ENERGY STAR qualified homes that earn the label in 2012 will be built with a comprehensive, building science-based approach that features:

• A detailed package of home envelope air sealing, properly installed insulation, and high-performance windows to deliver comfort, durability, and lower utility bills.
• A high-efficiency heating, cooling, and ventilation system designed and installed for optimal performance.
• A complete water and moisture management package to protect roofs, walls, and foundations.
• ENERGY STAR certified lighting and appliances that help reduce monthly utility bills.
• Third-party verification, with independent inspections and testing by a certified Home Energy Rater.

“EPA has raised the bar for what families can expect when they buy a new home that has earned the ENERGY STAR,” said Jonathan Passe, Acting Chief of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Residential Branch. “Builders who meet the new ENERGY STAR requirements are making a strong statement about their leadership and commitment to providing American homebuyers with truly energy-efficient homes that offer lower utility bills and greater benefits for the environment.”

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, save money, and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 20,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners, committed to improving energy efficiency in homes, products, and businesses.

About Ashton Woods Homes
Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, with operations in Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Phoenix.  Visit http://www.ashtonwoodshomes.com/

Ashton Woods Homes has opened for sales in the FishHawk Ranch community in Lithia,FL.

New homes for sale in FishHawk start in the high $250′s for a 2,283 sq.ft. home.

FishHawk Ranch is the first certified green new-home community in Hillsborough County and Ashton Woods Homes is a great fit here with the PowerHouse Green program we offer with Environments for Living.

Visit us online for information on new homes in Tampa, FL.

Ashton Woods Homes earns award for building new homes that protect the environment through energy efficiency

Atlanta, GA July 13, 2011

Ashton Woods Homes is pleased to announce that it has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a 2011 ENERGY STAR Leadership in Housing Award. This award recognizes the important contribution Ashton Woods Homes has made to energy-efficient construction and environmental protection by building more than 949 ENERGY STAR qualified homes last year. Collectively, these homes will save our customers approximately $424,203 on utility bills each year. 
   
The environmental benefits of these ENERGY STAR qualified homes are equal to the equivalent of:

• Eliminating the emissions from 465 vehicles;
• Saving 2,812,836 lbs of coal;
• Planting 769 acres of trees; or
• Saving the environment 5,516,537 pounds of CO2 per year.

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 20% more efficient than standard new homes built today.

“We have always been on the leading edge of providing our customers a healthier, more energy-efficient home. Ashton Woods Homes is proud to be a leader in the industry and committed to building environmentally friendly homes,” stated Ralph Farrell Sr. VP of Operations.

ENERGY STAR qualified homes offer homebuyers all the features they want in a new home, plus energy-saving features like effective insulation systems, high performance windows, tight construction and ducts, properly-sized and installed efficient heating and cooling equipment, efficient products, and third-party verification of energy performance.
“The value you get from an ENERGY STAR Qualified Home goes far beyond energy efficiency,” said Sam Rashkin, National Director for EPA’s ENERGY STAR Homes Program. “ENERGY STAR Qualified homes provide more comfort, durability, and a healthier environment than homes built to code. On top of that, they’re tested and inspected to perform.”

Last year alone, with the help of ENERGY STAR and partners, Americans saved about $18 billion on their utility bills and avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 33 million vehicles. Nearly 1.2 million ENERGY STAR homes have been built in the United States since the program first began labeling homes in 1995.

About Ashton Woods Homes

Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, with operations in Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Phoenix. For more information, visit http://www.ashtonwoodshomes.com.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 126,000 new homes were constructed to meet ENERGY STAR guidelines in 2010, by partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit http://www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) May 17, 2011

Ashton Woods Homes, a premier builder of eco-friendly and energy efficient new homes today announced recently achieving the Builder 100’s Top-10 Private Companies.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Ashton Woods builds high-performance homes for sale in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa and Raleigh growth communities. Close to jobs, shopping and transportation, Ashton Woods effectively balances healthy-house features with energy efficiency in their Power House Green homes for sale – which could save homeowners as much as 45% per year on utility bills.

Every year, BUILDER magazine asks the nation’s builders to provide their sales and closings. The Builder 100 list is an annual compilation of the largest homebuilders in the country. The Builder 100’s Top-10 Private List is comprised separately of for-profit, private builders.

The article, written by Builder magazine’s senior editor, John Caulfield, points out that, “Georgia-based Ashton Woods USA converted $125 million of its public debt to private debt, which appears to have given this company breathing room to grow. The company has since expanded its operations into Raleigh, N.C., and Austin, Texas. Ken Balogh, a former Centex executive who was Ashton Woods’ COO, was promoted to CEO after Tom Krobot, who had held that post since 1995, retired on Dec. 31, 2010.”

The Builder 100’s Top-10 Private List is a milestone achievement for Ashton Woods as it continues to earn recognition, awards and accolades – from industry experts and customers alike – for its energy-efficient and affordable new homes for sale.

As recently as March 2011, Ashton Woods made the cover story of Big Builder magazine, which proclaimed Ashton Woods as having the right business model, management talent, experience and funding which allows them to capitalize on current market conditions and be well positioned for new market conditions going forward.

“With our ‘Power House Green’ and ‘Yours Personally, Ashton’ incentives, we’re hitting the right balance of new home science and design,” stated Tad Serbin, Senior VP, Sales & Marketing. “We’ve also adopted the Department of Energy’s E-Scale Home Energy Rating System to help educate homebuyers on the utility savings when comparing an Ashton Woods home to other new and used homes,” added Mr. Serbin.

Read the Builder magazine article at http://tinyurl.com/PrivateTop-10List, or visit Ashton Woods Homes at http://www.ashtonwoodshomes.com.

About Ashton Woods Homes

Ashton Woods Homes is one of the nation’s largest private homebuilding companies, with operations in Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh, Dallas, Houston, Austin and Phoenix. Visit http://www.ashtonwoodshomes.com for more information.

Helps Define “MPG” for New Homes – Saves Homeowners Money

Atlanta, GA May 03, 2011

Ashton Woods Homes, a premier builder of eco-friendly and energy-efficient new homes today announced the release of their Home Energy Rating Scale, in accordance with the Department of Energy.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Ashton Woods builds high-performance homes for sale in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa and Raleigh in growth communities, close to jobs, shopping and transportation.

If homes had a miles-per-gallon (MPG) rating, Ashton Woods would be the eco-friendly leader in building “fuel-efficient” homes. Leveraging a long history of building energy-efficient homes in all of its communities, the national builder has incorporated the EnergySmart Home Scale (E-Scale), developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in the marketing and sales information of their new homes.

The E-Scale, based on Residential Energy Services Network’s (RESNET) Home Energy Rating (HERS) Index, involves the analysis of a home’s construction plans and includes onsite inspections. According to RESNET, since a rating quantifies the energy performance of a home, the HERS Index provides an easily understandable means to compare the relative energy efficiency of different homes.

The HERS Index is a scoring system based on the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code. The lower a home’s HERS Index, the more energy efficient it is.

When it comes to scoring low on the E-Scale, Ashton Woods has an average score of 70. This means, when compared to other new homes, Ashton Woods’ homes are 30% more energy-efficient. When compared to used homes, a new home from Ashton Woods is as much as 46% more efficient in its energy use. This can save homeowners as much as $1,078.00 each year.

While the E-Scale from the Department of Energy may be new to consumers, building energy-efficient, eco-friendly homes is old hat for Ashton Woods: they’ve been doing it for 10 years with their Powerhouse Green Homes.

“It’s just the right way to build a home,” says Ralph Farrell, VP Operations at Ashton Woods Homes. “By designing a livable home first and then adding energy-efficiency, we develop a comfortable and environmentally-sound home,” added Mr. Farrell.

But, E-Scale is only a measurement tool. Homes need to incorporate energy-efficient attributes like Energy Star, or Environments For Living, as a general baseline. According to Sam Rashkin, National Director Energy Star for Homes, even just a typical Energy Star-compliant home saves 20-30% in energy costs when compared to homes built as recently as 2009. “As a compliment to Energy Star, the E-Scale is a great thing,” added Mr. Rashkin and homes built by Ashton Woods are all Energy Star-compliant.

Environments For Living (EFL) brings yet another whole layer of efficiency to an Ashton Woods home. Homes built under the Environments For Living® program are energy-efficient homes that have been constructed using the principles and the discipline of looking at a house as an integrated system of systems that all work together. Things like durability, water-efficiency, indoor environmental quality and energy-efficiency are all part of EFL’s advanced building techniques, which require a lot more effort on the part of homebuilders, like Ashton Woods. “All these things create a quality product,” says Mr. Rashkin.

Ashton Woods is a strong advocate of quality products and energy-efficiency programs, like EFL and Mr. Farrell states, “It’s a big deal to have a healthier, well-balanced, clean home and Environments For Living has really helped.” And it’s created a demand for homes built by Ashton Woods, who, last month, made the cover of Big Builder magazine, partly as a testament to its ability to deliver ongoing value to homeowners through continued energy-efficiency savings.

“Ultimately, new homeowners could use the savings from reduced energy costs to pay down their mortgage sooner, which is an attractive option for many buyers today,” stated Tad Serbin, Senior VP, Sales & Marketing. With this idea in mind, Ashton Woods has created an energy performance calculator using the E-Scale to help new homebuyers understand the impact of savings from living in an energy-efficient home.

The energy performance calculator is located at http://www.ashtonwoods.com/escale and can help individuals determine the amount of yearly savings they could realize.

To learn more about E-Scale: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/challenge/energysmart.html
To learn more about the HERS Index: http://www.resnet.us/home-energy-ratings
To learn more about Energy Star: http://www.energystar.gov/
To learn more about Environments For Living: http://www.environmentsforliving.com

About Ashton Woods Homes

Ashton Woods Homes is a subsidiary of the Great Gulf Group, a fully-integrated collection of companies that spans the entire real estate spectrum in North America. From land acquisition and development to the design and construction of master planned communities. For more than 40 years, Ashton Woods has built a solid reputation for building comfortable, energy-efficient, high-performance new homes and is honored with the most coveted local, regional and national awards.

Visit http://www.ashtonwoodshomes.com for more information.