Building on its long record as the market leader in building innovation, Ideal Homes is proud to announce Oklahoma's first gold-level Green Certified Home. The home meets Model Green Building Guidelines developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and endorsed by the Oklahoma State Home Builders Association.

According to the NAHB Research Center, less than 50 certified green homes have been built across the nation since NAHB rolled out the program at the International Builders Show in February. Only 17 of those homes have achieved gold-level certification.

Ideal's GreenHome is located in Valencia, the company's master planned community in North Oklahoma City. Valencia is located north of Northwest 178th Street, between May and Penn.

Todd Booze, Ideal's president of construction, founded Ideal Homes along with partners Vernon and Gene McKown. He applauds the industry for seeing the value in these programs and hopes the new criteria become the standard for all homebuilding. "Buildings account for 48 percent of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and for 76 percent of total electricity consumption in the United States," he says. "As builders we have a responsibility to do everything we can to turn those numbers around. We hope that by building this gold-certified GreenHome in Oklahoma we can raise the bar for other builders."

The Guidelines, which allow for regional differences, define what green practices can be incorporated into residential development and construction on a national scale and how homeowners can operate and maintain their green homes.

According to Booze, the guiding principles of Green Building fall into seven areas:

1. Lot Design, preparation and development

2. Resource efficiency

3. Energy efficiency

4. Water efficiency

5. Indoor environmental quality

6. Operation, maintenance and homeowner education

7. Global impact

To achieve Green certification, homes must earn a minimum number of points in each area, as well as extra points to reach gold, silver and bronze certification levels. Ideal's gold-level certification is the highest level a home can achieve.

What You Won't Notice

Ideal's Gold Certified Green Home is equipped for a CNG refueling station. The plumbing's all in place. Just add the equipment of your choice, and you're all set to refuel your CNG vehicles at home.

Ideal Homes is no newcomer to leading edge building. "For years we've done test sites like this home and the Zero Energy Home we built three years ago," said Booze. "We already include many of NAHB's advanced energy-efficient construction methods in our homes. These test homes allow us to try out the latest in energy-efficient, environmentally friendly practices. We learn from every one of them and incorporate the best into the homes we build going forward."

Every home Ideal builds includes an impressive list of energy-conservation measures like high-performance heating and air conditioning systems with integrated fresh-air circulation, low-e vinyl windows, radiant roof sheathing and high-performance blown-in insulation in walls and ceilings and perimeter insulation around the foundation. "Take, for example, our 1,774 s.f. Green Certified Home. The way we normally build it, this home includes enough green practices and energy efficiency to qualify for a bronze certification. To make it a Green Certified Home, we added 24 items and third-party certification to reach the Gold level," Booze says.

The NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines are the basis for the upcoming National Green Building Standard, which is currently undergoing ANSI review. The new Standard will be the benchmark for green homes and bring uniformity to sustainable building practices.

About Ideal Homes: Founded 18 years ago, Ideal Homes has consistently set the standard for innovating homebuilding and has been nationally recognized for the quality of its products and processes. Now Oklahoma's largest homebuilder, the company is locally owned and operated and is the winner of the premier America's Best Builder Award for 2007, from Builder Magazine, and the prestigious National Housing Quality 2006 Gold Award from the National Association of Home Builders Research Center. Ideal Homes is a member of the National Association of Home Builders, Central Oklahoma Home Builders Association and the Norman Home Builders Association. The company has developed and builds in 17 communities throughout the Oklahoma City metropolitan area: Deer Creek, Edmond, Moore, Mustang, Newcastle, Norman, Oklahoma City, Piedmont and Yukon.

ABOUT NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 235,000 members involved in residential building, remodeling, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. Known as "the voice of the housing industry," NAHB is affiliated with more than 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct 80 percent of the more than 1.08 million new housing units projected for 2008.

Facts about Green Building

Why Build Green?

Approximately 120 million homes in the U.S. and another 1.5 million single and multifamily units built each year.

Buildings account for:

-- 48 percent of all energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions

-- 76 percent of total U.S. electricity consumption

-- 136 million tons of construction and demolition waste

-- 40 percent of raw material use globally

What does the future hold? U.S. Department of Energy says in the next 20 years:

-- Natural Gas consumption will increase by 50 percent

-- Demand for electricity will increase by 45 percent

-- To meet projected demand over next 20 years U.S. will need 1,500 new power plants, 75 per year

What can we do?

-- Increase energy efficiency of every new home by 50 percent: eliminate

need for 600 power plants

How much would it cost?

For a 2,000 square foot house designed to the Model Energy Code:

-- 50 percent reduction in energy usage would cost approximately $5,000

-- Increase customer's monthly house payment approximately $30

-- Saves customer up to 50 percent per month on utilities -- in Oklahoma, that's between $50 and $80 per month

What is Green Building?

The goal of Green Building is to minimize the impact to the environment while increasing the benefits to homeowners in four areas:

1. Lower operating cost: Reduce utilities through energy and water conservation

2. Increased comfort: Relatively even temperatures throughout the home, with fewer drafts and better humidity control

3. Improved environmental quality: Control moisture, fewer chemical emissions

4. Enhanced durability and reduced maintenance: Increased useful life of the whole house.

Guiding Principles of Green Building

1. Lot Design, preparation and development

2. Resource efficiency

3. Energy efficiency

4. Water efficiency

5. Indoor environmental quality

6. Operation, maintenance and homeowner education

7. Global impact

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