Mar 24 - McClatchy-Tribune Business News Formerly Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Joe Light The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville

Sean Gleason recently moved into a townhome more than two times as big as his old apartment. But he says his utility bill is nearly the same.

The 26-year-old Coast Guard member's new home is energy efficient, constructed under the guidelines of national and local programs that raise the cost of a home at the outset but result in dividends to their buyers.

Although environment-friendly construction for commercial buildings has been around for more than a decade, such features are relatively new for homes. The concept extends well beyond the usual solar-panel setup. Energy savings on truly "green" homes can save at least 15 percent on utility bills through many features that are behind the scenes.

Green, single-family homes can have improved insulation, smaller but efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, and low-emissivity (low-E) glass windows to reduce the amount of heat coming in. Energy Star appliances and even energy-saving light bulbs are common.

But according to the U.S. Green Building Council, such features in typical single-family homes have been slow to catch on. The council, which is a national nonprofit that promotes green building, says that only 2 percent of homes built last year were green, although it predicts the trend will shoot to 10 percent by 2010.

The council has started a certification program for environmentally friendly homes that's now in its pilot phase. So far, about 300 builders, who have built 4,500 homes in the queue for certification, have registered for the pilot phase, said Emily Mitchell, assistant program manager for the home certification program.

The council hopes to roll out the final version of the program in the fall.

"Like anything else that's new, we're overcoming inertia," said Bruce Doueck, manager of conservation programs for JEA, which has begun its own program to certify homes as being Energy Star efficient. To reach that mark, the house has to save 15 percent in energy costs.

Consumers want payback Part of the slow start was the housing boom of the last five years.

Although the technology existed to make homes energy efficient, home builders were constructing and selling homes so fast that it didn't pay to ease up and try something new, several builders say.

Bill Cellar, president of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, said that few customers ask for green features when they move in.

"You have to get a reasonable payback, such as four or five years," he said. "A 30-year payback is hard to sell." According to the JEA, energy bill savings should more than make up for the higher mortgage payment. Making a typical, 2,500-square-foot home energy efficient, JEA says, will cost about $15 extra on a homeowner's mortgage and save around $40 a month on the energy bill.

More green for First Coast Officials for Beazer Homes are betting that's savings a customer will understand. In fact, every house constructed by Beazer in the last three years guarantees a certain amount of energy savings for every home . Each home meets at least the 15 percent JEA threshold.

Barbara Moore, president of Beazer's Jacksonville division, said she learned of the program during her time in Beazer's Houston office.

Customers understood their bills would ultimately be lower, she said.

But buyers generally don't know they want energy efficiency until it's offered to them, and that has held up its adoption by more builders, Moore said.

"Frequently, buyer demand determines what's built. Until the public is educated as to the benefits of it and start demanding it, it's going to be slow," she said.

Green construction isn't limited to single-family homes and is actually more mature in large buildings. Hines, an international real estate firm, plans to use low-E glass, among other features, in The St. John, its planned downtown condo tower.

Hines vice president Walter O'Shea said that the developer is determining now whether it will pursue certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for having an energy efficient building.

Dan Hovis, owner and president of Hovis Custom Builders, said he only builds energy saving homes. Hovis said he started energy-efficient building about a decade ago to set himself apart from his larger competition.

He said that his reputation as a green builder has grown enough that customers who want green homes seek him out. A home with the added features costs about 8 percent more than usual, he said.

"Everyone has a concern for the environment, but it's not solely that," he said. "If there wasn't a good rate of return on their investment, most wouldn't do it."