Website helps cut energy costs
A new website aims to help homeowners and builders find ways to save money by lowering home energy bills.
The Department of Energy, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Environmental Protection Agency have forged the Partnership for Home Energy Efficiency and will post the latest energy-savings information at www.energysavers.gov. Builders and owners who use the site’s tips could shave $150 a year from their energy bills, the agencies said. And limiting energy use will also curb power-plant emissions that create acid rain, smog and soot.
Three ways to save energy:
Townhouses on tear
Construction of a luxury-townhouse development that broke sales records in Winter Park got underway last week. Bear Crossing, perched on 7 acres about a mile from the town’s Main Street, is nearly sold out. Only five of 56 planned townhouses remain. For more information, visit www.bear-crossing.com.
Habitat saving energy
Habitat for Humanity is getting into “net-zero energy” construction – shorthand for cutting-edge homes that produce as much energy as they use. A new house at 4700 Carr St. in Wheat Ridge is Habitat for Humanity’s first net-zero energy home. The 1,250-square-foot house with three bedrooms features heavily insulated floors, ceilings and walls; solar panels; a solar water heating system; and energy-efficient appliances. Its owner is expected to save at least $1,000 a year on energy bills.
Mortgage rates climb for 2nd straight week
Mortgage rates around the country rose for a second straight week but still remain below rates seen a year ago. In its weekly survey, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.66 percent, up from the preceding week’s 5.62 percent. Below are average mortgage rates in Denver, Adams and Arapahoe counties as of Thursday and the previous 52 weeks. The one-year Treasury bill average reported by the Federal Reserve Bank is 3.52 percent. The Cost of Funds Index for May from the Federal Home Loan Bank (11th District) was 2.622 percent.
