Centex Energy Advantage homes up to 40% more efficient than typical 10-year-old home

ELGIN, Ill., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Centex Corporation has implemented the Centex Energy Advantage across the Chicago metro area, including homes in progress in four of Chicagoland's 10 best-selling neighborhoods. Centex Energy Advantage homes now under construction collectively are projected to avoid thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emissions over time.

Centex Energy Advantage is now available in all to-be-built homes ordered from Centex in a total of 10 active neighborhoods in northern Illinois, including Summerfield, Bristol Bay and West Ridge, which Hanley Wood Market Intelligence recently ranked among the 10 best-selling neighborhoods in the Chicago area. The first Centex Energy Advantage home in northern Illinois, a single-family home in the Bristol Bay neighborhood near Yorkville, is scheduled for delivery in March. Please visit any Centex neighborhood sales office for more information or see centex.com/energyadvantage.asp for details and centex.com/illinois/ for details about homes and prices.(1)

"Not only can we help you stretch your housing dollars further, we can help you stretch your energy dollars as well," said Tim Stapleton, division president for Centex Homes in Illinois. "Centex Energy Advantage helps our customers avoid surprises in their monthly utility bills. And avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions is good for the whole community."

Centex Energy Advantage homes are up to 22 percent more efficient than comparable new homes built to the most widely used energy efficiency code (the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code), according to a study commissioned with the NAHB Research Center. When compared to a typical 10-year-old home (as defined by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Program), the Centex Energy Advantage homes in the study were shown to be up to 40 percent more energy efficient.(2)

According to the NAHB Research Center, each Centex Energy Advantage home avoids 1.78 fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide per year than a comparable 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.(3)

Features of the Centex Energy Advantage standard package in the Chicago area include:(4)

    --  Wireless energy monitor: Real-time information about electricity usage
        and expense can lead to a 4-15 percent 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(R) qualified appliances
    --  Lennox high-efficiency heating system (with optional 14-SEER
        air-conditioning upgrades)(6)
    --  Programmable thermostat
    --  Low-emissivity windows
    --  R-49 insulation 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

About Centex

Dallas-based Centex (NYSE: CTX), founded in 1950, is one of the nation's leading home building companies. Its leading brands include Centex Homes, Fox & Jacobs Homes and CityHomes. In addition to its home building operations, Centex also offers mortgage and title services. Centex has ranked among the top three builders on FORTUNE magazine's list of "America's Most Admired Companies" for 10 straight years and is a leader in quality and customer satisfaction.


    Editors' notes:
    (1) Homes, prices, features and availability are subject to change.
        Inventory homes are subject to prior sale.
    (2) This study evaluated the energy efficiency gains attributable to the
        Centex Energy Advantage features in a variety of single-family floor
        plans typical of the Centex product line in the climate zones where
        the Company currently operates. Not all floor plans, building
        materials or construction techniques were evaluated in the study.
        Efficiency gains will vary for other plan types, building materials,
        construction techniques and change of climate zone.
    (3) Calculations are based on NAHB Research Center estimated efficiency of
        1.78 metric tons of CO2 per home equipped with Centex Energy Advantage
        features, as determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
        "Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator" (see www.epa.gov).
    (4) The Centex Energy Advantage will be supplemented or otherwise adjusted
        as required by state and local codes. In several markets, Centex is
        currently building homes with components that exceed the combined
        efficiencies provided by the Centex Energy Advantage.
    (5) Based upon published studies reviewed by the NAHB Research Center.
    (6) 14-SEER air conditioning or 90-percent AFUE furnace, depending upon
        climate zone. SEER is "seasonal energy efficiency ratio," a measure of
        seasonal or annual efficiency of a central air conditioner or air-
        conditioning heat pump that is the average BTUs of cooling delivered
        for every watt-hour of electricity used by the heat pump over a
        cooling season. AFUE is "annual fuel utilization efficiency," a
        measure of average combustion efficiency in a furnace or heating unit.

SOURCE Centex Corporation