The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that nearly 17 percent of all single-family homes built nationally in 2008 earned EPA’s Energy Star label, up from 12 percent in 2007. Both home builders and home buyers are continuing to invest in high-performing homes that save consumers money on their utility bills and help protect the environment.

“Every year, more Americans decide to cut their energy bills and help keep the air clean in their communities by buying a new home that has earned EPA’s Energy Star. Features like properly installed insulation, high-performance windows and high efficiency heating and cooling can reduce home energy needs by 20 to 30 percent, saving American families thousands of dollars on their utility bills,” said Lisa P. Jackson, EPA administrator. “Even in a difficult market, the interest in Energy Star qualified homes keeps rising. We’re helping builders and homebuyers to protect the environment, safeguard our health and move the country into a low-carbon energy future.”

In addition, market share for Energy Star-qualified homes was 20 percent or greater in 15 states in 2008, including Arizona, Colo-rado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Ver-mont.

Nearly 940,000 Energy Star-qualified homes have been built to date, with more than 100,000 constructed in 2008. In 2008 alone, American families living in Energy-Star qualified homes locked in annual utility bill savings of more than $250 million, saving more than 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 155 million therms of natural gas while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to nearly 350,000 cars annually.