WASHINGTON - As they grapple with skyrocketing energy costs, more homeowners are turning to remodelers for energy-saving solutions. According to the results of the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB’s) quarterly Remodeling Market Index (RMI), 33 percent of surveyed remodelers report that they are increasingly called on to improve the energy efficiency of their client’s homes.

The RMI measures remodeler perceptions of market demand for current and future residential remodeling projects.

“It’s no surprise with rising energy prices and other costs draining the piggy bank that homeowners want to maximize home performance with green remodeling options,” said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Lonny Rutherford, CGR, CAPS, CGP, a professional remodeler from Farmington, N.M.

According to the survey, remodelers have installed a number of efficiency-enhancing products in recent months, including:

• Insulation - 65 percent made upgrades such as insulation replacement and spraying foam or fiber insulation into enclosed walls and roof cavities, while 27 percent insulated foundations and 52 percent installed insulated exterior doors.

• High-efficiency HVAC systems - 56 percent.

• Water-saving faucets and fixtures - 46 percent.

“Newer technologies are also quickly gaining in popularity,” said Rutherford. “Thirty-five percent of remodelers reported installing tankless water heaters, which save on energy costs by heating water on demand instead of continuously eating energy.”

For more information about remodeling, visit www.nahb.org/remodel.

Publication date: 07/07/2008