OKC-area homebuilder gets a bright Ideal

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City),  May 5, 2008  by Kelley Chambers

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Metro homebuilder Ideal Homes has been working on ways to make its homes more energy-efficient - including constructing a zero- energy house - and now installs compact fluorescent lighting in all of its newly constructed homes.

The 18-year-old company builds homes in 17 communities in Oklahoma City and throughout the metro area including Deer Creek, Edmond, Moore, Mustang, Newcastle, Norman, Piedmont and Yukon.

Ideal has already put the energy-saving bulbs in more than 300 homes and reports it builds about 400 homes a year, all of which will now come standard with the compact fluorescent bulbs.

Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, states that compact fluorescent bulbs use 75 percent less energy than the standard incandescent bulbs and are reported to last 10 times longer than those bulbs. The compact fluorescents are designed to last for at least 500 hours.

The bulbs are reported to save $30 or more in energy costs per bulb over the lifetime of each one.

"There's just no good reason not to do it," said Vernon McKown, Ideal's co-owner and president of sales. "We hope that every Oklahoma City builder will take up our challenge and adopt CFLs as part of their standard building practices. It's good for the homeowner and good for the environment."

Kelly Parker, president of Guaranteed Watt Saver, a company that does third-party evaluations for energy efficiency in residential and commercial properties, said compact fluorescent bulbs are catching on, and coming down in price.

Parker said as the public becomes more educated about the bulbs, more people are leaving standard incandescent bulbs on the shelf in favor of compact fluorescents.

The bulbs are often sold in packs of five or seven, which Parker said can often be had for less than $10.

"The price is already down now to where it's stabilized," he said.

Parker said he approached Ideal about two years ago to switch out the lights in one of its model homes to compact fluorescents. He said that move resulted in a savings of $20 to $30 a month on the home's electric bill.

Impressed with the savings, Ideal then retrofitted all of its model homes with compact fluorescents, and touted the savings potential to home buyers.

On average Ideal reports it installs about 45 bulbs in each home it builds.

But there have been recent concerns about the bulbs, including the question of how much mercury they contain.

Parker said over the past five years, however, the Environmental Protection Agency has tightened the standards for the amount of mercury in each bulb.

"The amount of mercury in compact fluorescents is way less than what's in a normal mercury thermostat," Parker said.

He said proper care and disposal of bulbs should also be observed, especially when a bulb gets broken.

If a bulb breaks, Parker said it should be swept up with a broom and dustpan and not picked up by hand or vacuumed up.

Bulbs can also be recycled at stores like Home Depot.

Last year, Ideal was named one of America's best builders by Builder Magazine and the National Association of Home Builders.

"We are proud to announce this conversion to 100-percent CFLs as another demonstration of our commitment to saving energy, cutting down on utility costs and respecting the planet," McKown said.

Copyright 2008 Dolan Media Newswires
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.