Terramor Homes & Southern Energy Management Introduce "ecoHOME" To Wake County Parade of Homes

Sept. 25, 2012 - PRLog -- There's a new kid on the block at the 2012 Annual Wake County Parade of Homes. Six of them, in fact. Parade veteran Terramor Homes, one of the Triangle's leading local homebuilders, will be the first builder to enter six ecoHOME Qualified Homes into the yearly open house contest and tour. ecoHOME (http://www.buildecohome.com) is a newly developed program from Morrisville's Southern Energy Management (http://www.southern-energy.com) that is designed to help builders maximize their homes' health, comfort and energy performance with an effective, yet flexible, prescriptive certification process.

"We are happy to be entering six ecoHOME Qualified Homes in the parade, and we certainly have been following energy efficient practices for a long time, but some other programs include too many unnecessary requirements. ecoHOME makes it easier for builders to achieve results and will absolutely be the type of program that people are looking for when they buy a new home," commented Michelle Simms, Chief Operating Officer for Terramor Homes (http://www.TerramorHomes.com).

Terramor Homes expects their six ecoHOME Qualified Homes to help build momentum and create awareness among other local builders about this new program. Terramor has pledged to build all of their new homes to the ecoHOME standard from this point forward. This move ensures that every home built by Terramor Homes in the Triangle will be guaranteed to have improved health, comfort and energy performance.

Southern Energy Management (SEM) created ecoHOME for builders that were looking for a program tailored to their needs. As a six-time ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year and 2011 NAHB Research Center Green Building Partner of the Year, SEM put more than ten years' worth of experience into developing this new program. ecoHOME combines the RESNET Home Energy Rating System (HERS) with common sense energy efficiency, water efficiency and indoor air quality requirements. RESNET has officially endorsed the program, and most ecoHOME Qualified Homes will earn a score of 75 or lower on the HERS Index, meaning they will be 25% more efficient than new code-built homes. ecoHOME is already garnering attention: earlier this month it won the Entrepreneurial Effort/Innovation Idea of the Year at the Triangle Business Journal's Clean and Green Awards.

"Using a home's HERS score as a target is a great way of ensuring energy efficiency," explained SEM Building Performance Operations Director Michael Peaden."We intentionally wanted to give builders the chance to adjust their plan in the ways that make the most sense for each specific home. This helps them keep costs down while still building a great home that they can market to homeowners who are increasingly interested in efficiency improvements."

The Parade of Homes takes place September 29-30, October 5-7 and October 12-14 throughout Wake County. The ecoHOME-qualified Terramor Homes available for touring during the parade include:

   The Hamptons at Umstead Community - "The James D" - 5009 Clyden Cover, Raleigh, NC
   Bedford Estates Community - "The Victoria B" - 10908 Magic Hollow Ct, Raleigh, NC
   MacTavish Community - "The James D" - 12221 Kyle Abey Way, Raleigh, NC
   Heritage Community - "The Birch F" - 3111 Freeman Farm Way, Wake Forest, NC
   Cameron Pond Community - "The Victoria B" - 214 Parkman Grant Drive, Cary, NC
   Cheswick Community - "The Cypress Creek E" - 1314 Ranchester Rd, Knightdale, NC


About Terramor Homes
For over 35 years, the partners of Terramor Homes have built an award winning reputation for building quality Homes across the Triangle. Terramor has provided homeowners with outstanding customer service and unmatched value. They have built Homes spanning from luxury Townhomes to remarkably spacious and lavish Estate Homes. Currently the Company is building in the following Communities: Bedford at Falls River and The Hamptons at Umstead located in Raleigh, NC. Heritage Run and MacTavish located in Wake Forest, NC. Cameron Pond and Highcroft Village located in Cary, NC. Tuscany located in Holly Springs, NC. Cheswick Community located in Knightdale, NC. The Village at Cleveland Springs located in Garner, NC. Coming Soon Communities include: Eagle Ridge and Savannah Village located in Raleigh, NC. Austin Creek located in Raleigh, NC and South Lakes located in Fuquay Varina, NC. For more information about Terramor Homes visit: www.TerramorHomes.com.

About Southern Energy Management
Southern Energy Management is a North Carolina-based company offering energy efficiency, green building and turnkey solar services for homeowners, builders, and business owners across the Southeast. A certified B Corp, SEM's two-part mission is to improve the way people make and use energy and to build a prosperous company that supports people and the planet. SEM was founded in a living room in Raleigh in 2001, and is now consistently recognized nationally as an industry leader. It is among a small handful of companies in the U.S. to earn the national 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award for being named Partner of the Year six consecutive times. SEM was named a CED NC Company to Watch in 2011 and received the 2011 City of Raleigh Environmental Stewardship Award and the 2010 Green Jobs Award from SJF Institute & Green For All. For more information, visit www.southern-energy.com.