Masco Home Services Launches New Home Performance Program for Existing Homes: WellHome

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Masco Home Services today announced the launch of WellHome (www.wellhome.com), a new program offering home assessments and comfort and energy efficiency home improvement services for existing homes. The WellHome service is launching in seven cities – Austin, Dallas, Orlando, Phoenix, Tucson, Ann Arbor, Mich. and Nashua, N.H. – and plans to expand to multiple other cities before the end of 2010.

Through its WellHome business, Masco Home Services, a subsidiary of Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS), plans to become the first national provider of home performance services, including whole home comfort and energy efficiency assessments, recommendations and project implementation.  Unlike simple energy auditing services, WellHome will provide assessments and implementation, serving as the general contractor to oversee all home improvement projects.  

Additionally, WellHome provides homeowners with a Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee* on their energy savings resulting from the improvements.  State and federal tax credits, and utility rebates and incentives, may be available to help pay for these improvements. The recently proposed HOMESTAR program, which President Obama is encouraging Congress to enact, may make additional incentives available to homeowners who make weatherization or energy efficient improvements to their home. (WellHome President Larry Laseter discusses the HOMESTAR program with President Obama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzWcXubIHyk). Financing is also available.  

"Millions of homeowners across the country are living in homes that are not as comfortable or energy efficient as they could be. To date, our assessments show that homeowners can see energy efficiency gains between 20% - 50% by choosing our solutions, which also supply comfort and air quality benefits," said Larry Laseter, President of WellHome.  "Our approach to home performance is to conduct a thorough assessment and diagnose the issues, but to also fix them, and then guarantee the energy savings.  This full-service approach to comfort and home energy efficiency is unique to WellHome and will be the model as we grow nationally."

Masco Home Services is already recognized as an innovative leader in the creation of energy efficient and comfortable homes through its Environments For Living® and Environments For Living Certified Green programs.  The Environments For Living program is a national, turnkey home performance program for residential builders designed to help them build comfortable more energy efficient homes using principles of building science.  Since 2001, more than 130,000 homes have been built under the Environments For Living banner.

Leveraging the company's deep knowledge in building science, WellHome will focus on home performance for existing homes. Given that two-thirds of the more than 100 million single family homes in the United States were built before modern energy codes, there is a pressing need for the services WellHome offers.  The Company has a team of home performance advisors as well as service providers to supply products and services including air and duct tightness, insulation, windows, energy efficient lighting and new heating and cooling systems to make homes more energy efficient.

"We've established a strong platform of building science experience and expertise through our Environments For Living program, and we will now provide similar turnkey home performance services for existing homes to deliver better energy efficiency, lower costs and improved comfort for homeowners and their families," said Laseter. "This will truly be a one-stop solution for homeowners looking for a trusted partner to help them improve their home's performance.  We back up our process with a Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee that we think is powerful statement supporting our work.  The ability to improve a home's comfort and the energy savings guarantee make our program ripe for national expansion."

Using state-of-the-art diagnostic tools, including infrared temperature guns, blower doors and carbon dioxide and air flow monitors, a WellHome Advisor (WHA) conducts a comprehensive, whole-home assessment.  The WHA assesses the home for comfort, efficiency and air quality issues, and all WHA's are trained and certified by the Building Performance Institute, which ensures the assessment they conduct is rigorous, standardized and measurable to ensure energy efficient outcomes.  

Following the assessment, the WHA develops a report via licensed industry software that analyzes the data and illustrates to the homeowner how their home performs relative to energy efficiency and comfort. The assessment report helps homeowners make an informed decision about the improvements that will best suit their needs and budget by prioritizing the effectiveness of each option, while also showing the long-term cost benefits of installations and improvements.  The WHA will also help identify available state and federal tax credits, utility rebates and incentives, as well as financing.  

The WellHome Advisor schedules and oversees energy-efficient and comfort-creating improvements, which include air and duct tightening, insulation, windows, efficient lighting and new heating and cooling systems.  In available areas, WellHome offers solutions from other Masco companies including Masco Contractor Services, a leading national installer of insulation, and Milgard Windows & Doors, an industry leader in window and door innovation. Upon completion of the work, the customer receives a Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee.

Homeowners interested in learning more about how WellHome can make their home more comfortable can visit www.wellhome.com or call 877-721-5907.

About WellHome

Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, WellHome is a leading home performance company.  The Company provides home performance assessments conducted by Building Performance Institute-certified advisors, improvement recommendations and implementation, as well as assistance on identifying rebates and incentives.  WellHome's home energy performance services are backed by experience with more than 130,000 homes built under the Environments For Living program.  WellHome is a founding member of Efficiency First, a trade association that is a leading advocate for home performance, and a subsidiary of leading home products company Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS).

* See the full Whole Home Energy Savings Limited Guarantee for details and limitations; available from Masco Home Services upon request.

SOURCE Masco Home Services