CertainTeed Corporation Stands with White House in Encouraging Home Energy Efficiency Through HOMESTAR Program

VALLEY FORGE, Pa., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- CertainTeed Corporation, two-time U.S. Department of Energy's ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year joined President Obama this week in Savannah, Ga., in support of the proposed HOMESTAR energy efficiency program. The program is designed to reduce existing home energy and utility bills, create jobs and increase economic spending.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070102/CLTU053LOGO )

The proposed HOMESTAR program will establish a $6 billion rebate incentive to encourage immediate homeowner investment in energy-efficient appliances, windows, building mechanical systems and insulation, roofing and whole-home energy efficiency retrofits. The program will create construction and manufacturing jobs. Additionally, it will build on current state programs that use federal standards and incentives to increase consumer awareness and help save homeowners money.

"We applaud the President for continuing to raise awareness about energy efficiency and encouraging homeowners to go above and beyond the current energy standards in place," says Peter Dachowski, president and CEO of CertainTeed Corporation, who participated in the President's invitation-only meeting.  "As part of Saint-Gobain, the world's largest insulation manufacturer, we see remarkable success in this area in other parts of the world where energy standards are more strict. For the United States, this is a great step in the right direction."  

According to a recent study from Cornell University, if all existing homes and buildings were retrofitted to 2009 building codes, including upgrading systems and improving transportation and industrial energy, we could eliminate 32 quads of energy over the next 10 years. This is equivalent to the amount of oil imported into the United States each year.

"This clearly proves we have a tremendous opportunity in this country," says Dachowski. "The infrastructure is in place – plants are ready to manufacture high-quality products, credentialed contractors are looking to get back to work, and homeowners are poised to save money while reducing their impact on the environment."

CertainTeed offers quality-building products for both new and existing homes that meet the National Green Building Standard™ and Green Building Guidelines established through the National Association of Home Builders. CertainTeed's full line of insulation products are certified through the GREENGUARD Environmental Institute and many interior and exterior building products can also qualify toward credits for LEED® through the U.S. Green Building Council.

To assist homeowners taking advantage of new incentives, CertainTeed recently introduced, in California, Sustainable Insulation™, a new fiberglass batt product that meets the strictest Indoor Air Quality Requirements of the state. Sustainable Insulation incorporates 35 percent recycled material and a new proprietary, organic binder that is made from rapidly renewable bio-based materials.

As a further contribution to reducing the national energy bill, CertainTeed also offers two high-performance roofing products that attribute evolving green technologies. The EnerGen™ Photovoltaic Roofing System, featuring integrated UNI-SOLAR® thin-film photovoltaic laminates, seamlessly lies flush with traditional asphalt roofing shingles to generate solar energy and create utility savings for homeowners. And, Landmark Solaris™, a solar reflective roofing shingle that utilizes contemporary granule technology to repel the sun's rays and lower the surface temperature of a roof by up to 20 percent during warm months.

All of CertainTeed's fiberglass insulation products and several roofing products, including Landmark Solaris, qualify for the federal energy tax credits as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. For more information, visit www.certainteed.com/energytaxcredits.

About the HomeStar Program

Under the first level of rebates – Silver Star – consumers would be eligible for up to $1,500 in a variety of home upgrades, including adding insulation, sealing leaky ducts, and replacing inefficient water heaters, HVAC units, windows, roofing, and doors. There would be a maximum rebate of $3,000 per home. The more comprehensive Gold Star level would provide a $3,000 rebate to consumers for a whole-house energy audit and subsequent retrofit tailored to achieve up to 20 percent energy savings. Additional rebates would be available for savings above 20 percent. Participating in the program is a broad array of vendors, from small independent building material dealers and energy efficiency professionals, to large national home improvement chains.

About CertainTeed

Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed has helped shape the building products industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," quickly inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed® is North America's leading brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, windows, fence, decking, railing, trim, foundations, pipe, insulation, gypsum, ceilings and access covers.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world's largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have  6,000 employees and over 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada.  The group had total sales of approximately $3 billion in 2009. www.certainteed.com

SOURCE CertainTeed Corporation