BH&G America’s Home Giveaway

On Tuesday, October 18 th, Better Homes and Gardens announced the winner of their America’s Home giveaway. The giveaway home is located in the community of Vickery Village in Cummings, GA just 40 miles north of Atlanta and is valued at $500,000. The builder, Hedgewood Properties Inc., designed the home to achieve a whole house energy savings of 30% with regards to the 1995 Model Energy Code (MEC) minimum requirements.

The Department of Energy’s Building America partner, IBACOS, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA, and the Southface Energy Institute of Atlanta worked with Hedgewood to make this level of energy efficiency possible. Together, these building innovation companies identified a number of recommendations for improving the building performance. Some features include Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs) on the walls and roof, high performance windows with low-emissivity coating, a 3.5 ton (13 SEER) heat pump, and a tankless water heater. Furthermore, the building’s airtightness was increased, and all air handling equipment and ductwork is located within the sealed, conditioned space.

The rest of the house was designed based on responses from over 60,000 readers to the Better Homes Better Living survey. All of the readers who responded were entered into the contest, and in the end, the home was awarded to Rhonda Baine of Rock Hill, South Carolina. She was also awarded a 2005 Ford Freestyle. Rhonda described the entire experience as a “Cinderella Story.” Upon winning the house, she said, “This is going to change a lot in my life. I feel so blessed.”

Previously at IBACOS