The Details: What it means to be green.

All of Larsen’s custom homes are built in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® guidelines for energy efficiency. From an owner’s perspective, this is a very good thing. Your home will be more comfortable in every season. You’ll enjoy reduced energy and water bills, better air quality and protection from damaging ultra-violet light. And you can feel great about reducing your carbon footprint.

Now for the nitty-gritty. Larsen homes earn Home Energy Rating scores (HERS) that are typically 35% better than a standard, built-to-code home. And that’s not including optional, renewable technology we can add to further increase efficiency. For the uninitiated, the HERS index is a scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network. To obtain a home’s score, a third-party inspector analyzes your home’s construction plan. After reviewing the plan, the rater works with Larsen to identify any energy efficiency improvements needed to ensure the house will meet ENERGY STAR® performance guidelines. The rater then conducts onsite inspections to generate your home’s HERS Index.

Here are some examples of how a Larsen Home protects the environment, your health, comfort and pocketbook.

  • Advanced air sealing and insulation techniques eliminate unwanted drafts and temperature changes for better comfort and lower utility bills.
  • Sealed-combustion HVAC appliances cannot leak harmful emissions into your home.
  • Continuous-flow water heaters supply hot water and heating “on demand” without wasting energy or dollars.
  • A two-stage air filtration system targets pollen, bacteria, mold, and other airborne pollutants making your indoor air healthier to breathe.
  • Aluminum-clad wood windows with low-E glass save energy while lowering the amount of direct ultra-violet light in your home, which reduces fading of fabrics, wood furniture and flooring caused by direct sunlight.
  • TYVEK® weather barrier protects walls from the elements, and ensures your home will last for generations.
  • Advanced flashing and weatherization techniques greatly reduce the possibility of mold.
  • “Energy Heels,” a framing technique that allows for thicker insulation in the attic, reduces the estimated 30% energy loss through a typical home’s ceiling/attic.
  • To conserve water, lumber, and other building materials, Larsen Development uses materials that are produced locally whenever possible, to reduce the use of petroleum products (on vehicles and roads), and the impact on our environment caused by carbon emissions.