Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties Earns 2022 ENERGY STAR® Market Leader Award

CLEARWATER (MAY 27, 2022) – Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties is proud to announce that it has earned a 2022 ENERGY STAR^® Market Leader Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in recognition of its contribution to building energy-efficient new homes that have earned ENERGY STAR certification. ENERGY STAR certified homes are at least 10% more energy efficient than those built to code and achieve a 20% improvement on average while providing homeowners with better quality, performance, and comfort.

The Market Leader Award recognizes partners participating in EPA’s ENERGY STAR Residential New Construction program who have made a significant positive impact in energy-efficient construction and environmental protection by building or verifying at least 50 ENERGY STAR certified homes and apartments, or by sponsoring a local program that supported these activities, over the past year. More than 120,000 ENERGY STAR certified single-family homes and multifamily units were built in 2021, for a total exceeding 2.3 million since 1995. 

“Our 2022 Market Leader Award winners demonstrate true leadership in bringing energy efficiency to the residential new construction marketplace,” said Jonathan Passe, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Residential Branch. “ENERGY STAR offers a proven whole-house approach that is transforming the residential market to a higher standard of construction quality while protecting the environment for all.”

“At Habitat, we are committed to building safe and affordable homes for deserving families”, said Mike Sutton, president and CEO of Habitat Pinellas and West Pasco. “Each Habitat home is ENERGY STAR rated, which allows our homeowner partners the peace of mind knowing their house is built to a high standard of construction for enhanced durability and a lifetime of memories.”

Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties has built over 740 safe and affordable homes for local families and was recently recognized as the second largest Habitat affiliate in the country based on new home builds out of the 1,100-affiliate network for the third year in a row.

Learn more about the Habitat homeownership program at www.habitatpwp.org. 

About Energy Star

ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its thousands of partners have helped American families and businesses save 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid more than $500 billion in energy costs, and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. More background information about ENERGY STAR can be found at energystar.gov/about and energystar.gov/numbers.

Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County and West Pasco Counties

Since 1985, Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties has served over 900 families and individuals through its new home buyer and neighborhood revitalization programs using locally raised funds. Volunteers and the future homeowners construct the homes, which are sold at no profit and financed with a zero-interest loan. Habitat homeowner candidates earn 30 to 80 percent of area median income. Candidates must demonstrate need for adequate shelter; ability to pay back a zero-interest loan and willingness to partner with Habitat to invest 350 to 450 “sweat equity” hours. Mortgage monies are used to build even more homes, making each donation to Habitat a perpetual legacy to the community. Habitat believes that homeownership contributes to family stability, leading, in turn, to community stability. Additionally, the affiliate raises funds through their ReStores; home improvement outlets where donated household and building items are sold to the public. For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas and West Pasco Counties, call (727) 536-4755 or visit www.habitatpwp.org.

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