HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. - About two years ago, when Kevin White and his wife, Tricia, were searching for a new home, the last thing on their minds was energy efficiency. Like most new-home buyers, their interest was in more aesthetically pleasing features.

Like granite countertops and wood floors and decorative moldings and vaulted ceilings.

"Then, we came across this one home that was still under construction," Kevin White says, "and we just fell in love with the exterior."

As the Whites investigated more closely, it seems the Colonial that looked good on the outside had even more to offer inside. Built new in 2005 by Benchmark Home Builders Inc., the house features upgrades in wall and ceiling insulation, the heating, cooling and ventilation systems, windows and doors and appliances.

At 4,000 square feet, with five bedrooms and an open floor plan, you'd think the Whites were poised to purchase an energy-gobbling McMansion. But, by chance, they'd found themselves an Energy Star home, built to be 15 percent more energy efficient than the standard new home.

"In the long run, with the Energy Star upgrades, we realized we would save money," says Kevin White, an operations manager for a large Long Island building supply company.

Like the Whites, who moved into their $1.25-million home in the fall of 2005, more and more new-home buyers nationwide are choosing homes built to Energy Star standards. Introduced in 1992 by the Environmental Protection Agency, Energy Star is a partnership between the federal government and business - suppliers, manufacturers and installers - that focuses on reducing energy consumption.

Energy Star's emphasis on new-home construction began in the late 1990s. Today, nationwide, more than 2,500 builders and a half million homes have earned Energy Star certification. By the end of the decade, Energy Star expects to have more than 2 million homes under its energy-efficient wing.

While many buyers have yet to fully grasp the Energy Star twist on new-home construction, builders are making an effort to be ready when the light clicks on. As emphasis on reducing energy consumption grows, buyers will be looking for more efficient homes, experts say.

"Overall, it's a better way to build homes," Ira Tane, owner of Benchmark Home Builders in Huntington Station, says of the Energy Star program. "It's a challenge to us, a challenge to be better builders."

Standing in a first-floor bedroom of an unfinished $1.7-million home he's building a few miles from the Whites' Colonial, Tane says consumers, once educated, often embrace the Energy Star advantages.

It's just too bad, Tane says, that only about a quarter of them, from his experience, shop for energy-saving features first.

Energy Star's construction concept reduces energy use through tighter insulation methods, high-efficiency furnaces and air-conditioning systems, weather-resistant windows and doors, and kitchen appliances - even compact fluorescent light bulbs - that demand less electricity.

The result is a residential structure that exceeds the minimum standards of the International Residential Code - which governs home-building practices nationwide - and one that is 15 percent more energy efficient than a traditional IRC home. "This home is about 5,000 square feet and has about $10,000 in Energy Star upgrades," Tane says, as his right arm waves across the inside of the unfinished high-end two-story house. "But the payback to the homeowner will be about four years."

Upgrades include a blown-on fire- and sound-rated mineral wool insulation by Thermafiber, a high-efficiency gas boiler by Weil-McLain, a high-efficiency air-conditioning system by Trane and high-performance windows. The buyer is still considering appliances, likely something from Viking's Energy Star line.

In a more modest home, say in the 2,500- to 3,000-square-foot range, comparable Energy Star upgrades would add $3,500 to $5,000 to the construction costs, Tane says, with about the same payback period.

The extra money in construction costs are worth it, White says. Last winter, when the thermometer seemed to drop below freezing for nearly a month, White figured on a gas bill of about $500. "I think I paid about $250, max," he says. His monthly gas bill - and the house has gas appliances, too - is usually about $200 a month.

Despite working in the construction-supply industry, White says he was only mildly aware of the Energy Star advantage when he began looking to buy a home. He was moving out of a condo and just looking for more room in a residential setting. After speaking with Tane about buying the house, White says he started to understand the benefits.

"We just bought an Energy Star washer," White says. "Initially, the Energy Star items and materials cost more, but they save money in the long run."

For example, the blown-on insulation is about 50 percent more costly than traditional fiberglass batts, Tane says. However, the blown-on method virtually eliminates air pockets and turns an R-13 wall into an R-15 wall. "But the real difference is because air pockets have been eliminated, there are virtually no drafts, no way for outside air to penetrate the wall cavity," Tane says.

The concept of spending more money upfront to cut long-term energy consumption still frightens some builders and buyers, says Bob Wieboldt, executive vice president of the Long Island Building Institute. "That's the only reservation," he says. "But the payback is so quick, we really have to do it. It makes too much sense."

Energy Star homes must pass a 100-point inspection that includes tests for air leaks in both the structure and the duct system, and a visual inspection of the insulation system.

Wieboldt agrees with Tane that most new-home buyers still aren't making energy efficiency a priority. But, like Tane, more builders say they are starting to take the energy initiative. "Energy costs are continuing to increase," Tane says, "and sooner or later the home buyer will be concerned about how much it costs to heat and cool a new home."



<I>Wieboldt says builders also know construction guidelines are changing. Municipalities across the country are making their local building codes more stringent to match the Energy Star guidelines.