The New York Times - USA (2020-11-15)

2 REMB THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2020

Energy Star

Certified homes

Market

share

Source: Energystar.gov THE NEW YORK TIMES

Highest Share of

Energy Star Certified Homes

Arizona %

Maryland

Washington, D.C.

Nevada

Te x a s

Delaware

New Jersey

Colorado

New Hampshire

North Carolina

18,224

5,275

55

2,725

17,663

750

1,513

3,162

304

5,180

54

44

33

21

14

14

13

13

11

10

Energy Star

Certified homes

Market

share

Lowest Share of

Energy Star Certified Homes

Vermont

West Virginia

Maine

Wyoming

Arkansas

Rhode Island

Hawaii

Alaska

Montana

North Dakota

7 7 5 5 3 3 1 0 0 0

1 – – – – – – – – –

%

The Energy Star symbol, com-

monly found on home appliances, is

familiar to many. The program behind

it was created by the Environmental

Protection Agency in 1992 to provide

consumers a standardized measure of

energy efficiency. But Energy Star is

not only about air-conditioners; it

includes partnerships with industry

that extend to promoting energy effi-

ciency in commercial buildings, indus-

trial plants and homes. To date, it has

helped reduce greenhouse gas by more

than 3.5 billion metric tons, about what

750 million cars would produce in a

year. In 2018, the program reduced

energy costs by $35 billion.

This week’s chart is drawn from the

latest annual report (2019) examining

the share of new single-family homes

built achieving Energy Star certifica-

Where to Save on Electric Bills

tion in the 50 states and Washington,

D.C.

In 2019, 73,445 such homes were

built in the United States — though not

a single one in North Dakota, Montana

or Alaska. (Hawaii managed a single

house.) Arizona had the highest share,

54 percent, or 18,224 homes. Besides

Arizona, only Maryland and Washing-

ton, D.C. surpassed a 25 percent share

of new homes meeting certification

standards.

To achieve Energy Star certification

— which can come with tax credits for

builders and homeowners — a new

home must do more than just use cer-

tain appliances. It must be built, tested

and inspected to meet strict E.P.A.

guidelines for heating, ventilation,

cooling, water management and insu-

lation. Certified homes built in 2019

saved over $20.3 million in electric

bills and reduced CO 2 emissions by

107,303 metric tons, the equivalent of

23,209 cars, 249,713 barrels of oil, or

the CO 2 captured by 1.77 million trees

grown from seedlings for 10 years.

MICHAEL KOLOMATSKY

CalculatorEfficiency Stars

I’m planning to visit family in Arlington, Va.,

over Thanksgiving. It’s a nonstop drive, and

I’ll be staying with relatives who have been

very careful. Do I really need to quarantine

when I return to my Manhattan co-op? I

can’t imagine it’s any riskier than having

dinner with family in Brooklyn or New Jer-

sey.

As Thanksgiving approaches and people

prepare to travel around the country (albeit

less than usual), Covid-19 cases are rising

in a large majority of states, including

Virginia and New York. The United States

is now averaging more than 100,000 new

cases a day, and we have entered what Dr.

Deborah L. Birx called a “deadly phase of

the pandemic.”

In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has

expressed concern about holiday travel,

telling NY1 on Nov. 6, “If you love someone,

say, ‘I love you so much that I’m not going

to see you this Thanksgiving.’ ”

Your plan to reduce points of contact

with other people along your holiday route

will certainly reduce your risk. But an

indoor gathering with family is still consid-

ered a high-risk activity. So yes, you should

follow state rules to protect your neighbors

upon your return.

Ahead of the holiday, Governor Cuomo

revised New York’s quarantine rules, giv-

ing travelers an option to test out of the

two-week quarantine period. Under the

new guidelines, anyone traveling into New

York from a noncontiguous state should

take a Covid-19 test three days before de-

parting for New York. Upon arrival, they

must quarantine in New York for three

days. On the fourth day, they can take

another test. If both tests are negative, they

no longer have to quarantine.

Travelers who have been out of New

York for less than 24 hours do not need to

quarantine. But if you do need to quaran-

tine, you shouldn’t leave your apartment

for the duration.

“Quarantines have generally been self-

imposed,” said Steven D. Sladkus, a real

estate lawyer and partner at the Manhat-

tan law firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich

Greenberg Atlas, adding that most build-

ings have been operating on an honor

system. “But if a building finds out that

you’re not quarantining, they could take

action or register a complaint with the

state.”

RONDA KAYSEN

Do I Really Need to Isolate

After a Family Thanksgiving Visit?

NADIA PILLON

Ask Real EstateHolidays and Quarantine

To submit your questions or comments, email

[email protected].

A picture caption with an article last Sunday about co-ops that are increasing residential fees to

make up for lost commercial rent misidentified the woman shown with Fernando Andrade at An-

drade Shoe Repair. She is Nilda Andrade, his wife, not Carolina Conigliaro, his daughter.

CORRECTION

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