The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is honoring 348 organizations with Energy Star Residential New Construction Market Leader Awards for their important contributions to energy-efficient construction and environmental protection. Recently, EPA has recognized 15 organizations across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as Energy Star Residential New Construction Market Leaders, whose efforts have made outstanding contributions in building, manufacturing, rating and certifying Energy Star Homes.

Energy Star certified homes and apartments 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.

“Voluntary programs like Energy Star have been successful in helping reduce energy usage,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “These organizations have demonstrated a clear commitment to helping homeowners save money and reduce their environmental footprint, and I applaud them for their efforts.”

Met-Ed (a FirstEnergy utility) and PPL Electric Utilities are among the Pennsylvania-based Residential New Construction Market Leaders receiving recognition.

The Energy Star website contains the complete national list of New Construction Market Leader Awards.