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Strand Brothers Service Experts Wins ENERGY STAR® Century Club Award

4/12/2010
Strand Brothers Service Experts Recognized with a 2010 home performance with ENERGY STAR® Centerury Club Award

AUSTIN, TX 4/7/2010 – Strand Brothers Service Experts is pleased to announce that it has received a 2010 Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Century Club Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

This Century Club Award recognizes Strand Brothers as one of a select few that have improved the energy efficiency of more than 100 homes in the past year through the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. Home Performance with ENERGY STAR, sponsored locally by Austin Energy and ONCOR Electric Delivery, offers homeowners a comprehensive, whole house approach to improving energy efficiency and comfort, while saving money on utility bills and helping to protect the environment.

Chandler von Schrader, with the ENERGY STAR Program at EPA, announced, "2010 as the second year we recognized contractors in our program that have performed over 100 energy efficient installations. These Century Club Contractors are industry leaders committed to using building science to maximize energy savings, comfort and sustainability. By making our existing housing stock more energy efficient, these Century Club Contractors are at the forefront of our nation’s efforts to reduce pollution generated from power plants that provide energy for our communities.”

As a participating contractor in Austin Energy and ONCOR Electric Delivery’s programs, contractors receive specialized training and are equipped with diagnostic tools to inspect homes inside and out to determine where improvements are needed. Rather than focusing on a single problem, like an old heating or cooling system, not enough insulation in the attic, or leaky windows, they look at how improvements throughout a home can work together to give homeowners the best results. Depending on the improvements selected by the homeowner, saving 20% or more on their annual utility bills is possible.

AUSTIN’S STRAND BROTHERS PART OF THE GLOBAL EFFORT TO REDUCE GREENHOUSE GASES.

Chris Strand moved from the college town of Lansing, Michigan to the college town of Austin, Texas in 1978. With not much more than a degree from Michigan State, and an idea that energy conservation was going to be a growing field, Strand started Conservation Unlimited that year with one truck and one employee. “About all we had was a caulking gun and a lot of energy,” Strand laughs.

In 1984 Conservation Unlimited evolved into Strand Brothers. Today, Strand Brothers has 60 employees servicing a customer base of over 16,000 families and businesses in the Austin area.

As the company grew, and Strand became more sophisticated in the ways of making homes more energy efficient, he latched onto the idea of whole house energy improvements. Just as the ‘whole house’ name implies, Strand Brothers evaluates everything from air-conditioning to air ducts. In Strand’s eyes, a house operates as a system with each part dependent on another. All these parts must be addressed to reach optimal energy efficiency.

This philosophy dovetailed perfectly with the thinking at Austin Energy as the utility developed and fine-tuned various programs to encourage customers to use less electricity and water.

“Back then we called it building a energy conservation power plant,” Strand remembers. “By reducing the amount of energy needed to heat and cool buildings, Austin Energy would eliminate the need for a future power plant.”

Now with the prospect of global warning and its relationship to the greenhouse gases that are common side effects of operating a power plant, saving energy is even more paramount.

“It was a bold and ambitious program, but it’s really paid off. Austin homes and businesses use less power per square foot than any other city in Texas.” Strand recently said.

ONCOOR Electric Delivery which locally services the Round Rock, Pflugerville and Hutto area started their Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program in 2009.

Strand Brothers' work has been singled out by the Environmental Protection Agency. The company was one of only 40 companies in the nation awarded a 2010 Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Century Club Award for improving the energy efficiency of more than 100 homes in the past year through the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. All together, Strand Brothers improved over 550 homes in 2010.

Strand reflects, “It’s been challenging, but also rewarding. We’re real proud of being singled out by the EPA. But right now, our goal is focused on improving the energy performance of at least another 600 homes during 2010.”

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 12,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).