Natural gas appliances and heating systems can help you get points to earn a National Association of Home Builders Green Building Certification. 

Energy efficient natural gas appliances are clean, safe, environmentally-friendly and economical.  Often, they cost less to operate and provide more comfort and value than appliances using other fuel sources.  Always look for the ENERGY STAR label on appliances, which use 20 to 40 percent less energy.

Furnaces/boilers

Heating and cooling systems are the largest energy users in a home.  Today’s natural gas heating systems are efficient, clean to operate and require very little maintenance.  If a heating equipment is more than 10 years old, it operates at around 50 to 60 percent efficiency, meaning that only about half of the fuel burned is converted to heat.  New, modern heating equipment operates at 90 percent efficiency or higher.  And, high efficiency natural gas furnaces can reach 97 percent efficiency.  That means for every dollar you spend on energy, 97 cents is used for heat.

Tankless water heaters

Tankless water heaters, which are often referred to as demand water heaters, provide hot water only as it is needed.  Tankless water heaters eliminate the heat loss found with traditional storage tank water heaters.  It turns on when hot water is needed and turns off when there is nor hot water demand.  To learn more about tankless water heaters at energysavers.gov.

Cooking

Nine out of 10 chefs agree that cooking with natural gas is a requirement to preparing great food. Gas ranges or cooktops and ovens provide fast heating, even temperature control, superior energy efficiency and reliability over other fuel types.  Gas ranges or cooktops and ovens also offer many great features, such as automatic ignition, sealed burners, self cleaning or continuous cleaning ovens and smokeless broiling.

Fireplace

When selecting a fireplace, opt for natural gas hearth appliances for energy efficiency and easy of use.  Natural gas hearth appliances include fireplaces, fireplace inserts, gas logs and freestanding gas stoves.  Today’s natural gas hearth appliances can be easily and safely installed in almost any room, including kitchens and bathrooms.  And most couldn’t be easier to operate; just flip a switch or push a button and watch the flames dance while the room quickly warms up.

If you’re in the market for new hearth products, whether you’re building a new green home or remodeling an existing one, visit your local specialty hearth dealer to see the variety of natural gas hearth appliances available to choose from.

Outdoor Room

Outdoor living space is quickly becoming one of the most enjoyable aspects of home ownership.  Consumers are enjoying and extending the outdoor season with clean-burning natural gas appliances.  With natural gas, homeowners can cook and entertain in style from their backyard deck, patio and even the lawn.  A natural gas grill for food preparation, casual furniture to relax on and a natural gas heating product, such as a gas fireplace, patio heater or fire pit create an outdoor living space that can be enjoyed long after the sun has set or the seasons have changed.