Is energy efficiency a top priority with new homebuyers? Not yet. When new home buyers were asked in a National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) survey taken last year, "Would you pay less than $1,000 in the purchase of your next house to save $1,000 every year in utility costs?" only about two fifths said yes.

NAHB economist Gopal Aluwalia, who has followed housing trends for more than 20 years, said such a response was not surprising. "Most of the people who buy new houses are most concerned with space and amenities, instead of things that are, in the long run, beneficial, but cannot be seen. They want their friends and relatives to say 'Wow! You have a Jacuzzi, two fireplaces and a huge kitchen!'

"Consumers are concerned with looks, and take it for granted that houses are energy efficient. Will they pour more money into energy efficiency? Absolutely not.

"Consumers will buy [more energy efficient] houses if they meet other requirements. They will not give up 9 or 10-foot ceilings, they still want a fireplace, two-story foyers, more windows, more glass, and more openness. All these features are energy consuming, but across all price ranges consumers are concerned with features and amenities they consider part of their life styles."

Can buyer preferences ever be turned around on the energy efficiency issue? The Environmental Protection Agency is betting that they can. Undaunted by current disinterest, the EPA launched the Energy Star Home program last spring to induce home buyers to purchase new houses that are more energy efficient and less expensive to operate.

In the past, energy programs targeted at new home buyers invariably focused on money -- the cost of an energy upgrade, the anticipated savings per year on utility bills and the number of years for the total savings to equal the cost of the upgrade. When couched in these terms, most buyers weren't interested.

This time, in contrast, the EPA is focusing on performance and comfort -- tangible and immediate benefits -- of a more energy efficient "Energy Star Home." In such a house, not only will the utility bill be significantly lower, but both floors can be evenly heated and cooled throughout the year. The house won't be annoyingly drafty. Mechanically controlling the fresh air intake can bring relief to allergy sufferers, and improve indoor air quality. Some insulation upgrade materials make the house quieter, because they are also good sound insulators.

Convincing buyers to evaluate a new house on the basis of comfort and performance is not as great a stretch as one might think, Sam Rashkin, program manager for the Energy Star Home program said. Savvy consumers have long used these criteria when choosing one car over another.

Energy Star Homes are also less polluting. Although most people assume that cars are the biggest air polluters, the average house produces more than twice the air pollution of the average car, Rashkin said. About half this pollution is indirect. It comes from the smokestack of the power plant that generates the house's electricity. The other half is generated at the house itself as combustion byproducts of gas and oil furnaces, wood burning fireplaces and gas hot water heaters are exhausted into the outdoor air.

To qualify for the Energy Star Home program, builders do not have a fixed set of requirements, but the net result must be 30 percent more efficient that the current Model Energy Code now used in about half the jurisdictions in the country. Since builders have a choice of strategies to meet the requirements, most will likely select those that are most cost-effective -- sealing the air ducts for heating and cooling, sealing the building envelope much more thoroughly than is typically done, and upgrading the insulation, especially in attics. When the outdoor air temperature reaches 85 to 90 degrees, the temperature in an attic space can easily top 120. In places with relatively little cloud cover, such as Phoenix, the attic temperature can go as high as 150 degrees, Rashkin said.

Upgrading windows to reduce outward heat flow in cold areas and block sunlight in hot ones is a likely second step. If more effort is still required, a builder can install more efficient furnaces and air conditioning equipment. Every house that receives the Energy Star Home designation is tested for energy efficiency when construction is completed.

How much does the Energy Star Home program add to the cost of a new house? On average it would add about $2,000 to $3,000, but it could increase in the coldest parts of the country if an air to air heat exchanger were required, Rashkin said.

To finance this extra cost, the EPA has developed the Energy Star Home Mortgage Program. Banks that participate will grant a larger mortgage than a given income would normally allow because the monthly savings in utility bills can be applied to the monthly mortgage payment. Buyers whose income already qualifies them can choose to get a larger mortgage and more options. Some banks also give a small mortgage rate discount to buyers of Energy Star Homes.

Buyers and builders who think EPA's Energy Star program not worth the added expense can significantly increase energy efficiency simply by sealing the air ducts and thoroughly air-sealing the house. As much as 15 to 30 percent of the energy used to heat and cool the average house is lost through leaky ducts, Rashkin said. Additional energy losses -- sometimes as much as 20 percent -- are caused by inadequate air sealing of the building envelope, he added.