Do your plans include building a new home or, perhaps, renovating your current house? No matter the scope, home building decisions can be overwhelming.

Today, building houses has become more complex. As new homeowners, we want to save more and maintain less. We prefer larger windows, higher ceilings and open concepts, yet we strive for a quiet, cozy refuge with consistent temperatures at a reasonable cost. We don’t want just a house, we want a high-performance domain — and for good reason. High-performance homes are more efficient, more comfortable and longer lasting.

As a member of LaGrange County REMC, we can help make your new or renovated home as energy-efficient as possible through our Touchstone Energy® Home program.

Here is how it works. First, contact our energy advisor, Jake Taylor, at 877-463-7165. He will work with you and your contractor to ensure all Touchstone Energy Home standards are met.

Your Touchstone Energy Home will be properly sealed and well insulated, your geothermal unit will be sized appropriately, and all systems will work together to provide efficiency, comfort and savings. With the program standards in place, you will find your home is less expensive to operate.

We are so confident of the savings, that when you choose to team with LaGrange County REMC to build a Touchstone Energy Home, your heating and cooling costs are guaranteed for the first year.

If you’re planning to build a new home, be sure to contact LaGrange County REMC. We will help guide you toward your new home offering comfort and efficiency for years to come.

LaGrange County REMC CEO Mark Leu, left, and Energy Advisor Jake Taylor, right, with Mike and Amanda Clabaugh and family. The Clabaughs recently built a Touchstone Energy Home.

Meet our newest Touchstone Energy home owners

The Clabaughs are the proud owners of a 3,440 square foot, two-story home south of LaGrange. The home, built by Granite Ridge Builders, features a full, unfinished basement, an attached garage and a high-efficiency geothermal heating and cooling system.

The home scored a 46 on the *HERS Rating Index. The Clabaughs received a guarantee for their first year that the total annual heating costs of the home will not exceed $751 and the total annual cooling costs will not exceed $191.

*HERS stands for Home Energy Rating System; the lower the score, the more efficient the home. The average new home built to current energy code standards measures about 80 on the scale.