Louisville, KY – RJ Thieneman is pleased to announce Legends at Saratoga Springs as Louisville’s first ENERGY STAR-only community. Every home in this unique 39-lot upscale neighborhood will be a certified ENERGY STAR home, specifically designed for those who want a new custom home that offers all the best features, plus energy-efficient improvements that deliver better performance, a more comfortable lifestyle and lower utility bills.

Legends at Saratoga Springs is secluded within the Saratoga Springs development, located on Old Heady Road, just a mile from Taylorsville Road, inside the Gene Snyder Freeway. New ENERGY STAR custom homes in Legends at Saratoga Springs range from $395,000 to $500,000.

“With the cost of energy going up – it is a no brainer,” said Brian Thieneman, President and CEO of RJ Thieneman. “The homes in Legends at Saratoga Springs are made comfortable in all aspects for the residents.”

To be certified as ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ENERGY STAR homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make ENERGY STAR homes 20-30% more efficient than a standard home.

ENERGY STAR home requirements for certification include effective insulation that has been inspected, high-performance windows, tight construction and ducts, energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment, efficient products and a third-party verification. These steps reduce energy use, keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer, improve indoor air quality while reducing utilities and maintenance, as well as improve the overall comfort of a home. Homes that meet ENERGY STAR requirements end up helping the homeowner save money and conserve energy.

“The best way to explain it is – you wouldn’t buy a car these days without knowing how many miles per gallon you’ll get, so why would you buy a house without knowing how much the cost of the energy is going to be? RJ Thieneman has gone above and beyond the requirements to make this all ENERGY STAR community 30% more efficient,” says Shawn Purcell, ENERGY STAR home rater for the Louisville area.

RJ Thieneman began the company’s first ENERGY STAR home over two years ago, and now includes ENERGY STAR homes in several of its neighborhoods. However, Legends at Saratoga Springs is the first community to be comprised exclusively of ENERGY STAR homes. All six of the custom builders who are constructing homes in Legends at Saratoga Springs are on board with the ENERGY STAR program. Those builders are Clifford Thieneman Co., Estate Homes, Medallion Homes, Prestige Builders, Saratoga Homes and Thieneman-Seitz Construction. They plan to continue building ENERGY STAR homes because of appreciative clients like Kevin and Pam Cherry, who purchased a brand new ENERGY STAR home in Saratoga Springs last year and found such a dramatic reduction in their utility bills compared to their much smaller previous home – they were sure the utility company had made a mistake.

“Even considering the rise in energy costs, our LG&E bills this summer still average half of what they did in our old home,” says Pam Cherry.