Luzviminda Capin, a housewife in the Philippines, never got used to the high utility bills for the small home she rented for much of her adult life. “I would be shocked to see my electricity bill. It never fell below 2,500 (Philippine Pesos, or about $50) a month,” she recalls. That was higher than what she paid for water, cable, and Internet combined.
Capin was far from being the only one suffering from the high cost of electricity: the Philippines has one of the highest household and commercial electricity rates in Southeast Asia, fueled by its dependence on expensive, imported fuel.
But that’s changing as energy-efficient communities like Via Verde Homes, developed by Imperial Homes Corporation (IHC), gain ground in the housing market. IHC is the first developer to receive IFC’s EDGE green building certification in the Philippines for two of its Via Verde communities.
IFC created EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) to identify sustainable practices and solutions in construction, increase efficiency in the use of resources, and reduce impacts on the environment. Compared to conventionally built houses, Via Verde houses consume about 40 percent less energy, 25 percent less water, and up to 38 percent less energy in the making of building materials. Via Verde homes that run on solar power, like Capin’s, eliminate 1,200 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year—the equivalent of taking a vehicle off the streets for a period of three months.
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