VALLEY — The new house in Dewey Homes’ Oakcrest housing development doesn’t look much different from most new tract housing — except for the solar panels on the roof of the garage.

Inside, there’s a decided lack of "new home smell" due to Dewey’s use of sealants and paints low in volatile organic compounds. The carpets are made from recycled plastic, and the wood flooring has been harvested in a sustainable manner.

The insulation, heating and cooling systems, 3-kilowatt solar system, tankless water heater and Argon-filled windows are all upgrades to the basic Dewey home.

But Glenn Gleason, senior vice president for the Wayne-based builder, said the upgrades are becoming more typical as Dewey commits to green building practices.

"We decided two-and-a-half years ago to look into it," Gleason said. "Pennsylvania has the third-largest number of LEED Certified buildings in the nation but is one of the lowest for homes. There’s been no push for homes in the state."

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, has been mostly the purview of office building developers up to now

Dewey and a handful of other homebuilders are slowly but steadily moving to building more energy efficient houses in more environmentally friendly ways. Every new home the

company builds from now on will be Energy Star certified at minimum.

Dewey completed four such houses at the end of 2008.

"We’re trying to differentiate ourselves," Gleason said of the commitment to sustainable building.

Dewey also wanted to be ready for when the PUC removes constraints on electric rates in the region at the start of 2011. Rates then could go up 30 percent, observers have said.

"We wanted to be ahead of the learning curve," said Ken Dewey, co-owner of the company.

Figuring out how "green" a new home is can be confusing for consumers. That’s because there are three major national standards in play: Energy Star, a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy; a National Green Building Standard, the National Association of Home Builders rating system; and LEED, which is administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

As a general rule, LEED has the toughest — and most expensive — standards, followed by the Homebuilders group and then Energy Star, Gleason said.

Dewey’s new test house in Oakcrest, for instance, is Energy Star Certified, has a gold rating under the NAHB rating, and is specified but not certified under LEED’s rating because it meets some of those qualifications, but not all.

Chad Martin, owner of TMG Homes in Glenmoore, recently completed a 2,600-square-foot house in Paoli using green building practices.

Martin said the homeowners reported a $110 electric bill in November, which included running a hot water heater and heat pump, a considerable savings over houses built in traditional ways.

""I want to push this for the masses," said Martin, who described his company as a small builder. "There should be one easy to follow set of standards. My thought is Energy Star is the right program because LEED is too expensive and having all these different ratings is too confusing.

"I would like to see Energy Star (standards) mandated."

Specializing in green building practices has helped TMG weather the housing downturn.

"It’s a good thing we’re doing what we’re doing because it does differentiate us," Martin said.

Martin and Gleason said building to Energy Star standards adds about 1 percent to their costs while it costs 5 to 10 percent more to build to LEED standards.

"All this green technology is great, but if it’s too expensive, what good does it do?" Martin asked.

Michael McGee, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties, said his group endorses the national homebuilders’ system but added today’s new homes are already far ahead of older homes in terms of energy efficiency.

"A lot of guys are already building to bronze level standards," McGee said. "There’s a lot of interest in this but part of it is, if there are increased costs, is there enough market demand?

"Consumers have to understand the value of building green as opposed to wanting granite countertops," McGee said. "Appraisers have to catch up, too. If you put in a $30,000 geothermal heating system, appraisers have to recognize that value."

The builders are hopeful that the Obama administration will follow through on campaign promises to make energy efficiency a priority. They noted that tax credits are already available on the national front and hope the state Legislature will pass a proposed 25 percent tax credit for upgrades to energy efficiency.

Of course, what would help most is a rebounding economy.

"Traffic is up, we’ve written four contracts this month," Gleason said hopefully.