COEUR d'ALENE - Sitting in the den of her daughter's Meadow Ranch home, Mary Ellen Wilson is content - and comfortable.

"It's always warm in here," said the engaging 93-year-old as she took a break from scanning the monitor on the desk on a cold, drizzly Tuesday morning.

The 1,500-square-foot home owned by Julia O'Neill boasts two-bedrooms, a den, three bathrooms, a laundry room, and a light, cozy living room.

The two women, joined by a 17-pound house cat, moved into the house in October. And they love every square inch.

One of the things they enjoyed most about the home is its energy efficiency.

It features radiant in-floor heat, an energy recovery ventilator, solar tubing for natural light, and dual-glazed, low-emittance windows that result in fewer drafts and air leaks.

O'Neill has noticed the difference from her previous tri-level home. Her energy bill last month, she said, was $146.

"It's much cheaper energy-wise than living in the tri-level," she said.

Others have noticed, too.

The cottage-style home in ActiveWest's Meadow Ranch development in Coeur d'Alene was chosen as one of six homes being featured for its super energy-efficient building practices and technologies by Northwest Energy Star Homes and Kootenai Electric.

The home designed by RnD Architects is projected to use 90 percent less energy for heating than one built to meet local and state building codes, according to a press release.

Northwest Energy Star Homes is featuring builders like AWB across the region as part of an initiative to raise the bar for the future of home building standards and to educate homebuyers on the value and benefits of choosing a home that is more energy efficient.

"Energy Star wanted to find builders in the Northwest that are far exceeding their minimum standards," said Sharon Cunningham, AWB's director of sales and marketing.

Meadow Ranch has nearly 40 homes built to the guidelines of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leed certification program.

"ActiveWest has a long-standing commitment to building homes that remain at the forefront of the industry's continuously evolving, stringent standards for efficiency and quality," Cunningham said.

The home also features:

n Daiken Athermal air to water heat pump system;

n Panasonic Energy Start Exhaust fans;

n Mitsubishi electric ductless heating and cooling system

"In addition to saving substantial energy, AWB is also building homes that deliver on increased comfort, better indoor air-quality and lower maintenance," said Neil Grigsby, initiative manager for Northwest Energy Star homes.

O'Neill said she particularly likes the radiant heat, which means no fans, no blowing air, no pockets of cold and warm. Just warmth.

She just sets the thermostat on 70, and no worries.

"It's all the same," she said.

And it's clean.

Peter Anderson of Anderson Consulting said the energy recovery ventilators means there's fresh air continually flowing into the home.

"You don't get that dust when you have gas-forced air or electric forced air," O'Neill said.

O'Neill and her mom also love the proximity of the development off U.S. 95 and Kathleen to their gym, where they work out three times a week.

Nothing, however, beats being warm and cozy during a North Idaho winter.

That's why they love their Meadow Ranch home.

"This is where I wanted to be," O'Neill said. "I'm not ever leaving here."