Net-Zero Energy Option Now Available At KB Home In Houston

They may say everything is bigger in Texas, but at KB Home (NYSE:KBH) your energy usage doesn’t have to be—in fact it could be zero. KB Home unveiled its first net-zero energy home in the Houston area during a special event held today at its Lago Vista at Westheimer Lakes community in Richmond. At the event, KB Home employees and local elected officials hosted a group of area school children for an exclusive guided tour of the innovative new home, dubbed ZeroHouse 2.0, that is designed to produce as much energy as it consumes.

KB Home already builds 100% of its new homes to U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR ^® standards, but now homebuyers in Houston, and other select KB Home markets, are able to choose a ZeroHouse 2.0 that may eliminate their monthly electricity charges entirely, and is estimated to save a Houston-area homeowner over $2,000 annually on energy utility costs when compared to a typical existing home.

“At KB Home, each of our buyers gets their home Built to Order. This means they get to select everything from the lot on which their home is built, to the color of their carpeting, to the style of their front door,” said Jim Widner, regional president for KB Home. “And now, with the introduction of the ZeroHouse 2.0, they can further customize their home’s potential energy efficiency. They can select features that could reduce their monthly energy bills to next to nothing, giving them greater control of their total cost of homeownership and a new home tailored to fit their lifestyle, taste and budget.”

The higher efficiency of the ZeroHouse 2.0 is the result of a whole-home approach, from the inside out, that begins with increased insulation, upgraded HVAC systems and dual-pane, low-e windows and ends with solar panels on the roof. The new model ZeroHouse 2.0 home at Lago Vista also showcases innovative new technology, including an energy monitoring system and automated home controls.