Energy Star homes are developed to heat and cool efficiently, use less energy, and provide savings for homebuyers. Energy Star qualified homes are up to 45% more energy-efficient than 10 year old homes, allowing buyers to reduce their carbon footprint and monthly utility bills for years to come.
A variety of environmentally friendly options are offered in four categories – Energy Efficiency, Inside Environment, Water Wise and Sustainable Sources.
Dallas-area homebuyers want quality homes that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, and affordable – both at the time of purchase and over the lifetime of operating the home. KB Home delivers on all counts, said Don Barrineau, president of KB Home’s Dallas division. Homes built to Energy Star guidelines drive down buyers’ energy costs, a welcome relief to our buyers in Dallas who last year paid the nation’s highest average utility bills.
Recently, the company has announced that all new home communities opening in 2009 and beyond will be built to Energy Star guidelines nationwide.
KB Home’s leadership in the area of energy efficiency is something that all businesses, regardless of the industry, should strive to emulate, said Sam Rashkin, director of the Energy Star for Homes program for the US Environmental Protection Agency. As one of the nation’s largest homebuilders, KB Home has a unique opportunity to make a real impact on the environment through their commitment to building Energy Star qualified homes. With this announcement, they have truly set the bar in the homebuilding industry and we hope more of the nation’s builders will follow their example.
To get designation as an Energy Star qualified home, a third party must verify that the home meets a set of requirements developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency. These criteria include effective insulation, high-performance windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment, energy-efficient products such as appliances, and compliance with a thermal bypass checklist.
