Builders Launch New Net-Zero Energy Homes for Denver Market

By Gabriel Circiog, Associate Editor

Utility bills could become a thing of the past as two Colorado builders launch new models for highly-efficient homes, The Denver Post reports. Although net-zero energy homes are already available from custom builders, KB Home and New Town Builders are believed to be the first to offer production-scale models in Colorado.

Denver-based New Town Builders has built a $424,000 net-zero model home in Stapleton. The builder is offering the net-zero features on all of its seven designs in Stapleton’s Central Park West neighborhood, at $26,900 more than the same home without the features.

Gene Myers, chairman of New Town Builders, said home owners can expect to pay almost nothing in electric and natural gas bills averaged over the course of a year. The feat can be achieved thanks to features such as the 9.9-kilowatt solar panels, energy efficient appliances coupled with extra insulation, and various construction techniques to reduce energy loss. The projected utility cost savings are verified from audits by a third-party rating agency.

Los Angeles-based KB Home unveiled its first net-zero energy home in Colorado at its Bear Creek Meadows community in Morrison. The company already builds 100 percent of its new homes to U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR standards which save an estimated $1,000 annually compared to a typical resale home.

ZeroHouse 2.0 has a higher efficiency thanks to features such as increased insulation, upgraded HVAC systems, triple-pane low-e windows, solar panels, automated home controls and an energy monitoring system. Homeowners could save as much as $3,500 annually compared to a typical existing home.

The feature presented in Morrison will be offered at other KB subdivisions in Colorado in the coming months.

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Photo Courtesy of: www.kbhome.com