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KB Home has announced that every home they build in Arizona, California and Nevada communities going forward will be WaterSense® labeled, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) highest standard for water efficiency and performance. Additionally, these homes will be rated using the RESNET® HERSH2O® system to ensure that they meet EPA’s requirements, helping homeowners use less water as well as spend less money on utility bills in some of the most drought-stricken areas of the country.
“In many areas of the U.S., the frequency, intensity and duration of drought events have been increasing. Water is not something we can take for granted. In 2010, KB Home delivered the first WaterSense labeled home in the nation because we understood that this approach would help reduce the use of a precious natural resource, save our homeowners on utility costs and mitigate drought conditions,” said Jeffrey Mezger, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KB Home. “We are now expanding our industry-leading approach to water conservation, building all our homes in future Arizona, California and Nevada communities to EPA’s highest water-efficiency standards.”
According to EPA, WaterSense labeled homes use at least 30% less water than a typical home and can save a household 50,000 gallons of water annually, on average. To date, KB Home has built over 18,000 WaterSense labeled and Water Smart homes and installed over 900,000 WaterSense labeled fixtures. The company estimates that these homes, together with the WaterSense labeled fixtures within them, conserve approximately 1.6 billion gallons of water annually.
“Water is an essential part of our daily lives, and EPA’s WaterSense program helps residents and businesses conserve this vital resource,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “KB Home is a long-time WaterSense partner and seven-time recipient of the WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award. Their commitment to build homes in the Southwest that meet WaterSense criteria will help combat the megadrought in the West.”
More recently, KB Home became the first builder to implement EPA’s new WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, Version 2.0, which was released in February 2021. The program was piloted in the Las Vegas area, and preliminary field data collected by EPA confirms that homeowners are seeing significant savings. These KB homes had a median water use of just 44,000 gallons of water per year compared to the 97,000 gallons per year or more used by typical homes in the region – a 55% reduction in use of this precious natural resource.
For more information on KB Home’s sustainability initiatives and how the company is building better homes, better communities and a better future, visit kbhome.com/sustainability.
