Developer KB vows to build water-saving houses
Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home has announced plans to build every home it adds in California, Arizona and Nevada to the Environmental Protection Agency's latest WaterSense specifications, cutting water consumption by 30% from typical new construction.
Almost half of the 13,472 homes the company built in 2021 were in those three states, public filings show.
KB has built over 18,000 WaterSense-labeled homes and installed over 900,000 WaterSense fixtures. The company estimates that these homes and fixtures together conserve about 1.6 billion gallons of water annually.
A WaterSense-labeled home is efficient indoors and out, saving a family an average of 50,000 gallons of water a year through efficient plumbing fixtures, water-saving landscaping techniques and efficient yard irrigation. For example, plumbing distribution systems get hot water to the tap faster to save time — and water.
Such homes must be certified by a third party, such as Home Innovation Research Labs, as meeting the EPA's efficiency and performance criteria.
“We were the first builder to participate in the EPA's WaterSense program,” Dan Bridleman, a
KB senior vice president of sustainability, told Builder magazine in November. “We continue to push the limits on how we can save water.”
KB and other national homebuilders have been experimenting with energyand water-efficient homes for more than a decade.
Industrywide, new construction and landscaping are far more water- and energy-efficient than even just a few years ago, with drought-resistant plantings and water-saving toilets, appliances and showerheads.
Builders like Toll Bros., Lennar Homes and TriPointe also tout on their websites use of WaterSense fixtures in their homes.
In 2020, Lennar participated in a grey water pilot project in Denver that captured shower and bathwater to reuse for flushing toilets.
State water conservation measures that California homebuilders must comply with have been getting progressively tougher, said Bob Raymer, a building code consultant with the California Building Industry Association.
Starting in 2011, the state's Green Building Standards required builders to install low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads in all new homes. The Department of Housing and Community Development adopted an emergency mandate in 2015 requiring all new homes to comply with a water efficiency landscape measure that cuts outdoor watering consumption by 25%.
Homebuilders and state government are exploring ways to implement water recycling for homes.
“In comparison to homes built prior to 1980, the California Green Building Standards have slashed indoor water consumption by 50%,” Raymer said in an email.
KB maintains it's an industry leader in energy and water conservation.
Along with Arizona builder Meritage Homes, KB was among the first developers to begin producing “net zero” homes that generate as much energy as they consume using rooftop solar panels, energy-efficient appliances and insulation to reduce electrical usage.
The company's ZeroHouse debuted in Southern California in 2011 at a 58-home Lake Forest development.
Eventually, solar became a standard option at KB developments throughout Southern California.