KB Home unveils first Houston-area net-zero energy home in Texas, says ZeroHouse 2.0 option could save a Houston homeowner more than US$2,000/year on energy utility costs

Audrey Dixon

HOUSTON , February 10, 2012 (press release) – Area students and elected officials among first to tour innovative new KB Home ZeroHouse 2.0

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.

During the morning's special event, students from nearby Harmony Science Academy were among the first to discover what goes into the ZeroHouse 2.0 at Lago Vista and enjoyed presentations from KB Home employees and partners. At the conclusion of the event, KB Home presented the school with a check for $2,028, or approximately the same amount of the estimated annual savings that the owner of a ZeroHouse 2.0 would enjoy over a typical existing home.

The ZeroHouse 2.0 at Lago Vista opens to the public for tours tomorrow, Saturday, February 11 at 10 a.m. KB Home's ENERGY STAR qualified home designs, as well as ZeroHouse 2.0 efficiency options, are available at communities throughout the Houston area. To learn more, and locate a community near you, visit kbhome.com or call 888-KB-HOMES.

About KB Home

KB Home is one of the largest and most recognized homebuilding companies in the United States. Since its founding in 1957, the company has built more than half a million quality homes. KB Home's signature Built to Order™ approach lets each buyer customize their new home from lot location to floor plan and design features. In addition to meeting strict ENERGY STAR® guidelines, all KB homes are highly energy efficient to help lower monthly utility costs for homeowners, which the company demonstrates with its proprietary KB Home Energy Performance Guide™ (EPG). A leader in utilizing state-of-the-art sustainable building practices, KB Home was named the #1 Green Homebuilder in a 2010 study by Calvert Investments and the #1 Homebuilder on FORTUNE magazine's 2011 World's Most Admired Companies list. Los Angeles-based KB Home was the first homebuilder listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and trades under the ticker symbol "KBH." For more information about KB Home's new home communities, call 888-KB-HOMES or visit www.kbhome.com.

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