Estimated monthly savings: $454.
Estimated annual savings: $5,450.
Estimated 30-year savings: $281,344.
These are numbers from the reNEWable Living Home project, a concept home created by BUILDER and Meritage Homes that achieved a 16 HERS Score. These savings that go direct to the home buyer reflect builder Meritage Homes' promise of "Life. Built. Better." They also are the embodiment of building practices and processes that deliver on future demand.
Here, Meritage Homes CEO Steve Hilton speaks to how the reNEWable Living Home's design offers a window into the future of home design and performance.
In support of the innovation showcased in the reNEWable Living Home, Sam Rashkin, chief architect at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office and author of Retooling the U.S. Housing Industry, in January gave a presentation at the project's launch party in Orlando. According to Rashkin, there are five drivers in housing disruption that the Meritage Homes BUILDER concept home addresses:
- Informed home buyers
- Zero energy ready
- Consumer experience
- Off-site production
- Housing aggregator
Going forward, more informed home buyers will be looking at programs such as the DOE's Zero Energy Ready Home—another certification that the reNEWable Living Home achieved. Although it may be a while for zero energy to go mainstream, Rashkin notes it will certainly be a disruptive force in housing during the next cycle. According to Dodge Data and Analytics, in 2017, 29% of builders plan to build a net zero, near net zero, or net zero ready home, which will grow to 44% in 2019.
Hilton and his team at Meritage Homes addressed the five topics that Rashkin outlined by collaborating with suppliers and the BSB Design team to create a multigenerational home that offers a higher level of efficiency, and as evidenced by the numbers above, also delivers tremendous value.
Every step of that process was captured throughout the design and construction at www.builderonline.com/renewable, along with a virtual tour of the home. Visit now and learn more about the future of volume home construction.
