Los Angeles-based builder KB Home has completed four houses in its Springwood neighborhood near Sacramento, Calif., the first production community in the country to earn the EPA’s WaterSense label for new homes.The reasonably priced dwellings will come standard with WaterSense, Energy Star, and GreenPoint Rated certification at no extra cost to buyers. The one- and two-story homes range in size from 1,604 to 2,597 square feet and are priced from the mid $200,000s, making them affordable for even first-time buyers in the market, according to KB Home director of corporate communications Craig LeMessurier.

WaterSense-labeled homes, designed to use 20% less water than a typical new home, are independently inspected and certified to ensure EPA criteria are met for water efficiency and performance. Homes in the Springwood development will feature a range of water-saving products, including:
–Water-efficient showerheads and kitchen and bath faucets from Moen.
–Sterling 1.28-gpf toilets.
–Metlund’s D’mand hot water distribution system with an on-demand recirculation pump.
–Water efficient landscaping with a Hunter irrigation controller.

The initiative includes educating buyers about the dwellings’ energy-efficiency and water-saving features, says LeMessurier. “When our homeowners see the money and the resources they save each month, they instantly appreciate the value,” he says.

Springwood, located just east of Sacramento in Roseville, Calif., will be the first of three KB Home communities built to these guidelines. The company will soon announce the expansion of the program to communities in Austin, Texas, and Orlando, Fla., LeMessurier says.