Desert communities understand the need to conserve water. The City of Henderson, Nevada has long been a leader in water conservation and will become the site of the very first home labeled under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense Version 2.0 pilot, using the new RESNET HERSH2O whole-house water efficiency rating system. The new home, located in the Inspirada master plan, was built by KB Home and rated and inspected by Las Vegas–based Energy Inspectors Corporation. An agreement to develop efficiency standards and a collaboration between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) led to the kick-off of a pilot program, using HERSH2O to obtain the WaterSense label in the Las Vegas market. “We are pleased to continue to work with both the EPA and RESNET in bringing this valuable program to market and congratulate KB Home for their leadership in building the first WaterSense 2.0, water-efficiency rated homes in the State of Nevada,” said Galo LeBron, CEO of Energy Inspectors Corporation and Ei Companies. WaterSense 2.0 allows whole-house performance-based water efficiency rating programs to be used in achieving the EPA WaterSense label for homes. Under the pilot program, homes need to meet a few straightforward requirements and achieve a HERSH2O score of 70 or less to obtain the WaterSense label. “KB Home is honored to be the first homebuilder to implement this new water efficiency rating system, and our Inspirada community is the perfect location to pilot this program,” said Brian Kunec, President and Regional General Manager of KB Home’s Las Vegas and Seattle divisions. “We understand that water conservation is critical to our sustainability efforts as it helps preserve a precious natural resource and reduce our homeowners’ utility costs.” In conducting the HERSH2O rating on the home, operational regional managers at Energy Inspectors reviewed the home’s plumbing specifications and conducted a flow rate test of the home’s irrigation system. To verify compliance with the WaterSense checklist items and ensure a high level of performance, a pressure loss test was conducted to check for leaks in the plumbing system, and the home’s toilets, bathroom faucets and showerheads were all verified to be WaterSense labeled fixtures. All the home’s details and test results were entered into the HERSH2O calculator to obtain its index score. On the HERSH2O index scale, the lower the number the less water the home is expected to use. This home scored a 57, meaning it is roughly 43% more water efficient than a similar home built in 2006. This exceeds the WaterSense labeled homes requirement of being 30% more efficient. With the new home receiving RESNET’s HERSH2O certification and earning the WaterSense label, new homebuyers are receiving a home that performs well and saves water. “EPA is pleased to work with long-time certification partner, RESNET, and not one but two WaterSense Partner of the Year award recipients in KB Home and Energy Inspectors,” said Jonah Schein, the National Program Manager for WaterSense labeled homes. “The Version 2.0 pilot is an important opportunity for WaterSense to gain feedback on how to best support the building industry as well as ensure that the needs of home buyers are being met.” For more information on the RESNET HERSH2O program, visit:https://www.resnet.us/about/hersh2o/.
