T
he Southern Nevada Home Builders Association (SNHBA) kicked off its 2025 Sustainability Breakfast meeting in March, bringing together members to discuss best practices and lessons learned over the past 25 years. The goal was to address pressing issues such as extreme temperatures, water scarcity, population growth, supply chain disruptions, energy access, and land availability.
The event featured a panel discussion moderated by SNHBA CEO Tina Frias, with speakers from various organizations, including the National Association of Home Builders, KB Home, Beazer Homes, Sunnova Energy, Southwest Gas, and NV Energy. They shared their expertise on sustainable building practices, energy efficiency, and water conservation.
According to statistics, only 97 homes in Southern Nevada met federal Energy Star standards in the early 2000s. Today, over 140,000 homes in the region meet or exceed those standards. The International Code Council has raised the bar for homebuilders by emphasizing energy efficiency and water conservation through upgraded building code standards.
The New American Home of 2025, built by Sun West Custom Homes, showcased advanced construction techniques for creating a well-insulated building envelope. The two-story luxury home featured a HERS score of 58, making it 42% more efficient than a standard code-built home. With the addition of Maxeon Home Solar panels, the energy audit generated a HERS score of minus-54.
KB Home has focused on water conservation since 2000, aligning its building standards with guidelines from the WaterSense program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company has installed over 1.2 million water-efficient fixtures in 26,000 new-construction homes, saving customers a combined total of 2.1 billion gallons of water each year.
Beazer Homes aims to develop net-zero energy homes across all its communities and climate zones nationwide. The VISION House project showcased three model homes designed to advance sustainability solutions at a lower cost while providing energy independence and resilience. The AURORA model achieved a HERS rating of 16, compared to a typical new production home rating of 73.
Beazer Homes has established a companywide goal to design and build 100% of its production homes in compliance with the U.S. Department of Energy's "Zero-Energy-Ready Home" standard by the end of the decade. The company was ranked by the RESNET Home Energy Rating System index with the best overall gross HERS rating of 42 across all its housing developments and climate zones during 2024.
The VISION House Las Vegas project, supported by Green Builder Media, showcased the integration of photovoltaic solar panels, battery energy storage systems, and smart power management panels. The final result lowered electricity grid utility costs, increased energy independence, and created a more sustainable living environment for families.
