Three Triple Certified Homes in the U.S.

In Baseball, a triple is a pretty rare thing and usually only accomplished by the best hitters in the game. Not surprisingly, Meritage Homes has scored a triple, of sorts – Triple Certification from the EPA. As a matter of fact, as of today there are only three triple certified homes in the U.S and we’ve built all three.

In 2009, Meritage Homes made a commitment to take the lead in energy efficient building practices. There are many reasons for this: government mandates, market differentiation and consumer demand for homes that not only look beautiful but also save you money.

Since Q4 2009, we’ve built 100% of our homes at or above ENERGY STAR®-certified levels. Our ENERGY STAR qualified homes offer the features and quality people desire but with much lower utility bills and greater benefits for their lifestyle. To earn the ENERGY STAR label a home must adhere to strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. As a result, these homes are 20-30% more efficient than standard homes. Meritage surpasses this level of performance by building every one of our homes with these standard energy efficient features.

In August 2011, we set out to build the first production net-zero home in the country. Sure, there were other net-zero homes in the country, but most of them were one-off designs, prohibitively expensive or builder showcase homes that were never meant to be sold or lived in.

We built a real net-zero home for Bruce Ploeser and his family, a beautiful 3,391-square-foot home in a community called Verrado , located in Buckeye, Arizona. The Ploeser’s home looks like most homes on their street except on sunny Arizona days when the electric meter starts spinning backward because the home is generating more power than it uses.

We call our net-zero homes a “Residential Revolution”—because they represent a true net-zero home option that many of our customers can take advantage of. Not only was this the first production net-zero home in the nation, it was also the first to be awarded the three highest certifications from the EPA.

So what does it mean to be triple-certified? Beyond energy-efficiency, we incorporated indoor air quality (IAQ) measures such as MERV-8 air filters and low VOC interior products. Water-efficient fixtures and products, reducing water consumption to meet stringent EPA WaterSense requirements inside and out.

Fast-forward to February 2012. With our entry into Raleigh, NC came another opportunity for us to prove our innovative, energy efficient design strategy would work in all our markets, and not just the sunny desert southwest. The Gibbons model home in our Belmont community near Cary, North Carolina earned us our second triple-certification from the EPA. This 3,371-square-foot two story home features 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a sophisticated water management system and all those standard energy-efficient features that can save homeowners up to 80% on their home energy use.

We are very proud to announce that one of our new San Antonio model homes, in our Providence community , has also received triple certification from the EPA making it the first triple-certified home in Texas.

These three homes were the first to receive all three EPA certifications for indoor air health, water resource conservation, and energy efficiency. These certifications are available in any Meritage home nationally, so you can score a triple of your own. Beautiful home, save money, live better!