Family chooses Energy Star home

With four young children, Kisha and Robert Carter have their hands full. When it came to purchasing their first home, the Carters said they wanted a home that made life a little easier.

"We chose everything energy-efficient," Kisha Carter said. "We are pleased with our KB Home and the Energy Star-rated features that came with it."

The family purchased the Foxworth floor plan in the builder's Cambridge neighborhood in Providence, a master-planned community in the northwestern valley.

To increase the home's energy efficiency, the Carters elected to install additional insulation throughout the home, including the garage.

They also chose an upgraded air-conditioning unit, Energy Star appliances and a radiant roof barrier, which is one of many Energy Star-rated options available at the KB Home Studio.

Radiant roof barriers are installed in the roofing or attic of a home to help reduce the effects of summer and winter temperatures. The barrier helps keep outside temperatures out and the inside more comfortable, according to Renee Gervais, vice president of sales and marketing for KB.

"We used to live in a home where our boys' room was located over the garage. In the summer, their room was too warm. In the winter, it was freezing. In our new home, our two girls will share a room over the garage. Additional insulation and the radiant heat barrier were an important option for us," Kisha Carter said.

The Carters' home also includes low-e glass windows, which come standard in all KB homes. Low-e glass, or low-emittance glass, is glass coated with an invisible layer of metal oxide that reduces the amount of radioactive heat in the home.

The couple said they chose the additional Energy Star-rated home options to help keep their future energy bills low and the comfort of their home high. "You can fix your mortgage rate, but you can't fix your energy rate," Robert Carter said.

KB Home is a member of Nevada Energy Star Partners, a coalition of Southern Nevada home builders, developers, retailers, mortgage providers, energy consultants and local utilities promoting energy conservation.

Energy Star-rated homes meet building guidelines for energy efficiency set forth by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Energy Star-qualified homes can include a variety of energy-efficient features, such as effective insulation, high-performance windows, tight construction and ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment and Energy Star-qualified lighting and appliances.

For more information on Energy Star, visit thinkenergystar.com.