Homebuyers in Austin, Texas, are getting a crack at two new housing subdivisions where energy efficiency is a top goal, including one in which all 7500 homes will be constructed to zero-energy standards.
Taurus of Texas, a real-estate investment firm, said in September it was starting construction of the first 237 houses at Whisper Valley in East Austin, according to a report at MyStatesman.com. Company officials said it would be the first large single-family development in which all houses were designed to produce as much energy as they use on an annual basis.
Houses also will come with fiber optics systems from Google Fiber, which says Whisper Valley is the first time the extremely fast internet service is being installed in a new housing development.
Separately, Lennar announced it would build Austin’s first “solar standard community” where each house would have its own rooftop photovoltaic (PV) array. Homeowners could either lease the panels or buy them outright.
The first phase of Lennar’s Colorado Crossing subdivision, underway near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, will include 120 homes, ranging in size from about 1200 sq. ft. to 2800 sq. ft. and costing between $195,000 and $277,000, MyStatesman said in another report.
Balancing performance and price
Construction details about houses at Whisper Valley weren’t available, but MyStatesman said the intent was to seek a market niche where houses with low energy demands also would be affordable. Taurus expects to price the houses between $150,000 and $275,000, which is higher than the median market value for the immediate area around the development but about in line with the Austin metro 2015 median market value of $267,000.
Taurus partners include Bosch, which will provide energy-efficient kitchen appliances, ground-source heat pumps and water heaters; Google Nest, which will supply its web-connected thermostats; and Google Fiber.
The web report said Whisper Valley residents will pay a fixed utility fee averaging about $175 per month, which would cover the cost of the rooftop PV, an LED lighting package, the Bosch appliances, ground-source heat pumps, and maintenance costs.
In addition to the zero-energy houses, the development also will eventually include townhouses, apartments, and more than 2 million sq. ft. of office and retail space. A second phase of the project, including 200 additional houses, would be started next year.
MyStatesman said Taurus bought 2062 acres for the project in 2006, but the development was sidetracked by the real-estate and financial-markets meltdown. Later, the company partnered with the City of Austin, which issued bonds to finance highway, water and sewer lines in the area in return for the company’s help in achieving Austin’s carbon-reduction goals.
Solar panels for everyone
At Colorado Crossing, homebuyers will be able to choose between leasing or buying the solar panels on their homes, but they won’t get the chance to say, “No, thanks.” Every house in the subdivision gets them.
The panels will be installed and maintained by SunStreet Energy Group, a Lennar subsidiary, whose CEO said the decision to include solar was not so much about “being green” but about making sound business decisions.
“This is about consumer relevance, this is something they want,” he told MyStatesman. “We have not built this business on being green–this is a real business built on economics and consumer needs.”
Homeowners who buy the systems will pay $15,000 upfront, although they will be eligible for the 30% federal-investment tax credit through the end of 2016. Homebuyers who choose the lease option will pay between $45 and $65 per month, the company said, depending on the size of the system. Homeowners who lease their systems will buy their power from Austin Energy at a discounted price.
It wasn’t clear how big the arrays are, and GBA was unable to reach anyone in the company who could offer additional information on solar capacities or mechanical systems. However, David Kaiserman, SunStreet Energy’s CEO, told the website UtilityDive.com the panels were expected to meet about 60% of each home’s electricity needs.
According to the Colorado Crossing website, the slab-on-grade houses are insulated to R-15 in the walls and between R-22 and R-38 in the ceilings and come with radiant-barrier roof decking to reduce attic temperatures. “Technology” features include programmable Wi-Fi capable thermostats.
The company said 20 homes have been completed, with a total of 35 sold. A second and possibly third phase, with another 120 houses each, are in the works but Lennar didn’t have a firm timetable for a complete build-out.
Austin aims for 55% renewables
It will take developments like these if the Austin City Council is to reach its aggressive efficiency goals. Last December, the city approved a plan to get 55% of its power from clean energy by 2025, Climate Progress reported.
In addition to providing 600mw of utility-scale solar, the proposal would have Austin Energy, the municipally owned utility, find 200mw of local solar, at least half of which would have to be owned by customers.
Energy efficiency and improvements in demand response were to provide another 800mw of power over the next 10 years.
“It’s clear that to achieve the ambitious goals Austin Energy has set for itself, we must significantly increase the number of rooftops generating power from the sun,” Austin Energy vice president of customer energy solutions Deborah Kimberly told MyStatesman. “Communities like this with solar integrated into the design from day one allow us to make faster progress toward those goals in ways that allow us to plan infrastructure and protect the overall stability of the electric grid.
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Work is underway on two subdivisions in Austin, Texas, that make energy efficiency a priority. Houses either come with solar panels as a standard feature, or are constructed to zero-energy standards.
