KB Home Offering Solar as Standard Feature on New Florida Houses

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-24/kb-home-offering-solar-as-standard-feature-on-new-florida-houses.html

Jan. 23 (Bloomberg) -- KB Home, the Los Angeles-based builder that targets first-time buyers, will offer solar power systems as a standard feature on houses it’s building in some parts of Florida.

The first KB house with rooftop panels will be available next month at its Fisher Plantation development in Apopka, George Glance, president of KB Home’s Central Florida division, said today in a phone interview.

The 52-home community is the first in the region to include solar power as a standard feature, according to a company statement. Rooftop panels reduce homeowners’ monthly costs and increase resale value, and will make KB’s houses stand out in a tough real estate market, Glance said.

“We can create value in a new home that consumers couldn’t otherwise get from our competitors or on the resale market,” Glance said. The owner of a one-story, three-bedroom home may save as much as $1,200 a year on energy costs, KB Home said.

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