Garbett Homes
Bryson Garbett started his construction career as an 18-year-old framer. In 1988, after graduating from the University of Utah, with a degree in history, Bryson decided to start his own company. After years of perseverance, Garbett Homes has become one of the largest and most innovative homebuilders in the state. Garbett Homes has built over 5,000 homes and apartments in more than 30 communities.
In this month’s feature, we asked Garbett Homes Marketing Manager Glenn Hoggan to share some insight on building HERS® homes for their customers.
Q: What is special about a HERS® Rated home?
A: Glenn: It communicates to a prospect, in a way they can see, that their home is efficient. It takes the conversation from “we said” to something more credible because a third-party inspector has verified and tested each home. When paired with a little education, a lower home HERS® score, which equates to energy saving can be translated to money savings. What a house is saving you should be a part of a conversation, especially when communicating the cost of ownership; which helps buyers to be more informed on what they can afford.
Q: Why should consumers ask for the HERS® Index Score on homes they are shopping for?
A: Glenn: To add another layer of protection and understanding for how a home will perform for them. It allows a customer to evaluate, from the many options they have, a home that can deliver them more energy and money savings.
Q: Why does Garbett Homes choose to have their homes HERS® Rated?
A: Glenn: At Garbett Homes, we pride ourselves on offering our buyers forward-thinking homes not just from a design standpoint, but most importantly, from an efficiency standpoint. Giving our buyers the proof that we can back up the efficiency claims we make with independent certification is important. We want our buyers to know that we stand behind what we say and how we build homes.
Q: Why consumers should expect energy-efficient homes?
A: Glenn: Customers should expect continuous improvement and with continuous improvement in homebuilding should come home energy efficiency. They should also expect something more than a “take our word of it” response when they have already committed with their time and money to a home purchase.
Q: How many homes does Garbett Homes build with HERS® per year?
A: Glenn: We build approximately 150 homes a year, each one is independently tested for efficiency and performance with HERS.
Q: How do you market HERS® Rated homes?
A: Glenn: All Garbett homes are built Zero Energy Ready through our partnership with the U.S Department of Energy. This means homes built so energy efficient all or most energy costs can be offset by adding renewable energy. Every home receives certification on many aspects of how we build and are independently tested. As a part of our independent third-party certifications, we assure a HERS® score in the 40s for single-family homes and 40-50s for attached multifamily homes. We incorporate our HERS® scores into model home marketing, on our website through our Garbett Green page, on our included features for each community, and more.
Q: How do your customers feel about HERS® Rated homes?
A: Glenn: Customers feel assured that we stand behind our homes and are more than happy to prove it. While some sell “green” or energy-efficient features, they cannot compete with efficiency proven in the HERS® Scores we have for every Garbett home sold.
