In celebration of Earth Day, Meritage Homes—ranked No. 6 on the 2021 Builder 100—has announced an updated series of energy-efficient features as standard in its new homes, including an enhanced multispeed HVAC system available starting this month.
Provided through an exclusive strategic relationship with Carrier, the multispeed HVAC system is designed to operate more efficiently than traditional HVAC systems, with the aim of allowing homeowners to better manage the comfort of their homes at a lower monetary and environmental cost.
“We are honored to be working with Meritage Homes and to have our multispeed HVAC system offered as the standard in all new homes built moving forward,” says Craig Benefield, national accounts manager at Carrier. “Meritage Homes’ commitment to building sustainable homes aligns with our vision to provide solutions that matter for people and our planet.”
Meritage is also adding a number of new features to its M.Connected Home Automation Suite, available as standard in all homes:
- The Resideo ProSeries, which allows for centralized management of all home technology;
- Door sensors and motion detectors for enhanced home security; and
- Professional installation of smart home tech through SafeStreets.
Meritage has been named an Energy Star Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence award winner for the eighth year in a row by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. All of the builder’s new homes are 100% Energy Star certified, and the company has delivered nearly 72,500 Energy Star-certified homes since 2010.
Courtesy Meritage Homes
In celebration of Earth Day, and following his appointment as CEO of Meritage Homes after the retirement of Steve Hilton, BUILDER spoke to Phillippe Lord about the company’s sustainability strategies, as well as its future under his leadership.
BUILDER: Can you tell us more about the multispeed HVAC system, and the improvements made to the M.Connected Home Automation Suite?
Lord: New for 2021, through our strategic relationship with Carrier, Meritage is the first public home builder to include a multispeed HVAC system as a standard feature in newly constructed homes.
The system is designed to operate more efficiently than traditional HVAC, allowing owners to better manage the comfort of their home while reducing their environmental impact and operating costs. It runs quietly, ramps up faster, and filters more air, which helps reduce airborne particles from recirculating—promoting overall better indoor air quality and healthier homes.
We already had an advanced M.Connected Home Automation Suite standard in all new Meritage homes, but we wanted to give our homeowners more. As part of the enhancements today, we look to provide even more safety and security options while also continuing to offer innovative smart home technologies.
BUILDER: What does it mean to be a good corporate citizen?
Lord: As a good corporate citizen, it is essential to recognize our company’s social, environmental, cultural, and philanthropic responsibilities and, at the same time, also uphold our ethical and governance requirements while maximizing profitability for our stakeholders. For us, this involves three components: a commitment to building better, a commitment to employees and community, and a commitment to corporate responsibility.
BUILDER: How do you plan to continue your commitment to energy-efficient building?
Lord: As a leader in in energy-efficient home building, we introduce a new initiative typically annually and plan to continue to offer new solutions that will enhance the livability, safety, health of our homes while looking to reduce operating costs for our owners.
BUILDER: You recently succeeded Steve Hilton as CEO of Meritage. What are your plans for the future of the company?
Lord: After I became COO in 2015, I spent five years working closely with Steve before his retirement. We collaborated to formulate and then implement the Meritage Homes strategy in 2016 to focus on entry-level and first move-up markets. In 2019, all of our executives worked together to establish the road map for our growth strategy—the plan to grow to 300 communities by mid-2022.
My biggest focus as CEO has been and will continue to be this goal of 300 communities. As we have shared externally, we already own or control all of the land necessary to achieve it. We are focused on developing the land, opening the communities, and getting specs in the ground over the next five quarters.
As CEO of Meritage, I want to place a continued focus on our people and culture and also expand Meritage Homes’ technological innovations. I believe that digital transformation opportunities can help increase efficiencies in both the employee and customer experience and further differentiate our offerings in the market.
Today, we are a top five builder in 10 of our 17 markets and are working toward increasing Meritage Homes’ market share in all of our geographies through our entry-level and first move-up strategy coupled with strong operational execution.
BUILDER: How has the COVID-19 pandemic informed your construction strategies, including this one?
Lord: We think homes will continue to become greener, more energy efficient, and increasingly tech-enabled—trends we noticed during the pandemic. At Meritage, we are pushing for health and safety enhancements. … We believe our latest offering of the multispeed HVAC system builds on our strategy to provide industry-leading air quality indoor, promote overall health, and reduce energy usage while saving our customers money in the process.
We also believe smart-home technology will continue to push into the mainstream, from smart appliances and fixtures to whole-home management solutions.
We remain nimble with our product offerings and look to meet new major trends to customers’ wishes. For example, we are monitoring to see if the desire for larger homes with larger lots to accommodate home offices will continue to be popular post-pandemic.
