IRVINE, CALIF. – Award-winning national firm KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture + Planning, is pleased to announce that Bellasol (known as "The Zero Home") in Herriman, Utah, received the Platinum award for Single-Family Production - 2,001 SF - 3,100 SF in the 2014 Professional Builder Design Awards competition. Last year, Garbett Homes and KTGY won the Platinum award for The Solaris Collection at Daybreak in South Jordan, Utah, in Professional Builder Design Awards' Single-Family Production - 2,000 SF or below category.

Additionally, Bellasol won a Silver Award and is a finalist for the Gold Award in The Nationals award program. Bellasol received this honor in the category of Best Architectural Design of a Single Family Home (3,000 to 4,000 Square Feet). The Gold Awards were presented at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) International Builders' Show® (IBS) in Vegas, Nev.

Designed by KTGY and built by Garbett Homes, The Zero Home has been featured on Bloomberg TV and Forbes, and in numerous homebuilding industry trade publications including Hanley Wood's Builder magazine and EcoBuildingPulse, Professional Builder magazine, and Builder & Developer magazine, plus countless news sites. Locally, The Zero Home was featured in the Salt Lake Parade of Homes, KUTV Channel 2 news, Deseret News, and on the front cover of Salt Lake Realtor Magazine, to name a few.

The Zero Home is the first climate 5 net-zero “smart home” to achieve a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) 0 rating. Located in the master-planned community of Rosecrest in Herriman in Garbett Homes' Bellasol community, The Zero Home is the first in Utah to receive the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Challenge Home certification, which recognizes home builders for their leadership constructing zero-energy ready homes that are both energy efficient and include high-end finishes, improved indoor air quality, and greater durability.

The self-sufficient non-custom home, which is also Energy Star certified, is solar-powered by a 10.29 Kilowatt Solar Photovoltaic Energy System and equipped with Vivint’s smart home technology and Vivint Solar‘s energy array. The home will generate its own energy, offsetting most or all of the homeowners’ utility bills. According to Rene Oehlerking, marketing director for Garbett Homes, the average utility bill for residents in the same neighborhood as The Zero Home is about $300 per month.

"Every family deserves energy savings and greater energy independence. We are excited to offer these technologically advanced, smart homes that no longer have to come custom built, with multi-million dollar price tags, but are still flexible enough to fit a wide variety of buyer needs," Oehlerking stated.

The first home, which served as the model, was quickly snapped up. Oehlerking reports it sold for $570,000. Garbett Homes has completed a new model, which incorporates a Green Learning Center. Visitors can tour the center and view a deconstructed section of the Zero Home that showcases Garbett Homes’ energy-saving features, including spray foam and blown-in insulation, low-E windows, compact fluorescent lighting, super high-efficiency HVAC systems, a HEPA air filtration system, solar water heating, dual-flush toilets and low-flow faucets. Vivint's real-time energy analytics technology, which allows homeowners to monitor and adjust the home’s energy usage, is also on display.

Garbett Homes has garnered national attention for its green building. According to KTGY's John Tully, a principal and a founding partner of the California-based firm, "The Zero Home serves as a prototype for production net-zero residential building across the United States. It is the first smart home to receive the HERS 0 rating in a climate 5 zone, and it will virtually eliminate homeowners’ electricity bills." 

The Zero Home is located in the Rosecrest master-planned community, which encompasses over 2,500 acres of rolling-foothills and valleys in a quiet setting with panoramic views. Bellasol residents can enjoy over ten miles of improved trails, open spaces, and a lake to support their active lifestyle. Bellasol'a Zero Home offers four floor plans to choose from ranging from three to five bedrooms, two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half bathrooms and a four-car garage, including a charging station for an electric vehicle. Bellasol's Zero Home is priced in-line with other homes in the area based on the price per square foot. Home buyers can purchase a net zero home starting in the low $500,000s.

According to Oehlerking, Garbett Homes started with 17 lots in Rosecrest in August 2013, and now the company has 12 lots remaining. Garbett has an option on 15 more lots, which Garbett Homes plans to take, Oehlerking says. The sales office for Bellasol is located at 5039 W. (approximately 14900 south) Ambermont Drive in Herriman, Utah.

Oehlerking reports that Garbett Homes also has four new exciting residential projects in Utah, that are solar powered and "super green." Designed by KTGY, the new communities are: Terrameer in Herriman (95 single-family homes, 32 twin-homes, 47 townhomes); Herriman Towne Center in Herriman (65 single-family homes, 98 townhomes, and 134 apartments); Highlands in West Jordan (107 single-family homes, 36 twin-homes, 93 townhomes, and 377 apartments); and the Meadows in American Fork (132 apartments).

"We have worked with KTGY since 2008, and have forged a very successful partnership, and won many awards," Oehlerking stated. "KTGY is always ahead of the market and they help us push design and livability to maximize home sales. Our latest innovation is the first single-family, twin and townhome apartment community in the country."

For more information about The Zero Home, see www.thezerohome.com.  

About Garbett Homes
Garbett Homes has been building, marketing and selling award-winning communities for over 30 years. Garbett Homes strives to offer the most up-to-date technology and innovative designs in comfortable and functional homes. They are committed to Green Building Practices and constantly look for new ways to improve in every aspect of energy efficiency, sustainability and environmental responsibility. Garbett Homes has built over 4,000 homes and apartments in more than 30 communities in the United States and Mexico. See www.garbetthomes.com.

About KTGY Group 
Celebrating more than 22 years, KTGY Group, Inc., Architecture + Planning, is a national award-winning firm providing comprehensive planning and award-winning architectural design services for residential communities, retail, hospitality, mixed-use and related specialty developments. KTGY delivers innovative solutions that reflect clear understanding of development, market and consumer trends, and financial performance. KTGY serves clients worldwide with offices in Irvine, Oakland and Santa Monica, Calif., Denver, Colo., and Tysons, Va. See www.KTGY.com