Green Florida: Local Leaders

Certifying homes as green has become more commonplace as sustainable cabinets, recycled furniture, non-toxic adhesives and other products are making homes healthier and safer—as well as more cost-effective.

Luckily for local buyers, Central Florida builders are at the forefront of these initiatives.?

Under Ashton Woods Homes’ new Power House program, for example, all of the company’s single-family homes and townhomes are now built according to standards set by the Environments for Living (EFL) and Energy Star programs.

The Environments for Living program was launched in 2001 by Daytona Beach-based Masco Home Services, which offers its builder clients pre-construction plan reviews, inspection services and diagnostic testing related to sustainability and energy efficiency.

The program meets the requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star program and, at the Platinum level, meets the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America specifications.

Michael Roche, vice president of sales and marketing for Ashton Woods, says the company’s homes are about 95 percent green based on even more stringent certification standards set by the Florida Green Building Coalition.

“The Environments for Living standards are a step up and beyond Energy Star programs to make homes healthier and safer, along with being energy efficient,”

Roche says. “From thicker insulation to low-E dual pane windows and fresh air ventilation, we’re creating a healthier home.”

KB Home is also on the leading edge. In 2007 the company launched a new My Home, My Earth? consumer resource on its Web site to provide educational information on how homeowners can save money while decreasing their environmental impact.

“KB Home created this new feature as part of its goal of becoming a leading environmentally friendly national company,” says George Glance, division president of KB Home Orlando" target=_blank>Orlando.

The My Home My Earth initiative offers environmentally friendly options to homebuyers, from Energy Star-rated appliances to low-flow plumbing fixtures to recyclable carpets. It’s all part of KB’s customer-focused homebuying process, which gives buyers the ability to choose options to personalize their homes while reducing their carbon footprint.

KB also equips all of its new homes with Energy Star-certified appliances and, beginning this year, builds to Energy Star specifications.

Glance notes that Energy Star-qualified homes are up to 45 percent more efficient than homes built as recently as 10 years ago.

Brad Wightman, vice president of construction for M/I Homes, says every single-family home and townhome built by M/I in the Orlando" target=_blank>Orlando area has been Energy Star-certified for the past year. “Everyone deserves an energy efficient home,” Wightman says.

Custom builders are also continuing to move forward with sustainable, green-certified homes. Sunscape Homes, owned by Rick Carr, former president of the Master Custom Builder Council (MCBC), has been integrating green concepts into homes for several years. In fact, Sunscape built an energy efficient showhome back in 1996 for the Southeast Builders Conference.

Keith Carr, vice president of Sunscape Homes and a certifying agent, says the company is boosting its efforts even further. He says consumers are looking for some type of green certification as pro-healthy, anti-waste behavior continues to gain favor.

“Homeowners can have that certification to show they are taking the initiative,” Carr says.

Last year, Sunscape joined a select list of green builders at Winter Garden’s Oakland Park, the first new-home community in Central Florida to be certified green by the Florida Green Building Coalition.

In Winter Park, Phil Kean of Phil Kean Designs continues to lead the way in the green building arena, having a home receive a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. And Greg Hardwick of Hardwick General Contracting is building a new custom green home for certification in the Orwin Manor section of Winter Park.

Hardwick, who chairs the Green Building Council for the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando" target=_blank>Orlando, has been spearheading the green effort in Central Florida for several years.

So, while it’s true the economy may be giving us lemons, many Central Florida’s builders are busy making lemonade. Or is it limeade? Either way, right now, nothing could be sweeter.