Dave and Erin meet with the Habitat Staff to review design and construction implementation.

In late 2013 the largest Habitat For Humanity affiliate in Florida approached Dave Jenkins for homes that would achieve green certifications, a new mandate for H4H. Incorporating the remarkable energy-efficient features he’s championed in his pre-drawn Energy Smart Home Plans was exactly the cure for their customer's high energy costs. Seriously cutting energy bills for H4H customers was very motivating for Dave and his team who believed that they could deliver a product which could arguably be the most energy efficient H4H homes in the country.

That stats are in and we can report that our H4H home owners enjoy dramatically lower energy bills, up to a 75% reduction in monthly energy costs!

How did Dave do it? Like his Energy Smart Home Plans collection, the H4H homes have all been designed with the entire mechanical system in the conditioned space. That means the ductwork is all below the ceiling and out of that hot South Florida attic. Not an easy task given only 8’ tall walls that Habitat builds! Working with a talented draftsperson, Erin Paul, these homes have all been designed with all of the ductwork concealed in chases that run through closets and beams so effectively - you would not know they are there!

H4H’s VP of Construction, Rick Mercer reports that these homes energy-efficient homes actually cost 8% less to build than the homes they constructed from previous architects and designers. In addition, WJHD offers the nearly one hundred sets of lot specific plans each year at no charge, saving Habitat hundreds of dollars on every home they build.

Some examples of plans that were developed from this project are the Marion and the Trevor.

For the Sake of Humanity!