The energy-efficient villa in Biscayne Park, Miami, is perfect for an extended family. A home without an electric bill is icing on the cake!
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Sensible Net-Zero by Design This is the 6th and final blog of this Net-Zero by Design Series. By now it’s plain to understand that a Net-Zero Energy Home is not just any home covered in solar panels, with awful windows and poor insulation. I actually see homes covered in solar panels, every now and then. . .
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Net-Zero by Design – Know Your Low-E Windows SHGC – Part 5 In Part 4 of the Net-Zero Energy Home blog series, we talked about the great advancements we made in the last 10 years to dramatically lower the energy usage of the mechanical system, particularly in hot and humid climates. We also covered creating. . .
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Net-Zero by Design – Tight Envelope & Smart Insulation – Part 4 In Part 3 of the Net-Zero Energy Home blog series, I addressed the importance of reducing the energy demand of the mechanical system, particularly in hot and humid climates. Before we started designing homes with the ducts in conditioned space, heating and cooling. . .
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Net-Zero by Design – HVAC Sizing – Part 3 In Part 2 of the Net-Zero Energy Home series we discussed the importance of the home’s orientation as well as the uniqueness of the effort to get to Net-Zero. Energy Smart Home Plans is very proud of the fact that we’ve designed so many Net-Zero Energy. . .
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In Part 2 of Net-Zero by Design we’ll talk about the Lot Purchase. – In Part 1 of this Net-Zero by Design series of blogs, I mentioned that virtually all of the discovery we make during a Custom Home Design process applies to creating a Net-Zero Energy Home. But there is also much more to. . .
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Net-Zero by Design Our home plans have the key energy-efficient features already designed in. Net-Zero by Design – Part 1 – In my last blog series, Custom Home Design, I revealed the interviewing process to prior to beginning Task I, Preliminary Design. Although the process of discovering our client’s evolving wish list continues even through. . .
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In our last blog, Custom Home Design – Part 4, we asked a number of questions about the proposed kitchen and owner’s suite. Throughout the upcoming Preliminary Design task, we often revisit these rooms as necessary since the client’s ideas often evolve once we begin discovering.
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What is a True Net-Zero Energy Home? The term Net-Zero is used so frequently to describe any energy-efficient home today, that the term is becoming watered down to simply mean “green whatever.” The term Net-Zero Energy, has a precise meaning, which basically is, the home produces as much energy as it consumes over a 12. . .
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In the previous Custom Home Design blog series we discussed providing the “must have” view if available from the public space, the great room, kitchen and perhaps less important, the dining room. The owner’s suite must also be included.
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In Parts 1 & 2 of this Custom Home Design blog series, I wrote about the importance of identifying the budget, a recent survey of the property and the benefit of having the customer prepare a comprehensive wish list…
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The Serengeti Grand Opening. Serengeti is a one-of-a-kind property in Alva, just fifteen minutes from I-75 on the west coast of Florida. Its lush 31 acres are full of natural beauty. The Caloosahatchee River borders the southern side of the property, and will offer boating access for its residents. There’s a total of 15 acreage. . .
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Interviewing clients for a custom home design, either by phone or in person, is an invaluable process of discovery and we at Wright Jenkins Home Design appreciate the details our customers reveal.
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FGCU Students Meet Net-Zero Energy Experts — Fort Myers based Hi-Performance builder, Shawn Harvey of Greencastle Inc. and designer Dave Jenkins of Energy Smart Home Plans are almost done with the construction of a true Net-Zero home, the 711 Tavernier. These are the Net-Zero Energy Experts. The customers, Roy and Kathleen are very excited about. . .
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Devastating storms often bring out the very best in people. Texans continuing to care for one another in the aftermath of hurricane Harvey is just one example. On Friday the 8th, two days before Irma’s eventual arrival in SW Florida, I started receiving text messages, emails and phone calls from several customers (every client in. . .
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Buy the Best Green Home for the money – Right Now! We first wrote about the Eco Series 2500 model home in a blog titled, The Best Green Home for the Money posted on June 20th, 2016. At the time, builders Bob Hilliard and Jeff Gersh were about to start construction of their first Energy. . .
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We want to congratulate and thank Ashok and Ravi Patel and Dan Wigh on a fantastic open house. Developers Ashok and Ravi are making a great contribution to the Clearwater community with its upscale neighborhood, Breezy Meadows in Pinellas County, Florida. These homes will all offer super low energy bills at a modest price point. . .
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There is no other part of a new home that will pay you back. Sure, a home is an investment, hopefully one that will pay off when you sell it. But there is one aspect that can pay you back the first year you live in it. Studies have shown that people stay in there. . .
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Its HOT and getting hotter! While many will debate the whole climate change issue most will agree the temperatures seem more extreme. When it’s so hot out and the winters seem like they are getting more threatening, our homes need to be able to cope with it. However, we no longer have the luxury of. . .
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