We are all proud to be associated with this company that has become one of the nation’s top builders of energy efficient homes. Our guaranteed HERS 59 SunSmart(SM) and remarkable HERS 0 (zero) Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes set the new standard for forward-thinking, environmentally-sensitive new home construction. “We deliver dreams” has long been our brand promise. Now, the new homes that embody that promise are actually positive contributors to ecological well being. It’s a pretty awesome combination!

No doubt you have heard the phrase, “Attitude is everything”. Just for fun, take a moment to prove to yourself just how true that is. Take a piece of paper and write A T T I T U D E vertically down the left hand edge. Draw a little line to the right of each letter. Now, write in the number each letter occupies in the alphabet. To get you started, A is number 1 and T is number 20. Now add them up.

Is this not truly remarkable?

Probably no more remarkable than the way we operate this company. There are no hidden agendas here. No one is asked to do anything other than the right thing. We live the philosophy that without customers, we would have no business, so we treat them right. We allow our people to make mistakes, because that brings mistakes into the light where we can see them and make corrections. How much better is that than having everyone burdened with fear that their secret failures might someday be discovered?

This philosophy of freeing our associates from fear on the job came directly from our founders, Larry Hufford and John Luhn. It is most likely responsible, by itself, for the remarkable success our company has enjoyed. Our customers get it, and they are drawn to it. Positivism is infectious in the best possible way. So are truthfulness and mutual support.

If you’d like to have this sort of home builder build your dream home, we’d love to talk with you. With LifeStyle Homes, no worries, ever!

While he has been with us, Jake has been actively coaching us – assembling the finest team of company associates we have ever had, training them in the LifeStyle Homes way of always (ALWAYS) doing the right thing and allowing them to apply their talents to their position with minimum direction and maximum encouragement. Make no mistake, Jake will be sorely missed, but his departure will hardly affect our operations. We did not expect the call to come so soon, but we have been prepared with a plan and that plan was put into place very quickly.

Jake’s unique talent at LifeStyle Homes was keeping countless balls in the air; never dropping one. At Longwood, there will be only one ball in play during games, but nurturing the young men entrusted to his care will doubtless make up the difference. We wish you God Speed and Fair Winds, friend.

GO LANCERS!

Truth being stranger than fiction is a cliche, but with this company, truth is a wonderment that is absolutely true -  even if that is redundant. We are absolutely convinced our easiest and happiest path to the abundance we want for ourselves, our families, and our associates is to to the very best we can for our customers. It seems we are incapable of operating for our own best interests, if doing so would injure anyone else.

Coming from yet another weekend of reading about the Wall Street scandals perpetrated by just a few individuals that brought down the economy for everyone, a company like LifeStyle Homes seems like an impossible fantasy. Even now, some of you may be reacting negatively to what you have decided is another self-serving corporate scam. But, here’s the deal. It isn’t.

As strange as it may seem – especially if you have never experienced it – LifeStyle Homes is an organization dedicated to everyone winning. Just this week, someone important to us said, “LifeStyle Homes is a company nobody ever leaves. Welcome to your last career stop.”  The story beyond the quote is that  we grow together, laugh together, cry together, but whatever we do, it’s always together.

That bond extends to our associates, trade partners, sponsors, lenders, suppliers and most of all to our customers. Yes, we are proud to build our guaranteed HERS 59 LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes and our truly remarkable, Net Zero Energy, HERS 0 (zero) LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) homes. We are also proud our building science friends at the Florida Solar Energy Center thought enough of our company to select us as one of their pilots. Mostly we are proud of our wonderful customers who have placed their trust in us.

The result is that we have the abundance we sought, but nobody had to suffer bringing it to us. Everybody won when we won. It’s a beautiful thing that ought to spread. We intend to keep pushing the idea forward. No kidding.

It’s a very neat concept made possible for us by the expertise and guidance of the world-class building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center in nearby Cocoa, FL. FSEC is perhaps the leading (and certainly the most influential) private sector lab guiding the federal Department of Energy in Washington in formulating a rational plan to increase the contribution of sun power in meeting the Nation’s energy needs.  FSEC helped DOE conceive the principle of Cost Neutrality – a game changer in getting consumers to satisfy their own self-interests by electing to build an extremely energy efficient new home – which in turn delivers a  big-time environmental benefit.

Cost neutrality can be achieved in homes which save their owners a big percentage of their annual electricity costs, but not yet in Net Zero Energy homes, which promise Free Electricity for Life! LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) (notice, no PV this time) deliver guaranteed HERS 59 performance. This means they promise (and deliver) more than 40 percent energy savings over identical conventionally-constructed homes. It certainly costs more to build such demonstrably superior homes, but the principle of cost neutrality means it doesn’t cost any more to own one, because for every added dollar in monthly mortgage cost, an offsetting dollar savings in monthly energy cost is guaranteed – hence, cost neutrality. But don’t stop there. Cost Neutrality applies only to today’s electricity costs. Does anyone believe energy costs won’t rise? Of course not! With each future increase in electricity rates, our guaranteed HERS 59 LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes generate positive net savings in living costs. This to go along with much superior indoor air quality for your family’s health.

Before you saddle yourself with a 30 year mortgage for some other builder’s conventional house, ask yourself if giving away a hedge against future cost increases to buy a yesterday’s technology energy pig makes sense.   Hmm.

We are national leaders in actually building homes that produce as much electricity as they consume. It’s easy to find publicity about companies that are planning to build homes like these, but we’re actually doing it. We owe our leadership position to our building science friends at the Florida Solar Energy Center in nearby Cocoa, who convinced us the technology was ready to be deployed in real homes sold to and occupied by real people pretty much like you.

Here’s how it all works. Photovoltaic panels are mounted on your roof, or sometimes imbedded in tile roofs. They capture the free power of the sun and convert it into Direct Current electricity. Each panel has a built in  power inverter, much like those you see that convert auto or RV battery power into household Alternating Current electricity so you can run computers and appliances, etc.  away from home. There is a big advantage in performing this inversion right at the power source. That’s why we are especially proud to have a commanding lead in this technology.

So, the AC power coming off your roof is directed to a power switching unit, normally installed in your garage. There, real magic happens. When the roof-mounted PV system is producing more power than is being consumed in the home moment by moment, the surplus is routed over regular electric wires back to the utility company, which is obligated to buy it. On the other hand, when more electricity is being consumed in the home than the PV system can supply, the switching unit in your garage buys as much power from the utility company as is needed to keep everything running.

All of this happens completely in the background. The only way you will know whether your home is producing  surplus power which is being sold to the power company or drawing from the power company is by plugging your computer into the circuit where the switching (and financial accounting) is done. Some folks do just that and enjoy watching the whole system work. Others don’t care too much about the underlying technology. They just focus on the fact that over a year’s time, their Net Zero Energy home will produce enough surplus power when the sun is shining brightly to pay for the electricity that must be bought from the power company when the sun isn’t shining brightly enough, or isn’t shining at all.

Thence, the term Net Zero Energy. Your home will deliver free power to you by balancing the cost of power bought with the income from power sold. Pretty nifty, eh?

Some folks find it easier to grasp how it all works if you just explain that the power meter, outside your home, runs both ways. We are used to seeing it rack up huge revenue for the power company. Keeping track of how much power you sell back to the utility company is a new thing – and very sweet.

If you are in any way thinking of buying a new home, you should check around in your community and see if there may be a home builder offering Net Zero Energy homes. If you live in Brevard County, Florida (or Osceola County, for that matter) you’re in luck. LifeStyle Homes is here for you. Let’s get busy on your free electricity for LIFE!

If you’re considering a new home, maybe you should think about the advantages a Net Zero Energy home could offer you. First, to be classified a Net Zero Energy home, your new LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) home will produce as much electricity as it uses over a year’s time.  Here’s how that works. Roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, much like those that power the International Space Station, capture the free power of the Sun’s light and convert it into electricity. When the sun is shining, your PV system will produce way more power than your home will need. The surplus is automatically routed back to the power company who is obligated to buy it.

When the sun isn’t shining, your PV system will not be producing any power at all. You will buy whatever electricity you need from the power company just like everybody else does. On cloudy days, your PV system may be producing surplus power – maybe not. It depends. That’s why the engineers who custom design your Net Zero Energy home specify a year’s time to reach a money balance between the revenue you make from selling power, and the expense you incur when buying power. The idea is that your power bill will be “Net Zero” over that year’s time.

Think of it! That’s free power! Free power for LIFE!

OK, so how much more does it cost to buy a Net Zero Energy home? PV panels and their associated automatic switching controls are not cheap. That’s why the only sensible way to build a Net Zero Energy LifeStyle home is to start with a guaranteed HERS 59 LifeStyle   SunSmart(SM) home. The extraordinary energy efficiency of a HERS 59-rated home allows you to achieve Net Zero Energy performance by adding the absolute minimum-sized PV system.

OK, so how much more does it cost to buy a Net Zero Energy home? Because of our leadership in building these miraculous homes, we have helped drive down the cost of PV systems dramatically. And, since this is – oops – TAX TIME – keep in mind that really attractive tax benefits accrue to owners of Net Zero Energy homes. Bottom line? Check with us and check with your accountant. You will be pleasantly surprised.

So, get busy!

Our dogwoods have bloomed. The Azaleas are long gone. But people are out and about, and a goodly number of them are buying guaranteed HERS 59, LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes and our truly remarkable HERS 0 Net Zero Energy LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) homes also. This is just great by us! It’s a sign that our Florida new home market is surging back to normal after 6 years of trying not to disappear.

All over the state, records for new buying activity are being set. Even though a substantial inventory of distressed-foreclosed homes exist, buyers are being quite clear. They want new construction. They want warranties. They want the latest features, designs and technology. Most of all, they want rational energy efficiency.

So, if you’ve been thinking about making your move to Florida, now would be the PERFECT TIME! The Season is over. The crowds have subsided. There are some great bargains to be had, and builders we know are ready to deal. This time next year, it will be all over. The opportunity to buy right will be gone. The window will have closed. Count on it.

So get busy. Give us a call at 321-951-3066 and let us tell you what’s going on! We’d love to have you down here with us living in a brand new energy efficient LifeStyle Home.

We will populate our web site pages for both new communities as we receive definitive information, but already there is enough there to whet your appetite. Particularly if you fancy lakefront living, check out San Marino Estates. Wow!

As always, we give thanks to our building science friends at the Florida Solar Energy Center for guiding us every step of the way toward our goal of building affordable Net Zero Energy homes that have sufficient surplus generating capacity to pay for recharging two electric automobiles overnight. When we get there, everything will have changed. Free Electricity for LIFE and free (gas) also!

Just imagine – not paying for electricity to run your home, and not paying for fuel to run your automobiles either. Ever! For the rest of your life!

Can you dig it? Getting Big Brother out of your life and out of your wallet, too, while enhancing your lifestyle!

Free Electricity for LIFE. Sounds like a political slogan, doesn’t it? We can do that now, for your home, but not at what most people would say is an affordable price. Economists tend to define “affordable” as equaling the median price of new homes in the market. Don’t you feel better now that you know this?

So, our SunSmartPV homes are not technically “affordable” quite yet, but they are by no means exorbitantly priced either. Think $400,000 and we can pretty much get you there. Lots of people buy homes costing more than $400,000 without getting Free Electricity for LIFE! Why do you suppose they would do that? Seems kind of retar//shortsighted.

If you own one of our guaranteed HERS 60 LifeStyle SunSmart homes, you should also feel pretty proud of yourself. Your home is saving you a minimum of 40 percent per month in your electricity costs compared to an identical home built to Code-minimum standards. That’s pretty cool, but get this. Before a home can deliver Net Zero Energy performance (with the photovoltaic panels on the roof) it must first be a HERS 60 home. Without that higher construction standard in place, it would take way to many PV panels on the roof to deliver Net Zero Energy performance. There is no way it would make economic sense – which is why you see no Net Zero Energy retrofit houses out there.

If you don’t own either a Net Zero Energy or a guaranteed HERS 60 home, but you’re reading this blog, you should also feel right proud of yourself. You are taking the first step in a journey that could result in getting Free Electricity for LIFE, yourself, and who knows, maybe free gasoline for life also! Hmmm.

That’s the best way we know of to get more of them sold so more of them will be built. That would benefit our environment hugely and also help the U.S. make a giant stride toward energy independence. Even now, LifeStyle Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes are absolutely reachable by ordinary people. But, they do cost more to buy than conventional homes because they cost a lot more to build. The difference between the “more” you pay and the “lot more” they cost comes from our suppliers and ourselves squeezing our margins to get your price as low as possible. Then, as the purchaser of a LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) home, you will qualify for tax incentives that are really significant. The combination is quite attractive. Check it out!

Meanwhile, there is a waypoint  you might want to consider in your personal journey toward energy independence. Every LifeStyle Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) home is first a guaranteed HERS 59 LifeSyle SunSmart(SM) home. Without the state of the art construction and special energy-savings of our HERS 59 program, adding the photovoltaic system to get to Net Zero (HERS 0) performance would be prohibitively expensive. That’s why you aren’t seeing more PV systems popping up on older houses. It just takes too much sun power to operate energy-pig houses.

So, when you choose a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) home right now, that is cost neutral and can save you 40 percent on your monthly electric bill, you are setting yourself up for an easy and economical future conversion to Net Zero Energy performance. Think about it!

This conference, The Path to Zero Summit, is being sponsored in part by the Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition of Canada. It will be held, October 7-9, 2013 in Irvine,  California to align with the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which is bringing teams from 20 leading universities worldwide to a competition to design, build and operate affordable net zero energy project homes.

We think all of this is wonderful, and we are very proud to be recognized for developing and building our truly remarkable Net Zero Energy LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) homes, right here in Brevard County. As nice as it is to receive praise on an international scale, what really matters to us is the satisfaction of our wonderful customers who now live in homes that deliver them Free Power for Life(SM).

Net Zero Energy homes start with state-of-the-art construction quality, which naturally makes them energy efficient. The next step is to add solar powered hot water and other advanced high-efficiency systems, which in the instance of LifeStyle Homes, yields a guaranteed HERS 59 LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) home. These homes save their owners a minimum of 40% on their electricity bills as compared to what it would cost them to live in an identical but conventionally-constructed home.

Starting with such an efficient home makes it cost-feasible to take the next step toward energy independence by adding a roof-mounting photovoltaic array sized and engineered to deliver true Net Zero Energy performance. The idea is to produce a “net zero” electricity bill over a year’s time. When the sun is shining a Net Zero Energy home produces far more electricity that is consumes. The surplus is automatically sold back to the local electric utility. When the sun isn’t shining, owners of Net Zero Energy homes purchase the power they need just like the rest of us do. All of the power routing and financial accounting happen automatically in the background. At the end of a year, revenue from power sold should balance cost of power purchased, yielding a “net zero” power cost.

LifeStyle Homes benefited hugely from the guidance of the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center, who helped us design both our HERS 59 SunSmart(SM) and HERS 0 (zero) Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes. Each home we build under either program is independently inspected, tested and certified to deliver the performance claimed by a qualified performance rater from RESNET, the Residential Energy Services Network, the D.O.E.-Certified body to do this work.

The bottom line of this is that we can offer our homeowners a demonstrably superior home – something to keep in mind if you’re thinking of building your Florida dream home anytime soon.

We were astounded to win this prestigious award from a Canadian organization as the only non-Canadian entry in our category. This speaks both to the integrity of the judges and to the qualities of the St. Croix home that set it above the rest in the competition. All too often award-winning homes are expensive and radical-looking custom creations designed to win competitions. Our Canadian friends especially liked the St. Croix because it was just the opposite – an upscale Florida home designed to fit in its neighborhood seamlessly; delivering remarkable Net Zero energy performance while looking entirely conventional.

The St. Croix is anything but conventional. It is a cutting edge LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) home that captures the free power of the sun to produce free electricity for its occupants. It is a Net Zero home, because by design, it will produce sufficient free electricity when the sun is shining to pay for electricity its owners must buy from the utility company to operate their home when the sun isn’t shining. Over a year’s time, the result will be a “net zero” electricity bill.

We think that’s pretty neat and we especially appreciate being recognized internationally for what we have been able to do right here in Melbourne, Florida. By the way, the trophy we received is truly beautiful. You can see a photo of it here, or view it in person in our wonderful design center.

Regular readers of this blog will recall that we commenced our journey toward net Zero Energy for All with our partnership with the Florida Solar Energy Center to design and produce our guaranteed HERS 59 line of LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes. We have now sold and built over a hundred of these superior homes. Along the way we have built and sold upwards of a dozen guaranteed HERS 0 (zero) SunSmartPV(SM) homes, proving to our satisfaction that our relentless pursuit of serious energy efficiency is the right strategy for us to follow.

That’s why it is especially nice to be recognized by our peers for adopting our leadership position which bwyond making money for us, provides genuine benefits to society. Just recently the respected Builder & Developer magazine wrote a very nice feature article on the LifeStyle Homes Net Zero Energy program. It tells the entire story and features some knockout photographs. You can read it by clicking here.

This is your assignment for this week, friends. Please read this article and let us know what you think about it.

It makes sense, though, to look behind those sorts of claims to see what justification there might be for claiming to be just as good as LifeStyle Homes. A good place to start is with our “yellow” LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) one page handout. It includes a detailed checklist of materials, equipment and construction best practices that together produce performance we can guarantee at HERS 59. It is the combination – the total system, if you will – that produces the result. You cannot “cherry-pick” selected items and get the same result. Neither does it work to skimp on some parts (the hard or expensive ones) and over do on others that are easier and cheaper.

Then, there’s our expert third party independent inspection and testing of energy efficient construction and performance. Our RESNET-affiliated technicians not only verify during construction that things are being done right, they test the completed home to make sure it delivers the actual performance we promise. If a home doesn’t pass (hasn’t happened in a long time) we re-work the areas of trouble the test points out until it passes.

There’s also a lot of talk out there about changing building codes that force all homes to be more energy efficient. Again, we say, “Bring it on!” The trouble is that County Building Inspectors cannot rate the energy performance of the homes they inspect, no matter what the Building Code says. First off, they only inspect (look at) things. They don’t test. Second of all, they are not qualified to make judgments about the effect of energy-related things they look at. Some day, maybe they will, but that will require county governments to invest in training and equipment our independent RESNET technicians bring with them. Not likely to happen any time soon.

So, if you’re considering a new home purchase, it makes no sense to buy a conventional home that is functionally obsolete to start with, when you can invest instead in a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) HERS 59 home that will save you thousands of dollars in wasted energy bills.  Check it out!

“We want the very best we can provide for our customers,” said Jake Luhn, CEO of LifeStyle Homes in his announcement this past Friday afternoon.  “At the same time, we don’t want to promise more than we can deliver. We have been watching SunSmart(SM) home after SunSmart(SM) home test at HERS 57 and 58, with a few coming in as low as HERS 56. We feel confident we can up the ante on our guarantee. It feels really good to do this, and we owe it all to our friends at the Florida Solar Energy Center and at RESNET, our third party testing accrediting agency, but most of all to our skilled and dedicated trade partners who continue to deliver stellar performance.”

“We are continuing to evaluate a number of technological advances that promise even more efficiency gains,” Luhn added. “We will bring them online as soon as we satisfy ourselves they will perform as advertised, not only in the beginning, not only until our warranty obligation expires, but for years and years to come indefinitely into the future. They also have to fit into our Cost Neutral program. We know it costs more to build superior homes, so we have to price them higher. But we can make them ownership Cost Neutral if we can promise monthly energy cost savings equal to any higher monthly mortgage costs that become necessary. It’s a break even deal for a superior home moving in, but with the first utility rate hike (did you know they’re planning one right now) cost neutral becomes savings positive for our LifeStyle Homes customers.”

“We think that’s pretty neat – doing the right thing for our customers and helping them come out ahead.”

Over the last few years our emphasis on the LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) energy initiative has led us to step away from our signature red a little bit. Looking ahead, we have been kicking around some ideas about how to bring red back into our marketing presentations without de-emphasizing our dedication to energy efficiency whatsoever. Our last red symbol before launching SunSmart(SM) was a little red wagon with the phrase, “We Deliver Dreams” attached. Lots of folks liked that one. It certainly conveyed our small town dedication to the simple joys of family life.

But now, we find ourselves literally leading an American revolution toward building genuine energy efficiency into new homes. Not many home building companies in the U.S., even the giant, Wall Street, corporate builders, can claim to know more about energy efficiency and have more experience building energy efficient homes than LifeStyle Homes, right here in Brevard County. As remarkable as that it might seem, it’s true.

Rather than let that go to our heads, we’re thinking about going back to our little red wagon. Actually, we are considering upgrading the little red wagon to a little red golf cart that’s powered by the sun. We’re not thinking of mounting solar cells on its top and running it literally on sun power, but rather making sure it is recharged every night at no cost by the free power of the sun. Here’s how that would work.

As we have mentioned before in this blog, each one of our second generation Net Zero Energy LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) homes does have photovoltaic panels on its roof. They make more power during the daylight hours of most days than the home needs. The surplus is automatically routed back to the power company, which is obligated by law to buy it from the homeowner. At night, or on really cloudy days, these homeowners buy the extra power they need from the power company just like most folks do. We engineer our homes so that over a year’s time, the power they have to buy is paid for by the power they sell, so the Net is a Zero Energy bill.

You see now, of course, that adding nightly recharging of a conventional battery-operated electric golf cart would add a fly-speck’s worth of electricity to the home’s annual use – easily covered by the surplus power generated by the sun. So, the golf cart would actually be running on the free power of the sun stored in its battery. We’re thinking this might be a neat way to demonstrate that solar power is real,that it’s here today and that it’s practical to use.

What do you think?

At the recent International Builders Show (the National Association of Home Builders annual convention) held in Las Vegas, the number of attendees and exhibitors was sharply up, and the mood was decidedly upbeat! Our extensive economic and market briefings made it clear that not all markets are recovering equally, but all are recovering. Leading the pack for percentage gain are North Dakota and Washington, DC; oil in one and something else in the other.

Florida is still in the tentative stage for analysts based elsewhere. But for those of us who are really here, the reality of recovery is real and robust. It started this time last year in southwest Florida, where wise friends from the north staked their claim to Florida living at bargain-basement prices. It has spread to the east coast this year, and savvy buyers are getting their place in the sun while the getting’s good.

The reality is that our own Brevard County was hit particularly hard. Losing so many jobs at the space center was tough for our local economy. We are particularly grateful and proud that LifeStyle Homes weathered the storm and is emerging as a stronger, better company. We owe it to the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center who helped us translate our dreams of serving our customers even better into our nation-leading position in sun-powered homes. Truly, our guaranteed HERS 60 LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes and our remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes brought eager customers to us even through the worst of the Great Recession. These far-sighted folks saw a great future for themselves and acted on their vision. We humbly thank every one!

If you have been waiting for the right time to make your move, it has come! Opportunity is waiting for you right now, but it won’t wait for long. There is a huge pent-up demand of folks who have been enduring harsh northern winters for 5 years longer than they wished. I-95 and I-75 are bringing thousands of those folks to Florida every day, and they are buying new, clean, energy efficient homes.  Move on your dream now. We are here to help!

Since FSEC is also a research affiliate of the U.S. Department of Energy, helping D.O.E. devise energy efficiency initiatives for the federal government, you might say our journey really began at D.O.E. A critical element of our SunSmart(SM) program which came directly from D.O.E. was the idea of “Cost Neutrality”. Of course it costs more to build the extra quality into SunSmart(SM) homes that results in their stellar performance. The really cool part is the savings in energy expenditures owners of SunSmart(SM) homes experience monthly can be made to balance out any additional mortgage payment that may be necessary to finance the higher selling price. Cost neutrality is what gets these homes sold and built. When people grasp the fact they can get a substantially better home for no increase in ownership costs, the idea of buying a SunSmart(SM) home from LifeStyle Homes becomes compelling.

Another critical element in the whole program is the fact that each home claiming a specific HERS performance rating must be independently tested and certified to deliver the performance promised. This way, customers don’t have to rely entirely on what their builder says. All performance claims are verified by independent building scientists certified by D.O.E. to perform the required tests. In actuality, the first 50 or so of our SunSmart(SM) homes were tested and certified for us by FSEC. This was a convenience offered to LifeStyle Homes, because helping us build more SunSmart(SM) homes helped FSEC and D.O.E. get more energy efficient homes built.

As it happens, neither D.O.E. or FSEC want to be in the home testing and certification business. So, after working together to launch the whole idea that energy efficient homes are possible to build, D.O.E. encouraged all the independent testers they had certified around the country to band together in an independent organization and conduct their own training and tester-certification programs. That brings us at last to RESNET, the Residential Energy Services NETwork.

All LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes are tested and certified by a RESNET-certified scientist. All of this is still under the supervision of D.O.E., it’s just that the federal government, having kicked off the whole idea, has turned it over to private enterprise.

Pretty neat, ‘eh?

It’s true. A genuine LifeStyle guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) will save you 40 percent on your electric bill (good for your financial health) and the higher quality of indoor air that comes with the deal will improve your family’s real health also. But, there’s more. Burning 40 percent less fuel to power your home will produce that much less of those dangerous greenhouse gasses that are causing such havoc in our environment.

“Sound’s good,” you might say. “But I can’t afford to buy a new home with all those bells and whistles. I’m going to be doing all I can to afford a ordinary home from a bottom-shelf builder.”

“No so,” we say. One of the coolest things about a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) home is that it must be cost neutral to pass the Department of Energy’s authorized third-party independent certification tests. Cost neutral means you can afford a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) home because any higher monthly mortgage cost that comes from its superior construction and outfitting must be matched by its monthly electricity cost savings. It’s a dollar for dollar swap in total monthly ownership costs, but it’s a match only at today’s electric rates. When those rates rise, which surely they will, the swap will swing in your favor, and you’ll keep cash your neighbors will be shelling out to the power company. And that’s not all. As energy costs rise, the evident superiority of your LifeStyle SunSmart^℠ home will become even more valuable in the re-sale market. It makes no sense to invest now in an inferior conventional home which will be de-valued when you want to sell.

So, when you’re thinking about making some New Year’s resolutions, think about not kidding yourself any more. Do something for yourself and your family that will save you money, improve your health and make you a hero for all time.  Talk to us today. You’ll be glad you did!

Talk about being the family hero! They’ll be talking about what you did for generations to come!

And remember, this gift idea works just as well if you want to commemorate a different holiday this time of year. No matter what. we’re all God’s children. We all want the best for our children and we all know the home we live in is the center of family life. What better gift could there be?

Nothing would make us happier than helping you make your family jump for joy! C’mon, get busy and call 321-951-3066. You’ll be glad you did!

Talk about being the family hero! They’ll be talking about it for generations to come!

And remember, this gift idea works just as well no matter which holiday you choose to celebrate this time of year. We’re all God’s children. We all want the best for our children and we all know the home we live in is the center of family life. What better gift could there be?

Nothing would make us happier than helping you make your family jump for joy! C’mon, get busy and call 321-951-3066. You’ll be glad you did!

LifeStyle Homes came to green building as a survival strategy. In 2008, we asked ourselves what it would be like for us if the recession turned out to be deeper and longer than anyone was predicting at the time. In a worst case scenario, we realized we might find ourselves trying to sell full priced new homes against our own homes, sold a few years before, now back on the market as heavily discounted re-sales. It’s not too hard to say our new homes are better than another builder’s new homes, but selling against a discounted version of ourselves looked pretty sticky.

The only answer we could see would be for us to say, “It may look like the same home, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but it isn’t the same by a long shot. Let me explain why buying a new home from us will be a much better decision for you than buying that discounted re-sale down the street, even though we built it.”

This was a great answer in theory, but how could we make it true? What followed was a search for an answer that eventually led us to the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center. It was easy for them to convince us that meaningful energy efficiency could be the positive differentiator we were looking for.

We settled on HERS 60 as our sweet spot, balancing added cost of construction against energy cost savings. What made it sing as a marketing strategy was the D.O.E. principle of cost neutrality, which we could deliver at HERS 60.

“You mean I can buy this better built, energy efficient new home from you guys, make a real contribution to ecological preservation, provide a better indoor living environment for my family and it won’t cost me any more per month?”

“Yes ma’am. Let me show you how that works.”

We built a couple HERS 60 homes with the energy efficiency package positioned as an added cost upgrade. It didn’t take long for us to realize that making it standard was the better way to go.

“How much extra will it cost me to buy one of your homes with this energy efficiency package?”

“Not one cent. It’s included in the price.”

In next week’s blog, we’ll finish the story and tell you how energy efficiency saved the day for us. Until then, be good to your family and find a veteran to thank.

“Can one person make the world better? We seem to be pre-programmed to say no. But the truth is that one person can make a difference. History is full of individuals who have made the world a better place.

All of us have a special someone in our lives who has made a difference to us. Pretty often that person’s name is Mom.

Ask any mother what’s most important to her and you’ll most likely get the same answer – making sure that her kids are protected, nourished, healthy and happy. Owning a home is a part of that mission.

Mom, we would like to explain a few things we think make a positive difference for you, your kids and grandkids, and the world in which they live.

First, LifeStyle Homes is a family business. The company is owned and operated by the second generation of its founders’ families. The late John Luhn and I had the same hopes for our kids as you have for yours, and made it our mission to make this world a better place.

At LifeStyle Homes, we believe Mother Nature can heal the environment if we give her a chance. We’re on the path to discovering how she may do so.

Solar powered homes have the potential to provide all the clean energy we’ll ever need. That means not only clean energy to power our homes, but also our cars and our businesses. And this abundance of clean (as well as cheap and reliable) energy will assure the prosperity of America.

Our belief in the potential and power of solar-powered homes is based on what our team has already accomplished in such a short time.

The truth is, LifeStyle Homes can build you a home that provides all the power it will ever need. Over the past few years, we have built and proven the worth of several solar-powered homes in Central Florida. These Net Zero Energy homes promise you free electricity for life and we believe they make conventional grid-dependent homes obsolete.

This is real. It is not science fiction. And it is available today.

Our remarkable Net Zero Energy homes use state-of-the-art photovoltaic panels mounted on the roof to convert the free power of the sun into free electricity for you. The net cost of these panels continues to drop and their operating efficiency continues to improve. That’s why we think it’s important that you weigh your options before deciding on your next home.

As an easy step forward toward your own energy independence, we are convinced you should insist on a standard of design and construction  LifeStyle Homes calls SunSmart(SM). SunSmart(SM) is a framework, the bone structure of a net zero energy solar-powered home. SunSmart(SM) is what makes other homes obsolete. Without SunSmart(SM)as a starting point, the cost of converting to a solar-powered home in the near future will be prohibitive.  

SunSmart(SM) sets you up to be ready for solar-powered conversion when you think the time is right. Meanwhile, it costs you nothing more to own a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) home. These homes offer you other advantages as well. The air in a SunSmart(SM) home is filtered. It is cleaner and healthier to breathe than even fresh outside air. A SunSmart(SM) home is guaranteed to lower your energy use by 40 percent – meaning you experience a 40 percent reduction in your electric bill.  Additionally, living in a SunSmart(SM) home will mean the power company will produce 40 percent less pollution than would regularly be needed to power your home. And last but not least, there will be less of a need for oil to be imported from foreign countries.

Any way you view it, SunSmart(SM) is a win for everyone. But maybe the most important thing to remember is that by building SunSmart, you, as a mother, will be doing your part to make this world better place.”

Our thanks to our mystery V.I.P. blogger, Larry Hufford, Founding Partner, LifeStyle Homes. Our plans for the future are to continue to push the envelope of energy efficiency in new home construction to provide a better life for our customers, and for us all.

We are truly proud of our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes and our truly remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes. We would truly enjoy building one for you in the coming year. Gee, I guess we have missed that big shopping day, but we can still work you a heck of a deal in time for the Holidays – maybe not for the real home, but for a set of plans with your names printed on them and wrapped up nicely to share with your family.

It will be a lot better gift than the big red-bow cars we’ll be seeing soon; and better for Mother Earth also. Hmmm.

Among the nation’s home builders, for the last six years the only game to play has been survival. Many of our builder friends in Brevard County didn’t. These were our competitors, to be sure, but they were also our friends, personal as well as professional. We were used to sharing communities and refreshments too. It is sad to think of them being out of business, mostly through no fault of their own.

Why did we survive? Three reasons. The first you know, so we don’t have to say any more. The second is the Florida Solar Energy Center, which introduced us to serious energy efficiency and helped us design our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes as well as our truly remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes. Without our building science friends at FSEC we would not have discovered what became the greatest marketing strategy in home building: offering our customers genuinely superior new homes that don’t cost any more to own.

Of course, our third reason for surviving – no, for prospering – is our fantastic family of customers. You guys did the real work; cutting through all the negativism and pessimism to realize that making a good move for your family and a good move for Mother Nature at the same time always works to your benefit. Thank you so much!

So, that’s how we are counting our blessings. We hope you have yours also.

And, if you’d like to do something specific to express your thanks, please check out the subject of last week’s blog, the wonderful www.GotYour 6.org people. They are doing great work to help our veterans, and they need your help.

Once you do that, you’re free to dive into that turkey. Enjoy!

Sadly, the very patriotism that leads many to volunteer for service overseas separates them from the society they defend in ways that are hard to bridge. We look upon them as being different from us, as indeed they are. The challenge is to recognize the truth that the difference is positive.

These people have demonstrated they they embody honor, integrity, leadership, discipline and an abiding will to get the job done. Surely those qualities should be assets to any community and any employer. Making that connection is the mission of the Got Your 6 organization.

Our service personnel have “had our backs” covered by stepping up to defend not only our nation, but the very concept of freedom. Now, it is our turn to “have their backs” as they re-integrate into society.

So, check out www.GotYour6.org and find out how you can help. You’ll feel better for it.

At LifeStyle Homes, we think it is great that the federal government is becoming interested and active in Net Zero Energy development through yet another agency. As we mentioned last week, we were introduced to the concept of Net Zero Energy for new homes by our building scientist friends at the Florida Solar Energy Center who have been working on energy efficiency issues for many years in association with the U.S. Department of Energy.

THis new article makes a very clear and compelling presentation of the whole Net Zero Energy movement, and we heartily recommend you read it. We particularly liked the idea that you can have the energy efficiency and environmental protection you want in a home whose design is compatible with your community; i.e., extreme performance homes don’t have to look extreme unless you want them to.

Our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) and remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) HERS 0 (zero) homes are certainly extreme in terms of high performance, but they look just like the home you may be dreaming of in the Florida Space Coast area.

So, read about the cutting-edge NIST home, and then marvel that there is a home builder active right here in Brevard and Osceola counties that is ahead of that cutting edge. Let these government guys study and experiment so they can generate more great ideas for the future. Meanwhile, we will be building cutting-edge Net Zero Energy homes real people can live in today.

Need we say, we’d love to build one for you?

Net Zero Energy efficiency, the engineering rating standard which indicates a home will make enough electricity to power itself and yield a “Net Zero” bill from the utility company, may seem like a dream – as the article implies – but it is here today at LifeStyle Homes. You should read this article and find out about a multimillion dollar test home in suburban Washington, DC, built by the National Institute of Standards & Technology to explore the feasibility of Net Zero Energy construction. You will be impressed. Then jump into your car and come see one of our real Net Zero Energy LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) homes right here in Melbourne, FL.

We now almost take for granted that we can build these remarkable homes and that people pretty much like you will buy them. It happens a lot because our customers see the overwhelming benefits that will come to them when they do.  And yet, across the country the very idea that homes can make as much electricity as they will ever need seems like futuristic, rocket science.  Even home builders, who ought to be jumping on the energy efficiency bandwagon as their ticket to prosperity – as it has been for us – are stuck in the idea that if it costs more to build a superior product, nobody will buy it.

Ugh!  Part of our mission in writing this blog is to spread the word that energy efficiency not only makes sense, it sells! In fact, energy efficiency is the most powerful marketing strategy we’ve ever found! Here’s the deal. People will line up to pay more for a superior product if you can make it possible for them to buy it at no increase in ownership cost.

Maybe you want to read that last sentence again.

We can introduce you to about a hundred happy owners of LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes that are guaranteed to save them at least 40 percent on their monthly electric bills. These aren’t Net Zero Energy homes (which would save 100 percent on your electric bills) but they are certified HERS 60 homes, which are vastly superior to conventionally built new homes and they are cost neutral. Cost neutrality means that for every dollar more in monthly mortgage costs those homeowners have to pay to cover the higher cost of building their superior home, they are guaranteed a dollar of savings in their monthly utility bills. Hence, cost neutral.

Understand please, that cost neutrality is determined at today’s utility rates. With the first rate hike, cost neutral will become savings positive. And, the savings will grow over time. Wouldn’t you buy such a home if it met your needs otherwise?

Sorry, we can’t deliver a cost neutral Net Zero Energy home…yet. Getting to HERS 0 (zero), which is engineering talk for Net Zero Energy, requires us to build a HERS 60 Home and add to it a custom-engineered, roof-mounted, photovoltaic, solar power array. These things aren’t cheap, but with available tax credits they aren’t as expensive as you might think and their prices are coming down as more are sold. Our goal is to build truly affordable Net Zero Energy homes that can take care of their own power needs plus produce enough surplus power to recharge two electric automobiles overnight.

Just think about that for a moment, please. How much better would it be for you if you could maintain your full robust style of living, with no compromises at all, and yet pay nothing ever again for electricity to power your home or gasoline to power your car?

Interested?

Hey! We don’t need a multimillion dollar tax-supported NIST research facility to prove the technical and market feasibility of Net Zero Energy homes! We’re building and selling them today and were driving toward our goal. Hurray for private enterprise!

Maybe it’s appropriate that rocket science in home building is available right here on the Space Coast. What do you think?

We call our remarkable Net Zero Energy homes LifeStyle SunSmartPV(TM) homes, because they start out to be High Tech HERS 60 LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) homes and then we add a custom-engineered roof-mounted photovoltaic panel array to convert the free power of the sun into free electricity for home use. Doing that moves them from being HERS 60 homes to being HERS 0 (zero) homes. HERS scores are like golf. Lower is better. HERS 0 (zero) and Net Zero Energy mean the same thing. When the sun is shining, a Net Zero Energy home will produce enough electricity to supply the needs of a family of five with enough left over that is sold back to the power company to pay for the all the power that must be bought to keep that family going when the sun isn’t shining. Over a year the revenue from selling power nets out the cost of buying power, hence the term Net Zero Energy home. There is no net power bill. You get free electricity for life!

That’s pretty high tech-sounding isn’t it? Well, it isn’t rocket science, but it’s pretty close. We learned how to build these homes from our building scientist friends at the Florida Solar Energy Center in nearby Cocoa. Our guys aren’t rocket scientists either, but their friends up at the Cape are, so it’s almost the same thing.

As High Tech as all of this is, the reason we do it is absolutely High Touch. Our highly energy efficient homes deliver important family benefits. Let’s start out by considering all the money they can save their owners while delivering exactly the same utility that comes from having all the electricity you need at 40 percent less cost in a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) home and at no net cost in a LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) home.  What fun and beneficial things do you think you could do for your family with the money you don’t have to send every month anymore to the power company? Hmm.

Then there is the significantly higher quality of filtered indoor air that comes for free with a LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) or SunSmartPV(SM) home. These homes are so much tighter than ordinary homes, we have to take special pains to control indoor air temperature, humidity and particulate content. The result is better indoor air for your family to breathe and more even temperatures throughout the home without drafts.

Does making a contribution toward environmental preservation sound good to you? Every bit of fuel the power company doesn’t have to burn to keep your home supplied with electricity means less harmful greenhouse gasses will be emitted. That’s good for the planet, and it’s good for our national security. It’s not often those two come benefits come from the same thing.

So, if all of this sounds good to you, we’d love to help you build your own high tech home. Just remember, we will always think of it as a high touch gift from you to your family. It’s all good!