Of course, those OTHER folks are fine, and they mean well, but they are not on OUR TEAM. Because of our success building guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes as well as our remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes, we have the luxury of picking and choosing who will be on OUR TEAM. We demand the BEST, and we’re proud to say, we have them!

OUR TEAM has pulled together to build the finest homes available in our area. They have focused themselves on satisfying our customers, as you will see if you read any of our growing collection of customer testimonials.  We didn’t make these up, folks. They came from the hearts of people just like you who decided to trust OUR TEAM to build the home of their dreams.

We’d like to build your dream home, too. We’ll do it together, and you will love the result and the experience. OUR TEAM will accept nothing less!

Avoiding waste is a worthwhile goal, but some home builders may carry it too far. In our business, the politically-correct name for this is value engineering. When searching for cost savings that can add to profit margins, we feel builders cross an unfortunate line when they start removing important things that their customers won’t see from the structure of a home so they can add glamorous things that they know their customers WILL see and want,  like granite counter tops.

We feel there are two important ways to deliver maximum value to our customers going forward. One is embodied in our SunSmart(SM) Energy Efficiency Initiative, which delivers Builders Challenge-qualified, HERS 60-guaranteed homes that will save their owners a minimum of 40 percent on their annual energy costs as compared with code-conforming conventional homes being built today. These homes also provide significantly more healthful living environments and prevent huge amounts of harmful greenhouse gas emissions from being released into our environment. We carry that philosophy even farther in our remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes, which over a year’s time will generate as much electricity from the abundant power of the sun as they consume, yielding the promise of “Free Electricity for Life(TM)” as a reality.

The other way to deliver maximum value is to build more compact, yet more livable homes that include exciting design features that make people just plain happy living in them. You can see a great example of this approach in the three Builder Magazine Concept Homes that were completed for the recent International Builders Show in Orlando, and which can now be viewed (and purchased) in the magnificent Eagle Creek Golf Community in southeastern Orlando. Built by Centerline Homes, an extremely  reputable and forward-thinking home building company based in Coral Springs, Florida, these homes include design features especially targeted to Baby Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y (Millennial) home buyers.  More importantly, their sheer design charisma lifts them far above the huge inventory of value engineered used homes overhanging the market today as foreclosures and short sales.

If you are in our central Florida area, you really should drive over and view these homes while they are still available (maybe). They are simply stunning , with interiors provided by our very good friend, Kay Green, MIRM, of Kay Green Design, Inc., in Orlando, and stunning architecture to which our equally good friend, Tony Weremeichik, of Canin Associates, Inc., also of Orlando, was a major contributor.

For dessert, visit our brand new LifeStyle Homes, Tustin model home in the extraordinary Harmony, Florida new town, mid-way between Orlando and Melbourne. Here you will find the combination of Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) performance and the charisma of Tony Weremeichik architecture in what is quite possibly the finest community for enjoyable living there is in this State. We are convinced that sophisticated architectural design, extreme home energy efficiency and high quality living environments are the way forward, not only for home building companies like ours, climbing out of the great Recession, but for smart people like you looking for maximum value in your next new home.

Let’s roll – together!

As you may have heard Clint Eastwood say, “It’s halftime America.” The second half that’s staring us in the face will make all the difference in our lives. So, how are we going to pull off a great comeback?

Maybe one way will be by using the excellence all around us as our springboard to success. The work done by all of our friends and neighbors in the space program starts our list. What those people did would be unbelievable except that they actually did it. Let us never forget what they accomplished. Instead, why not use their accomplishments as inspiration?

Then, there is the hard work of the Duda family over the generations  and their dedication to excellence that has created Brevard County’s spectacular new town, Viera, Florida. We are extremely proud to be a part of Viera with our new LifeStyle SunSmart(SM) HERS 60 homes in Levanto. We are convinced that working together will benefit us both and our customers, too.

Then, just over our western county line, Harmony, Florida, has established itself as the nation’s premiere forward-thinking, sustainable home town. Harmony also represents a dream of excellence, in this case offering an example of how returning mankind to harmony with nature can save us from the stress we all complain about, but often refuse to step away from. We are delighted to be a part of this dream, too, with our ultimately-sustainable, LifeStyle SunSmartPV(SM) Net Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much free electricity from the sun during a year’s time as they consume from the power company.

Then, just a bit further to the northwest, you’ll find the Lake Nona Medical City complex exploding out of the ground to deliver the dream of world class medical research and patient care right here in central Florida. If you haven’t seen this place, you owe it to yourself to go there soon.  Why? Because just seeing the commitment of so many brilliant people to the future of Florida will wipe away whatever doubt that may have crept into your mind concerning your personal future here.

It’s all good, folks, we can have the second half of our dreams, but it won’t come without effort. There’s no reason that effort shouldn’t be supported by positive thinking. We’ve got it made around here if we just believe we have and act like it.

We are convinced that Harmony, FL is the nation’s premiere forward-thinking sustainable community that offers true home town living ambiance in a tranquil setting with all the amenities you could wish for. Harmony represents a noble dream to reconnect people with what many have feared was lost forever. It is powerful and profound. You must experience it yourself to find out what it means to you.

Excuse us, but we think we are on a similar path at LifeStyle Homes. We are driven to deliver a higher quality of healthful living to our customers in certified energy efficient homes that save them lots of money. You either get that concept and are excited by it, or you need to accept ordinary.

By themselves, the Town of Harmony and LifeStyle Homes are tantalizing glimpses of a wonderful future, here today for everyone’s benefit. Together, the Town of Harmony and LifeStyle Homes are genuinely significant – offering a delightful manner of living that is quite possibly unique.

In the burgeoning southeast quadrant of the Orlando metro area, anchored by the astounding Lake Nona Medical City, there are many sophisticated living communities under development to serve the exploding employment opportunity that will fast be upon us. Just in time, you might say. Tightly-packed tract homes will always be what they are, no matter how innovative the architecture. But just around the corner, something different, something infinitely better, is in place right now, and thriving. Harmony is not just another real estate development proposition. Harmony is about saving your sanity.

We are overwhelmingly proud to be a part of something this good, and we can hardly wait to show you our new Tustin SunSmartPV(SM) home at Harmony.  When you come to see it, take a moment to walk outside and just listen . . . to Harmony.

Due to technical difficulties, we were not able to post this blog on its intended date. We apologize for this and hope you will agree that the message is worthy of being shared, even if not shared on the correct date. Please continue reading. We have a favor to ask of you.

We, at LifeStyle Homes, are home builders. By no means are we heroic social advocates like Dr. King. Certainly, we have no desire to diminish his legacy by borrowing his iconic phrase to use in a mere home building blog post. Nevertheless, we also have dreams for the future that we think are important. So do you. Perhaps the real opportunity in this national holiday is for us to recount our dreams and re-dedicate ourselves to achieving them.

Please allow us to share a couple of our dreams with you right now. Perhaps you will decide to share some of yours by commenting on this blog post. We hope you will.

Here’s a positive dream. Someday our political and business leaders will be able to see beyond their own selfish interests and actually work for the good of us all. It is evident we need everyone’s cooperation to fix our suffering economy before it reaches some sort of downward-trending tipping point and things get even worse. To make progress, we need politicians to stop bickering for supposed short term personal and party advantage and get behind a coordinated, cooperative recovery plan that makes sense.

Likewise, we need our business leaders to temper their lust for ever-rising quarterly earnings in favor of creating longer term good that benefits more of us. Dr. Frederick E. Webster, Jr., a distinguished professor of marketing at Dartmouth College and the University of Arizona,  earned hero status in our estimation by challenging the conventional wisdom that the only proper motivation for business leaders  is to increase profits for the benefit of shareholders. The idea he fought for his entire career is that profits are the reward for satisfying customers. What a concept!  How different our business world would be if satisfying customers became our number one goal.

Here’s another dream of ours. The American dream of home ownership, that has contributed so much to our economic prosperity and family well-being, will remain strong and true for all Americans, and that over time more and more Americans will have the opportunity to live in clean, healthful, energy efficient homes that are good for them, good for us  and good for our planet. Maybe that’s more than one dream, but you get the idea, right?  Fortunately, we find ourselves in a position to do something about this dream. You have just got to know how satisfying it is for us to offer a positive difference to our customers in our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes and our multi-award-winning Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes. We are grateful for the opportunity to turn our efforts not only to our own good, but the good of our customers and our country also. Maybe, Prof. Webster’s idea in action?

We hope you will enjoy an extra day off to honor Dr. King as we will also. Would you join us in using part of this day to refresh your own dreams for the future? When you do, would you please share them with us?

Thank you.

Anyway, I was much too engrossed with playing with the pound of liquid mercury I had collected to care too much about a skinny kid with greasy long hair and pants so loose they threatened to fall down at any gyration. So much for good ideas.  

As to light bulbs, the controversy about the forced change to new more efficient, but much more expensive, high-tech light bulbs continues to swirl. If, by chance, you have been off the planet yourself recently, here’s the deal. As part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Congress mandated that sale of regular incandescent light bulbs would be prohibited in annual rolling increments beginning with 100 watt incandescent bulbs January 1, 2012.  Just last month Congress reversed course, staying enforcement of the 2007 law pending further review.

As it so happens, I was in my local Walmart super-store a couple of days ago, and there were still 100 watt incandescent bulbs on the shelves available for sale. Interestingly, they were marked “Hecho en Mexico”. 

As you might image, light bulb manufacturers are lit up over the whole mess. Who knows whether they resisted the 2007 mandate, or in fact, encouraged it as an opportunity to make more money selling more expensive bulbs. Either way, you can see how a government mandate would have made the process of bringing more expensive light bulbs to marketa lot less risky Now, with some justification, light bulb manufacturers are saying they’re caught in a difficult position. Having closed-down much of their incandescent bulb manufacturing capability, they don’t know which way to go.

Watcha wanna bet the whole “Preserve Light Bulb Freedom” vote in Congress was simple political grandstanding, that will be allowed to submerge and then disappear so that corporate lobbyists get their way yet again? But, maybe you see the other side of this issue. There is a strong case to be made that serious moves need to be made to improve the efficiency of our energy usage in America. Maybe you feel requiring people to pay a bit more for better bulbs is not too much to ask. 

Then there’s the question of whether the old light bulb factories that have been closed were in the U.S., and the new ones that have been built are in foreign countries.

Obviously, with our groundbreaking work on HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes and our truly remarkable, multi-award winning SunSmartPV(SM) Net Zero Energy homes, you can expect LifeStyle Homes, as a company, is in favor of serious moves being made to improve energy efficiency in our country for all the reasons it makes sense to do so. But, our energy efficient new homes are the real deal, designed by experts and independently tested and certified to perform as represented. The new energy efficient light bulbs are a different matter. There is scant evidence, if there is any evidence at all, that they last longer than regular bulbs. In fact, the opposite may be true. If so, that would remove a major part of the incentive to invest in what are admittedly more efficient light bulbs.

So, where would that leave us on the government mandate? Hmmm.

Until then, sit back, enjoy the games today, and may your favorite team win.

We discovered this breaking news story while online with USA Today looking for a story that ran last Tuesday on skyrocketing home energy costs. Now, that story will have to wait until next week.

So, here’s the deal. Back in 2007, Congress passed legislation with bi-partisan support that among other things called for the manufacture of 100 watt incandescent lightbulbs to cease on January 1, 2012; 75 watt incandescent bulbs in January, 2013 and 60 watt + 40 watt incandescent bulbs in January 2014. All this to speed adoption of the far more expensive, but admittedly more efficient, halogen, CFL or LED bulbs. Since then, lightbulb manufacturers have moved to shut down conventional bulb manufacture and ramp up production of the new high-tech bulbs.

Of late, it seems, the forced nature of this change has caught the attention of personal freedom advocates, including noted radio commentator, Rush Limbaugh. The result is this eleventh hour amendment to a spending bill the president is almost sure to sign quickly.

So, what are you to if you have stockpiled 10 years use worth of 100 watt bulbs? Keep ‘em, protected in your safe for now. The measure passed this weekend is temporary. Both sides plan on having a lengthy, vigorous and expensive fight over this issue.

So, how should you plan for the future? Not for us to say, but we have a request. Go back and read our November 14 Blog and then read this weekend’s story on USA Today Online. Then tell us what you think. Vote in your Blog comments below for: 1) I want my 100 watt bulbs, or 2) Let’s save some energy, or 3) Let’s ask Congress to go home.

What we can’t say for sure is that LifeStyle Homes is the number one builder of Net Zero Energy Homes in North America. True, we did recently win the trophy for the Best Production Net Zero Energy Home in North America from the Net Zero Energy Coalition of Canada. And, it is also true that we won an Aurora Award at last summer’s SouthEast Builders Conference, in Orlando,  for the Best Solar Energy Home.  But what we can’t say for sure is that we have built and sold more Net Zero Energy Homes than any other home builder in North America.

It may well be that we have. Certainly we can’t identify a builder who has built more of these remarkable homes than we have. But, there is no reliable central database that contains an official record. Well, the Department of Energy in Washington has one that covers the United States, but it is nowhere near up to date for us, so presumably, it isn’t for other builders either.

You might ask yourself, who cares? We have certainly asked ourselves that question, and we have decided it doesn’t matter who is number one in building Net Zero Energy Homes. What does matter is that the ones we have built for our wonderful customers are serving their owners well, which they are.

So, exactly what is a Net Zero Energy Home? It starts with a home that captures the free power of the Sun and converts it into electricity using roof-mounted photovoltaic panels. That makes it a Solar Powered home. What makes it a Net Zero Energy Home is that enough surplus electricity is sold back to the power company when the Sun is shining to pay for the electricity that must be bought from the power company when the Sun isn’t shining. Over a year’s time, those two numbers cancel each other out leaving a Net Zero Energy bill. Think about that for a minute. Free electricity for life!   

We build our Net Zero Energy Homes under the brand name SunSmartPV(SM), and we would love to build one for you.

Mike Vittitoe would up with an honest-to-goodness white elephant! Won’t that look nice in your home, Mike? 

In addition to being a top notch home builder and building company leader, John Luhn was all about gathering his friends together for a good time. It was always John’s party, so it will always be John’s party.

In the midst odf all the merriment, we paused to hear some serious and seriously thankful words from John’s son, Jake Luhn, CEO, Tom Nathan, Master Builder and Larry Hufford, our other founding Partner who thankfully is hale, hardy and ready to rock. It was Larry who recounted how all the people in that room have hung together, worked together and, at least last night, played together to make it through another trying year in the homebuilding business. But, we did better than make it through this year. Thanks to our suppliers, trades partners and most of all our wonderful customers, we have triumphed through this year.

In the last twelve months, we have watched with sadness as more of our former competitors have closed their doors. Good people – hard times doesn’t do justice to their substantial accomplishments nor to the pain they have endured.

Larry also reminded us how pivotal was our decision to pursue energy efficiency as a factor in our success. Our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes and our remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes have encouraged forward-thinking people to do something hugely positive for themselves and for our environment by asking us to build a home for them a time when many people have been waiting for something to happen. 

If LifeStyle Homes had waited for something to happen – the housing market to rebound, for instance - likely we would not have had the opportunity to celebrate our good fortune together as we did last evening.  Our decision to strike out in a bold new direction has meant everything to us as a home building company and as a family of individuals working together to build homes for families.

Perhaps there is a message in this. The only way we as a nation will ever rise up from our present challenges is if a whole lot of us decide to stop waiting and start moving ahead instead.

So, if everyone (or almost everyone, Jimmy Fallon) thinks now is a great time to buy, why aren’t they jumping on the bargains that are out there? Consumers say that stricter mortgage qualifying requirements and downpayment affordability are worrisome, but what they’re really waiting for is a sense that the economy has really turned upward for sure and that their employment is secure.

OK, we agree. It’s challenging to make long term decisions when you’re worried about short term problems. Nobody around here wants you to do anything you’re not comfortable with, but just for a moment, let’s think this through. Even without looking at the underlying statistics, which are positive by the way, what would your gut tell you is the chance the economy will slide significantly lower in the coming year as opposed to continuing its present modest growth and maybe even accelerating a bit? Would you say 10 to maybe 20 percent, it’ll go down as opposed to  60 to 80 percent it’ll keep growing and maybe even speed up? Those are great odds for betting anything other than the farm, so sitting pat for the moment is probably an OK move if you’re really cautious.

But, not falling asleep.

You see, as soon as people begin to get the idea we may be really climbing out for sure, they’ll start acting on the urgency they feel not to miss this huge opportunity. What will start as a trickle could become a flood very quickly.  In trying to wait for the very bottom, people will do what they always do: miss it and wind up paying a premium, having fewer options and giving away their leverage to get the best deal.  

If your life situation suggests a new home would make sense as well as being very nice, but you’re sort of stuck on stuck, maybe you should think about starting your research now while there’s still a bit of time to do your due diligence without being rushed. We would love to sit with you and talk about what you might want to do when you think the time is right. There is no cost, no obligation and certainly no pressure involved.

Meanwhile, consider that one of the things people say they will be looking for in their new home is significant savings in monthly energy costs so they can afford some nice extras in their new home. They also say they want a cleaner indoor air environment for their family to live in.

We think these people are pretty smart also, and we have what forward thinking people in Brevard might think is just the thing: our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart(SM) homes that will save you at least 60 percent in monthly energy costs over that short sale you may be thinking about (You can spell mold, can’t you?) or our truly remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes which can offer you Free Electricity for Life.   

So, check out our website, start learning about SunSmart(SM) and visit one of our communities to see one of our furnished models. You’ll be glad you did, and it won’t cost you a penny.  

Whether they bought one of our superb HERS 60,  SunSmart(SM) homes, guaranteed to save a minimum of 40 percent in electricity costs over a brand new conventional home , or one of our truly remarkable Net Zero Energy SunSmartPV(SM) homes, that deliver Free Electricity for Life,  we should all be thankful for what they did. Of course, their business helped us pay our suppliers and our trades partners and provide for our families, but in a larger sense, they made significant contributions to our collective welfare. By dramatically reducing electricity consumption, SunSmart(SM) and SunSmartPV(SM) homes cut down on the foriegn fuels we have to import, cut down on emissions of harmful greenhouse gasses and promote preservation of our environment.

We are also thankful for our suppliers and trades partners. Together we are engaged in a tremendous effort to restore our economy to proper working order. None of us caused this – whatever we’re calling it now – but all of us are working hard to fix it.

We are thankful for the fantastic building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center, who have been so instrumental in helping us understand how to build energy efficient new homes at prices real people can afford. We couldn’t have done it without you, guys, so take a bow!

We are thankful for the producers of the ABC Television hit reality show, EXTREME MAKEOVER: Home Edition, who made it possible for us to enjoy working with their talented and fun-loving staff and the wonderful people of Brevard County to do some powerful good for the deserving Hurston family. At this time last year, we had just learned this opportunity was coming our way, but we could not reveal the secret by thanking them in advance.

We are thankful for our wonderful servicemen and women wherever they may be and whatever they may be doing. Every contribution they make by their service enhances our security. We hope and pray they all will be protected to enjoy many Thanksgivings to come with theirfamilies.

We are tankful that we live in this wonderful free country where effort can produce success. We honor those who want to come here and work with us to advance the dream the United States of America holds out to all the World’s people.

Finally, for today, we are thankful that we can advance the recovery of our economy anytime we want to. All we have to do is believe things are getting better, say they are and act that way. The economy is not an evil being bent on causing us misery. It is nothing more than a reflection of the ATTITUDEs each of us have. For this Thanksgiving, what do you say we all give ourselves a gift of positive thinking followed by positive action?  Maybe that’s the best way we can give thanks for the abundance we enjoy.

You can see how we might have some interest in getting this right. With our leadership position well established in building guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart energy efficient homes and our remarkable HERS 0 SunSmartPV guaranteed Net Zero Energy Homes, we sort of have an obligation to know what’s going on so we can give you the straight dope.

In this case, dope might be the right word. We have to admit we’re confused and need some help. Just for fun, go online and Goggle something like “incandescent lightbulb phase out” Stand by for one of the more interesting Internet experiences you may have had in years. To begin with, there are hundreds, if not thousands of ”articles” to read about this subject, including one really nice one written by a recent journalism graduate, “who just has a passion for words,” which is probably code for not being employed as a journalist. Bless her heart, she at least knows what journalism is, which is knowledge apparently beyond the grasp of many “sources” online.     

Oh my, you will see articles written by Conservatives crying about socialist lightbulb dictators, and you will see cleverly-spun articles by environmentalists soothingly saying that consumers will have more choices in the lightbulbs they buy. Yeah, like choosing between merely prohibitively expensive bulbs or their downright obscenely expensive alternatives, neither of which work as well as good old 100 watt incandescent bulbs, even though they DO use less energy.

Setting out to write this blog, the objective was simply to provide some clarity about, what is going to happen about lightbulbs and when it is going to happen. Right now, the apparent answer is that we are going to fight World War III about lightbulbs, and it is going to start real soon. (Please, don’t take that literally, Orson Welles fans.)

So two questions remain: 1) “What IS going to happen about lightbulbs, and when is it going to happen?” and 2) “What do you think about this mess?”

Please, we really need some input here.

A “Thank You” card can go a long way in five days if you start it right. A box of cookies can make it to a stateside servicemember easily. There’s plenty of time to plan that special phone call with video link.  But, you’ve got to get busy if you want to do something nice for someone who will appreciate it.  

Don’t overlook family members of deployed personnel. These people are heroes in their own right. Maybe even more so.

A little ceremony in school would be really cool for children of service members, especially those who have a family member overseas.  

If you fly a lot and sometimes get those upgrades to First Class, make a resolution to give yours away every time you can to a service person travelling in uniform.   

And, if you are in the Space Coast area, there’s a night of remembrance and family fun planned by The American Veterans Empowerment Team at The International Palms Resort. Call 321-373-7046 for details.

On the down side, Americans spent 5 percent less on housing (lots of vacancies generating no payments) 8 percent less on food (it costs more but we’re buying less and buying less expensive things) 10 percent less on clothing (no kidding!) 14 percent less on eating out (ditto), 17 percent less on alcohol (some of us will be happy about that) and 22 percent less on new cars and trucks (time to go for a good deal).

What’s the message of all this? That the Recession has crushed the kind of consumer spending that keeps our economy moving ahead. Go figure. People without jobs and people worried about being without the jobs they have spend less on everything they can.

The Perfect Economic Storm? Wall Street’s financial shenanigans meet NAFTA?

Well, we at LifeStyle Homes are doing the best we can to attack the worst of the crisis: home energy costs. Our  energy efficient SunSmart^SM and remarkable SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero Energy Homes,  will save you a bunch on home energy costs and insulate you from future increases. Like Father Keller used to say, “It is far better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.”

What do you think?

We have just received word that LifeStyle Homes has won the North American Net Zero Energy Production Home of the Year Award from the Net Zero Energy Home Coalition based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We can’t tell you how wonderful this is and how proud we are to have won this major award.

The Net Zero Energy Home Coalition is a federally incorporated not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to accelerate market development of affordable Net Zero Energy Homes. Membership in the Coalition includes major energy efficiency equipment manufacturers, utility companies, academics, architects, engineers, public officials, home builders and land developers. Entries in multiple award categories came from throughout North America, but ours was the only winner to come from outside Canada. How cool is that?

Our entry home was our St. Croix, Net Zero, SunsmartPV^SM branded, sales model home which is located in the Tralee Bay Estates neigborhood of the Capron Ridge master planned community right here in Melbourne. We have subsequently learned that our St. Croix SunSmart(PV) home impressed the judges because it was not a one-off exotic design, but rather a conventional-appearing home to which Net Zero Energy technology had been applied, proving that high performance homes do not need to be super-expensive or look strange.

“That’s the whole idea,” said Larry Hufford, founding partner of LifeStyle Homes. “It’s all well and good to plan for the eventual roll-out of production Net Zero Energy Homes sometime in the future, and build alternative architecture, dream homes in the meantime,” Hufford added, “but since we know reliable technology exists today to build these remarkable homes today, we think it’s better to build them today than to talk about building them tomorrow. It’s just great that the award judges understand that actually getting this done is what’s needed to jump start our new clean energy economy, both in the United States and in Canada.”

The St. Croix SunSmart(PV) Net Zero Energy Home is built to surpass the standards of the Builders Challenge program of the U.S. Department of Energy. It uses the free power of the Sun, captured by roof-mounted PhotoVoltaic panels, to generate as much electricity as the home consumes. When the Sun is shining, the St. Croix SunSmartPV^SM home generates way more electricity than it needs. The surplus is automatically sold back to the utility company. When the Sun isn’t shining, power is purchased just as normally occurs in conventional homes. The term, Net Zero Energy Home, means that over a year, the cost of power purchased from the utility company will be matched by the income from surplus power sales to the utility company, producing a net zero electric bill.

“We can do the Net Zero thing today,” Hufford continued. “Before long we will be able to generate enough surplus to re-charge two electric automobiles overnight for free. And not too long after that, we will be generating enough surplus to make possible the ultimate home-based business; powering America. Just think about that for a minute. Free electricity for your home, free fill-ups for your electric-powered automobiles, plus a hefty check FROM the power company every month. Pretty sweet.”

At LifeStyle Homes, we are really into this right now, trying to figure out what we should do next to increase the performance of our homes. We have been delighted with the success of our guaranteed HERS 60 SunSmart^SM homes, and believe it or not, we find ourselves at the top across the country in building Net Zero Energy Homes. We call ours SunSmartPV^SM Homes, honoring the PhotoVoltaic panels on their roofs, which generate as much electricity from the free power of the Sun as these homes consume in a year’s time.

So far, we have chosen to pursue the path of energy efficiency, directly following the Builders Challenge program from the U.S. Department of Energy. Certification as a Builders Challenge Partner requires building guaranteed HERS 70 homes. In HERS (Home Energy Rating System) scoring, lower is better, so our HERS 60 SunSmart^SM homes more than meet their HERS 70 standard, and our HERS 0 (zero) SunSmartPV^SM homes blow it away!

Now come the National Green Building Program from the National Association of Home Builders, which we discussed last week, and the LEED® For Homes program from the U.S. Green Building Council, which we will brief you on now. First of all, LEED® is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The U.S.G.B.C. appears to be a private organization put together for the specific purpose of offering certifications for various kinds of structures as well as certifications for professionals in various design and construction-related fields. For new homes, certification is based on meeting standards of best practice and high performance in sustainable site development, water conservation, energy conservation, air quality preservation, using sustainably grown, harvested and transported building materials, minimizing waste in construction and improving indoor air quality. Certifications for new homes are offered in four levels: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

By taking various educational courses offered by the Green Building Certification Institute, a U.S.G.B.C. affiliate, professionals can be designated LEED® Green Associates, LEED® Accredited Professionals or LEED® Fellows. The U.S.G.B.C. itself is active in all 50 states, maintains approximately 75 local councils, includes over 16,000 member companies (mostly suppliers) and boasts 162,000 individual Professional Credential holders.

So, the federal government, through the Department of Energy and its subsidiary, the Environmental protection Agency are following the path of energy efficiency. The two private organizations, NAHB and U.S.G.B.C., are incorporating the broader green concepts of environmental inpact and sustainability in their efforts. It is apparent a huge contest for influence is underway, and it will be interesting to see how it all works out.

With that in mind, we will next week offer you a fifth installment of this four episode story, because you see, much of what we have been sharing with you about these various programs will be changing soo. Almost exactly as we speak, the heavy-hitters in the world of building codes are meeting to hash out remaining differences between them and settle on will become the International Energy Conservation Code of 2012. Whatever they ultimately decide, the energy efficiency bar will be raised significantly for all home builders. There will be grumbling, of course, about adding to the cost of new homes at a time when the industry is on its knees, but the process of steadily improving the performance of new homes is essential if we are to rid ourselves of deteriorating air quality and dependence on foreign oil.

Before we turn out attention to this week’s subject, have you noticed the new flight of TV commercials by one of our big box home improvement chains featuring energy efficient window installation? It’s a very good thing that energy efficiency is coming forward in TV ads – a sure sign of what’s coming.

The organization that represents home builders across the nation is the National Association of Home Builders. In its National Green Building Program, NAHB is encouraging home builders to go beyond improving energy efficiency to include the broader issue of environmental impact. This includes improving the energy efficiency of new homes, of course, but it also promotes improvements in using water efficiently, using more recycled wood, engineered wood and wood substitute products, minimizing disruption during the neighborhood development and home construction process, and making sure homeowners of high performance homes understand how to operate their homes properly.

You’re may be more familiar with engineered wood than you think. The idea is to preserve timber by using thin strips of wood in laminates or wood chips and/or sawdust in resin-impregnated sheets and beams. Using OSB sheets instead of conventional plywood for roof underlayment is a good example of using what would have been waste from the sawmill to create a product that is every bit as good as the more environmentally impactful one it replaces. More of this sort of thing will be done in the future in order to preserve our timber resources. It’s a good thing.

The National Green Building Program offers certification for new homes meeting its Standards in four levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emerald. Once again, independent accredited home compliance verifiers check each new home built and certify that it meets the criteria set for each level. The level achieved can be promoted as part of the sales process for each new home that qualifies and remain with the home to help when the time comes to re-sell it as a used home.  

We’re proud that our SunSmart^SM HERS 60 homes and our SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero Energy Homes are at the leading edge of what’s possible to do with today’s technology to make homes perform better for the people who live in them, by improving quality of life at the same time as saving money. We’re proud also that they perform better for all of us living around them, because they do so much to cut down on the emission of harmful greenhouse gasses. 

Inquire about our leading high performance homes at your earliest convenience. Better yet, come see one tomorrow.

You should take heart, however, because when the tipping point is reached, a lot of good things will happen in the U.S. economy is very short order, including significant job creation in the all-important manufacturing sector. Home building and remodeling will see a spurt of activity, also, as people begin to realize just how costly it will be for them to live in conventional fuel-sucking, energy pig homes. We are just about to make it obvious that the vast majority of dwellings in the nation’s housing stock will need significant upgrading or outright replacement as we move into the CRS Energy economy.

It’s a good thing that the U.S. Department of Energy is taking a leading role in bringing about positive change. Last week, we visited the ENERGY STAR® program sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, which is a part of DOE. New Homes qualifying for ENERGY STAR® certification today must demonstrate 15 percent energy savings over conventional new homes. Word is that this requirement is being stiffened to 23 percent as we speak. These percentage savings equate to  Indices of 85 and 77 on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) established by RESNET, The Residential Energy Services Network, which is the certifying agency for intependent Home Energy Raters who perform verification tests.

Through its Building America program, DOE also sponsors the Builders Challenge program, which offers partnership designation to home builders willing to reach for 30 percent savings in the homes they build. This equates to a HERS Index of 70. LifeStyle Homes is proud to be the first home building company in the Space Coast area to qualify for Builders Challenge partnership, (and only the 42nd in the country to qualify). With the great support and guidance of the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, we were encouraged to reach even higher. 

Our SunSmart^SM homes are guaranteed to achieve a full 4o percent savings over new conventional homes. This equates to  HERS Indices of 60. Very few builders in the nation can touch that. But there’s more. Our remarkable SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero Energy Homes achieve HERS 0 (zero) scores, which means that they save 100 percent of energy costs compared to conventional new homes. 

How is that possible? By generating on-site 100 percent of the electricity they are rated to consume in a year. These homes use roof-mounted photovoltaic panels to make much more power than they need when the sun is shining. The surplus is sold back to the power company automatically. When the sun isn’t shining, these homes rely on receiving electricity from the power company just like all homes do. Over a year’s time, the power bought is balanced by the power sold so that the net power bill is zero. Pretty nifty eh?

So you see, when we get technology that can pull off this trick for homes we all agree are “affordable”, everything will change overnight. It’s a pretty exciting prospect, and it is literally just around the corner.

For the next several weeks, we are going to sort through the more prominent of these so you can get a better sense of what’s going on and understand more fully what other home builders may say about their own energy efficient/green building efforts. At the outset, let’s be sure that everyone understands that the people of LifeStyle Homes applaud anyone’s efforts to build energy efficient/green homes. No matter what path they take to do it, what they are trying to do is good for us all.

First, let’s take a look at the ENERGY STAR® program from the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). ENERGY STAR® was introduced in 1992 as a voluntary labeling program intended to encourage production of more energy efficient electrical products and appliances. Now, the program has grown to encompass thousands of products in more than 60 categories. One such product is now new homes.

To qualify for the ENERGY STAR® new homes must be at least 15 percent more energy efficient that those built to the 2004 International Residential Code. Candidate homes are tested and certified by independent Home Energy Raters (HER) who themselves have been certified to perform this function.

Homes are tested and scored on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) A HERS score is also known as a HERS index. The standard new home built to the 2004 standard contains no special energy efficiency enhancements other those normally included in such homes. They get a HERS index of 100. A home that is 15 percent more energy efficient than that gets a HERS index of 85.

So, right away, you see that the lower a HERS index is, the better. The practical limit of lower-is-better HERS indices given today’s technology is HERS 0 (zero). This means that home saves 100 percent of the energy it would have consumed had it been built to the 2004 standard. Such a home is known as a Net Zero Energy Home, (NZEH) and it produces on site as much electrical energy as it consumes over a year’s time, generally relying on a roof-mounted array of photovoltaic solar generating panels to do the job.

Owners of a NZEH home can expect their electric bill from the power company to be net zero over a year’s time, i.e., every dollar paid out to the power company for power bought when the sun isn’t shining will be matched by a dollar paid in from the power company for surplus power the house generates when the sun is shining, which the power company is obligated by law to buy.

Remarkable! Free electricity for life! Just this week, LifeStyle Homes completed its fourth NZEH home, another in our SunSmartPV^SM series.

Enough for now. Stay tuned.

LifeStyle Homes is a home building company located in Melbourne, FL. We are not an economics think tank, nor are we a political advocacy group with an academic-sounding name like The Center for (Whatever Will Get Us a Headline). Yet, with a lot of wonderful help, we have discovered an answer to jump starting our economy.

Our remarkable SunSmart^SM HERS 60 energy efficient homes and our astounding SunSmartPV^SM HERS Zero homes have pulled customers out of the ether of economic uncertainty and fired them up to buy a new home. With each purchase, our wonderful customers have supported thousands of jobs. It’s a remarkable thing for which we give great thanks.

The strength of advantage these energy efficient homes offer their owners is magical force making this happen. Offering our customers a chance to make a solid contribution to environmental sustainability, improve their family’s health and save a boatload of money at the same time is a winning proposition!  It is also a  glimpse of economic vitality ahead. The new economy will the the solar energy economy.

Why? Because our’s is a consumer-driven economy. Consumers only respond to WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?) Political pronouncements don’t mean nearly as much as self-interested purchases. Solar power is the way ahead for home building because it will sell. It will sell because consumers see solid WIIFM advantages coming to them. Home sales will support job growth. Job growth is what we need.          

Two things (at least) amaze us about this. One: We were led to discover this at LifeStyle Homes. Two: Our political leaders don’t seem to get the picture. Go figure.

Since we’re going to talk about this placard, you might want to take a quick look at it.

It has to be one of the most powerful pieces of printed builder marketing material ever created, and it comes to us from the federal government! Go figure!

Not only is it graphically excellent, it tells a powerful story about better living and substantial savings available in a Builders Challenge home. Through its Building America program, DOE challenged the Country’s home builders in 2008 to build new homes that would double the energy cost savings available through the older ENERGY STAR program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. So far, only LifeStyle Homes has accepted that challenge in Brevard County, and by the way, we were only the forty-second home builder in the Nation to step up to become a certified Builderd Challenge Partner.

The graphic scale on the placard shows the range of relative energy efficiency of American homes from the worst, HERS 150, to the best, HERS 0. You see, in the Home Energy Rating System, lower scores are better. Notice the scale indicates that the specific home this placard applies to, 123 Main Street, Gainesville, FL, not one of ours mind you, scored a HERS 64. This is pretty darn good and better than the HERS 70 required to be a Builders Challenge home.

A HERS 64 Index means the DOE is telling the owners of that home that they can expect to save 36 percent on their annual electricity bill compared to a typical new home, which is specified in the HERS as 100. This is the government talking here, friends. They would’t say it if it wasn’t so!

One of our SunSmart^SM HERS 60 homes will, therefore, save its owners 40 percent on their annual electric bill compared to a typical new home. One of our remarkable SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero Energy Homes will save its owners 100 percent on their annual electric bill. How can that be? because a Net Zero Energy Home generates as much electricity from the free power of the Sun as it consumes over a year’s time.

When the Sun is shining a SunSmartPV^SM will make way more electricity than it needs. The surplus is automatically sold to the power company.When the Sun isn’t shining, the owners of the home will buy the power they need just like the rest of us do. After a year has passed, their net power bill will be zero, which equals 100 percent savings. doesn’t it?

Astounding! Possible right now! Get busy!

If your eyes are glazing over, it’s OK. Ours are too, and we live for this stuff!

Beyond the commitment to energy efficiency as our company’s way forward, two factors played giant roles in making this strategy work. The first was the stellar guidance and support provided by the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center, in Cocoa, who led us first to the most efficient way to better the HERS 70 target score for Builder Challenge Partner companies under the Department of Energy’s Building America program, and then on to Net Zero Energy performance. The second was the enthusiastic response of  customers, who quickly grasped it made a lot more sense for them to buy new homes of tomorrow from us rather than already-obsolete new homes offered by other builders or  fuel-sucking, energy-pigs available as short sales. Thank you guys!

As we learn more and more about the big subject of energy efficient/Green building, it’s becoming clearer what a huge effort is going on, kind of in the background, to improve  the technology and develop the products that will provide even more energy savings in the future. With growing market acceptance, higher sales volumes for energy efficient products are helping their manufacturers lower costs of these components  significantly. It’s very exciting to see this happening – a genuine bright light in what is still an uncertain economic future for us all.

Thinking BIG thoughts now, we have already proven energy efficiency will produce customers who want to capture the benefits it offers for themselves. If other home builders would take this journey, they would likely have this same experience. For each one that did, more people connected to home building would be put back to work, and that’s exactly what our economy needs right now.

Thinking an even BIGGER thought, the improving cost-efficiency of photovoltaic electric generating systems is truly wonderful. Now, we can build PV-powered homes that produce as much electricity as they consume to sell in the mid-$400s. That price is coming down, and we are committed to pushing it down as fast as we can.

Along with price reductions, growing PV generating capacities can be expected. A milestone will occur when it becomes possible for PV-powered homes to re-charge their owners’ electric automobiles at no cost. That day is not far off.

With continuing improvements both in price and capacity, homes of the future will routinely produce significantly more electric power than they consume. The surplus will be sold back to the Grid. Will home-based PV electric generation become the ultimate home based business?

Could well be, don’t you think?

Happy LifeStyle Homes Team Members

The distinguished-looking white-haired gentleman in the center is Larry Hufford, Founding Partner of LifeStyle Homes. To his left is Jake Luhn, CEO, and son of the late John Luhn, Larry’s original partner. To Jake’s left is Marcia Luhn, Jake’s Mom, Kim Nathan, Tom Nathan, our VP and Chief Builder and Kathy Hufford. To Larry’s right are Samantha Webb and Bill Webb, MIRM, marketing consultant and your Blog writer. It’s smiles all around, because all of us are delighted and more than a little proud to have the company we love win this prestigious award.  It’s too bad, though, that so many important members of the team were not included in this photo, and too bad also, that so many other people that helped us,  like the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center aren’t in it also. But then, if they were, we would all be too small for anyone to see. 

The Beautiful Aurora Award trophy

And, here is the Aurora Award trophy itself, a truly handsome work of art that will be displayed prominently in the LifeStyle Home corporate headquarters. This is the very trophy that caused so much fun, just a moment or two after this photo was taken. You won’t want to miss the hilarity, but to enjoy it, you’ll have to look a couple of weeks back in our Blog history. Suffice to say, an empty Budweiser beer bottle was involved, and the result was semi-stifled laughter that was all the better because it was so inappropriate in this very dignified setting. 

Oh well, as we have said before, we take our work very seriously, but not necessarily ourselves. “Love what you do. Work hard and then play hard” would pretty well sum up the LifeStyle Homes corporate culture. The result of consistently applying that approach to our business life is that LifeStyle Homes has become our area’s most respected home builder.  

So now, after all this fun, the work continues, building our SunSmart^SM HERS 60 homes and our even more extraordinary SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero Energy Homes. We would love the opportunity to show you how remarkable they truly are – providing a genuinely superior quality of life inside while costing substantially less to power.

What?

OK. Every blog has to start somewhere, and this is where today’s blog is starting. Give me a moment and I’ll try to pull together something that makes sense for you. 

Three years ago, LifeStyle Homes embarked on a program to improve the energy efficiency of the homes we build as a means to survive in what we saw as difficult times coming our way. The idea was to offer our customers a dramatically better product so we could win sales we might lose otherwise. It didn’t hurt a bit to realize that by building better homes we would be doing the right thing for our customers - an idea that is honestly at the core of this company’s philosophy – as well as for ourselves.  

The success of our SunSmart^SM and SunSmartPV^SM homes has been dramatic. We have to thank our customers for that. In a time when conventional wisdom said otherwise, they  stepped forward and bought a new HERS 60 or HERS Zero home from us because they saw how much sense it made in their lives. We should also thank the building scientists at the Florida Solar Energy Center for showing us how to make our homes so much better.

Now, we find our nation still in the grips of economic trouble. Everybody says creating more jobs is what we need. Guess what! Home building can create more jobs faster than any other segment of the economy. By a whole lot!

We have proven right here in Brevard County that people will buy new homes, even in tough times, when it makes sense for them to do so. Energy efficiency has been our vehicle to attract that business. The same strategy could work anywhere. Why haven’t more home builders jumped on this as a way to help themselves, help their customers and help our country at the same time?

What do you think?

You have no idea how proud we are to have been recognized for our envelope-pushing work in energy efficient home building. We fully expect all home builders will embrace energy efficient design and construction as soon as they can free themselves from the crushing effects of our current economic situation, but for right now, it gives us a strong competitive advantage for which we are very grateful. 

Winning an Aurora Award is a really big deal. We have total respect for the program and for the individuals who make it happen each year. Still, one of the things that distinguishes our company, in a good way, we believe, is that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

Our work: another matter. Total focus. Total dedication. Total delivery. But ourselves . . .

Well, here you see a part of the award trpphy: a beautiful multi-faceted crystal ball. It is held within a “C” shaped brass fixture mounted on a beautiful walnut base. There are two screw-down holders in the ends of the brass fixture that grip the crystal ball top and bottom, holding it at a grafeful 45 degree angle to the base. Very impressive.  

When Larry Hufford and Jake Luhn returned to our table, of course, everyone wanted to hold the trophy and examine it up close. As it was passed around, the crystal ball fell out. We won’t mention in whose custody the trophy was when this calamity befell us, other than to say that it was someone’s Mom.

The crystal ball was safely recovered in perfect condition, but before it could be restored to its place of honor, someone else, someone’s son by the way, mounted an empty Budweiser bottle in its place. That brought forth howls of semi-muffled laughter from all at our table, in no small measure because all of us remember how much our other founding partner, John Luhn, enjoyed consuming an occasional cold long neck Bud.

The whole thing took on another dimension of hilarity, sort of like hearing an unfortunate noise in church, because the people at the table next to ours were visibly incensed at our apparent lack of respect. One woman, in particular, was projecting a beam of disgust in our direction that made it clear she had anticipated her table would be winning that award.

Well, they were from Sarasota, one Florida’s more tightly wound communities, so it’s no wonder they were uncomfortable being close to people they regarded as possible bumpkins. It’s too bad, though, because it looked like their whole evening had been ruined.

Not ours!

So, now you get to wonder which version of our Aurora Award is resting in our corporate display case. You’ll have to come see for yourself, ’cause I ain’t tellin’.

We were there representing LifeStyle Homes to receive perhaps the most significant award of all, the best Solar Energy home, honoring our St. Croix Net Zero energy sales model home in Capron Ridge, right here in Melbourne. As amazed as many of us may have been that there are actually award categories for multi-million dollar kitchen and bathroom renovations, helping builders recognize the merits and market attractiveness of serious energy efficiency seems a bit more relevant.

Nevertheless, just participating in this prestigious competition is a very big deal, and we were extremely proud to be there and to actually have been singled out by our peers for this significant award.

It was a great moment, seeing Larry Hufford, founding partner of LifeStyle Homes, and Jake Luhn, CEO, walk across that stage and accept the Aurora trophy. Even better was sharing the moment when thay walked to the front of the stage and paused for brief photo op. You should have seen the grin on Larry’s face.

There’s more to tell in this story that you won’t want to miss, but this seems like a good point to break for this week. Stay tuned. You will be glad if you do. I promise!

“We are extremely proud to be associated with this premier master planned community,” said Jake Luhn, CEO of LifeStyle Homes, “and are very excited that we’re well underway with our first sales model home in the Levanto neighborhood. We are building our luxurious Monterey home there, and Kay Green, MIRM, of Kay Green Design in Orlando is designing our interior decor.  Best of all, this Monterey model home is being built to our SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero performance standard, which means it will generate as much electricity from the free power of the Sun as it consumes in a year’s time.” 

“Let me echo Jake’s remarks,” said Larry Hufford, founding partner of LifeStyle Homes. “Almost since my partner, John Luhn, and I started our company, we have been looking admiringly at what the Duda family has been achieving at Viera. It is truly a great thing for our company to be working with theirs now,” Hufford added, “and we’re looking forward to a long and mutually-successful relationship.”

Levanto is a wonderful enclave of tile-roofed homes close to everything Viera has to offer. Located on the east side of Tavistock Drive just north of its intersection with Judge Fran Jamieson Way in South Solerno, Levanto is just a short walk to the Duran golf courses, The Avenue Viera and the future Viera Town Center.

“I can’t think of a better place to live in a LifeStyle SunSmartPV^SM home,” Luhn concluded. “I hope everyone will stay tuned for further details as this magnificent home nears completion. It will be one new home shoppers will not want to miss.” 

“I’m not sure which of us is the chocolate and which is the peanut butter, Hufford added, but it’s certain that LifeStyle Homes at Viera will be a sweet combination for our customers.”

“We’re extremely pleased to be recognized in this prestigious award program,” said Jake Luhn, CEO of LifeStyle Homes. “Even better is the fact that this particular award is being given for our pioneering work in energy efficiency.  Our SunSmart^SM HERS 60 energy efficient homes are well established as market leaders, and our second generation SunSmartPV^SM Net Zero homes are setting new records for energy efficiency in Brevard County,” Luhn added.

“I’ve been attending SEBC for over twenty years, said Larry Hufford, Founding Partner of LifeStyle Homes. “I never thought the day would come when I’d get to walk across a stage to pick up an Aurora Award trophy, but it look like that’s going to happen Saturday night, July 23rd. You can bet I’ll be thinking of my partner, John Luhn, and wishing he could be here to help me pick it up in true LifeStyle.”

“Going to SEBC has  always been a big deal for John and I,” Hufford added. “In the beginning, even when we were just scraping by in terms of profits, John and I would treat ourselves to a nice room in the Peabody Hotel for SEBC just to reward ourselves for another year of really hard work serving our great customers. It seems like we’ve come a long way since 1986, so you can bet I’ll be thinking about our great team members and trade partners who have contributed so much to our success.”

As an Aurora Award winner in the Solar Energy Home category, LifeStyle Homes will be eligible to win a Grand Aurora, signifying a winning performance. Stay tuned. We’ll let you know how that turns out.