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Home, green home

By JUDY STARK
Published March 25, 2006

[Times photo: Skip O'Rourke]

Tropical palms and plantings edge the pool, which uses a salt purification system rather than chlorine. Behind them, native and drought-tolerant plants attract butterflies and wildlife: viburnum, coontie, dwarf Fakahatchee grass, blue plumbago, bottlebrush. The yard has been certified as "Florida friendly" by the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program, which supports using the right plant in the right place, efficient watering and mulching, appropriate use of fertilizer, attracting and feeding wildlife, minimizing stormwater runoff and protecting surface water.

The Florida Green Building Coalition (the Web site is www. floridagreenbuilding.org) has established certification guidelines for "green" homes. A home must score at least 200 points on a scale that covers eight areas: design, energy, water, site, health, materials, disaster mitigation and general.

Here are some of the "green" components at the Showcase Home that helped it earn its certification:

Energy Star appliances, which use 30 percent less energy and 20 percent less water than is standard.

Tankless water heater, which provides hot water on demand rather than maintaining a large tank of hot water at all times, whether in use or not.

A mud room, where outdoor dirt and tracked-in messes can be left behind.

More efficient air filters.

Paints with low levels of volatile organic compounds from the Sherwin-Williams Harmony line.

Minimal use of carpet to avoid the emission of noxious vapors and reduce buildup of dust and dirt.

Ductwork protected during construction to keep drywall dust and construction dirt out.

Central vacuum.

A cistern, or rain barrel, to harvest runoff.

Drought-tolerant native plants.

A detached garage, which keeps pollutants and dangerous gases away from the home and is in harmony with the traditional neighborhood design in the Garden District. (Note the Terralite floor, a three-part epoxy finish on the floor that creates a terrazzo look.)

Sprayed-foam, formaldehyde-free insulation.

Zoned air conditioning system with a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating of 16 (code minimum is 13).

Swimming pool that uses salt purification and ozonation systems rather than chlorine.

Ductwork sealed with mastic.

Double-glazed windows.

- JUDY STARK, Times Homes editor

[Last modified March 24, 2006, 11:42:20]