NET
ZERO
HOMES
By Sue Erwin
Photos by Caroline Clabaugh and submitted
Energy-effi cient homes are becoming a trend in today’s
housing market, and builders in Boca Grande are
receiving more requests from clients to build them.
Every day more people realize how much money they can
save each month on their electric bills, and how much less
of an impact they can have on our environment.
One Southwest Florida builder, Safety Harbor Homes,
recently fi nished a “net zero” home on Wheeler Road
in Boca Grande. The 2,500 square-foot home actually
produces an average of eight percent more energy than it
uses.
Dave Jenkins, owner/designer at Wright Jenkins Home
Design, created the plans for the project. He has designed
these kinds of homes throughout Florida, as well as the
Bahamas.
Jenkins explained that the lower the score a house has
on the HERS – Home Energy Rating System – index, the
more effi ciently the home will produce energy. For example,
over a 12-month period the energy cost of a certifi ed
net zero energy home would be neutral. The data on your
energy bill each month would refl ect exactly how much
energy is feeding the grid, or how much you are buying.
There is also an online portal to track how the energy is
being used.
2 GASPARILLA MAGAZINE January/February 2020