DwellGreen's "Greenest Building in Florida" Wins Four 2008 Aurora Awards for Excellence in High-Performance Building

A Florida home built by Sarasota's DwellGreen, Inc. has won four 2008 Aurora Awards, including one Grand Aurora, for excellence in the category of green building. This home was previously certified in June 2008 by the Florida Green Building Coalition as the highest performing green home in Florida built to date.

Sarasota, FL (PRWEB) September 5, 2008 -- A North Port, Florida house built by DwellGreen, Inc. (www.dwellgreen.com ) received four 2008 Aurora Awards (www.theauroras.com ) for excellence in high-performance green building. The house, located at 12020 DeSoto Dr. in North Port, won one Aurora and one Grand Aurora award respectively in the category of Green Construction--New Production Builder Spec Model, and one Aurora Award each for Water-wise Home and Energy Efficient Home --Detached Single-Family categories respectively.

Each year, the Aurora Awards recognize the Southeast's most outstanding builders, planners, architects, developers, designers, interior merchandisers and other housing-related professionals within a 12-state region.

The Home Front Homes Panelized Construction System enables this house to withstand winds more than 200 miles per hour

"The North Port home is expected to reduce the homeowner's operating costs by 60% or more, while delivering them a fantastic Florida lifestyle," says John Lambie, president of DwellGreen, a network of experienced affiliates who specialize in high-performance green home improvement ("eco-retrofitting"), and in new home construction.

"This project is unique in that it exemplifies how building methods and technologies have changed over the last 10 years," says Drew Smith, DwellGreen partner and president of the green consulting firm Two Trails, Inc. (www.twotrails.net/) "It shows that a home can be built to achieve a high green score without spending more than it would have cost for a traditionally built home."

The award-winning DwellGreen home integrates many of the latest best-practice materials and techniques in high-performance green construction. DwellGreen network companies that provided services and materials for the house included HomeFront Homes, (www.homefronthomes.com ), McCall Engineering, Terry Osborn Architects, Calcs-Plus (www.calcs-plus.com ), MyGreenBuildings (www.mygreenbuildings.com ), Mirasol Fafco Solar (www.mirasolfafco.com ), Two Trails, Inc. (www.twotrails.net ), Whirlpool appliances, Taz Tile and Marble, Babe's Plumbing of Venice, Toto Plumbing Fixtures, Kimal Lumber, Eco-$mart Inc. (http://www.ecosmartinc.com/ ), Tom Tynes Cabinet and Finish, Mike Holsinger Landscape Consulting, J.D. Vie Landscape Consulting.

"The Home Front Homes Panelized Construction System enables this house to withstand winds more than 200 miles per hour," says Lambie, "and these panels also helped the house achieve high certification scores for energy efficiency and use of recycled materials." Lambie further increased the home's energy efficiency by using Low-E windows, solar water heating, a water-cooled air conditioning system with heat-pipe dehumidification, and by running ducts in air-conditioned space--a process made simple by the Home Front Homes panelized construction system.

The Auroras are not the only recognition this DwellGreen home has received. In June 2008, it was given the highest score by the Florida Green Building Coalition (www.floridagreenbuilding.org) for Florida Green Building certification. At a prestigious 226 points, the home officially became "The Greenest Building in Florida" built to date.

DwellGreen uses scientific analysis to measure a home's performance in a variety of key categories of structural integrity, energy efficiency and watershed balance. The results become the basis of a strategic plan for home improvement. DwellGreen analyzes and monitors the results of work to make sure the green objectives are met. "The North Port home shows how the DwellGreen strategic design process can give Florida homeowners a higher quality of life and greater peace of mind," says Lambie.

And it's a highly affordable lifestyle, as well. The DwellGreen home at 12020 De Soto in North Port is currently for sale. Choose to go "off the grid" for just under $269,000.00 (after rebates and tax credits), which includes a solar photovoltaic system option, or $239,000 without the solar photovoltaic system.

Lambie, president of DwellGreen, is the former executive director of the Florida House Institute for Sustainable Development in Sarasota.

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