Category 1: Energy- HERS Index

FGBC uses a whole house energy performance rating called the HERS (Home Energy Rating) Index vs. an exhaustive list of energy saving alternatives. The energy rater just left this morning and it looks like the house will score ok. The list above shows what's involved in the rating. It takes into account not just heating and cooling and water heating but also, lighting, appliances etc. I receive the HERS score in 4 weeks.

Prerequisite 2

The entire waterfront is covered in White, Red and Black mangroves. There are a few areas that were previously cut back. Whatever happened in the past they are currently protected by the FL DEP.

Prerequisite 1

We currently do not have a pool but this is Florida and it is something we may do soon. Although people really into green think a pool is sacrilege, pools can be done on varying extremes of green consciousness. What's listed above is almost standard these days in new pool so either way we are covered.

I'll offer a brief overview of the process I will follow to get my home Certified Green by the Florida Green Building Coalition. It is a points based system. The requirements for a new home are to:

comply with 2 prerequisites
obtain the minimum points indicated in each category
obtain a total of 100 points

There are 8 categories:
Energy
Water
Lot Choice
Site
Health
Materials
Disaster Mitigation
General (misc)

Along with simply checking things off on a list under each category, some items require additional verification. I am going to put everything I'll need to submit within my posts for each item and store all these related posts under the FGBC Green Home Checklist category here on my site. My hope is to save paper and hassle and also have everything online for easy reference.

Green Card Carrying Member

Although, I passed the exam last year I finally received my official Registered Certifying Agent Card. I'll take this as a sign that now is the time to finally begin getting the house certified.

Sticking to the Pink

While I am still being kept away from this blog taking care of other things, I couldn't stay away on Earth Day. My goal for the blog is to begin tracking my progress to get the house certified green by the Florida Green Building Coalition but family matters, a loan refinance and needing to buy a car keep things up in the air. I want to be grounded when I begin the process and have all this organizing and routine in place. SO hopefully next week I can begin the hard core credit crunching involved with the FGBC checklist. Being all over the place didn't stop me, however, from putting down FLOR tiles in little Miss Gottfried's room. I originally hated the shade of pink I picked for the walls (I still do) but I decided to make the best of it for now because there is just too much more to do overall. The tiles feels great to the touch and make her play area much more comfortable. My housemate in Brooklyn actually turned me onto FLOR when she used them in her place back in 2005. It couldn't be a better fit for the floors here in FL.

The next chapter

We've been moving in building a large pile for the Salvation Army. It seems to be a never ending process. We still have some trim to finish and windows to clean but basically we are in and mostly settled. We've recently painted the front door to match the windows and have been working on a center garden to bring some color into the driveway. We also bought a lime tree and an orange tree. There has been a good rain everyday so far and the free water on young fruit trees is very helpful. We will also be planting a lemon tree and and another orange tree next week. These are just some random photos to get me back into the swing of posting again. I still have the daunting task of submitting the info to get the house certified green by the FGBC. That I hope to start next week after I get the office organized.