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Callaway Corners Near Zero Energy Home
Panama City, FL


Vision House
Photo: Eric Martin

Testimonial from Diane Bateman,
Callaway Corners Homeowner:

What do you like most about your green home?
I think it is the constant air temperature anywhere in the house. Also, it does not seem to get as dusty and dirty inside the home.

What made you to decide to build green?
Because it is the right thing to do. When I met with Julius Poston*, he had the vision of a 'green community'. It is easy to build green if one has money, what we wanted to do was to build an affordable home, that the 'working class' person could afford that would be comparable in price to other 'non green' homes being built.

What would you tell people to convince them to build green?
Find a contractor who has the same vision as you, one that will listen to your desires, then go for it. It may cost more up front but it will pay off financially and emotionally - knowing that you are part of the solution not the problem.

Do you know how much more it cost you to build green, rather than building a standard home?
I think the cost of my home is comparable to other homes being built in the area. If anything it would be the price of the solar panels and converter so maybe $20,000.

If you built another green home, what would you do different?
I would like to go more green and less traditional.  I’d like to push the envelope a little further and see if the house could be more built with more recycled materials, and build completely off the electrical grid, and have its own water and sanitation.  That is not be hooked up to city water and sewer.

*President and founder of Stalwart Built Homes

This home is the first home in Florida (March 2008) to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the highest certification level a home can reach through the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED for Homes program. Reaching any level of certification in the LEED for Homes program requires excellent performance from the home in several categories that the USGBC has broken down: innovation and design, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials & resources. This home not only satisfied all of these requirements to the highest degree, but it also attained a commendable Home Energy Rater Score (HERS) of 26 – on a scale where zero translates to little or no energy use and 100 is the standard code-compliant home score – coming close to being a net-zero-energy home.

Some features that led to this home’s LEED Platinum certification include:

  • Spray foam insulation in attic and under the house for a well-sealed building envelope
  • Low-volatile organic compound (VOC) paint interior
  • Sustainable bamboo floor
  • Low-emissive vinyl windows
  • “Desuperheater” providing hot water
  • Air filtration system
  • ENERGY STAR appliances
  • Geothermal heating and cooling unit
  • 3.6 kilowatt photovoltaic system


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