Setting the Standard With Zero-Energy Homes: Pearl Homes
PEARL Homes’ Hunters Point is the first-of-its-kind community in the United States with its LEED Zero Energy certification
Uniquely positioned in one of the last areas classified as “Old Florida” in the City of Cortez, is first of its kind community, Hunters Point. The project is the first and only net-zero single-family home community in the United States, and is one of two LEED Zero housing projects in the world, boasting a LEED Zero Energy certification from the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC). PEARL Homes, the builder of Hunters Point, launched in 2015 with its construction of Mirabella, an active adult community of 160 eco-friendly attached villas located in West Bradenton, Florida. All Mirabella Homes achieved LEED Platinum certification, further igniting the company’s passion for building a healthier, greener future and the inspiration for its
next endeavor: Hunters Point.
The First of its Kind
Research for the Hunters Point development began in 2018. Shortly after, PEARL Homes embarked on their Research and Development Center where a test home was set up. There, 18 months worth of testing was done to verify the home’s energy usage. It was in this center where it was discovered that the home produced more energy than it used, and in late 2019, that model home was certified as the world’s first LEED Zero Energy home.
Vertical construction of Hunters Point began in May 2021 with three phases slotted for development. The community includes 86 net-zero, solar-powered homes and 49 boat slips on a nearly 18-acre property situated on a canal opening right into Palma Sola Bay, which leads out into the Gulf of Mexico.
Solar Power at its Finest
The inspiration for the homes at Hunters Point centered around utilizing smarter design and building a single-family residence that could function off the power grid, running entirely on solar power and operating during non-daylight hours with the assistance of smart technology. “The goal was to do something that hadn’t been done before: build a home with a positive carbon footprint that would generate more power than the owner could consume,” said PEARL Homes President and Founder
Marshall Gobuty. Being that Hunters Point is the first of its kind, there are only a handful of builders and developers that are doing what PEARL Homes has done. This has made the community a standard green building method and a case
study for generations to come. “Though our community is the first of its kind, it is not a one-time design,” said Gobuty. “Our home design could, and should, be a replicable process for all residential projects in the United States.” PEARL Homes has opened themselves up to any developer interested in net-zero building to show them what can be achieved and how it is done. The exemplary homebuilder wants to convert this design standard into something designed for master-planned communities, creating a blueprint for a highly efficient renewable energy-based grid.“We believe builders must shift from selling finishes to selling a solar system,” said Gobuty.
PEARL Homes focused on providing an off-grid power supply solution. As an area like Florida, is highly prone to hurricanes resulting in power outages, a development like Hunters Point is incredibly valuable. The project team turned to Florida’s most abundant natural resource: solar power. The photovoltaic systems coupled with battery storage created an independent power grid for the development. The Residences at Hunters Point Hunters Point offers its buyers a three-bedroom floorplan. Coastal-inspired, the homes boast bright, open-concept designs with ample storage. Opting for a three-story design, the team split the living space of each home between two levels. The ground floor consists of a two-car garage, ground-level storage space and a private covered lanai. The second floor includes the kitchen, living and dining areas, a powder room and a private patio. The
third floor has three bedrooms. Each home measures about 3,300 sq. ft. with 1,650 square feet of interior living space with prices ranging from $1.35 million to $1.95 million.
Along with its solar power, the homes are incredibly energy-efficient in other aspects as well. The homes feature a fully automated fresh air system. The device in question uses smart sensors that automatically detect temperature, humidity, tVOCs, PM2.5 and CO2 to help control indoor air quality by activating the home’s ventilation devices to replace stale and polluted air with fresh, clean air allowing for an elevated level of indoor air quality.
Experiencing a wide range of disruptions, building through the pandemic while combating rising labor costs and supply chain shortages, and standing tall against two major hurricanes since the beginning of construction, a atypical challenge arose: that of educating the consumer on all things “net-zero living” and spreading the message of how to build a
clean energy, net-positive home.
The team will continue educating on net-zero to both the homebuyer and homebuilder, in hopes of building for a better tomorrow. The completion of all three phases of the PEARL Homes development is set to be fulfilled by the end of this year.
