The "Power Haus", a new house in Sarasota, Florida, has received the lowest HERS score ever in the U.S., a negative 22, which means the house produces more energy than it uses. It also scored 118 LEED points (an internationally recognized green building certification system), making it the highest-scoring new construction home in the U.S.
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The home's state-of-the-art systems are simple to manage through the IP-based ELAN g! Home Control System, which allows for consolidated control of lighting, heating, cooling, security, surveillance, whole-house audio/video and even the pool and spa right from the owner's iPad, iPhones and ELAN in-wall touch screens.
The house was carefully designed and situated to take advantage of shade provided by the property's large trees, and it features an open floor plan with ceiling fans throughout, including an eight-foot fan in the great room. An independent dehumidification system helps to control the Florida humidity and full walls of operable impact-resistant Jeld Wen insulating windows serve to maximize natural ventilation. The home is fully outfitted with Energy Star appliances and super-efficient core systems - such as an Infinity HVAC system and Eternal tankless water heater - and it features 100 percent LED lighting, even outdoors.
The homeowners control the system through two ELAN TS7 7-inch in-wall touch screens, three ELAN TS2 in-wall touch pads, an iPad and their two iPhones. With six flat screen HDTVs indoors plus one on the deck, the Power Haus is no slouch in the media department. To complement the video system, 14 speakers are distributed through eight audio zones, including two outdoor rock speakers. The media systems can play content from three DirecTV feeds, two Blu-ray players, XM satellite radio, Pandora Internet radio, am/fm radio and an ELAN VIA!migo iPod dock.
