On a perfect May day in 2009 we spent an afternoon with Michaela Miller and Steve Sadler on their property located on the bank of the Arlington River with a great view of downtown Jacksonville, FL. It took imagination at the time to see what the couple had in mind in restoring their Villa Paraiso to become perhaps the “greenest” home in northeast Florida. Their former home on the location had been destroyed by a hurricane, and they had decided to rebuild in the most environmentally friendly way possible.
We’re glad to report that the couple is having a “grand opening” of their home on Earth Day, April 22. The home is one of the most energy efficient in the United States. Only four dumpsters went to the landfill during the deconstruction and rebuilding of the home. And, they expect Villa Paraiso to be the 1st Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) home in Northeast Florida.
Project Highlights:
* 68 photovoltaic roof panels
* Recycling rain water from roof into two 1,500 gallon tanks
* Geothermal for heating/cooling/hot water (involved drilling 14 wells 200 ft into the ground)
* Smart Home technology (more than 2 miles of cables prewired – will be able to operate lights, music, HVAC, security cameras, and gate via iPhones)
* Protective spray sprayed on roof to extend warranty 15 - 20 years (used on Space Station)
* Spray foam insulation on ceiling, exterior walls and underneath house gives R value of 22-30
* Virtually all materials recycled into new home - bricks, pavers, & timber
* Roof shingles and drywall used for landscaping and leveling the ground
* Living walls (between the pillars/stilts climbing vines)
* 1,000+ native and/or heritage plants
* Organic Garden
Recycling Statistics to date:
* 1.38 tons of glass
* 1920 lbs. of combined metal
* 1600 lbs. of aluminum
* 286 lbs. of insulated CU wire
* 132 lbs. of copper
* 36 lbs. of brass
To learn more about the home and see a slide show of the home during phases of its reconstruction, visit the couple’s Website, www.builttotallygreen.com, then check out their Facebook page by clicking here.
You an also read what I wrote a year ago (Dream green landscape rises from disaster), which shows the couple, and gives some sense of the scale of their project. — Ron Hall
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