Since construction began in 2008, 1,000 workers have come to the plant site.  Luckily, the permanent labor to run this small plant is very small- just maintenance and mirror cleaning crews.

Upon its completion at the end of 2010, the 75-megawatt facility will generate enough electricity to power 11,000 homes.

Source:  South Florida Business Journal - by Paul Brinkmann

Read more: FP&L’s solar plant nears completion | South Florida Business Journal 

“It’s all about family togetherness – casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” says Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio.

Paul Cardis, CEO of Avid Ratings, which conducts an annual survey of buyer preferences, identified these must-haves in new homes:

1. Large kitchens with islands
2. Energy efficiency, including energy-efficient appliances, super insulation, and high-efficiency windows.
3. Home offices
4. Main-floor master suite
5. Outdoor living space
6. Ceiling fans
7. Soaking tub in the master suite and/or an oversize shower with a seating area
8. Stone and brick exteriors rather than stucco or vinyl
9. Community walking paths and playgrounds
10. Two-car garages, but three-car garages are even more desirable

Republished with permission from Realtor.com

This local rental car company can have you in one of their hybrid rentals in no time– they even have airport pick up.

For more information, please call 305.785.4307 or check out their website at www.Hybrid-AutoRentals.com

Last week, in NYC, I drank from a paper straw; it was a rather unique experience.  Another day, I was shunned in Cole Hann when I requested a plastic bag for my new shoes (it was raining).  To my pleasant surprise, the lady rudely told me that they only use recycled paper bags for purchases and that plastic was a faux pais.  I thanked her with a smile. Small changes add up to big dreams. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if ALL businesses adopted a green consciousness? It WILL happen when customers demand it, and they are.

Real estate consumers are also changing.  Although the market is improving and homes are beginning to move in Miami-Dade County - consumers are pickier.  If you want to sell quickly, your best bet is to make it stand out from the crowd. In fact, you MUST to get the best price.  Everyone is demanding a more energy efficient/high performance home these days. Green is “in”– look at the attendance these days for green events.  Promoting your home, condo complex, or development as “green” is sure to increase attendance for any open house at least by a factor of two.  But today’s customers are also sensitive to “green-washing“, so be sure that what you have to offer is real, and not just a few compact fluorescents in the hallways…

For example, take a good look at the car industry; no one wants yesterday’s SUV, or a ”green-washed” version of a gas guzzler that some companies are promoting to try and save their investments in SUVs.  Because they were too slow to change, there is an overabundance of what people don’t want.   Even the government is stepping in with the new “Cash-for Clunkers” program to help people make environmentally friendly changes.  If you haven’t caught on, this program is a hugh success.  With gas prices again rising, hybrid sales are moving forward as well.  Remember, the same consumers who buy cars are also buying homes.

Retrofitting or renovating your property is absolutely necessary to stay afloat of all those listings and to get top dollar in this kind of market.  Make it truly green and then you have something very few others have.  It doesn’t have to be expensive, and the payback period is well worth it.  If you do have some spare cash sitting around, solar is the way to go.

Today’s consumer of ALL products and goods care more than ever before about the quality of what they are buying - how was it produced, does it outgas toxic chemicals, did it use slave labor or close to it, and is it environmentally sound?

Take a good look at your current home, development, or property - will it pass the green test?  If not, it is time for change.

Replace Incandescent with Compact Fluorescents Bulbs. One of the greatest advances in energy-efficient lighting technology is the compact fluorescent bulb. When compared to the standard bulb the compact fluorescent bulb uses about a quarter of the energy and last up to four times as long. They fit many of your household or business lighting fixtures so no fixture replacement necessary. This simple step can have an energy savings of up to 75%!

Replace T12 Fluorescent Tubes with newer T8 Lamps and ballasts. Retrofit magnetically ballasted T12 fixtures with QUICKTRONIC electronic ballasts and OCTRON T8 lamps. T8 lamps are energy saving, longer life alternatives to standard T12 fluorescent lamps. Environmental benefits include their TCLP-passing status and Low mercury content. Energy saving benefits of up to 45%.

Always use occupancy sensors, dimmers and photocells when able. Energy savings varies. Retrofit your EXIT Signs with LED Bulbs - they use less electricity and last longer. Exit signs typically contain two or more small, incandescent bulbs which use a total of 30 to 50 watts. All exit signs operate 24 hrs. a day, every day resulting in 8,760 hours of use per year. A single sign may use from 175 to 438 kwh of electricity per year and require bulb replacement two to four times per year. Our LED exit sign bulbs (light emitting diode) have an average estimated bulb life of 25 years and consume only 2 watts per sign installation. Energy savings of up to 90%.

Use Halogen or Compact Fluorescent Reflector Spot or Flood Bulbs where appropriate. Standard bulbs are a poor choice for recessed down lighting because they radiate light in every unnecessary direction - not just down. This causes the fixture to “trap” the light rather than radiate it. The best solution in this instance is to use a compact fluorescent reflector or halogen bulb in place of the ordinarily wasteful standard bulb. They may cost more initially but the savings will add up. Implementing these new light fixtures will also see a recognizable difference in the quality of lighting making your home, business or multi-family dwelling a happier and safer place to be.

Sign up for Arte Grooveau’s Summer Education Series: Design Your Space, and learn the process of doing your own design project- yourself!  Sometimes a little hand holding can be a good thing.

Classes are forming now- come unleash your inner designer!

The highly anticipated and long awaited Digital TV transition began yesterday.  Those who didn’t get their digital converter boxes on time were left in the snow.

But who wants to add another black box to the mountain of components we already got?  Wanna get a shiny, new 52″?  Me too!  And so do many other Americans.  This has several environmental groups worried because of all the e-waste that will be tossed out to upgrade to the new and improved HDTV models.  

So, please, if you are looking at upgrading find a place to recycle or reuse the old one first.  Check out the chart to see if your manufacturer recycles their own stuff (they should, after all they made it!).  If not, there are some big box establishments, like Best Buy, that you can drop it off.  So your tube still has juice?  Get a few “Benjamin’s” for it on Craigslist.com or give it to a friend/shelter.  If your looking for someone to take if off your hands and out of your place too, schedule a pick-up with RecycledPCParts.com.  They are based out of Miami and Broward, so pick-up of e-waste is virtually easy through all of South Florida!  

                                                  TV Recycling Report Card Grades

    Image courtesy of Greenbiz.org

The world is talking “global warming” and “going green”.  What those words mean to us is becoming clearer everyday.  Many of the world’s environmental issues are beyond our control, but there are a things that we can do about them.  For a moment, forget about pollution, erosion of the ozone layer and the green house effect, and focus on the little difference that each one of us can make.  Together, we can change our behaviors and leave our planet cleaner that the way it was given to us!

FLGreenLiving.com was created to help people, like you, become more educated in green home buying and selling. From new, eco-friendly homes to remodeling the not-so-green versions, we have various options to suit our customers’ needs.

Within real estate boundaries, FLGreenLiving provides homeowners, with ways to make their homes more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. The changes suggested are varied and designed to suit individual needs.   Many people believe that implementing these changes are expensive and not cost effective, but this is not true. We can show you how!

Going a step further in customer engagement, FLGreenLiving highlights homes with green features. Today’s real estate market demands homes to stand out amongst their counterparts and green is selling now more than ever!   So as gas and utility prices climb, you can count on more people considering energy-efficient, green homes!

So how do these homes happen?  Not all homes can be called “green” just because the word sounds nice. In fact, there are many shades of green.  FLGreenLiving encourages homeowners to follow LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which ensures that every aspect of energy and environment conservation has been factored into the building during the design stage itself!   Behind each LEED certified home is a certified team of designers, architects and builders, plus eco-friendly building materials. Putting up a house is simple.  Putting up a LEED home is truly a work of science!

Whether your looking for faster re-sell potential or just looking to live in a healthier home, let FLGreenLiving.com be your first source for education on the green environment in Florida!