Three area homes certified as "Florida Water StarSM Gold(Florida Water Star Gold)":/conservation/florida_water_star_gold by the "Southwest Florida Water Management District(Southwest Florida Water Management District)":/ won "Aurora Awards(Southeast Building Conference Aurora Awards)":http://www.theauroras.com for their water saving features at the 2010 "Southeast Building Conference(Southeast Building Conference & Green Building Show)":http://www.sebcshow.com in Orlando.
Florida Water StarSM is a voluntary certification program for builders, developers and homeowners. It encourages water efficiency in appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes. Landscape criteria are based on the "Florida-Friendly Landscaping™(Florida-Friendly Landscaping)":/yards "right plant, right place" principle. Irrigation criteria are designed to increase the overall efficiency of irrigation systems and promote correct scheduling. Indoor criteria help meet the needs of the occupants while reducing wasted water.
The Florida Water StarSM Gold-certified residence "Coffee Pot" in St. Petersburg won a Grand Aurora Award in the Best Water-Wise Home category. The property is located on Snell Isle and was certified in 2009. The home also won Grand Aurora Awards in the Kitchen and Green Construction categories, and Aurora Awards for homes in the $1,000,001-$2,000,000 New Construction category for Solar Energy Home, Custom Home (One of a Kind) and Energy Efficient Home.
Glencairn Cottages, the first Florida Water StarSM Gold-certified residence, won an Aurora Award in the Energy Efficient Home category. The neighborhood is a community of environmentally friendly homes near downtown Dunedin.
The "Go Green" home built by Hickman Builders in Polk County, certified in 2009, won an Aurora Award for Green Construction. The home was featured in the fall 2009 Polk County Parade of Homes.
The Aurora Awards are a prestigious award for homebuilders throughout the southeast region. Winners this year came from Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and Florida. The Aurora Award competition is open to builders, architects, interior designers, landscape architects and other home building professionals. Award categories include attached for-sale homes, detached single-family homes, custom homes, kitchens, baths, interior merchandising, residential developments, rental apartments, recreational facilities, landscape design, retirement communities, remodeling, rehabilitation or historical restoration, commercial projects, energy-efficiency, water conservancy, solar energy, and green construction.
The District has awarded Florida Water StarSM Gold certification to a wide range of residences, including affordable housing for first-time homebuyers, a green community of cottages and one-of-a-kind custom homes. The District will celebrate the certification of its first Florida Water StarSM commercial property on Aug. 20 in Lakeland.
Florida Water StarSM aligns with other green certification and recognition programs, such as "ENERGY STAR©(EPA ENERGY STAR©)":http://www.energystar.gov, the "Florida Green Building Coalition's green standards(Florida Green Building Coalition)":http://floridagreenbuilding.org and the "U.S. Green Building Council's(U.S. Green Building Council)":http://www.usgbc.org "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED)":http://www.usgbc.org/leed (LEED®) program. The District certified its first Florida Water StarSM Gold home in March 2009.
For more information on the Florida Water StarSM certification, contact Susan Douglas, Florida Water StarSM program coordinator, 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4752 or visit the District's web site at "WaterMatters.org/fwsg/(Florida Water Star Gold)":/conservation/florida_water_star_gold.
Florida Water StarSM is a voluntary certification program for builders, developers and homeowners. It encourages water efficiency in appliances, plumbing fixtures, irrigation systems and landscapes. Landscape criteria are based on the "Florida-Friendly Landscaping™(Florida-Friendly Landscaping)":/yards "right plant, right place" principle. Irrigation criteria are designed to increase the overall efficiency of irrigation systems and promote correct scheduling. Indoor criteria help meet the needs of the occupants while reducing wasted water.
The Florida Water StarSM Gold-certified residence "Coffee Pot" in St. Petersburg won a Grand Aurora Award in the Best Water-Wise Home category. The property is located on Snell Isle and was certified in 2009. The home also won Grand Aurora Awards in the Kitchen and Green Construction categories, and Aurora Awards for homes in the $1,000,001-$2,000,000 New Construction category for Solar Energy Home, Custom Home (One of a Kind) and Energy Efficient Home.
Glencairn Cottages, the first Florida Water StarSM Gold-certified residence, won an Aurora Award in the Energy Efficient Home category. The neighborhood is a community of environmentally friendly homes near downtown Dunedin.
The "Go Green" home built by Hickman Builders in Polk County, certified in 2009, won an Aurora Award for Green Construction. The home was featured in the fall 2009 Polk County Parade of Homes.
The Aurora Awards are a prestigious award for homebuilders throughout the southeast region. Winners this year came from Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and Florida. The Aurora Award competition is open to builders, architects, interior designers, landscape architects and other home building professionals. Award categories include attached for-sale homes, detached single-family homes, custom homes, kitchens, baths, interior merchandising, residential developments, rental apartments, recreational facilities, landscape design, retirement communities, remodeling, rehabilitation or historical restoration, commercial projects, energy-efficiency, water conservancy, solar energy, and green construction.
The District has awarded Florida Water StarSM Gold certification to a wide range of residences, including affordable housing for first-time homebuyers, a green community of cottages and one-of-a-kind custom homes. The District will celebrate the certification of its first Florida Water StarSM commercial property on Aug. 20 in Lakeland.
Florida Water StarSM aligns with other green certification and recognition programs, such as "ENERGY STAR©(EPA ENERGY STAR©)":http://www.energystar.gov, the "Florida Green Building Coalition's green standards(Florida Green Building Coalition)":http://floridagreenbuilding.org and the "U.S. Green Building Council's(U.S. Green Building Council)":http://www.usgbc.org "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design(LEED)":http://www.usgbc.org/leed (LEED®) program. The District certified its first Florida Water StarSM Gold home in March 2009.
For more information on the Florida Water StarSM certification, contact Susan Douglas, Florida Water StarSM program coordinator, 1-800-423-1476, ext. 4752 or visit the District's web site at "WaterMatters.org/fwsg/(Florida Water Star Gold)":/conservation/florida_water_star_gold.