Business World |
June 2015
168
home in theUS leaks asmuch air as awindow
left open all the time,” Turner says, “Closing
this “window” forms the foundation of a
high performance, green built home.” Their
reputation for building greenwas personified
when the first of six houses they are building
in the Zilker neighbourhood was chosen as
the HGTV Smart Home 2015.
“When HGTV came on board, they were
pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the
green building features that they usually have
to upgrade or ask the builder to accommo-
date, we do as a standard,” Turner said. “All
of our homes have the same environmentally
friendly and energy efficient features as the
HGTV Smart Home 2015.”
As members of the Austin Energy Green
Builder Program, all of their homes are in-
dependently rated by the program. The 2300
square foot HGTV Smart Home 2015 was
no different. Earning four out of five stars,
the home is one of the most energy efficient
in Austin, but there are some features in the
home that aren’t so standard.
For example, the garage door opener texts
you when you forget to close it, a bathroom
window turns opaque with the touch of a
button for privacy, and almost everything –
lighting, blinds, even skylights - can be con-
trolled by an app. “One of the smartest fea-
tures in the house has to do with the internet
of things,” Turner said. “Devices that are di-
rectly connected to each other via a wireless
network.”
”The Nest thermostat learns the owner’s us-
age patterns, when you are home and when
you aren’t, and adjusts itself accordingly. In
the HGTV Smart Home 2015, the washer
connects to the Nest and accesses the user
data,” he continued. “So it can tell when
you’re not home and turns itself on to run a
load of laundry while you’re away. That level
of connectivity and convenience is the future
