Our Green Technology

The Village covers 5 lots on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria City and when completed, will contain 7 commercial buildings and 2 rental units. The Village preserves the historic charm and scale of Old Florida, while providing a portfolio of technologies that demonstrates state-of-the-art in sustainable design and development. The Village generates more energy than it consumes (Zero Net Energy), harvest rainwater and stormwater and encourages a range of sustainable transportatioin choices (bicycling, electric carts and cars, Segways). All of the buildings are designed to meet LEED Platinum level - the highest level of certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC). Early on, we were committed to creating the first Zero Net Energy campus in the US and with the opening of the Rosedale Cafe and the Sears Cottage, they have succeeded.

REDUCING OUR ENERGY USE

• Insulation - we have tons of it! All the buildings have been insulated to the maximum level. This is THE most cost effective thing that a home or building owner can do to reduce their energy use. It makes the home quieter, have a more stable temperature and a lot easier to manage. The cost of it is also quickly covered by the cost of the energy saved - usually within the first five years after installation!
• Ground Source Heat Pump - the Historic Green Village contains two 450ft wells, which tap into an underground aquifer, containing water at a constant temperature of 72F. That water is drawn to the surface, then run through a Heat Exchanger, and use the 'cool' that this captures vs. the air temperature to cool the air in the buildings. This reduces the need to refrigerate the air down to a comfortable temperature. The water is returned to the aquifer via the second well.

GENERATING OUR OWN ENERGY

• Solar Hot Water (SHW) - is used to heat all the water in the Cafe - and they need a lot of it! This is the SECOND most cost effective think that anyone can do to save money in their own home. It's a very simple panel on the roof (you can see it if you stand in the parking lot behind the Rosedale Cottage). The sun heats it up and we channel it down, via a mixer tap, which takes it to the right temperature to the kitchen area. The payback on this type of investment is always less than 5 years.
• Photovoltaic Solar Energy Generation - the Historic Green Village has PV panels on each building (and will in future include solar car ports), with a single point of common coupling to the utility. This micro-grid allows extra electricity being generated at one building to flow to its neighbor. When more electricity is generated across the entire site than is being consumed by the campus, the extra electricity is exported to the utility to supply adjacent properties on the island. Currently there are 245 solar panels with an installed capacity of 50 kilowatts to power the campus.

That's a lot of energy! With careful management of the most electricity-hungry machines in the Cafe, energy generatiion wil match with energy use - the goal of Net Zero Energy! This is a big investment. It costs $6/watt to create the solar power, although the Federal Government has rebated /watt. In future years the cost of those watts will diminish to the same as the cost of generating electricity using oil and other fossil fuels. To put 5kW of photovoltaic energy on a home would cost a homeowner $30,000 in Florida, of which $10,000 may be rebated (details depend upon whichever scheme the government is running, which varies from year to year).

INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT

There are three separate and interconnected alternative water supplies at the Green Village: Rainwater harvesting, Stormwater harvesting and Greywater Harvesting.

Water is a precious resource everywhere and especially on an island. It will become more precious as time goes on and the climate continues to change. The Green Village aims to recycle every drop of water used. This is being achieved by:

• Rainwater Harvesting: Bladder Cisterns under the deck of the Village Cafe. These contain rainwater that falls on the roofs of the buildings. This water is used to flush the bathrooms in the buildings.
• Stormwater Harvesting: Hard Cisterns under the Parking Lot. These contain storm water - the rainwater that falls on the surface. This water is used to water the native Florida landscaping that you see around the site.
• Greywater Harvesting: Brack Water Purifiers. This purification systemis used to treat the water used in the Cafe and make it suitable for use on the landscaping.

USING ONLY LOW IMPACT MATERIALS

• The floors in the Sears Cottage are made from recycled pine planks - the brand is Old Charleston True Reclaimed Heart Pine, 7 1/2 wide, which we purchased from International Wood Floors in Sarasota.
• The boutique, Really Relish (based at the Sears Cottage) also used EPA EnergyStar products for all electrical appliances and equipment and paints, finishes, adhesives, caulks and casework that meets USGBC LEED guidelines for low-emitting materials.

The Anna Maria Historic Green Village demonstrates that a decentralized approach to energy, water and transportation challenges is practical and yields significant advantages and supports a broader state-wide and national effort to advance innovation and technologies to achieve our widespread use of energy efficient tools. The leading edge portfolio of sustainable technologies and designs against a backdrop of an Old Florida beach community provide a clear and compelling example of how we do not have to discard the past to welcome the future.

Click here to understand how we measure our energy efficiency and see data through our online management systems.