Residents of a sustainable hurricane-proof community in Florida can't say enough good things about their homes after they survived major Hurricanes Helene and Milton — and kept the lights on the whole time.
As CNN reported, Hunters Point, a waterfront neighborhood in Cortez, Florida, is touted as the world's first residential development to attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design net-zero credentials.
That means the homes' rooftop solar panels generate more electricity than residents use, leaving plenty to be stored in backup batteries in an outage.
The solar scheme was put to the ultimate test during Hurricane Milton, and it passed with flying colors. Even though the storm left 2.5 million customers in the dark across Florida, the power in Hunters Point stayed on.
"Everybody around us was completely dark at like five in the morning, and you see the lights on in our houses," Marshall Gobuty, the president of Pearl Homes — the developer that built Hunters Point — told CNN. "So, it really was a test of why we did this."
However, the homes have much more going for them than just the cutting-edge solar system. The homes are built to withstand Category 5 hurricanes, the most catastrophic type of tropical cyclone.
Built with concrete walls, hurricane-proof windows and doors, and hard foam insulation for additional strength, the houses are practically fortresses.
While the homes are in a flood zone, the builders elevated them 7 feet above flood levels to meet building codes. Even if floodwaters got into the homes, the ground floor — the garage — is equipped with flood vents to drain excess water, as CNN explained.
The second floor houses the living spaces and sits 16 feet above sea level, keeping residents dry even in a worst-case scenario storm surge.
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Plus, the homes are fortified with steel straps that connect the floors and roof, and the solar panels are attached to raised vertical seams to prevent them from flying off in strong winds.
The Hunters Point development has all the features homeowners need to feel safe in intense storms, which are becoming more frequent in our warming world.
"They built a great house, a strong house," William Fulford, a Hunters Point resident who stayed behind during Milton, told CNN. "And I just feel comfortable. I feel like we're high enough up, even if we get a storm surge."
"Solar, batteries, and the way we construct homes will be part of the future, because we see it's performing." Gobuty said. "The world is changing, and this is the test people are waiting to see."
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