LIVING GREEN
5 ECO-FRIENDLY PEOPLE
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conditioner and refrigerator.
Stripping out the vinyl floor and refinishing the original
terrazzo scored points in the certification process. And it
was the same for the very expensive impact resistant windows,
which do not require shutters.
The carport was closed in with walls made of green block
Styrofoam and poured concrete. Gunsalus says the house is
now like a thermos, keeping the cold and heat out. The home
is sealed up “very tight.” But much of the year the front windows
and rear French doors are left open for a cross-ventilating
breeze that cools the house with more healthful fresh air.
The outside of the home was replaced with cement-based
Hardy plank made from recycled material. Because it is
fireproof, it scored points for certification and also with the
couple’s insurance company. Gunsalus says the premium
was cut by $3,000 when they added the metal roof, additional
hurricane straps, impact windows, and Hardy plank.
The couple received the maximum federal tax credits for
their AC system, solar cells on the roof, solar water heater,
insulation and Energy Star appliances. The solar cells and
water heater cost $30,000. Gunsalus says the total federal tax
credit was $12,500 and the family is also eligible for a state
rebate of $12,800, which would bring the total cost for the
systems to less than $4,000.
They have also been receiving credit from Florida Power
& Light for the power generated by the solar cells. And
more money is saved by growing herbs and vegetables in a
backyard garden, which can be watered from a well at the
side of the house.
“We wanted to go as green as we could,” says Gunsalus.
“We had done our homework. They pushed us to go green
and we went along with what they suggested.
“They are a simple couple,” says Kyle Abney, a green planner
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who worked with the couple. “Lifestyle has a lot to do
with it. Going green was part of their DNA.”
Name: Boyd Gunsalus and
Beth Kacvinski
Family: Son, Niles, 23; daughter,
Hannah, 21
How and when did you start
your “green” awakening? “It
was in the mid-’80s before green
was known as green,’’ Gunsalus
says. “Beth realized we needed
to do what we could do to reduce
our footprint. We started out
with recycling and composting.
We took our kids camping and
did our own beach cleanups. We
tried to ground them to the real
environment and let them realize
that there is more to the world
than the materialistic things we see all the time.”
What do you think are the most effective things we can do
to conserve resources? “If everyone reduced their overall
consumption, it would go a long way toward the big picture
of energy efficiency,’’ Gunsalus says. “Anytime we can capture
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passive energy such as solar, wind, thermal or water we
should take advantage of it if we can.”
Harbour Bay Furniture Co.
Stuart, FL and Holland, MI
Harbour Bay Plaza
3770 SE Ocean Blvd., Stuart
(772) 286-5639
Open Monday – Saturday, 9:30 – 5:30
www.harbourbayfurniture.com
/www.harbourbayfurniture.com
/www.heathcotebotanicalgardens.org
/www.harbourbayfurniture.com