Pearl Homes Breaks Ground on Eco-Friendly Hunters Point Community

BRADENTON, Fla., June 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida-based Pearl Homes, the community-focused home builder that's revolutionizing Net Zero and LEED Platinum homes, has broken ground on Hunters Point, the luxury home community in Cortez, Florida. The development comprises 86 eco-friendly, single-family homes powered by solar plus sonnen ecoLinx energy storage systems. Since Hunters Point debuted online, seventy percent of the homes have already been sold, using an all-virtual sales approach due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Pearl Homes ECOsystem is an inclusive network of sustainable suppliers and contributors that enable Pearl Homes developments to raise the bar for environmentally-friendly and self-sustaining properties on the market today. Recognizing the need and urgency for climate action, Pearl Homes is working cooperatively with sonnen and various eco-friendly suppliers to offer homebuyers an end-to-end experience that both reduces the total cost of ownership and minimizes each home's carbon footprint.

sonnen is a global leader in safe, innovative, and intelligent battery technology for the residential market. The sonnen ecoLinx manages power distribution throughout the home and works with rooftop solar and leading home automation platforms to provide Pearl Homes customers with straightforward access to smart, configurable emergency backup power, intelligent energy management, and round-the-clock access to stored solar. The cobalt-free lithium-iron-phosphate battery technology in ecoLinx is safe and sustainable, easy-to-install, competitively-priced and offers Pearl Homes buyers and residents with an industry-leading 15,000 cycle / 15 year warranty.

Designed to be power company ready, Hunters Point includes the sonnen Virtual Power Plant (VPP) platform that will allow Florida Power and Light (FPL) to manage the reserve power generated by the community as needed. In addition to integrating with utility control software to provide grid services, such as demand response and load management excess, stored solar energy can also be used to power the lighting in the common areas of the community.

"Our adoption of the sonnen ecoLinx makes the Hunters Point homes more energy-efficient," said Pearl Homes founder Marshall Gobuty. "With it, our buyers will be able to automate their home energy management in the most modern way that compliments the unique style and design of the Pearl Home."

The sonnen ecoLinx can be optimized and managed by a mobile app for backup, peak period, and solar usage and to monitor energy on demand. "Between the sonnen mobile application and the Google Nest in-home automation for temperature controls, Hunters Point buyers will be able to enjoy a healthier, cleaner, and unparalleled quality of life well lived in the world's first LEED NetZero community," added Gobuty.

Pearl Homes strives for NetZero Plus by achieving the highest USGBC's LEED ranking in their housing developments in Florida and California. This is accomplished by including energy-efficient design, utilizing only sustainably focused suppliers, and building fully solar-powered residences.

"Hunters Point is the first non-utility based residential Virtual Power Plant (VPP) ever established in Florida through the aggregation of individual solar systems being paired with sonnen ecoLinx energy storage systems," said Jim Spano, Executive Chairman of My-Resi, the leaders in energy resilience and virtual power plant development. "The inclusion of grid-tied  sonnen ecoLinx systems delivers  Hunters Point residents with resilient backup power and greater energy management, while also  providing a  dispatch-able energy services platform to support grid stability when needed."

In addition to the sonnen ecoLinx, each Pearl Home project is designed and built to be self-sustaining and eco-friendly. The homes minimize waste and reduce environmental impact by incorporating WaterSense plumbing and fixtures, while the specified GE's EnergyStar appliances require a minimal amount of power. Homeowners use Google Nest thermostats that manage and monitor their temperature to control their homes' air conditioning and heating for maximum comfort.

"Marshall and his team at Pearl Homes are at the forefront of NetZero, LEED-based home building," said Blake Richetta, Chairman and CEO, sonnen, Inc. "From our first discussions about Hunters Point to today, sonnen has been amazed at the forward-thinking ideas behind the Pearl Homes and their dedication to providing the most high-quality, energy-efficient, and environmentally advanced homes on the market today. Our ecoLinx intelligent energy storage system is the ideal solution for a project like Hunters Point. It offers unique, industry-leading software capabilities to empower homeowners to take control of their own energy consumption and manage backup power while also providing critical energy services to the larger community and local utility grid. "

About Pearl Homes
Pearl Homes is a Florida-based homebuilder and real estate developer with sustainable and workforce housing projects underway in the Sarasota-Bradenton area and other locations throughout Southwest Florida and California.

Founded in 2015 by Marshall Gobuty, Pearl Homes focuses on building single-family and multi-family communities that meet at the intersection of affordability and sustainability. Pearl Homes communities are a step towards solving our nation's livability crisis by working closely with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Department of Energy, (DOE.)

In 2019 Pearl Homes founder, Marshall Gobuty was named the recipient of the USGBC's Visionary Award for his pioneering work to bring LEED Platinum focused design and construction to the residential housing market.

About sonnen
sonnen Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of smart energy storage systems and a pioneer of clean, decentralized and networked energy system technologies. As one of the fastest growing tech companies in Europe, sonnen has received numerous internationally recognized awards. With its virtual battery, which consists of digitally networked home storage systems, sonnen offers new and highly innovative energy services for network operators and customers. Sonnen's products are available in many countries and has offices located in Germany, Italy, Australia, the UK and the USA. Since March 2019 sonnen is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell within its Renewables and Energy Solutions division.

Editor's Note: Two videos surrounding the groundbreaking are available for your use
https://youtu.be/c-TzIqHpFI8
https://youtu.be/1hWeLbOXdCE

For Pearl Homes/Hunters Point
Andy Abramson
[email protected]
+18587779777

For sonnen
Erin Hadden
[email protected]
646-699-1414

SOURCE Pearl Homes