Bring on the sunshine!

Solar panels are great investments in a sunny areas such as Solana Beach. San Diego County Solar just installed a south-facing 9.53 kW PV system that will annually produce an estimated 16,266 kWh. According to the Title 24 energy usage calculations, this production will offset more than 60% of the home's estimated annual energy usage, which has earned the project 10/10 LEED points in the Energy & Atmosphere category.

FSC Certification for Teak Flooring

Poor forestry practices continue to degrade many tropical rain forests, resulting in significant climate change impacts as well as irreversible harm to biological diversity. Certification by the Forest stewardship Council (FSC) is a seal of approval awarded to forest managers who adopt environmentally and socially responsible forest management practices.

At the Sumer Residence, the floors are going to be teak, a tropical wood imported from Indonesia. The supplier is a reclaimed teak company that manufactures beautiful products made of FSC Certified recycled teak.

Below is an FSC compliance sticker on the floorboards. The supplier will also provide a Chain of Custody certificate, which is an information trail about the path taken by products from the forest or, in the case of recycled materials, from the reclamation site to the consumer including each stage of processing, transformation, manufacturing, and distribution where progress to the next stage of the supply chain involves a change of ownership.