Eco-Elements Built In

At Gentry Homes Ltd., the vision statement reads, “People building quality homes and communities for a better Hawaii.” For Bob Brant, president and CEO, and John Shaw, vice president of architectural designs, this vision means creating family dwellings that range from cozy condos to luxurious dream homes. It also means building “green.”

Haleakea kitchen

“If we can make the home more efficient through green building, then it saves the buyer money every month and reduces the strain on our already-overloaded electrical grid,” says Rick Hobson, vice president of sales and marketing, and principle broker. “We are creating better living environments for the people who buy our homes—and for the community at large.”

A fixture in the Islands for more than 35 years, Gentry Homes is one of the first major residential developers on Oahu to build ENERGY STAR-qualified homes. These homes are independently certified to be 30 percent more energy-efficient than homes built to the 1993 national Model Energy Code. In 2006, Gentry Homes won several awards from the BIA-Hawaii Parade of Homes competition, including an Energy Efficiency award for a single-family home and the Hawaii Green Built award.

At Gentry, bringing green innovations home to the Islands is a priority. Gentry architects constantly visit Mainland communities that have incorporated eco-friendly elements. The company strives to include these new ideas, from solar water heating to ENERGY STAR-rated appliances, into all of its homes.

Cypress Point living room.

“Gentry is easily the leader in energy efficiency among builders in Hawaii,” says Howard Wiig, institutional energy analyst for the Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). The company’s building philosophy, Wiig points out, results in homes with lower environmental impacts and healthier indoor living. Of course, all green elements are standard features in the Gentry package, in addition to gourmet kitchens, open floor plans and plenty of space for families to grow.

On the Ewa Plain, three Gentry communities stand out as green building examples. The condominium project Tuscany II and luxury home neighborhoods Haleakea and Cypress Point feature six major energy-efficient elements: air conditioners with high Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratios (SEER); foam insulation; dual-paned, low-emissivity (low-E) windows; solar water heaters; ENERGY STAR-rated appliances; and fluorescent lighting throughout.

Now, how exactly are all of these elements both eco-friendly and human-healthy? DBEDT’s Wiig breaks it down.

Tuscany II

Start with the high-SEER air conditioners. SEER measures the amount of cold air produced per watt of electricity. “You can compare it to miles per gallon in your car,” Wiig says. Whereas older AC units, purchased 10 years ago, would have an eight SEER rating, Gentry Homes installs ACs with a SEER of 16 for a huge gain in efficiency.

Programmable ACs are another feature recommended by Wiig and utilized in Gentry Homes. Homeowners in Hawaii tend to batten down the hatches while away. This turns homes, especially on the arid Ewa Plain, into ovens. Then, upon returning home, they crank up the AC and wait for that blast of cold air. The other option is to leave the AC running all day so that an already cool home greets the homeowner. Five-hundred dollar electricity bills make this less than inviting.

But if the unit were programmed to come on at 4:30 p.m. for the homeowner’s arrival at 5:30 p.m., then far less energy is required and they still get a cool place to relax. The science behind programmable AC models is that homeowners can utilize smaller units: 3.5 tons compared to the 5-ton models required to produce that first arctic blast.

Next, foam insulation is pumped into every inch of the walls. Most importantly, all Gentry Homes have foam insulation in the roof. Why? “On a hot summer day, the attic can get up to 160 degrees,” Wiig notes. The immense attic heat radiates into the rest of the home. Plus, 54-degree air, cooled in AC ducts in the roof, comes into contact with the attic heat, raising the air temperature and making the AC work even harder. But foam insulation keeps the sun’s heat from overcooking the attic, which reduces the home’s energy costs.

Tuscany II master suite

Insulation also keeps the rest of the home sealed up tight, reducing the amount of energy needed to cool it. “Typical relative humidity of Hawaiian air is 70 percent,” Wiig says. The humidity in a Gentry Home is 40 percent, thanks to the smart AC and insulation. (An added bonus: Mold needs 60 percent humidity to grow.) In a home that isn’t sealed as tight, the temperature might be set at 70 degrees to keep residents comfortable in the humid air. In a low-humidity environment, a temperature of 75 degrees is perfect.

“Every time you raise the thermostat one degree, you are saving 2 percent of your AC’s energy load,” which leads to more savings, says Wiig.

Gentry homeowners enjoy the beautiful Hawaii vistas without heating up through dual-paned, low-emissivity windows. “These windows are treated with a very sophisticated coating that allows the visible light spectrum to enter the home, but stops ultraviolet and infrared light,” Wiig says.

Haleakea great room

Low-E windows filter 99.9 percent of ultraviolet rays, which fade fabrics and damage furniture. Seventy-two percent of heat-producing infrareds are also stopped just short of coming inside by the low-E windows. Instead, homeowners can leave shades open to the outside—scientifically proven to increase a sense of well-being—without needing a larger AC unit to make up for the invading heat.

Black panels are a familiar site on the roof of every Gentry abode. What are they? Solar water heaters, Wiig says. The panels are situated to receive the maximum amount of sunlight during the day. Water is pumped to the panels, where it is heated naturally by the sun, then transferred to a holding tank indoors. “You are getting almost-free hot water,” Wiig says. That’s good news, since hot water heaters are among the biggest energy users in a typical home.

A little logo identifies all the appliances in a Gentry Home as eco-friendly: the ENERGY STAR rating. This federal program gives efficiency designation to the top 25 percent of all appliances. Each refrigerator, washer, dryer, and other appliances in a Gentry Home own this important designation.

Tuscany II great room.

To explain the technological advances that ENERGY STAR-rated appliances possess, Wiig points to the refrigerator. “A 20-year-old fridge consumes about 1,450 kilowatt hours a year. An ENERGY STAR model, complete with ice maker and water dispenser, only needs 450 kilowatt hours a year.” These models also produce less heat, once again reducing the AC’s job.

Last but not least, Gentry Homes are bright, thanks to fluorescent lighting throughout. Old, bluish incandescent lighting sucked energy, big time. The incandescents have been totally replaced with rich, fluorescent bulbs. The new technology uses 35 percent less electricity. The bulbs also offer warmer, more natural hues that help skin tones appear healthier.

All of Gentry’s efforts add up to more healthy environments, both indoor and out.

A Cypress Point home at dusk.

Low-E windows let homeowners open their shades to enjoy the view. Low humidity, thanks to good insulation, means little to no mold growth. Rich lighting makes skin tones look warm and adds to a sense of good health.

Gentry Homes provide these benefits and require drastically less energy. Super-efficient air conditioners, supported by energy-conservative appliances and lighting, along with solar water heaters, scale back the electricity each home needs. Using less energy lessens our demand on the Earth’s finite resources. For the Hawaii community, using less energy also helps everyone have enough.

Initially, Gentry built green to distinguish the company from the pack. But in its consistent search for better technology, Gentry has added so much to the community. “Building green is a win-win for everyone. The homeowner, the builder and the community all reap the benefits,” Hobson says.