Even the landscaping saves water-plant varieties were chosen partly for that quality--and the EMA-controlled irrigation system is smart enough to know how much water each type needs, rather than wastefully blanketing the whole space with a uniform amount. Ground humidity sensors provide still more efficiency.

"If the ground humidity is above a certain point, you do not need to water if it rained, for example, an hour before," Pirelli says. Cribb notes that the site work included removing all non-native plant species and grinding them along with trees for mulch that is used on site, thus reducing fuel use and landfill waste.

All this digitally controlled efficency is producing measurable results, according to Ewerdt. An analysis by the power company of the homes' energy efficiency showed each is roughly twice as efficient as other code-compliant homes.

Pulling Along the Trailing Edge

Despite the success, public perceptions might be holding back technology's advance. "Convincing suppliers, subcontractors and building departments and officials to accept and embrace green designs and technologies is a requirement for these techniques to be implemented on a wider and more cost-effective scale," Cribb says.

A Cribb employee, project manager Henry Chau, says of reaction from local inspectors to the model homes. "When we handed them plans that showed the E-wall and the solar water and solar panel system, they looked at us with a quizzical look," Chau says.

Subcontractors often resist the LEED requirements initially, says Cribb, but after becoming familiar with them, they tend to take it all in stride. He cites the example of cabinet makers who balked at LEED's prohibiting raw edges on cabinet plywood, painters who worried about the quality and convenience of LEED-approved, environment-friendly paint, and air-duct contractors unhappy about the LEED requirement for inspections by third-party engineers.

Both companies plan to offer several configurations so buyers can match their dreams to their budgets. "A lot of these green items are great, but you have to do a cost analysis on them," Cribb says. Adds Pirelli: "Some people won't want the solar panels because of the expense. But we won't make the solar water heaters optional, for example. It's absolutely ridiculous to build a home in Florida without them."

On the tech front, Pirelli sees much promise-and has invested in-concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology, which employs a four- or eight-foot polished aluminum mirror to concentrate sunlight, thus reducing the size of the expensive solar panels. He says CPV reaches high temperatures and can be used for hot water and cooking. Meanwhile, Solaris has gone beta with a family-calendar option for the EMA and is moving into media servers and Blu-Ray discs for home entertainment.

The two million-dollar-plus homes in Jupiter Farms would be the filet mignon on any builder's menu. In the past, says Cribb, his company "may have done some of these features here or there. With Solaris, we did them all." Pirelli concurs. "We put everything into these two homes-everything we knew would work."

David Essex is a freelance technology writer in Antrim, N.H.