Innovation Way

The Next Generation of Homes at Babcock Ranch

by JG Walker

From the beginning, Babcock Ranch was designed to be a leader in creative community design, environmental stewardship, and renewable energy production. And since welcoming its first residents in 2018, this unique master-planned community near Fort Myers has become one of Florida’s most successful new hometowns. But that wasn’t quite good enough for Syd Kitson, Chief Executive Officer of Kitson & Partners, the developer of Babcock Ranch. Starting in 2019, he convened a series of brainstorming sessions with local construction industry leaders. He challenged them to imagine how new homes could be better designed and efficiently function in a more sustainable future.

The result is Innovation Way, a living laboratory of cutting-edge home technology located in the Lake Timber neighborhood of Babcock Ranch. The groundbreaking initiative consists of seven showcase model homes by three of the nation’s leading builders—Lennar, D.R. Horton, and Pulte Homes. Those companies are usually competitors in the residential marketplace. Still, they have agreed to share their Innovation Way operational and testing data in order to determine which features and combinations are most effective and economically viable.

“Innovation Way represents a new era of the American home and the way we live,” says Tom Hoban, President and Chief Investment Officer of Kitson & Partners. “Since Babcock Ranch’s inception, we’ve vowed to create the most environmentally friendly and sustainable community possible. Innovation Way is the next step, an unprecedented opportunity for our builder partners to test new and emerging technology and construct smarter, healthier homes.”

Energy Savings On and Off the Grid

The fifth partner participating in the Innovation Way initiative is Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), which operates the 870-acre, 150-megawatt solar power production facilities and 10-megawatt storage system at Babcock Ranch. FPL will collect, evaluate, and compare energy-consumption data during the two-year testing phase for the seven Innovation Way homes, plus two “control homes” also located in the neighborhood.

All of the single-family residences will be connected to the Babcock Ranch/FPL renewable energy grid, but the Innovation Way homes will also be testing different configurations of in-house battery storage systems and smart-panel control technologies. The batteries are designed to provide electricity in the event of a power outage for up to 24 hours and possibly longer. The homes will also test the latest in electric-vehicle charging stations, while one home will experiment with a new Ford F-150 Lightning pickup truck battery that can also feed power back into the home for up to three days if necessary. Everyday energy savings are anticipated with the installation of new small-duct indoor HVAC systems, as well as super-efficient appliances and lighting fixtures. The quality of innovative construction materials and techniques will also be evaluated, including new types of insulation and stucco, as well as outside walls made of poured concrete and foam panels.

Water Conservation Inside and Out

Reducing water usage and cost is another major goal with the Innovation Way homes, starting with whole-house “grey water” recycling systems. Fresh water for drinking, cooking, bathing, and laundry washing will be triple filtered and conditioned as it enters the home, then the runoff from sinks and showers will be filtered again and directed to a 30-gallon storage tank in the garage. That reserve will be used to supply water for flushing toilets, resulting in anticipated cost and consumption savings from 20-30% per home.

Additional plumbing system innovations include prototype tankless water heaters, voice-controlled faucets, and showers to deliver water at the requested temperature and new leak detection and automatic shutoff systems. Outside the homes, allnative landscaping will reduce irrigation costs, as will permeable pavers on the driveways and sidewalks to increase homesite rain absorption.

Smarter and Healthier Homes

State-of-the-art Wi-Fi networks, Bluetoothenabled technologies, and enhanced home security systems will also be tested at Innovation Way, along with smartphone apps that will permit residents to monitor and adjust in-home operations even when they’re away. Lifestyle convenience extras include kitchens with non-porous, scratch-resistant countertops, plus built-in coffee makers, wine coolers, and video screens that can display cooking tutorials or favorite recipes. Interior design concepts reflecting contemporary demands include flexible home-office configurations with enhanced connectivity, designated spaces for art or music studios, and pocket gyms with the latest exercise equipment. New whole-home audio and video systems will be tested that can be voice- and app-controlled.

In addition, Innovation Way models feature the latest “healthy home” upgrades like zeroVOC antimicrobial coatings to inhibit mold growth, UV lighting in bathrooms to disinfect surfaces, and air purification and ionization systems to reduce potentially harmful atmospheric pollutants and pathogens like coronaviruses.

“Ideally, the data from our Innovation Way homes will validate our expectations—that these test homes are healthier and reduce energy and water use,” Hoban says. “We believe innovation is the driving force for affordable, sustainable homes. I applaud our builders and FPL for their spirit of collaboration and exploration in taking this next step with us.”

Babcock Ranch welcomes members of the public to inspect these futuristic homes at Innovation Way for themselves. The seven models are currently open for in-person viewing by appointment only. To schedule a self-guided tour, visit the Woodlea Hall Discovery Center at 42850 Crescent Loop in Babcock Ranch. For more information, go to BabcockRanch.com.