Sandra Hammond and her husband and Donald (known as Jr.) both grew up in Maryland just outside of Washington, DC. Today, the couple calls Merritt Island home—a perfect place to live for a family that loves outdoor activities like camping, fishing, riding motorcycles, and scuba diving. And it’s because of their love of the great outdoors and a motivation to protect the environment that the Hammonds chose to build a LifeStyle solar-power home. Read on.

LSH: What drew you to the Capri home plan? What do you love about this plan?
SH: The reason we chose the Capri model is because it best fit our needs and looked like a Florida-style home. I sat down with the plan and with the flexibility that LifeStyle offers in customizing homes, we were able move walls and change the layout to add a second master bedroom with a private bath.

LSH: When did you move into your new home, and what have you enjoyed most about your new home?
We settled in our new home on Dec. 31, 2015, but actually slept in the house on Jan 2nd. We enjoy the open concept that we enhanced by customizing the great room.

LSH: How did you hear of LifeStyle Homes, and what ultimately made you decide to build with us?
SH: Back in 2010, when we first brought our property, we looked online to learn more about different builders.  LifeStyle was the only builder that stood out among the rest on solar net-zero systems and efficient homes. In 2014, when we decided to actually build, when again checked into five different builders and LifeStyle was able to quote a base price and again, was the only builder that was known for solar net zero systems. Things installed in my house—such as the doors, facets and more—are the standard for LifeStyle, but would be an upgrade by other builders.

LSH: Why did you choose to “go solar”? What was your motivation?
SH: Our decision to build a solar house was not for economic reasons. Our decision was to do our part to help save the environment. We plan to add a rain water system to use to water our plants and lawn. We recycle anything we can and our next car will be an electric hybrid that we can charge with our house.

On the first day our solar was turned on, we made more energy than we used. What could be better than that!

LSH: What was your building experience like with LifeStyle Homes?
SH: There was a lot to like about how our house was built. We saw the quality going into the build. Daniel really kept on top of things and all our interactions with everyone at LifeStyle was really wonderful.