Wright Jenkins Home Design

In 2018, we set out to build a truly groundbreaking home—one that not only achieved net zero certification but also stood as a testament to sustainability, resilience, and cutting-edge engineering. We were fortunate to have found two exceptional professionals to bring this vision to life: Dave Jenkins of Wright Jenkins Home Design and the contractor he recommended, Shawn Harvey. Their extensive expertise, deep industry connections, and unwavering commitment to both sustainability and return on investment made all the difference in our project. Our home, located near the Sanibel Causeway in Fort Myers, Florida, is a marvel of modern engineering. One of its most striking features is an expansive 90-degree sliding glass wall system, seamlessly merging the kitchen and common living space with the outdoor pool area. Despite the inherent structural challenges of such a design, our home achieved an astonishing -8 HERS rating—an accomplishment that speaks volumes about the precision and innovation that went into its construction. Beyond efficiency, the structural integrity of our home was put to the ultimate test in 2022 when Hurricane Ian made direct landfall. With a devastating barometric drop of 947 millibars, our location was deemed by the Climate Adaptation Center as the “worst-case scenario” for storm impact. And yet, our home stood firm. A 56-page post-storm engineering study confirmed —there was ZERO structural damage. Understanding the increasing importance of resilience in a changing climate, we have since followed Dave Jenkins’ expert advice and installed a Tesla Powerwall, taking our home fully off-grid. As part of continuously pushing the boundaries of smart home technology, we are also integrating StarLink, ensuring uninterrupted internet access even in extreme conditions and potentially the StarLink beta satellite communication system. Our home has not only stood as a personal triumph but has also become a living classroom for the next generation of engineers. The engineering department at Florida Gulf Coast University continues to bring students to our home for field trips, studying real-time energy production and performance metrics. “You cannot argue with the math.” Dave Jenkins remains the go-to expert for the university, providing lectures on implementing benchmark technology advancements and shaping the future of sustainable home design. Waterfront living presents unique challenges and opportunities, and once again, Dave is at the forefront of innovation. No topic too sub-specialized for his curiosity. From recommendations on optimizing water mitigation strategies to exploring household-scale kinetic energy devices for water desalination, he is constantly searching for smarter ways to live well. His forward-thinking approach ensures that homes are not just built to withstand the elements but to thrive in them. Dave is a good guy with true expertise, integrity and has an innovative approach to home design.

Our experience with Wright Jenkins Home Design has been better than excellent! Dave Jenkins designed a perfect home for us even though my husband and I had different ideas on what we wanted. He created a custom design with features we didn’t even know we needed! He was interested in each of our needs and really nailed the design! The experience was efficient, exciting and stress free. Dave is a gifted genius!

Dave is a genius! He designed our dream house that is highly functional and efficient and absolutely beautiful. He sprinkled in design surprises like fabulous corner views and a well used charging station.

Dave Jenkins is a practically a mind reader! We had maybe two phone interviews…one where he told us about himself and his company (and the process)…and the second where we described to him what we had in mind. I really didn’t know what I had in mind, actually. I said a few things…not even sure what at this point…and low and behold, the first set of “sketches” pretty much turned into the final plans! It was rather shocking, actually. We made barely any (if any) changes at all to the initial drawings. The designs were simply spectacular!!! Working with Dave was an absolute pleasure. He has become a friend. He and our builder, who had never worked together before, had a seamless relationship, and the entire project was not a chore, but fun!!! Our home is beautiful. We wouldn’t change a thing. Not a thing. And as a nice “little” gift, we received a hard cover book beautifully put together…full of stunning photographs of our finished home and the property. What more can I say???

Working with Dave Jenkins of Wright Jenkins Home Design has been a pleasure. Dave has been able to meet Bayfront Builders' standards and schedules as well as the high expectations of multiple high-end waterfront clients over the past couple of years. We very much appreciate Dave's expertise, vision, and dedication.

Wright Jenkins home design is by far the best architect that I have ever worked with. CJM Communities North Carolina Division would not have anywhere near the success we do as a builder without having the designs from Dave to make us look so good. The company is professional, responsive, and all around talented. Everything they draw no matter the style of thee house, ends up being dynamite!!!!

Dave Jenkins designed and helped deliver our slice of paradise in Boca Grande, FL! While our builder, David Benner of Safety Harbor Builders, initiated our introduction to Dave Jenkins, we had pretty much already decided Dave was our choice based on touring, several repeatedly, homes designed by him. The design process was thorough and organized. Dave spent time getting to know us, our priorities and our desires for the home. While there were the normal design revisions, it's amazing how early designs transitioned into the completed house. We absolutely love our home and could not be happier with Dave's design work and support. Dave has our highest recommendation!

Working with Dave Jenkins in the designing of our home was a real pleasure! He is very personable and truly listened to the features that were important to us plus he came up with some incredible ones on his own. The design and finished product turned out better than we could have ever imagined!! It is gorgeous!! Between Dave and our production manager with Safety Harbor Builders, they made it seamless for us to accomplish this long distance. We couldn’t be happier!

Working with Dave and his team is always a pleasure. Dave is a great designer and super knowledgable about construction methods and techniques. Most of all Dave is fun to work with: as designing a home should be! We've worked on several jobs with Dave and they're always a success. Looking forward to future projects.

We have worked with Wright Jenkins Home Design on several custom home projects and have always been extremely satisfied! Dave is naturally talented in design and extremely skilled with techniques for space savings, energy efficiency and most of all attractive results. He's easy to work with for new home customers as well as professional builders. His Cad department is also high level and get the details right so that the build goes smoothly. I can't recommend them highly enough!

In 2018, we worked with Dave Jenkins of Wright Jenkins Home Design to design our new home in Boca Grande, Florida. From our initial phone call to the certificate of occupancy Dave provided us a level of service and expertise that we didn’t think was possible. He listened, advised and was able to design a home that was exactly what we he hoped it would be. He created a tone and feel that is carried throughout our entire home and there wasn’t a ‘curveball’ he didn’t solve. It was our pleasure to work with Dave and his team and we would highly recommend Wright Jenkins - without any hesitation. Sandra and Cam Boca Grande, Florida

I worked with Dave at Wright Jenkins to create a custom home plan design and what he was able to turn around, in a very quick timeframe, was nothing short of awesome. We completed the home in January of 19 and it's fantastic. Not only does the home flow very well and capture all we were looking for (on a lot with size restrictions), but it has been extremely efficient so far. We doubled our under air square footage from our previous home and our first power bill from the new house was almost half of our average previous bills.

Dave Jenkins and his team at Wright Jenkins were extremely helpful in what was a challenging Boca Grande historic re-model. From the beginning, Dave came up with a wonderful design that enhanced the value of the existing home while adding an addition that we could not be more pleased with. I highly recommend Wright Jenkins Home Design.

We purchased and had the Trenton built. We have been in the home for a little less than a year now. We have found this home the most liveable home that we have ever lived in. Great design, energy smart for sure, great site lines. Our energy bills ( electric only ) run about $60 - &70 dollars per month, for central florida. We keep the A/C lower than suggested at 75. We did request the builder to add some additional energy smart features, all LED lighting, heat pump tec hot water heater, white roof shingles, and a multi speed 17 SEER A/C unit. All these features helped us achieve this lower energy usage. We are having a pool built at this time w/ solar heating and will be looking into going with a grid tied solar system after the pool is completed to achieve net zero. I personally feel that all homes in the future will be built this way, it just does not make any sense to do it any other way Joe Crawford

Energy Smart Homes designed our custom home built at Boca Grande, FL. Dave Jenkins took a few concept photos, and created a Florida island sanctuary. We could not have asked for a better result! Dave was very patient with us as we went through the design process. The end result was a stunning home that fits perfectly how we live, and blended into the lot such that our backyard is a private oasis! The house is so stunning that we constantly have people stopping by and complimenting us, or even asking for a tour in cases where they are working with a builder or architect. Dave and Energy Smart Homes have made our dreams come true!

Energy Smart Home Plans provided me with house design and floor layout plans and an energy smart design. Plans do require structural engeneering at the local level. Great ouline for plan layout and details of the structure on the outside for curb appeal. David Jenkins spent a lot of time on the phone trying to understand the needs of our family and we appreciate it.

It is a pleasure for me to see my home Belle on the home pages of Energy Smart Home Plans. I would like to express my recognition along with gratitude towards Energy Smart Home Plans for conveying my dreams into the well planned, practical, and long-term life home. I purchased the plan from Mr. Dave Jenkins, he and his staff are the most professional, talented, diligent, and respectful people, whom I have dealt with. They helped me make many changes to the floor plan including a walk-out basement. Now that my house is complete I can honestly say it is indeed an energy-saving home. When compared with the other new custom homes in my neighborhood, Belle is 4,000 sq. ft. with many big windows but the monthly utility bills are equal or less than the homes of 2,000 -2,500 sq ft, and that’s year around. Most of all, I am honored to recommend Energy Smart Home Plans to everyone who would like to pursue their dream home in a most prudent and satisfactory manner.

If you can't find the perfect floor plan on the Energy Smart Home Plans website, contact the company and request modifications. They are intelligent and eager to collaborate in your effort to build a space-efficient and energy-efficient home. Energy Smart Home Plans spent one-on-one time with me, hashing out modifications on one of their floor plans over the phone and through email. The finalized floor plan was exactly what my wife and I wanted. Though our custom builder was a little hesitant to embrace the energy efficiency specifications at first, he later informed us that our home was no more difficult and only marginally more expensive to build than any other home of the same size. The energy efficiency of the home is outrageous. We scored a 47 on a HERS test, which means we use less than half the energy that a typical new home of the same size would use. In other words, our home out-performs the federal Energy Star standards by a long shot. Because some subcontractors are not yet familiar with the industry-leading energy-efficiencies of these plans, I highly recommend combining independent research with a long conversation with a representative from Energy Smart Home Plans before building an Energy Smart Home Plan. An alternative to this approach would be to hire one of Energy Smart Home Plans' recommended building scientists. The only regret I have regarding my transaction is the following: There was an error on the final floor plan. The front elevation drawing and the window schedule did not match the modifications that we made on the house, which ultimately cost us several hundred dollars (though I admit partial responsibility for not catching the error myself). The cost of this error, however, has already been made up for by our monthly savings on our electric bills. If I am ever again in the market to build a new house, I will be a repeat customer with Energy Smart Home Plans.

I worked with Energy Smart Homes Plans on several home building projects. The most recent one was part of a DOE PNWL study on Ducts In Conditioned Spaces. Diane has provide much of the art work and design work for my company and Dave has provide the architectural and design work for the last six homes I have built. The Energy Smart Home Plans are are easy to work with and have provided invaluable assistance in completing homes that have meet and exceeded my expectations in terms of energy efficiency and still provided pleasing finishes inside and out. I will continue to work with Energy Smart Home Plans today and in the future. If your considering building a better home you should give them call too. Rick Harris Owner Big Whiskey Land & Cattle LLC and Big Whiskey Home Builders LLC. Chattanooga, TN

Dave’s home designs are outstanding! Our customers love them and brag about their low energy bills, making their friends our customers. We are extremely pleased with Energy Smart’s quick turn-around and follow-up. We highly recommend them!