A development of homes in Kissimmee do a better job at utilizing solar energy than a dozen other neighborhoods in the Southeast and they got an award for it.

The 2007 Aurora Awards Committee gave Rey Homes' Villa Sol development an award called the ""Best Solar Energy Home."

Homeowners who have recently moved into this award-winning community said helping the environment isn't the only perk.

"I always hear about it, but wasn't really a big fan of it," said Shameer Hassan.

Hassan said he was never one of those "go green" enthusiasts, until now.

"It definitely works," Hassan said.

After living in his new home for only three months, Hassan said he is already saving money because of something that looks like a skylight.

But it is not a skylight. It is a solar panel that is used to give him hot water.

When Hassan wants hot water, he gets it. In fact, he says a solar hot water system works better than the standard one did. But, Hassan said, that isn't even the best part.

"You're saving money on your bill, but you actually have a bigger house," Hassan said.

AllSolar Service Company is teaming up with Rey Homes to build Villa Sol. They said a home with a solar hot water system will save you between 15 and 30 percent each month.
 
"So that allows you to have anywhere from $50 to $100 extra a month," said Aldo Martin, of Rey Homes.

Hassan said he likes knowing that his solar panel is not putting CO2 in the air -- that is the stuff that depletes the ozone layer and contributes to global warming.

Florida has been getting a bad rap lately because research groups have found it is not doing a good job at slowing down its CO2 emissions, so earlier this month, Gov. Charlie Crist set a goal of slashing the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 20 percent of levels we saw nearly two decades ago.

Rey Homes want to help.

"Conservation is a big focus in our industry right now, and we have chosen to do it as a standard feature," Martin said