A Smart Green Living Zero Home

This is the Living Zero Home, which was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and built by All American Homes. The home was on display in Chicago last weekend and will move to about fifteen other destinations throughout the year, including Louisville, Greensboro, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, and Denver, among other cities. The modern demonstration home features a Smart Living System -- both an energy management and home monitoring tool -- which helps owners save money and provides an alert for potential problems, such as a water pipe leak. The home includes a number of other green elements, too:

Icynene foam insulation;
Rooftop solar panels;
Low-flow plumbing fixtures;
Energy Star lights and appliances;
Tankless water heaters;
Abundant natural light and daylighting;
High performance fiberglass windows; and
Bamboo floors and fiber cement siding.

Some of the brands featured in the Living Zero Home include GE Profile appliances, EcoTop counters, Insignia Electronics, Sherwin Williams Harmony paint, Solatube daylighting, Delta faucets, Pella windows, US FLOORS bamboo, and Therma-Tru entry doors.

Moreover, the modular home was built in a factory, so construction waste was minimized throughout the process. And the zero energy home produces as much energy as it uses in the course of a year. Go check the Living Zero Home out, if you see it coming through town ...