I’m told this is the first net-zero energy home in Connecticut. Yes, this LEED Platinum project in Killingworth produces more energy than it uses. It does that with a design to minimize energy consumption, solar panels, and a geothermal HVAC system – no energy for this home comes from fossil fuel-based sources. It has no boiler or furnace.
This Berkeley tiny house has been getting a fair amount of attention recently. Built by New Avenue, Inc., the 420 square-foot backyard cottage is spacious enough to include a living room, kitchen, dining area, loft, and bathroom. It was built for $98,000, which includes all the bells and whistles one could ask for in any home regardless of size.
In Fraser, Colorado, there’s a new net-zero energy house that was designed with impressive active and passive building technologies. It’s grid-tied and all-electric, using no fossil fuels thanks to the solar photovoltaics and evacuated tube solar thermal array. But the house isn’t the only thing powered by the sun. The 17-kW array also powers two all-electric plug-in vehicles.
Earth Bound Homes is involved with several ultra-green homes and this one in California deserves a mention. It was designed by Bill Leddy, LMS Architects, and built by Earth Bound Homes for David and Stephania Kaneda, receiving a Green Point Rated score of 268 and LEED Platinum certification.
This is the Helenowski Residence, a gut-rehab in Chicago that achieved the highest LEED for Homes point total ever with 119 points, according to LEED for Homes provider Alliance for Environmental Sustainability. The 3,300 square-foot renovation achieved an impressive HERS rating of 13 and is net-zero energy with the help of rooftop solar power and a vertical axis wind turbine.
Project Profiles
