When a large or expensive home is presented on this site, it’s common to get an adverse response from readers requesting that we feature smaller and more affordable homes. Today, I’m going to take that opportunity to share something called the 50/10 House developed by Cellar Ridge Custom Homes and m.o.daby design in Oregon.
It’s time to welcome a new green building protocol with the arrival of the Active House specification in the United States. The specification gets a big test with this home, called Active House USA, which will be the first Active House in the country when finished. It’s designed by Jeff Day & Associates and will be built by Hibbs Homes and Verdatek Solutions in St. Louis to test the new specification in a mixed climate. Here’s a little more about Active House and this 2,500 square foot home.
This is a net-zero energy showhouse in the Belgravia neighborhood of Edmonton. The home, built by Effect Home Builders, has been open on Sundays and displays the solar-powered approach to reducing the use of fossil fuels. A massive rooftop solar array feeds energy into the grid and produces as much energy as will be needed on an annual basis. In addition, the home has several other green aspects.
We’ve mentioned solar-tracking but the systems are usually pictured on a pole in a big grassy yard. This is a Dual-Panel Tracker by Maryland-based Advanced Technology & Research Corp. (ATR) on the roof of a row house in Federal Hill in Baltimore. The install consists of two panels, 235-watts each, on a sun tracking mount with a GPS-controlled drive unit that follows the sun to yield about 30% more than fixed panels.
John Dwyer was involved in the design of the first LEED Platinum home in Minnesota — 5ive — and now aims to change the way homeowners purchase homes. He recently unveiled INFILL, “the new prefab,” with a plan to provide complete delivery, high performance, and full adaptability from three basic prefab designs.
When I first mentioned the Mendoza Laneway House, it was one of the first laneway homes in Vancouver under the city’s EcoDensity program. The company behind that efficient SIPs home, Lanefab, and its partners, designer Bryn Davidson and builder Mat Turner, have been busy and recently completed the first Net-Zero Solar Laneway House on a corner lot at 57th and Vivian. It’s beautiful inside and out.
