Our Mission

To combine the collective knowledge of people just like you, to inspire and motivate the building of the next generation of homes that give more than they take. Not only ultra-efficient, but truly healthy, and beneficial to our lives and the world around us. This site is intended to serve multiple roles: It will be a resource of knowledge...

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Houses are more than just buildings

They are the places in which we live What does it truly mean to “Live”. A home is more than just shelter. It is where we raise and nurture our families, where we seek rest and recuperation, where our children grow and become the leaders of tomorrow. Our homes have to do more than just shelter us from the weather. They need to account for the human factor that lives...

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Phase 1

Build homes that are ultra-efficient and make use of technology, planning, and materials to achieve better than 100% efficiency. A home is the largest investment most of us will make in our lives. If we made an equal investment in a business property, we would carefully...

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Structural Insulated Panels

So what are SIPS. Structural insulated panels (SIPs) have been around for quite a while, yet still unheard of by most people. Looking at the specs, we find them hard to ignore as a important part of building a highly insulated home. Basically...

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  • May 21, 2018

Did you know that the technology exists to build a home that is 75% more energy efficient than standard new home, and do so at roughly the same cost?

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Heated Driveways - Are they practical

Is it worth heating a driveway? (Image : Warmzone) At initial glance the idea sounds wasteful and impractical, but is it really.

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Energy Loss From Heating & Cooling

It’s all about the air Building super tight to prevent heat loss, keeping the air conditioned space comfortable, and keeping occupants healthy all require us to take a good look at the air inside our house and how it is conditioned. A few things seem apparent: It...

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Efficient use of space

Is built-in storage an matter of personal taste or something that should be engineered into the home's floor plan? (Image Credit:

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Basement or Not to basement

Here in the northeast, basements are the norm. They can be crawl spaces, 7-8' ceilings, or even high ceilings with large windows for daylight and egress. Some even have full sliding glass doors for easy in-out access. (Image:

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Solar PhotoVoltaic Planning

So you are thinking of installing a solar PV system on your new house. It's true that solar has come down in price, and more rooftops are sporting the shiny panels everywhere you go. But don't wait till your new house is built and then try to slap panels on the roof as an afterthought. There are several things you should keep in mind to assure that your new roof is ready to handle...

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Passive House Exterior Tour

Scott Gunter from Hammer & Hand give a great tour of their passive house project in Newberg, Oregon. (Images & Video : Hammer & Hand)

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Passive house basic principles

Tomas O'Leary talks about some of the basic ideas and principles behind a passive house. (Image and Video by: Energy Quarter )

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Heat Pump Dryers Finally Coming to the US

(Promo image LG) Building a net zero energy house, or a passive house depends heavily on how well you are able to control air leakage from the home. A significant amount of time, planning, and expense goes toward getting air leakage down to a bare minimum. So after you've finally gotten it down...

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Land Value Taxation

(Image and Video : Frank de Jong, Earthsharing Canada) Frank de Jong of Earthsharing Canada presents an alternative model for taxation in this video. Wehther or not this idea is the ideal solution to land use...

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