EcoDEEP Haus a Decade Later: No Regrets, Just Observations 

Their goal was to create a modern home that would perform as a demonstration project for Flynn's business, EcoDEEP. The house, which they called EcoDEEP Haus, would also showcase sustainable products and strategies to illustrate to other homeowners how simple, effective and livable they could be.

Flynn and Nelson chose the 1,700-square-foot house in Highland Park (still in St. Paul), Minnesota, primarily because of its location: close to mass transit, the Mississippi River and its walkways and parks, and local schools, churches, entertainment, retail, and restaurants. All are within “easy, CO2-free walking distances,” they wrote on their EcoDEEP Haus blog.

Working with a structural engineer, a contractor, and energy modelers, the couple stayed within the one-and-a-half-story house’s existing footprint, building up instead of out. In addition to designing within the original foundation of the house, they kept most of the first level. They removed the gable roof and expanded the second level, and added 620 square feet on the northwest side.

The result is a 3,200-square-foot home with four bedrooms, Flynn's office, and two and a half baths. The kicker? EcoDEEP Haus uses 40 percent less energy than the original home—even though it's almost double the size. It also uses 50 percent less energy than code.  Among the house's many accolades was a 2009 Evergreen Award from Eco-Structure. Discovery's Planet Green network aired the house on its homes program. The house also won several local architectural awards.

Sustainable Features 

The energy-efficient, high-performance modern home has a 1.44-kiloWatt (kW) solar panel system, consisting of eight 3-foot-by-5-foot panels, which generate about 30 percent of the home's total electricity supply.  Two 4-foot-by-8-foot solar hot-water panels heat water in a 90-gallon thermal storage tank; depending on the season, the system supplies 50 to 100 percent of the family's hot water.

The systems came from Westwood Renewables; the Spruce Line 195W, Outback inverter and batteries from Evergreen Solar; the flat plate collectors for the solar hot water from Solar Skies; Soleraide HE tank from Rheem; and the pump from Caleffi Hydronic Solutions. The remaining power needed by the home is purchased through the local utility company's renewable Windsource program.

Half of the house's roof is covered with a 4-inch-deep mat of vegetation growing from a LiveRoof modular tray system. The other half is covered with a white reflective-cooling Firestone UltraPly TPO membrane. The sheathing and framing lumber is FSC certified. Flynn and Nelson clad the house's exterior in HardiePlank fiber-cement-board siding and corrugated metal siding. The cement and masonry are locally sourced Buckcrete, which contains 25 percent fly ash.

Closed-cell spray foam insulation (from Homeco Insulation) contributes an R-value of 54 in the roof cavity, while the rim joists and walls are insulated to R24 in existing walls, and new walls are R30+. The strategic placement of triple-glazed, Low-E argon windows allows natural light into the house and promotes passive heating in winter and cooling in summer. Fluorescent and LED light fixtures keep energy use to a minimum.

Inside the house are an Amana 92-percent-efficient forced-air furnace and energy-efficient appliances. Low-flow toilets, sinks, showers, dishwashers, and washing machines reduce water use by more than 60 percent. Sustainable finishes including low- or no-VOC paints and adhesives, recycled-glass terrazzo, recycled-paper countertops, and salvaged oak flooring.