There is a beautiful big oak tree in the front yard that is probably over 100 years old. The envelope of the house is what got him the most LEED points. The walls are 12 inches thick, and all the windows in the house are double-paned.

Sustainable Features

The house is solar powered with Panasonic solar panels, solar hot water panels and equipped for energy storage with Tesla Powerwalls. Black tubing leads down to the pool to help heat the pool while at the same time cooling the panels, which makes them more efficient. Home electrification was critical as they did not want any natural gas in the house or the property.

There is a Lutron system that controls the lighting as well as shade control. A really cool feature is a system called to act on demand with motion sensors in the kitchen and the bathrooms, so when activated, it turns on a circulating pump in the basement that brings hot water to the WaterSense taps immediately. No wasted water waiting for hot water!

The beautiful oak floors are all reclaimed wood from old barns or buildings. The greywater system leads out to the fruit trees. There is a rainwater capture system that can store 10,000 gallons of rainwater.

Bottom Line

Most people look at a home and base the price on labor and material. That’s understandable, but there is a bigger cost. The huge piece is the cost of running that home over decades. So, if you build it right, the cost of running that home will be very low. Pay a little extra at the get-go, and you get this long-term benefit of low energy bills.

Do the energy efficiency first and low costs things like home gardening and home composting. Ride a bike to work. Do those first, and you’ll have money in your pocket. Then take all those savings and invest in medium ticket items like a solar oven or rain barrel. Then pretty soon, you’ll be able to afford solar panels.

We can all do it; we just need to do things in the right order.