The solar thermal panels on the roof also generate the 180 to 200-degree water that goes into a preheated tank, which heats the coils in the floor on the north side of the house—just the north side. A geothermal system assists with heating and cooling. Four wells, each 300-feet deep, capture and store excess warmth in the summer for heat during the winter months while providing cooling in the hot months.

"We're giving energy back to the grid," says Fries. "We're spinning the meter backward. Nature is pretty good to all of us humans. We should live in harmony with nature instead of just it using all up." Moreover, adds Bow, the couple's up-front investment in solar and geothermal, with help from federal subsidies, had nearly been repaid in less than five years.

She adds that going with sustainable strategies, given their home is in the desert, just made sense. "It's crazy to pay for energy in this environment. We don't try to be wasteful with it, but it's lovely to cool your house and not have to worry about the costs or about what you might be putting into the environment. Our whole system takes virtually zero power to run."

Healthy Home, Healthy Life 

When Fries and Bow moved to Sedona, they founded Healthy World Sedona, an organization that promotes and supports plant-based living. The organization produces cooking demonstrations, health and nutrition conferences, and the immensely popular annual Sedona VegFest. Since their home was completed in 2015, Fries and Bow have held regular vegan potlucks at their home, where up to 50 members of their community gather to feast and converse. 

During dinners, guests enjoy magnificent views out of the octagon home's windows and from the decks. Fittingly, the interior of the home includes as many sustainable features as its construction. Ceiling boards were locally sourced in Arizona and finished with linseed oil. All the cabinets were made locally using American hardwood. A local woodworker, using leftover pieces of juniper from downed trees, fabricated numerous tabletops, desktops, and shelves throughout the home.

All of lighting in the home is LED. The plumbing includes low-flow and dual-flush fixtures, as well as an onsite, gravity-fed wastewater disposal system. The wall finishes are plaster. Countertops in the guest bathroom and elsewhere were fabricated from concrete. The exterior of the home is stucco, clear-stained Douglas Fir, and rock from the site.

The home has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, two offices, and a greenhouse. A fenced area and gate lead to the front door, located at the back of the site, where gardens and fruit trees grow. The couple also purchased a lot below their home, which they use for additional gardening space and parking for their guests.

"We do a lot of hiking, often right from the house," says Fries. Don is very pleased with how he and Bow have seamlessly merged their compassionate plant-based lifestyle with a net-zero sustainable home. "We're temporary travelers on the planet, so we like to leave a light footprint."