Quality over quantity; a small, affordable, sun-filled home poised on a delightful site in western Maine goes ‘Net Zero’.

We were approached to create a small one-two person home with the ability to go off the grid as needed or as desired. This meant that the home had to be highly durable, resilient, and energy efficient, even 'Net Zero' (able to produce as much energy as it consumes). This was achieved by taking advantage of passive solar design principals, super-insulating the home with a vapor-open, truss-stud construction method, and by using highly efficient European triple pane tilt-turn windows. With the energy demand reduced, the mechanical system could be downsized to a single affordable ductless mini-split heat pump system. The home also features an attached greenhouse for year-round gardening and will soon feature micro-hydro generation.