http://timbercreekzeroenergyhouse.com
The award-winning Texas architects of William Peck & Associates has recently finished a net-zero house in Lewisville, TX. The house serves as a demonstration project for the Department of Energy's "Building America" program, a program designed for encouraging Americans to focus on building green and energy-efficient. Much emphasis is put on how to least impact the surrounding environment, and a number of clever products and materials have been used, including: 95 % recycled content sheetrock, 85 % recycled content garage doors, LED and compact flourescent lighting and 5000 gal. rainwater collection for irrigation.
The design of the house looks very European and conventional and while this design is not too common in the U.S., the house could fit right into any newer Danish residential neighborhood. It would be interesting to know the total cost of building, too see if the idea of creating a neighborhood of net-zero houses is feasible.
Sindre-
SvarSlettThis house is 2500 SF - larger than the average American home, and the owners tore down an existing house to have this one built. There are definitely some drawbacks to this demonstration program.