LEED Platinum & GreenStar Gold Home in MN (Photo courtesy of Corey Gaffer) 200 gallons might not seem like a lot of capacity, but the landscaping is designed to require no more than average rainfall, and Minneapolis receives approximately 2.5 feet of rain per year. Finally, the project has four, fifty-gallon rain barrels. This property also contains 4 rain gardens that will be fed by either onsite rainfall or stormwater runoff from the street channeled onto the property via curb cuts. On the exterior, drought-tolerant turfgrass, in addition to xeriscape techniques, will greatly minimize the outdoor water demands. Indoors, this meant utilizing low-flow fixtures in the showers and bathroom sinks. Instead, they wanted to reduce their total energy footprint, which included the energy devoted to water. Interestingly, their motivation was not due to supply concerns. They also took a sustainable approach to their water usage. The homeowners also gave preference to companies/manufacturers that used recycled content in their products, used renewable energy for their manufacturing and/or transportation and produced products without using toxic or harmful components such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This house was about more than just energy, though. Thick insulation, passive solar tempering with triple pane windows, geothermal heat pumps, a high efficiency fresh air exchanger and ENERGY STAR-rated lights and appliances were all employed in the process. For best value and to ensure production from the solar panels could at least match consumption, they sought ways to reduce consumption as much as possible first. They hired Marc Sloot of SALA Architects and Kerry Hage of Hage Homes to lead the design and construction Design team. The homeowners wanted to build a home in the Minneapolis area that produced as much energy as both the house and their cars used over the span of a year. The following project made sure it went a step beyond. There are net-zero energy homes, and then there are homes that go even further.
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