A historic Victorian-era home eliminates its energy bill . . . forever.
Certified under the strictest standards of the Living Building Challenge
When Kelly and I first bought the Victorian-era Gauss house, it was our dream house . . . complete with lead paint, asbestos siding, zero insulation (except for a layer of newspaper in the attic dated 1902), a 1957 gas furnace, a fridge from 1989, and carpet over the old heart pine floors.
We were inspired by the vision of Ray Anderson, the self-proclaimed “radical industrialist” and Chairman and Founder of Interface, Inc. the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial carpets. In 1994, after reading Paul Hawken’s “The Ecology of Commerce” Ray experienced an epiphany and challenged his company to begin a journey toward zero environmental footprint. We set out on a Mission Zero of our own to create a home that will harvest 100% of its own energy, 100% of its own water, create zero waste and ultimately become a restorative part of our community.
“108% Net Postive from Feb 2014 - Feb 2015”
February 2015 DTE Energy Bill showing negative balance.
