Net zero victorian
About the site
A 17-Kw array, a super-insulated total gut rehab, and a geothermal heat source all come together to make this all-electric house net-positive — producing more electricity than it uses over the past four years of operation. These owners wanted to prove that an ordinary old house on an ordinary lot in a chilly city like Minneapolis could indeed be net-positive — producing 15,000 to 17,000 kWh, vs 11,000-14,000 consumed per year, over the past four years.
Sustainable features
Electric Vehicles · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Geothermal · Heat Pumps · Net Zero · Solar PV Rooftop · Superinsulated Walls
For more info on the features of this sustainable home, click here.
balsam moon preserve
about the site
An Emerging Vision of Peace, Sustainability, Renewal in Partnership with Earth, Spirit, and People. The residents of the preserve have a vision to share an alternative, sustainable, spiritual place of peace, honoring the earth and all living things.
Sustainable features
Composting · Electric Vehicles · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Integrated Systems · Net Zero · Passive Solar · Solar PV Ground Mount · Solar Thermal · Deep Winter Solar Greenhouse
1910 single family home
about the site
This single-family home was built in 1910 and retro-fitted with numerous features and strategies for sustainability, including: building integrated rainwater catchment, solar thermal in floor radiant heating, SDHW, ridge sky lighting, PV powered circulation pump, Venturi indoor ventilation, living roof, whole house water filtration, and urban forest harvested woodworking details throughout.
sustainable features
Battery Storage · Composting · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Passive Solar · Solar PV Rooftop · Solar Thermal · Rainwater Recapture
lexington parkway passive house
about the site
The presentation of plans culminated in construction of a home that has been certified as a Passive House Plus – only the second house in the U.S. to achieve this certification. Other design goals included full accessibility for aging in place, low environmental impact building materials, long life-cycle materials that require minimal maintenance, and low-impact landscaping that is welcoming to wildlife. Dave offers a photographic tour of the home’s features and construction details and talk about the comfort and performance of the home.
Learn more about the design process here.
idso solar home
about the site
These homeowners went solar because it’s a core component in the sustainable retirement home they wanted. In designing their home they had the following criteria:
Retirement home: Low maintenance, low utility costs, handicap accessible, and everything they’d need on the ground level.
Sustainability and resilience: Concerned about climate change, food security, and resource depletion - incorporate permaculture, eliminate fossil fuels as much as possible, and to grow or source as much food locally as possible.
Financial security: Like many Americans, these homeowners have not been able to save a great deal for retirement. Investing in assets like solar that fix a large portion of their energy costs for decades, in addition to reducing their energy needs through passive solar and energy efficiency, help to insure they can afford to live in their home regardless of external energy prices.
Family: These homeowners faced the challenge of having large families to entertain occasionally without having a big home, so they had to get creative.
Community: Being a part of a community was important to them.
Sustainable Features
Battery Storage · Composting · Electric Vehicles · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Heat Pumps · Passive Solar · Solar PV Rooftop · Chickens · Fruit Trees · Berry Bushes · Vegetable Garden · Canning Kitchen
Sweet Tree Passive House
about the site
These homeowners journey includes renovating a historic brick house, living in Europe and seeing the mix of ancient and modern technologies and social concepts. They studied techniques to live lightly on the planet, and met a team that is helping them bring their ideas to fruition. Their new home is a Passivhaus (Passive House) compliant home, designed to take advantage of the sun and efficient, high-quality building practices for maximum comfort and energy savings.
sustainable features
Battery Storage · Composting · Energy Efficient Upgrades · Heat Pumps · Net Zero · Passive Solar · Solar PV Rooftop
Sneary Solar Home
About the site
This home has a 4 array, 42 panel with 42 micro-inverters 9 kW roof-installed solar system. Installation was done by All Energy Solar in the spring of 2016. Since installing the system, this family has had a greater awareness of overall energy consumption and have been making smarter choices when using and choosing to replace appliances. It has also encouraged them to create new habits around energy consumption and led them to broaden their involvement in the fight against climate change. Most importantly, it has decreased their reliance on fossil fuels!
sustainable features
Solar PV - Rooftop · Electric Vehicles
Sustainable Modern New Build
about the site
This St. Paul home by Sustainable Nine Design + Build demonstrates how new construction can be integrated into an established city neighborhood, benefitting from a walkable community setting located near restaurants and shopping while also promoting urban redevelopment and fighting against suburban sprawl. This minimalist modern style home was featured in the Parade of Homes Remodelers Showcase in spring 2021.
The home was built to ENERGY STAR certified home standards, is EPA Indoor airPLUS qualified, and incorporates a wide range of green building materials, high efficiency HVAC equipment with zoned heating and cooling, ENERGY STAR certified appliances, Greenguard and Forest Stewardship Council certified flooring, LED lighting and a Solatube to bring in natural light. The 9.86-kW solar PV array on the garage was modeled by All Energy Solar to provide over 100% of the home’s electricity needs, and it also supports an EV charger to power the owner’s electric vehicle.
sustainable features
Electric Vehicles · Energy Efficiency Upgrades · Net Zero · Solar PV - Rooftop
tim’s tiny house
about the site
Tim’s Tiny House is quite unlike any other house on the tour. It’s scale model home showcasing renewable energy and energy efficient features!
sustainable features
Energy Efficiency Upgrades · Heat Pumps · Integrated Systems · Net Zero · Passive Solar · Solar PV - Rooftop · Solar Thermal · Sun Tubes
River Falls Ground Mount
about the site
This home features 22.4 kW ground-mounted, dual 28-panel arrays with integral adjustable vertical orientation for seasonal exposure changes. Array was designed and installed by Energy Concepts in the spring of 2021 and was engineered to meet the annual needs based on St. Croix Electric Co-op 2020 records. The array is directly connected to the SCEC grid, with no batteries on site. It is located on agriculture/residential property that includes 30 acres of “carbon sequestration” land that includes no-till cropland in hay production, livestock pastureland, Mixed species woodland and a small wetland area to filter any runoff rainwater of contaminants and/or nutrients before reaching the nearby Kinnickinnic River. The site also includes wildlife habitat for deer, wild turkeys, eagles, hawks, owls, geese, cranes, many songbirds and essential insects such as bees, butterflies and beetles for crop pollination.
Sustainable features
Twin Solar PV - Ground Mount arrays
Stay tuned for a full video tour!
Quincy street solar home
about the site
This small family home boasts a 2.8 kW system, purchased in partnership with a co-op through Solar United Neighbors, saving them 30% on the install.
sustainable features
Solar PV - Rooftop
More Sites
Below are sites that participated in last year’s Virtual Solar Tour. Check them out!