Personal background

I am an electrical engineer with 35 years’ experience in electrical/test engineering. I have developed and supported testing of everything from water cooled parts of a super computer to small computer parts (hard disk drives). I have experience with thermal chambers, programming and mechanical/Electrical design/debug. I am an expert at nothing, but can make anything work. If I hit a problem, I can solve most of the easy problems. If I am not sure how to fix it, I can learn enough of the technical terminology that I can talk with the experts. Yet, I can still help the non-technical people get things working.

I learned to depend on other specialists in their field and trust that they will want to do a good job. Very few people will intentionally do a bad job.

I will not come up with any million-dollar idea, but I will take a standard idea and use it in a way that will make a million dollars. I can see how to use items in ways other do not think of. That is what I did with this house.

This house took 5 years from concept to fully working. After the initial build, this house took 2 years to get fully working. I did not know exactly how everything was going to work out when I started. It was designed to be energy efficient and allow for future changes/improvements to make it better. It was not an easy path to get where I am now. There were many problems on the way. I worked through each issue with the help of the experts. I had to add more items (batteries) to get some of the basic functions working. I also found functions in some of the devices (Sol-Ark controller) that allowed me to do additional items. These additions worked better than I imagined when I started. Other than finishing the second level, which I am doing now, I plan no more modifications.

I like working with electronics and around my house in my spare time. This project combined both of those items. My son has inspired me to try new, environmentally friendly ideas.

Design points of the house

I have fun working with electronics and around the home. However, I like to keep things simple.

- There is minimal electronic controls in the house. It only has TOD(time of day) functions in the thermostats, the solar control box and the electric car.

- The house could be build by most contractors in most parts of the world.

- All of the devices in the house are standard parts. There are no custom parts. All of the parts can be ordered by a contractor.

-The only semi-custom item is the SIPs(Structural Insulated Panels). However, I believe a similar house could be built by other wall/ceiling construction methods. In this location, I am 100% sure SIPs would work as keeping it insulated. Other methods may not have worked.

- I did very little work on the house while during the original build. I only insulated the space between the first and second floor during the build for sound reduction. The rest was done by the contractors.

- After the original build, only a few parts had to be changed: #1) controls for the air exchanger. #2) location of the breakers from the main electrical box to the battery backed electrical box. #3). Lowered the heat pump emergency resistance heating from 8kw to 4kw.

- This house has many unique features, but you could build a house of many different styles and designs that would be able to work like this. This design does not have to be copied exactly to get the function of this house.

Sponsorship, certifications, money and costs

There are no sponsors of the house or WEB site. It was build as any other house would be built for any person. All of the expenses were paid for by the owner, who is also creator of this WEB site. This means that you will get the real thoughts, both good and bad, on this WEB site. This content on this WEB site will be not influenced by any sponsors or push any products.

I did not get any certifications for the house. This is because, it costs extra to get the certifications. The certifications of the house may influence or limit what I could do while still keeping my certifications.

I was also limited in money. That is why the second level is not finished yet. I spent most of my money getting the house built and wanted some left if I came up with issues. Issues came up that I needed to spend extra money on (examples are house batteries, CRP planting and new electric car). Now that the house is completely working, I found that I can afford to finish the second level.

This house did cost 30-50% more than a standard house of similar size. This was reduced by government rebates. However, for me the benefits below make up for the extra expenses.

#1 I have no utility bills(except for internet/cable)

#2 The house is extremely comfortable and quite in all conditions.

#3 Everything is automatic. There are no switches to change or generators to start when power goes out.

#4 The house can run for all summer if the power goes out.

#5 The house will never freeze in winter, even if the electricity goes out on the coldest days.

#6 I do not have to purchase gas for my car.

#7 I have no generator (or devices other than the solar system) to have this level backup.

#8 This house is good for the environment and power grid.