My son Mark and I recently travelled to Chicago to tour the Michelle Kauffman Smarthome at the Museum of Science and Industry. Kauffman’s Smarthome is a manufactured home and we wanted to get a sense of how appealing it might be to Canadian home owners. Although the Smarthome is not truly net-zero, we have the technology to make it Net Zero even in our cold Saskatchewan climate.
Mark and I both found the home quite attractive in a unique way. Mark (18) commented; ‘Cool – I would love to live in a house like this.’
A lot of Net Zero homes are criticized for their appearance. The challenge is usually with the placement of solar and PV panels. The Riverdale Net Zero home in Edmonton is an example of a home that was challenged with the need to put the solar panels on the front of the house.
I have heard a lot of controversy over this design. I have toured the Riverdale Net Zero Home and it actually looks quite attractive and fits in with the very modern architecture of the homes in that area.
Other Net Zero homes look like any other house on the block. The Mill Creek Net Zero Home is an example:
The back yard of this home faces south so the solar panels are all located at the back. If you look carefully at this picture, you can spot the solar panels on the roof at the back but other than that, you would never know that this is a Net Zero Home.
The CHESS net zero home in Red Deer used a different strategy and integrated their solar panels into the roof line. The solar panels are visible from the street but more integrated into a standard design:
As you can see, NetZero homes come in all shapes and sizes. The variable appears to be the cost of one design over the other. Please take a moment to let me know your thoughts on these 4 designs: Which would you prefer to live in? All are Net Zero Homes but the Michelle Kaufman home would be significantly more cost effective (probably 25% less per foot than the others). Would that affect your decision? You can contact me at ronn@ronnlepage.com.
