Sitting on six acres in the mountainous Cuyunas Lakes region, the 1,222-square-foot “Wattage Cottage” is Green Builder’s 2022 Most Innovative Green Home of the Year. The Minnesota home is a completely sustainable, off-grid property with a low-waste, high-performance SIP wall system, energy efficient appliances, a 330-foot-deep well, and 15 ground-mounted, 310-watt solar panels, Green Builder reports.
Architect and designer Tom Pusak of Pusak Properties constructed the Cuyuna Project to be completely detached from the outside world with self-sustaining technology and design features. The “Wattage Cottage” rental is also net-zero certified by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The home features a 5-foot roof overhang designed to provide cooling shade in the summer while allowing additional sun in the winter as the sun’s angle shifts for passive heat gain.
“Technology has been developing much faster in the home-building sector than the pace at which home builders are adopting it,” [Tom] Puzak noted, in a report from GearJunkie. “It’s hard for production builders to adopt new ideas when the average home buyer does not know what is possible.”
Related Stories
NAHB
2024 International Energy Conservation Code Will Use a New Development Process
NAHB Policy Briefing: New procedure for developing the 2024 IECC; construction job openings, hiring, and layoffs data
High-Performance Homes
Desert Comfort: Innovative Measures Against the Elements
The net-zero energy Desert Comfort Experience Home combines multiple solutions to protect the house from its extreme climate conditions
Education + Training
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Introduces Two New Workforce Development Programs
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to offer additional opportunities for professionals and students exploring careers in the net zero building sector
