The Howe’s 2,500 square foot home was built in 1993, using insulated concrete construction. The smooth, continuous concrete shell doesn’t have cracks where cold winter winds can leak in, like typical wood construction. It is located in western Michigan, near Grand Rapids. This home is well insulated, and captures solar heat directly through the windows. It also has solar hot water panels that capture solar heat and store it in 2 feet of insulated earth under the basement floor. The Howes also get some heat from a large Finnish stove. It burns a very hot wood fire and stores the heat in stone and brickwork, releasing heat into the house gradually. Burning wood at a higher temperature greatly reduces the smoke and other pollutants produced.

The Howe’s home:

• Is well insulated and uses passive solar heating (lots of windows on the
  south side)
   
• Stores heat in earth and stone
   
• Uses solar photovoltaic panels to provide half their electricity (the other half comes from the utility company)
   
• Has had no problems with the solar systems during the 10 years since
  its construction

The Dorogi’s home was designed to win the Department of Energy’s highest
"Energy Star™" rating of five stars – and it did. The walls are 6 inches thick instead of the typical 4 inches, allowing room for more insulation. Foam insulation was used, which provides more insulation per inch than standard fiberglass insulation, and prevents air leakage through cracks. The windows contain three layers of glass, instead of the usual one or two, helping to keep the heat in. The home has many windows facing south to capture the sun’s energy. A heavy stone wall inside the home absorbs some of the solar energy to help heat the home at night. Back-up heat comes from a 94% efficient gas furnace. Because of all these energy efficiency measures, heating the Dorogi home takes only about a quarter of the fossil fuels used by typical homes in Michigan.

They also save energy while heating their hot water. Water running down the drain of the showers goes through a heat exchanger before leaving the house. This heat exchanger uses the heat from the used shower water to pre-heat cold water headed for the water heater. This reduces the natural gas needed for water heating.

The Dorogi’s home:

• Looks completely "normal"
   
• Is well insulated and uses passive solar heating (lots of windows on the south side) and stores heat in a thick stone wall inside the house
   
• Uses only a quarter of the natural gas of typical homes in Michigan