St Louis, MO is causing quite a buzz in the green housing industry, both in the gateway city and abroad. The first Active House in North America is almost ready for the moving trucks to arrive but before the house becomes the Smith family’s full time home the builders and vendor partners gathered together to invite their colleagues, the general public and media to take a last look at the house and see what all of the buzz is about.
On March 8 and 9, 2013 the final open house for Active House USA was held, and close to 2,000 people came from as close as next door and as far away as Denmark to see the house first hand and speak directly with all of the industry leading green building professionals that made the prototype home a reality. Lines snaked through the backyard and down the driveway as people waited to slip on some protective shoe covers and head inside to see the home first-hand.
The public open house, which was held from 10am until 2pm on Saturday, attracted so many people that almost two hours after the designated end time people were still peeking through the windows and approaching the homeowners and builders to see if they could be squeezed in for a glimpse of this unique home.
Vendors who were on hand answering questions during the event included Hibbs Homes, Verdatek Solutions, Laclede Gas, Velux, Jeff Day and Associates, Smith Patrick CPAs, Castle Stone Products, ABF Security, Webster Window and Door, James Hardie Siding, SidingExpress.com, Scott Lee Heating, Microgrid Solar, Metro Lighting, HomeNav, Dogwood Solar, Ferguson, and the University of Missouri Energy Efficiency Research Consortium.
Once construction is completely wrapped, the Smith family will move into the home and begin working closely with the University of Missouri Energy Efficiency Research Consortium and the Active House Alliance to provide anecdotal and statistical metrics to help assist with further research and development of green building standards both in the US and abroad.
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A view of the solar panels.
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The kitchen features custom green cabinetry, granite counters from remnants, and energy efficient appliances.
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All appliances used in the home are Energy STAR rated.
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The kitchen island is made from remnants of the construction materials used in the home.
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The completed stairwell is a central design feature that brings light from the roof to the main floor to the basement.
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Daylighting by benefit of the numerous windows and skylights factored into the plans of the home as a central energy efficiency feature.
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The home was filled from the moment the doors opened to well after the end time.
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Architect Jeff Day speaks talks about the very well planned design of the home.
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Project Manager Matt Belcher speaking with folks from Microgrid Solar.
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Marla Esser from HomeNav talks about the digital homeowner’s manual that will contain all of the home’s features and materials.
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Mike Chance from Velux discusses the benefits of skylights and how they factored into the home’s efficiency.
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The master bedroom features several energy efficient lighting features from natural lighting, to overhead, to tray lights with uplighting.
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The maser bathroom features several energy efficienct lighting sources, including Velux sun tunnels.
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Solar company Microgrid explains how their solar plan is being used to make the home close to net zero.
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The bedrooms all features a lot of natural lighting, and beautiful design features.
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The lines for the open house were down the driveway from open until close.
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The fireplace is one of the central design features of the home and features a custom flagstone made from recycled materials by St Louis company Castle Stone.
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The water heater uses solar technology to reduce energy consumption.
Three years ago, hundreds of people lined up to view a one of a kind home built in Webster Groves. The home, built by Hibbs Homes and designed by Jeff Day & Associates Architects was the very first Active House built in the United States. The Active House Alliance, a Dutch nonprofit organization that works with sustainable builders around the world, connected with St. Louis custom home builder Hibbs Homes to create a prototype house that would be used to bolster green home building standards worldwide.
