Hybrid Homes in the news and a new video...

Happy New Year everyone!

2012 has started out with a bang. I learned that we made the cover several newspaper's Sunday home section. That is cool. My mom called me with a very concerned tone in her voice that the article was about a book that some lady had written and the title was something like "Hybrid House". I was concerned at first until I read the article. It was a national news syndicate, which means that the Press ran the article and plugged in file photos to make the article feel more local. Those file photos were pictures that the Muskegon Chronicle took when they did an article on one of our projects. How cool to have some of our pictures in the paper...neat! As far as the book mentioned in the article, it is similar to others on the market and it showcases Hybrid Homes throughout the world. Neat again! My book will not have 'Hybrid Homes' in the title because it is about more than just building the houses we built. It is about building the message of living a healthy lifestyle. Once I talked my mom down from the ledge and told her that this article would help us more than hurt us, she was calm and cool.

I heard today from an editor of a magazine in Europe who apparently is doing an article on eco-friendly trends around the world and the author wrote about the Earth Shelter Project Michigan. I sent the editor some pictures of the Earth Shelter. How neat is that? We are international...cool! Stay tuned, I will post the link to the magazine article once it is printed..

This morning, my wife Stephanie and I (yes, the searching for Sasquatch star!) were brainstorming ideas on how to market this movement that is underway to live a healthier lifestyle. Together, we came up with the idea for this video that we made today. It needs to be polished and worked on, but it is worth a watch as it is now. Please watch it and let me know what you think..

Here is the link: http://vimeo.com/34473663

Happy New Year everyone!

Adam

12/21/2011--Earth Shelter is officially running on battery power!

(copyright Hybrid Home Guy Productions, LLC picture taken 12/21/2011)


Today the Earth Shelter Project Michigan officially switched off the generator power as its primary source of energy. Before I explain how the renewable energy system works on the Earth Shelter project, I must first mention what I was reminded of. Today is 12/21/2011, exactly one year from "2012". The Earth Shelter project is producing and storing its own energy well in advance of our original target dates. Thanks in part to a nice grant from the USDA! (thank you USDA).

There has been much talk throughout the last two years about why the Earth Shelter Project Michigan was built, why I dropped everything and headed north to lead the team that worked on it, and if I would ever be done with that project.

First off, the Earth Shelter project was built to be a sustainable farm for the homeowners. I agreed with their views in some ways. Most importantly, I think we are all already heading in a bad direction and that we should not worry about a specific date to prepare for. The Earth Shelter Project is a place for the homeowners to live life the way they feel safe. Raising and growing their own safe food and being off the grid. Hooray for them! I was so happy for them today as they prepared to have an informal family "off the grid party". Watching a movie powered by solar charged batteries and popping corn on their wood stove. How fun.

Why did I drop everything to build the project? At the time, I thought that I wanted to give up and quit being the Hybrid Home Guy, so much so that my dad (Uncle Rog) dropped everything in his life and came with me to make sure I was going to be ok. Over the past two years I realized why I took this project. One, because it is sooooo cool! Two because I love a good challenge and without listing a ton of reasons, third, I felt it would help us to forward our message of living a healthy sustainable life. I am a different person after two years, the Earth Shelter Project changed my life for the good....see, it is already changing lives and it isn't even completed yet!

Will we ever be done with the project? The answer is yes. At this time, I have signed on until Memorial Day 2012. After that, I, along with my new management team, have been reviewing a number of projects that we are interested in designing in building. If you have a neat project that you want us to take a look at, let me know. In a few weeks, I will let everyone know some big news on Hybrid Homes.

Let's talk about how the renewable energy system works on the Earth Shelter Project.

Check out the picture at the top of the page again. The solar array you see in the lower left corner of the picture is considered a 5,000 watt system. There is actually more wattage if you count the solar panels and times that by the wattage of each panel. For this explanation, consider the solar array to be a 5,000 watt system.

(you tracking? ok, good, let's continue)

The Earth Shelter is not connected to the grid at all, no way, never has been and never will be. That means that the solar array will only charge the battery system, not supply power to use as in a grid tied system. The solar array sends two 20 amp lines of power back to the mechanical room, which means there is a 40 amp service at the Earth Shelter. Most houses not a days have a 200 amp service. (side note: most houses in built in and before the 1950's had 40 amp electric services, and now most houses have 200 amp services. Kinda shows how things have changed, but I digress). Those two 20 amp lines in go through a series of devices that ultimately guide it to charge the battery bank.

OK, the battery storage system is a 48 volt DC system which consists of 24-2 volt Trojan renewable energy batteries. These batteries have a storage capacity of 2,000 amp hours of power. Is that good? Yes it is. I will explain in layman's terms. Consider this. Most of our hybrid houses that we built run on about 27 kWh of electricity per day. That is below the national average. The Earth Shelter battery storage system provides on the high side, about 35 kWh of power per day. We plan on the batteries providing about 24kWh of power per day because we can not fully drain the batteries nor do we want to tax the systems to its full extent. They have an optimal charge and out put range that we need to stay within. The homeowners and workers at the Earth Shelter will need to be very conscience of their energy use to avoid having the generator run.

Tracking still? I hope so. The point is, the renewable energy system is very powerful. You might be thinking; what about ovens, vacuum cleaners, dryers and other high energy using devices. The system has built in load limiters and load/draw adjustments. Currently, we have the system set to recognize the high energy draws at the Earth Shelter and once the system sees the need for a large amount of electricity, the generator automatically will turn on and shut off the battery storage system. When the generator is running, the system will use the generator's energy to charge the batteries if needed. The plan is to run the high energy sucking appliances on cloudy days to be sure that the generator is charging the batteries when the sun is not shining.

Its a very cool system! I am so excited to see this place be off the grid. When the generator shut off, everything went silent. My dad works with ear plugs in because of the noisy generator. After the noisy thing shut off, he was still shouting when he was talking. I simply said, "dude, it's quiet not, you can take out the ear plugs." When he pulled the plugs out of his ears, he said "wow." It was so quiet and great!

So that is what I know. I can't send a picture of the battery system, as there are some things in there not on the market yet and we don't want to ruin those companies' marketing campaigns that are part of this project. Let's just say, that it is very neat looking and very much in line with what cell phone towers are being equipped with.

Stay tune to this blog as I will post updates here until the Hybrid Home Guy fan page comes up on Facebook at the beginning of the year.

Also, check out www.hybridhomeguy.com for information on my book and our other media projects. (website will be up in January 2012)

Thank you all for you support, 2011 has been another banner year!

Adam

A Healthy Sustainable Lifestyle

Time and time again we have heard this saying "We are what we eat". In fact, I do not have enough fingers and toes to count the articles that start with this saying like I have. However, the statement, "We are what we eat", is very scary even if a person has only a spec of knowledge about the food industry. Because of this and recent health scares, I have decided to devote an incredible amount of time into not only helping people build a sustainable home, but now, helping people build a sustainable lifestyle.

Let's rewind time back a few decades. When I was a youngster growing up, my family was all about eating healthy back then. We didn't eat out at restaurants very much because we didn't have the money to do so. My mom prepared all of our meals from scratch and we took a steady stream of vitamins. I grew up in Montague Michigan and while I was growing up, Hooker Chemical was in full production of over 100 deadly chemicals. My mom recognized back then that the ground water could be contaminated, so we never drank one drop of the city water or well water from Montague's wells. Instead, my family would get ground water from my Grandmothers house so we wouldn't have to be subjected to potential contaminated ground water. As it stands, Hooker Chemical destroyed the area they are located in and around, and even though the Montague Plant has been closed for years, the area still is affected from the storage of those chemicals. Each time it rains heavy, over 800lbs of contamination flows into White Lake which touches the old Hooker Chemical land. When we were kids, we would go play at this "hidden lake" which was actually green or orange depending on the time of year. We saw frogs with 3 eyes in there regularly. If my mom knew that we played on that lake, which is now part of a super fund clean up site, she would have been fit to be tied. What lasting health problems could be a result of the exposure to those chemicals....I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Many of our friends parents from Montague who lived around Hooker Chemical have developed cancers that are no doubt related to the toxins that have leached into the ground water. This is horrible, but, not what this blog entry is about.

This blog is about what is in our foods or what is being used on our foods. It is not my intention to sound radical in any one direction or on any one subject, it is to report what I have been researching. This need to know recently lead me to the Acres Organic Farmers Conference in Indianapolis Indiana to learn more about the food industry. Many of us have seen the DVD Food, Inc. and other related movies and it helped us to change the way we eat. Believe it or not, even with my strong beliefs about saving the environment, I never really watched a show or read a book and immediately jumped on any band wagons. I would gather all of the pros and cons of a topic and then I would investigate issues until I formed a solid opinion about a topic. When I watched Food, Inc. I wasn't disgusted because I already knew how bad the food industry was. Food, Inc. helped me to direct my research more towards foods that lower income families were eating solely because of economics. What concerns me is that a family can get $1 double cheeseburgers at SickDonalds and that they could not get good quality foods for the same price, even at a garbage depot like WalMart.

As I mentioned above, I was raised to eat a certain way and to live a certain lifestyle. I have been a certified personal trainer, natural bodybuilder, and have a fair deal of training in nutrition. I have studied many areas of nutrition, including, the relation between High Fructose Corn Syrup and obesity in this Country. I have also studied about the relation between the weed killer 'Round Up' and birth defects. It's all scary, but my intention is only to report on what I have been up to, so you will have to research things for yourselves, with your own motives. You would think someone that does research like this would be healthy for their entire life, but it goes back to my first statement above, "We are what we eat". Perhaps a better statement would be, "We are what we consume". I prefer to eat Venison that I collect and fruits and vegetables from a garden or a local farm that I know produces products free of pesticides and herbicides. This doesn't always happen for me thou, so I needed to know if I could truly trust the word 'Organic'. Much like 'Green Washing' in products and materials, could there be such a thing as 'Organic Washing'?

I went to the ACRES Organic Farming Conference to seek answers about organic farming, and also to learn about growing plants naturally with no chemical fertilizers and no genetically modified anything. My motives were simple. I wanted to know how plants grow, what criteria the organic farmers had to follow, and how effective is bio-dynamics on growing plants. I did not go to Acres to jump on any band wagons or to get involved with any groups looking to change how things are done. What I found at Acres was incredibly passionate farmers and gardeners who were there for the same reasons as me. The group of people that I went to ACRES with all attended classes, as did I, to learn about the current food industry, what organic farming really was, and ways that people could be more than organic with their crops. I was at ACRES to learn more about what we, as a society, were consuming in our daily lives.

Have you ever heard of genetically modified foods? Most of us have. These are foods that are designed in laboratories where scientists manipulate the DNA of a given plant or food to resist pesticides and/or to get higher yields on their crops. The biggest problems with these "GMO's" is that the human body reacts differently to the breakdown of these foods and it causes problems for humans. Of course, there is so much more to it, but it will be something that you can research if you are curious about these foods. Can organic labeled foods be GMO's? Yes. This is why I am concerned. I have ate organic foods and drank organic milk since they first showed up on the market and most are great for us! My goal was to find out if they were safe for me, and the jury is still out on that subject.

When Team Hybrid set out to change building as everyone had known it, we were looking to change specific areas of a home to help its inhabitants live a long healthy life. We addressed areas of the home like indoor air quality, lifetime design, passive solar, and many other areas. To my delite, many of our homeowners took this even farther and have gardens, recycle their waste, and try to live every part of a sustainable life. That is awesome, I applaud that! This got me thinking about a sustainable life being more than just the home. As simple as it seems, many people continue to focus on just one or a couple of things that make for a sustainable life. If someone can't really be sure as to what they are putting into their bodies for food, than how can we really guarantee that we will all live a long healthy life? Lets look at the dictionary definition of Sustenance (food):

Definition of SUSTENANCE

1: means of support, maintenance, or subsistence : living b : food, provisions; also : nourishment

2: the act of sustaining : the state of being sustained b : a supplying or being supplied with the necessaries of life
3
something that gives support, endurance, or strength

I yell, WHAT?!!

Have you ever given any thought to the word 'sustenance' and then thought about the food you eat, or how often you eat? I kept the word 'sustenance' on top of my mind while at the ACRES conference because I wanted to see what went into food that I was consuming to supply myself with the necessaries of life. Should we be concerned about putting bad food into our bodies? Absolutely! Should we immediately change what we eat? It would be a great idea to, but not many people are able to. Growing a garden or buying produce from a farm market or natural food market is a better idea than buying produce from WalMart because the nutritional value of the homegrown stuff if so much better. No one can expect to change their lives or habits at any given moment. Those types of life transformations come over time and I encourage everyone to start thinking more about what they are eating.

When we set out to build homes sustainably, we never asked people to immediately change their lives, only to give thoughts to the many alternatives there were to conventional ways of building. I am saying the same thing here. Be aware that not all the food that you are eating is good for you and that there are healthy alternatives available that can help you live a longer, healthier life. Find items with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. One example is Sierra Mist that is made with sugar, this is a good alternative to other sodas out there because it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup or any unnatural colors or additives. Again, you don't have to be scared or throw everything away immediately, just make sure you become aware of the healthier options that are available out there. The Organic Stamp on foods are a good step in the right direction in telling if a food is better for you to consume. In our busy lives and poor economy, it is not always an option for people to buy the more expensive organic foods, especially when you can get a McGut Bomb at SickDonalds for a dollar.

I ask you to consider what is happening to your health, especially if you are in the sustainability business. Do you, on your way to giving a talk about sustainability, stop and get a Heart Attack in a Sack? Most do, even I used to from time to time because it is so tough to do anything different than that. After I learned that I had some health concerns due to the lifestyle I chose to live, I completely changed the way I live and eat. I have my cheat days, but for the most part, I watch very closely what I eat to try to get myself healthier. Lifestyle is the leading cause of health problems in this country. I used to think that I could help with that by building sustainable houses, and sustainable housing does help. But there is more work to be done in this area. We can't control gas prices, contaminated foods, idiot CEO's, or lots of other bad things, but we definitely can control WHAT and HOW MUCH we use. This alone can help ensure that the statement "we are what we consume" is a part of a healthy sustainable lifestyle....

Remember when?

I remember the Fall of 2007, do you? I found myself smack dab in the middle of a huge debate over a wind generator with very little help. I remember locals stopping by the job site to get in my face, I remember going into Frans Market and having people turn their backs on me, and I remember how everyone back home said good luck and went about their lives.

I mention this, because time flies and the moments in time that define a person are often times forgotten or overlooked. I remember laying awake at night in our rented, run down cottage and thinking about the possibility of losing my company over a matter that I had very little control over. I remember building, piece by piece, a home that helped reshape the building industry in this state. I remember the grinder accident I had before a big public hearing on the wind generator, and how I didn't go to the Emergency Room (even though Mary Bigelow did all she could to get me to go), so that I could give my rebuttal at the hearing. The carpet in Onekama Township Hall has the stains from my bleeding finger and a day doesn't pass that I don't think about how incredible that experience was. I carry scars on my hands from the work we did on that home and those scars help to remind me of the amazing experience that I had building it.

I remember when the final meeting for the wind generator issue was and I remember the emotions that were running wild in that room. I salute those people in the world who stepped up when times got tough and helped generations move forward. I salute those who didn't just say good luck, but rather, rolled up there sleeves and fought shoulder to shoulder with me on a very tough issue. Onekama will always hold a place in my heart, because it help shaped the person that I have longed for so long to become. I learned many valuable lessons on that project, but the most valuable lesson of all, was that I learned to never give up on my dreams. I learned that no matter what happend, I would always see a problem through and have the guts to take care of a problem no matter what it costs. I learned that not many people shared that same value, and that it was a defining value that has helped me become who I am today.

I am excited to have built the homes that I have built. Back in 2007, I did all I could to get other builders to build sustainably. Now, much to my delight, builders have stepped up to take on jobs with ICFs, SIPs, and advanced framing. I have continued to pick jobs to build solely on their impact on the industry. I am consulting more than ever on everything from schools to Earth Shelter projects and everything in between. Next up for me, once we complete the Earth Shelter Project and I finish the nation wide tour to promote the documentary, I will start another project. That project will be one of many that I am considering. I am most interested in another Earth Shelter project or a straw bale home. I will keep you all posted. For now, life is good and I am so excited to be living the life I am living..

My clearing mind - State of the State of Hybrid Homes

The last few years have been a blur. I have learned many valuable lessons and have worked to improve the efficiency of every house that I built during that time. The two bigger houses that I built got rave reviews! Imagine an executive style house that is about 4,500 sq feet total that heats to 73 degrees from the sun. A house that is so evenly heated, that the homeowners are amazed. Their old house was very drafty and cold, and they had to give their sweaters away, because the house we built is toasty and they do not need them any more. And, that is when the geo thermal heat is not running. Absolutely amazing, I could not be prouder.

The last year brought about much heart ache also. We had sub contractors that cost us a ton of money, money that came directly out of my pocket. We saw members or our Team get dropped off the Team. We had the Team shook to the very core in such a way, that I questioned why the members were saying they were part of the Team. There was a ton of joy and a ton of heartache during this past year, but still I push this ship forward into uncharted seas!

I am in Northern Michigan now. One of my goals when I knew I was coming up here, was to try to clear my mind. I have been pushed so hard by all the Team Members to keep work piling in and that is incredibly tough to do and breeds incredible pressure. I was told to keep booking work by some and it changed my focus. I was focused more on keeping people busy, then I was doing what I set out to do in the first place. We built some great houses over the last year, but it cost a lot of money. I am happy to say, I made a few tough decisions about 6 monthes ago that ultimately saved this company. I chose to limit the amount of work we would do. But, my mind was still clouded because of a number of stressors 'down state'.

Along came this Earth Shelter Project. This is the largerst Earth Shelter Project ever! I mentioned clearing my mind, how can this be taking on a project like this, another Earth Shaking industry changing project? One of the things that I need to mention, is that I am staying at a school that teaches natural health and massage. I am spending my non-working time with counselors and others who are helping me discover what my core beliefs are and to shape the future of myself and Hybrid Homes. For me to get out of bed every day, I need to feel purpose and also I need a challenge. This Earth Shelter Project is all that and more. I feel more alive at this point of my life than I have ever felt before. I am leading a group of workers from the immediate area, workers who I never met before. They have welcomed me into their homes and have befriended me, as I moved up here with no friends in town.

My mind is clearing and I am excited for Hybrid Homes. So excited, that I am working with a few people to create a way for Hybrid Homes to continue into the future and continue to be the driving force in this state in sustainable building. I will write more about this when I can, but I am happy to be moving the company forward, with some help....

For me, I am torn like an old sweater! This Earth Shelter Project is only in its 3rd week, and it has changed me already and helped me clear my mind. I have friends up here that I just met, who I already know will be my friends for years to come, long after this project is over. My passion lies in projects that push the envelope and connect me with the homeowners and their communities. I have sat in many kitchens and living rooms all over the country this past year and shared food and conversation with many, many people, and I love that. I am having a tough time seeing past this project, because of what it stands for and the experiences that we have had so far. I walked into the school tonight to go to my room, and there was a cooking class in the kitchen. I was last to come in, and I heard "Look, its Uncle Rog!". That made me smile! We have a huge fan base here in Northern Michigan and we can thank our videos for that. I could not get through the group without shaking hands, then I was asked to talk to them, so I did. I told the group of my journey so far and what my hope was for my future. The videos are reaching many, many people, and they are recieving the message that I was hoping to put out there. My goal was to reach the masses in 2009 with my message, and with an average of 2,000 viewers every week of our videos, I would say I reached that goal. I am working with TV people now, and you will most likely see our videos on your tv (if you have one) in 2010!

My passion for a sustainable lifestyle and sustainable building has grown incredibly over the last year, even through all the joys and heart breaks of this business. The economy has not effected our growth, just being connected with the wrong people has. I want Hybrid Homes to grow more, but, that will happen through a new strategic plan for 2010. My personal direction will be to build only specific projects, for people who truly wish to lead a sustainable life. Hybrid Homes will take on the majority of the projects, and I will lead projects like this Earth Shelter Project and others that will be off the grid. Does that mean that I intend on having someone else run Hybrid Homes, I am not sure at this point, but we are actively seeking someone to fill my role as leader of Hybrid Homes, so that I can focus on building my building science knowledge. I want to focus on my calling in life, start speaking, writing books, filming for tv, adn so much more. I will be around, and chances are, these changes won't take effect for some time to come, but, I know what my heart is telling me to do. That is, to build sustainable houses for sustainable people. I will have a list of criteria for the houses I choose to build, and the people I build for. At some point, I would like to build only off the grid houses. As the market builds for that, I will strive to lead Hybrid Homes into the future by building the most sustainable homes that a budget will allow. Once we get ourselves into the right positions, then there will be a noticable change to Hybrid Homes, which will be capable at that point of producing many homes per year, on time and on budget.

Stay tuned for blogs about the future of Hybrid Homes. For now, thank you for your support and here's to doing things in life that make a difference!

I think we did it!

Over the past few days, Mike Holcomb and I have been getting the energy efficiency rating of our Vineyard Project together. The HERs score is basically a rating of how energy efficient a home is based on a number of things, including a blower door test, the HVAC system, energy usage, and so on. The HERs rating is what is used to qualify a home for the Energy Star Rating. The rating is based off of a home that was rated originally tested and used as the test case. Most homes that qualify for Energy Star homes come in around at about a HERs rating of 80. That means that those houses are 20% more energy efficient than the test house. This is really good and a step in the right direction.

Most of our houses have been scoring in the 50's, which is where we would expect the to fall. This HERS score qualifies our homes as 5 star+ in the Energy Star rating system.

The Vineyard Project came in at a remarkably low score (low is good). As many know, I am a firm beleiver is Kaizan, or continuous improvemet. I want each house we build to be as energy efficient as possible for the budget. It would be less of a challenge to build a super tight house if we had a huge budget, but it doesn't work that way.

The Vineyard Project obtained a HERs score of 34!! According to our research to this point, that is the best HERs score ever achieved in the State of Michigan. This extremely low HERs score means that our Vineyard Project is now projected at the Platinum Level under the LEED for Homes program. Both Eric and I are very excited about this.

The reason this is such huge news, is because this house now proves to every other builder out there that you can build a tight house and still keep the prices down. Before the $22,000 in tax credits that this house qualifies for, the cost was at $136 a square foot. There is nothing on this house that is not custom and it also has geo thermal, solar hot water system, and almost 4kW of PV Solar. After the tax credits, the house nets about $126 a square foot. That is crazy! For that price, why wouldn't homeowners demand that their builders get them solar or geo thermal for their budget?

I am fired up, and watch what type of attention we get for this. I am now going to go on the cirquit and explain why I think builders have the ethical responsibility to offer these important sustainable options on the homes they build for their clients....

Rock on!

My Favorite House.

First off, welcome to my blog! I figured that this would be the best way to connect with everyone. This blog will give me an opportunity to post stories and information from my life as the Hybrid Home Guy.

Over the last 5 years, I have had the wonderful opportunity of building a number of cutting edge projects that others had never before seen to that point. I had built ICF homes before suppliers, inspectors, and other builders ever knew what ICF stood for. Then, after being called crazy and lots of other things, I started mastering the art of SIP's and working to make sure the connection points were addressed in the quest to build the tightest house possible. Recently, I was able to prove to the world that I could build a house that was advanced framed, around 160k and that it would be tighter than any other house in that price range. It has been very fun and rewarding in deed to build this variety of houses.

Since I seem to never pass up a challenge, I am now interested in building homes with straw clay, Earth Shelter houses, and anything else that comes my way. The biggest problem is having enough time to do all of the projects that are before us. But, I am getting that figured out.

Recently, I was asked by a client, "What is your favorite house out of all of them that you built?" This was a great question and one that the client asked in front of the homeowner's in the home that we were touring. What was I going to say? I bet there are people out there who wonder how I was going to answer that, especially with a Hybrid Alumnist present.

This was my answer: "Please have a seat because this is going to take some time to answer. That is a very good question, consider this: I am not a parent, and I have no idea what it is like to raise children. But, I am quite certain that I have a pretty good idea that if you asked a parent who has several children, their reponse to a question of "which one is your favorite" would be something like what my response would be to the question that started this posting. Imagine if you will, that I have 19 children who are scattered all over the State of Michigan and are off all ages. Each of these children has at least one trait that makes them special. Each of these children also have traits that may make them farther advanced than the others, but all were raised to lessen their load on the planet, be sustainable, and most importantly provide a safe and enjoyable life to anyone that comes in contact with them. Of course, I am talking about the Hybrid Homes that I and my Team have built all over the State of Michigan."

Would I dodge this question of which home is my favorite? Could I even answer a question like that without just saying, they are all my favorite? Well, it is true, I love them all and every house that I have built or remodeled has a piece of me in it. I am very proud of every house I have ever been involved with. I leave each project with something special that I personally built or installed and that let's me leave with a feeling of confidence, acheivement, and pride that only comes from putting your all into doing something well.

I continued, "I know this still hasn't answered your question of which is my favorite. That is definately a tough question because we have so many projects at so many different stages. I can tell you what I like about each place that we have finished recently and then tell you which one of those project I think is the most sustainable based on the homeoowner's lifestyle. And that is what I will do."

(side note: any homeowners of ours that are reading this, do know that I feel strongly about every home and that I love them all equally)

• "When I built the first Hybrid House in Shelby Michigan, we were so far ahead of anyone else, that we had to pave the way. That house has split stone from the land, is all ICF, has miles of tongue and groove pine in it and will forever remain closest to my heart, because it was my first. Together with the homeowner, we built that house from the ground up, and did it for such a low price, it made me rethink how projects are priced. It uses very little propane to heat the house and is in a location that is incredible. This house kickstarted the green movement in Michigan because it got people's attention!"

"Another house that will forever be near to my Heart is the house in Onekama, Michigan. This house blew green building in Michigan out of the water! When you talk about blood sweat and tears, this project were all those and more! One of the things that happened there was when the township blind sided us with a notice of violation reagarding the wind generator that we had just put up. The meetings were almost every week for about 6 monthes. I had locals calling me a renegade and others calling me a hero. In Onekama for a 6 month period, I could not walk into any of the stores or restaurants without getting evil stares, or pats on the back. This was such a tough time because no one was there to help with the finances it took to survive this unfortunate ordeal. Onekama helped define the person I am today and although I am not there right now, the house we built there remains and is a symbol of prosperity and advancement. This house was the main attraction of the Michigan Energy Fair for two years in a row and it has won every award there is to win! Governor Granholm went to the house to see what all the hype was. This house was built at a time when everyone in our state was wondering what Green was. This house paved the way for all those in this state who are either working towards a more sustainable business/lifestyle, or who poppped out of the wood work to jump on the green band wagon. The Onekama house is one of my prized children who has acheived amazing things! This house has a wind generator and also a solar hot water system."

"Once a person achieves success in a project, it usually means that their star will burn out, because of the work it takes to go through an ordeal like the Onekama Project, and not wanting to go through the same kind of things again. I knew this and I tried so hard to make sure that the follow up house to the Onekama house would be more advanced, or at least as cutting edge as the Onekama House was. Que the Vineyard Project. The Vineyard Project came at a time when we were mobilizing out of Onekama, had just finished some green remodeling projects and were ready to get back to business. It also meant that after about 4 monthes, we had to go back on the road and start all over in a different community. What I found out on this project, is the power of a Team of people instead of just building a house with two people. I was happy with the over all progress of the house but learned many more things on this project that would help me develop into a better leader. There were areas that we improved on with this house and in the end, this house turned out amazing! One of the most amazing things to happen, is the addition of 3.3kW of solar voltiacs on this home which provides over 85% of the electricity used in the home! With the addition of this PV and the solar hot water system, this made the Vineyard Project our most sustainable project to date! It will most likely win many awards like the Onekama House did, but it was most definately an answer to the question, what would we do next. I am very proud of this house, not only because of it being one of the most sustainable homes on the planet, but because it answered the lingering question inside me, "Will I have it in me to build another house like Onekama?"

"While we were building the Vineyard Project, we started a few other projects. The Watercress Project started about the same time as the Vineyard Project and it provided an outlet for the creative juices that flow threw my veins. This house was also to be an answer to the Onekama House in regards to that lingering question inside of me. Starting from the beginning, this project had challenges, most notably, the size of the lot and the two streams that came out from under where the house was to stand. What was so unique about this house, besides how sustainable and energy efficient it is, is that we had a chance to reuse items in it and also to use the trees from the lot inside the home. We had a larger Team on this project than any previous project. We had an interior designer, among others, who was there to direct what we did inside. I was able to talk them into using trees inside the cottage and together we found ways to use the cedar, cherry, and maple lumber that we harvested from the building site. Although, this house is not in a real good position to use renewable energy, it is still very sustainable and a place that is absolutely custom and amazing! There are approximately 30 custom features in this house, including custom built-ins, custom bar, custom handrail system, and so much more. This place is right on a lake and will forever stand as a symbol of sustainability, art, and harmony in a setting that is just out right incredible."

I have to add, that I did not go into such great detail with the client I mentioned above, but I did make sure to let him know that I was very partial to all of the houses, including the 7 that we have going on right now. He was, however wanting to know the answer to his question, "Which house is your favorite?" I did tell him what house I thought was my, as some may say, favorite, but, for that answer, you will have to stay tuned to this blog................................