On the shores of Lake Superior, in the remote upper peninsula of Michigan, with 130 mile per hour design winds and an average of 202 inches of snow a year, John and Wanida knew they needed to build their home differently.
This super insulated, high-performance home was a trail blazing home for an area used to propane heat and cold, drafty houses. Finishing out with an impressive pre-solar HERS score of 36, the home exemplifies how to build for energy efficiency in extreme climates: with double stud walls, triple pane windows, and incredibly air-tight construction (a blower door test score of 0.96ACH50), the heating and cooling loads of the home were so much lower than average for the area that local HVAC companies could not believe the house could be heated with a heat pump. With an innovative air-to-water heat pump system (with backup electric boiler), the home uses a combination of radiant floor heat and ductless air handling systems for heating and cooling to provide the heat with electricity-no fossil fuels needed. (They do have a nice backup wood stove, and an even nicer outdoor wood sauna!)
Even better: plans are in place to install a solar array that can offset all of that electricity with renewable energy, and a backup battery system that can keep the home powered even in power outages. Thanks to the dedicated hard work of this owner/builder, the home achieved the US Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home, EPA’s Energy Star for Homes and Indoor Air Plus certifications, and was even a US DOE 2024 Housing Innovation Award winner.
They have a portfolio of plans of all shapes and sizes to inspire you, and years of experience helping homeowners design their perfect Deltec dream home.