Charlotte, Vt. – Surrounded by farmland with hay bales, grazing horses, and the changing color of fall foliage is the net-zero energy use home designed by David Pill and his wife Hillary Maharam, both architects.  The home was among those open to the public today, October 3, 2009, as part of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s Green Building Open House event across the northeastern U.S.

The exceptional low energy use of the Pill-Maharam house was made possible using green building technology. The 2700 square-foot farmhouse vernacular design used such features as large south-facing high-efficiency windows, a wind turbine, and even sports a portable solar panel to provide power for the electric fence around the chicken coop.

In the basement, a seeming maze of water pipes, valves, metering devices, and water tanks cover one wall which draws curious visitors downstairs to see the successful workings of the home.  “He always ends up down there whenever we do this,” says his wife Hillary. 

“The dog likes to lay with her body on the floor and prop her head in the window,” said Pill of their pet taking full advantage of the cement-pad hydronic radiant heat floor and large tall windows in the living room area.  

He pointed out, ”We have a lot of available light,” which he said reduces the need to use electric lighting at any time during daylight.

The 10Kw wind turbine which stands about 100 yards behind the house barely turned in the middle of the cloudy day, generating just a little power, but said Pill, “that’s enough for the few lights we have on in the house right now.” 

-Vermont Daily News staff report