Public interest in environmentally sustainable and healthful products has steadily increased over the last decade. Current environmental and political trends are moving people toward a simpler, more ecologically friendly lifestyle. New technologies in materials and in building methods have made it possible to design sustainable features into new homes while retaining a "conventional" appearance, making it even easier to "go green." Some states even offer tax incentives, thus giving you an even better investment.

making sustainability transparent
In the early days of the environmental movement passive solar homes used clerestory windows, trombe walls and large banks of south facing glass (see photo right). Back then, our customers were the "early adopters"; the first to try new technologies. Their top design priority was energy efficiency. If it weren't for these solar pioneers, we wouldn't be where we are today!

We learned back then that most people, (other than the "solar diehards") preferred a more classical home style; a ranch or a Victorian or contemporary, for example, that did not look like a solar home. People also told us that they didn't want to fuss with the mechanics of their home (like opening and closing shades + windows, for example, or turning the crank on the composting toilet every couple days).

To achieve broad public acceptance, we concluded that sustainable home design and energy saving "green" products would have to become transparent. Since our goal has always been to design sustainable homes that are also beautiful and comfortable, we set out to learn how to make the energy saving features invisible. Technological improvements have helped us achieve our goal.

Little Sunlight Homes is the culmination of all we've learned about good home design—the aesthetics, the function, structure, cost and environmental sustainability. In working to make our Little Sunlight homes more environmentally friendly, we looked at three major issues: design, materials and construction practices. Follow the design link (below right) to continue.