Everything from Brazilian hardwood to solar panels and LED were used in a new green home in Orange, Calif.
Construction on the single-story home was completed last month, with a footprint of more than 3,000 square feet.
"We built pretty much our dream house," said Nick Oberlin, who owns the home and who is a chef in nearby Dana Point. "We put 32 solar panels. We also did the solar heating for our pool and we tried to make the responsible choices at every step. We looked at induction for cooking (being a chef), and my wife, Brenna, is a pastry chef as well."
However, the couple ended up opting for a gas range in the end. "When you use gas every day you make choices as well," he said.
"We really tried to make it fit into the neighborhood. We did raise our roofline from 8 to 10 feet and we put a metal roof on as well, so it's obviously a new home in an older neighborhood, but the style still fits in," he said.
The home features ipe hardwood on the front and back, solar panels manufactured by SunPower that produce 7.4 kW to heat the swimming pool and power LED lights throughout the house. The home also features 100 percent Styrofoam insulation.
A slideshow of images of the home show the construction process as well as interior and exterior photographs.
For more information, see our Building a Green Home Research Center.
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