The well-insulated house: it works!

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Our incinerating toilet had a catalytic converter and did not produce any odors. However, the annual failure of the heating element was very expensive and difficult to replace. Some years it failed twice. It was a poor design. We used it as seldom as possible like when it was raining at night.

[gcberry]

some pics. House still under construction. order got mixed up when I attached photos, but I'm sure you can figure it out...
1. basement utility room: cistern, furnace, radiant heat, some spray foam insulation
2.view of front door via solar panels at dawn. Since this side faces north, windows are minimal. Siding is fiber cement - low maintenance
3. polished cement radiant heat floor. Marvin Integrity windows on south and west sides, allowing for plenty of passive solar.
4. My one corny accessory: a coat-hook moose from IKEA, repainted brown.
not pictured: house is built on slope, so the bottom floor (not shown) is garage, utility room, walkout basement, with room for small bathroom and extra office/bedroom. Net upstairs is 940 sq. ft. It feels much bigger due to higher ceilings, although I did not use cathedral ceilings due to energy costs and impracticality. Instead, we have an attic across entire roofline for storage purposes. I kept the roofline simple to keep down costs.

[retiredtinbender]

Thanks for the pictures. Very nice place. Sounds great. You've planned it well, sounds like. Keep the pics coming.

[maureenb]

Thank you for the photos - very nice home! You must enjoy looking out on the night sky from there...