On a wooded site near Lake Michigan, Larry and Dana Bridge set out to build a single-story home that would carry them comfortably through northern Michigan winters without a gas line. Endura Performance Homes delivered a 2,600 square foot, three-bedroom home that runs entirely on electricity — induction cooking, a cold-climate heat pump, and a 4.86 kW solar array backed by 13.5 kWh of battery storage.
The building science does the quiet work. Double-stud 2×6 walls wrapped in continuous exterior insulation and meticulous air sealing brought the envelope to 0.69 air changes per hour — tight enough that a ducted energy-recovery ventilator handles all fresh air and humidity, replacing every bathroom exhaust fan in the house. The result is a HERS Index of 14, meaning the home uses roughly a seventh of the energy of a typical new build.
Alongside its GreenStar Silver certification, the home earned the DOE Zero Energy Ready, EPA Indoor airPLUS, and ENERGY STAR labels — four third-party verifications from one folder of documentation.
At a glance
- HERS Index of 14 with a 4.86 kW solar array and 13.5 kWh battery backup
- 0.69 ACH50 envelope with ducted energy-recovery ventilation managing all fresh air
- All-electric: induction cooking and a cold-climate heat pump, no gas service
Built by Endura Performance Homes (Ryan McCoon) · Design by Bill Anderson
Your project could be next.
This project followed the same published checklist available to everyone. See where your home stands, or register with the GreenHome Institute.