MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Todd Houser of Meridian Township began a unique project this past fall on Park Lake Rd. between Melville and Heather Drives.

"I moved away for a short time to Kansas and moved back a couple of years ago and I tried to find a home, an energy efficient home or a home that I could retrofit, and I just couldn't find anything I liked," Houser said.

After an unsuccessful house hunt and two and a half years of planning, Houser decided to build his own house, but although it appears normal on the outside, it's not quite so typical.

"This is just a really energy efficient home, so essentially I'll be producing as much energy as I'm consuming in the home," Houser said.

It is expected to be what is known as a net zero energy home, but Houser said that might not be the case until after the first year and some "tweaks" are made.

The home will have solar panels that serve as a primary source of energy, but Houser said surprisingly, the efficiency of the home is mainly due to the builders and the framers.

"They build a house in such a way that they really conceal it very, very tightly, and even if the walls weren't highly insulated, probably the most important factor is having it very air tight," Houser said.

The air flow in and out of the home is approximately one-tenth that of a traditional home being built today.

The walls are also made with SIP panels or Structural Insulated Wall Panels which with polystyrene six and a half inches thick.

Heat captured from a gas fireplace will heat the home and its water and a white plastic membrane roof will reflect sunlight keeping the house cooler.

So the question still stands- why a green home?

"I've always been a sustainable sort of liver," Houser said. "I've always tried to use as little resources as I could just because it's sort of a philosophy that I adhere to."

The 3,127 square foot home will cost approximately twice that of an average home and payback for all of the technologies is about 25 years, but for Houser, it will all pay off.