Sergei Breus arrived in Maine in 1989 and immediately knew it was home. He moved to the Blue Hill peninsula and established Breus Builders in 1990. An invitation to the 2008 Passive House conference provided Sergei with an opportunity to learn about high-performance windows and super-insulated building techniques. The knowledge blew his mind, so he immediately started implementing these newly learned skills by constructing homes that barely required heating. Over the years, the company’s focus on energy efficiency and environmental responsibility has broadened. Today, Sergei’s techniques include careful siting, using benign and local materials, and creating healthy internal and external environments for all the home’s inhabitants.