BrightBuilt Barn is a prototype for the sustainable house of the 21st century. It is an award winning, practical, adaptable, affordable and beautiful structure that is designed to make more clean energy than it consumes over its lifespan. Located in Rockport, Maine, the BrightBuilt Barn has been occupied daily as a home office and art studio since its completion in fall 2008. An average indoor temperature of 68 degrees is maintained during all occupancy hours; the owners report a comfortable, warm and light filled interior experience. Bensonwood Homes now offers a line of net zero BrightBuilt Barns for sale throughout the U.S., based on the design and sustainability features incorporated into the original barn.

Key Sustainable Features Include:

Super Insulation: Continuous R-40 building envelope combines with high efficiency

windows and doors and extreme air-tightness to eliminate need for a furnace.

Net-Zero Plus: See supporting documentation.

Solar Thermal and PV: A 6 kWh PV array for all electric. Solar thermal provides domestic hot water and heat with heat pump backup.

Real-Time Monitoring and Feedback: An LED light skirt on the building glows green for net energy production and red for net energy consumption.

Prefab: 90% of the project was fabricated offsite, eliminating waste. The barn envelope was assembled on site in 3 days.

Disentanglement: Systems are kept separate from structure and skin in accessible chases.

Since its conception, the BrightBuilt Barn has captured the public’s imagination and interest in a new and sustainable way of building. Thousands have visited the project website or read the project in national and local press, hundreds have toured the barn and hundreds more have inquired about building their own BrightBuilt Barn. Fueled by this enthusiasm, the client and architect are currently collaborating on a second project, which will build on the goals and successes of the BrightBuilt Barn.