Photography by Anthony Tieuli

Building on our partnership with This Old House®, Sweenor Builders transformed a 1920s Rhode Island shingled cottage into a net-zero house for the 21^st century.

Designed by Union Studio Architecture & Community Design founder Donald Powers for his own family, our renovation doubled the home’s footprint with a 1,000-square-foot addition, resolved asbestos and environmental issues, overhauled mechanical systems, incorporated sustainable building products and technologies, and restored the charm that had been lost after two mid-century renovations.

The project incorporated game-changing technology to make the home net-zero – a building standard that dictates that a house uses only as much energy as it can produce. The home features energy-saving and energy-producing technology including photovoltaic solar panels, a heat-recovery HVAC system, layers of insulation, Energy Star appliances, triple-glazed argon-filled windows, and LED lighting.