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Durango, Colorado · 2016

A self-built home in Durango

A couple designed and built their own debt-free home with thermal mass floor heat on off-peak power, then added it to a greenhouse, studio and shop.

Installed
2016, with three more buildings in 2023 and 2024
Buildings
Home, greenhouse, studio, two-level shop and office
Power
Off-peak rates
Finished two-story home in Durango with gray siding, set on a rocky hillside
The finished home.

The challenge

The owner decided at age eleven that she would one day design and build her own home without debt, the way her neighbors had. Decades later she and her husband did exactly that, drafting the plans by hand with a pencil, an architect’s ruler and graph paper.

Warmth, comfort and energy savings were high on their list. They wanted a smart, efficient house.

The system

They chose ThermaRay thermal mass storage floor heating, with panels under the slab that charge during off-peak hours and release that stored heat through the day. Premier Energy USA supported them from the install through programming the controls.

The result

The heating runs smoothly, and the savings have been significant. Since the original install in 2016, they have added three more buildings on the property in 2023 and 2024: a greenhouse, a studio with a stained concrete slab, and a two-level shop and office. All three have thermal mass floor heating.

“We wanted a SMART and ENERGY efficient home. Part of that was having ThermaRay Heating Panels which created Thermal Mass and runs during off-peak hours. The savings is amazing.”

Homeowner, Durango, Colorado

From the project story on premierenergyusa.com. Read the original post

Thermal mass heating panels laid out inside the home’s foundation before the slab is poured
Panels laid out inside the foundation before the pour.
Red two-level shop and office building with a garage door
The two-level shop and office, added later with the same floor heat.

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