Loren Amelang is a pioneer in C++ programming, and his homebrewed live/work space is a monument to sustainable geekery, says Fair Companies.

The entire south side of his home is covered in solar capture devices: 1600 watts of photovoltaic power, solar hot water panels, a sunroom/greenhouse and a solar hot air collector.

Help Grist raise $25,000 by September 30 to further advance our climate reporting

This isn’t just your usual passive house or living building, either: Amelang can control the entire thing from a smartphone.

Amelang wrote over 10,000 lines of code so that his home’s water and electric systems could be operated more efficiently and automatically.

Grist thanks its sponsors. Become one.

To support our nonprofit environmental journalism, please consider disabling your ad-blocker to allow ads on Grist. Here's How

The home includes other innovations, such as a vehicle-style “central locking system” that locks all of the building’s 12 doors and windows when Amelang turns a single key.

The entire house is custom and DIY, so god knows what hoops he had to jump through to get it certified as safe. Which speaks to a larger issue: As often as not, it’s building codes and the conservatism of homebuilders that hold back green homes.