Demonstration Home Designed with the Future in Mind

Architect Kevin DeFreitas hopes that Casa Futura can serve as a showcase of energy efficiency and green building.

Energy efficiency and high-tech convenience may converge in the home of the future. Architect Kevin deFreitas has teamed up with Kyocera Solar, Inc. on the San Diego Home & Garden Energy Efficient Innovation Home, the first residential home to received LEED certification Gold in the San Diego area.

Casa Futura, as the show home is called, was highlighted in the October 2007 issue of San Diego Home & Garden Magazine. The home was developed to demonstrate what a home in San Diego might look like in the year 2020, by which time San Diego’s population may have one million new residents and resources such as land, water and electricity could be in short supply.

The single-family residence incorporates a Kyocera solar electric system, among other state-of-the-art energy efficiency and green building technologies. The home will serve as a demonstration site to educate the public, designers and construction professionals on new energy efficient and green building products.

Interior photos of Casa Futura

Features of the home include radiant floor heating; a high-velocity, ultra-efficient furnace; a tankless water heater; self-expanding foam insulation; a solar roof; Energy Star appliances; natural ventilation (no air conditioning needed); automated window blinds; dual-glazed windows with film to reduce UV and infrared exposure; venting skylights; computer-controlled lighting system; ultra-efficient LED lighting systems; smart irrigation systems in which sensors detect ground moisture and control water accordingly; and a system that captures and filters gray water for reuse in the drought-tolerant garden.

ONteriors - a provider of home technology solutions - integrated technology from Sony, Control4, GE Security and others to provide built in entertainment, home control and security, all programmed to provide the best energy efficiency.

The home shows that you can have your electronic, natural-resource heavy accoutrements, but use them resourcefully. There’s an energy saver vignette that shuts off the lights and air conditioning in rooms that aren’t occupied by use of sensors. There’s an “away” mode that arms the security system and turns off all interior lights and electricity supply to TVs, laser printers and personal computers; and a “welcome home” mode which can be triggered by the garage door opener and lights a path from the garage into the main house, disarms the security system, turns on the kitchen lights and starts the welcome home MP3 music play list.

Public home tours were provided October 11-28, 2007 with proceeds benefiting the San Diego Architectural Foundation.