"Our goals were to build a non-toxic, locally-sourced, environmentally- and worker-friendly, small, low-maintenance, energy-efficient home," Porte relates. "Interestingly, in the short time since we built, a number of the products and materials I had great difficulty sourcing here or obtaining at all are now becoming popular 'green' products." 

The house is super-insulated, with Icynene sprayed foam below the metal roof and in all the exterior walls, including the screened porch walls and under the porch roof. Additionally, there is Tuff N' Dry insulation around the concrete foundation, rigid foam insulation both underneath and on top of the concrete slab under the Advantek sub floor and ash or tile flooring, and Good Stuff spray foam insulation around pipe and vent outlets and to touch up the gaps in the Icynene.

In addition to the propane boiler and hot water heater, the major appliances are propane-powered, including the Crystal Cold refrigerator, which claims to be 100 times more energy efficient than an electric model, and a propane stovetop and dryer. Last year, the propane bill totaled roughly $231 per month for about 10 months and significantly less for the remainder of the year, while the electricity bill usually came in at under $30 per month, Porte says. "I consider propane to be an alternative energy source because it is a domestic, non-petroleum-based product. Part of our electric bill pays for wind energy generation," she adds.

Another modest home earned high marks as a runner up. That 2,170 square foot house, located in the Village of New Paltz, was designed by Matthew Bialecki Associates and completed in September 2005 by Kniffen Builders as an Energy Star-rated house and a Green Building Demonstration Home, sponsored by NAHB Research Center and NYSERDA. The project was designed to balance green building principles, marketability, and price. Owned by Hamilton Stapell and Ana Fuentes, the unassuming home incorporates passive solar design and is super-insulated and sealed. A large recycled brick hearth serves as a thermal mass, moderating temperature swings throughout the day. Two Luxaire sealed combustion furnaces supplement the high efficiency, low-emission Scan woodstove, while in summer, temperatures and humidity are kept low with two Luxaire A/C units. All of the HVAC components were carefully sized and are linked to a Honeywell heat recovery ventilator (HRV), ensuring fresh air year round. A Takagi tankless water heater provides hot water to the low-flow faucets and showerheads throughout the house. The flushing of cold water is reduced through the use of a hot water circulation pump and motion sensors in the bathrooms. A 1,100 gallon rainwater collection system provides water to the dual-flush toilets and outdoor hose bibbs. 

Says Stapell of his home: "It's incredibly livable and incredibly comfortable in terms of light and being in the space. It's a great environment to live in."

A similarly inviting environment surrounds the next runner-up, a slightly more luxurious home in Gardiner, completed in August 2007 by architect David Kucera, Inc. and owned by Kucera and his wife Paula.

This rustic-looking home set on a meadow overlooking the Shawangunk ridge was built using a repurposed antique timber-frame barn and has antique hemlock flooring and a gracious great room-style dining and kitchen area, anchored by a large stone fireplace. An 8.5-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system meets the home's electricity needs and is used to power its geothermal heating, both installed by Hudson Valley Clean Energy. The geothermal forced air system provides heat, and is optimized by the siting of the structure and placement of the windows. The Kuceras learned from a previous home they owned nearby to place most of the windows on the south side, and just three small windows on the north side, optimizing solar gain while reducing exposure to bitter winter winds. The building envelope of Structural Insulated Panels comprised of plywood sheathing, 6-10 inches of EPS foam and sheetrock, combined with R40 roof insulation and R26 side walls make for a house so tight a whole-house ventilation system was installed to ensure air quality. The result is a net-zero-energy, Energy Star-rated house.