The thermal massing absorbs heat during the day and releases it through the evening.

The interior metal grating motif is continued in these stairs made out of redwood from a tree on-site. A centrally-located gas fireplace distributes heat evenly throughout the home as an energy-saving measure.

Melissa McCarthy and Michael Lewis checking out the view on-set.

A solar thermal wall heats the Maryland home.

A Woolly Pocket planter hangs on the steel beam above a polished-concrete floor warmed by radiant heat.

Keep the Heat “We installed our first one some years ago,” says Archer of heat-recovery ventilation systems, “and it was an enormous box the size of a small shower room. Nowadays, you can get a mechanism that is only slightly bigger than a toaster and is very cost-effective.” Here, Archer installed a rooftop heat-exchanger mechanism by Vent-Axia that transforms heat from the stale air being drawn out of the house into fresh air, which is then distributed inside.

Pallas Altherma Smart siting and passive design laid the groundwork, but to approach the couple’s goal of making a zero-energy house, Arkin Tilt selected an Altherma air-to-water heat pump system by Daikin. “The technology has been around for decades in Europe,” Tilt says, “but this is one of the first installed in California.” The device draws heat from the air outside and uses it to warm water both for domestic use and to power the in-floor radiant heating on the ground floor and in the upstairs bathroom. Best of all, the electricity the system uses is offset by 24 photovoltaic panels by Sanyo on the roof. daikinac.com us.sanyo.com/sol...

The pour moves on to the living room where the red PEX radiant heat tubing is evident.

The concrete floor acts as a giant thermal bank, storing solar heat well into the evening.

The study is narrow but illuminated by a window, louvered like others in the house to help regulate heat.

This is our ground source heat pump wellfield drilling rig: primitive but very effective.

Composite wood louvers shield the interior from unwanted heat gain and provide privacy from the street.

Bloomberg describes the original house as having long, cramped hallways that looked “like a bowling alley.” So, she removed part of the second story and replaced it with a wall of glass to open up the space. The glass is U.V. and heat resistant, and an eight-foot industrial fan carries air throughout the home.

HybridCare Duet dryer with Heat Pump Technology by Whirlpool, $1,899 - The Energy Star–certified, high-efficiency, electric dryer is ventless—excellent for apartment dwellers—and has a hefty capacity of 7.3 cubic feet.

Sustainability was top of mind for Tribe who, chose a highly efficient French Philippe Chemise fireplace—a justifiable extravagance that heats the entire home.

The red wall cabinet was designed by August. The floors throughout the home were replaced with wide, salvaged heart pine floorboards with radiant heat.

The Mono structure's single-engineered truss frame makes it capable of withstanding harsh weather—from heavy snow, to downpours, to heat. It also comes in three variations.

Incorporating a 12-inch-thick double stud exterior wall, the contemporary farmhouse is a prime example of green construction, down to the air-to-water heat pump boiler.

ANACAPA Architecture designed Minimalist Urban Residence with California's temperate climate in mind. Radiant heat cement floors that extend into the study keep the home warm on cooler days.

Solar panels mounted on a shipping container onsite (not pictured) heat this curvy house in Tasmania. The swooping roof cantilevered over the west-facing desk mitigates the intense afternoon sun.

A wood-burning stove from Harvia, of Finland, heats the sauna. The pavilion’s rough-cut pine walls are treated with tar, a preservative that yields a time-worn aesthetic.

As an infill project in one of Raleigh's oldest downtown neighborhoods, the sustainable design features are unique--SIPs construction, geothermal heat pump, solar hot water for radiant heat and domestic use, rainwater collection, hardiplank siding, local pine trim, native landscaping and efficient space design.

“There is an enormous amount of glass here,” laughs Vanbesien—so much so that the design team struggled to find enough wall space to mount the heat pump.

The kitchen, complete with an Aga stove, is framed by modular shelves and helps heat the sleeping nook directly above it.

Solar panels line the roof to soak up the Australian sun. The home doesn’t use any gas—the cooktop is induction, and heating and hot water come from a heat pump.

His Gaggenau oven and range, set into an oiled-steel counter, help heat things up in his kitchen.

The 1000-square-foot ADU is two levels with a footprint that allows the owners to retain plenty of outdoor space for their dogs to play. The façade “is a rain screen system, so the heat gain on the Brazilian hardwood is minimized by being physically separated by an air gap between it and the membrane behind it,” said Knight. “So, the wood heats up when sun hits it and this is not directly translated into the wall on the interior; it is instead buffered by this air gap.” The large doors and second-story skylights then work together to pull a nice breeze through the house.

Alloi's design solution for the exterior envelope included exterior rigid insulation to reduce solar heat gain, and recycled newspaper blown-in cellulose insulation at interior and exterior walls, creating an energy efficient and peacefully quiet home.

For those cold Colorado Winters, Sommerfield and Pyatt replaced some of the original windows and doors to minimize heat loss.

A rocket scientest named Thomas Povey applied fins and grooves along the exterior of his new Flare Pans in order to direct the flame to cover more of the pot’s surface area, saving heat energy. The idea of using fins isn’t new — the casing on air-cooled motorcycle engines are coated with grooves to get the surrounding airflow to hit more surface area. Dr. Povey used his knowledge of working on jet engines to apply the same principles to the pots.

The pots are oven-safe up to 401 degrees Fahrenheit for stovetop steak cooking. They will not, however, work as effectively as advertised on an electric stove.

The pots are made from cast aluminum with stainless steel handles. The interior is coated with a non-stick treatment.

There are conventional cookware alternatives to the Flare pans, like the chef-favorite All-Clads or the standby cast iron pans from Lodge Logic, but none of them will have the futuristic feel of the Lakelands.

To save on costs and lower the home’s carbon footprint, the architects bypassed the need for a heating system by devising a series of volumes that could trap heat in smaller spaces, like the wool-wrapped bedroom.

MicromanagementA Weil-McLain gas-fired boiler and underfloor radiant heating keep the house comfortable year-round—as do the individual programmable thermostats installed in almost every room, seven in all. That means the couple can lower the heat in rooms they use less frequently while keeping things toasty in the places they spend the most time. It’s a smart way to maximize energy efficiency through Alaska’s disparate seasons. weil-mclain.com

Here, in the basement, a borehole heat exchanger uses the warmth from the earth, brought to the surface by four steel pipes that reach 105 feet down, for heating. Solar panels heat the building’s water, and a clever ventilation system ensures that the glass house doesn’t get too warm in the summer.