Above-average Linden Hills home with below-average energy needs listed at $2.1M

The garage contains chargers for two electric vehicles and space for a third.

Milind Angolkar, a home inspector with St. Louis Park-based Structure Tech, is familiar with the house.

“The biggest thing for me is how they went with specific materials that are known to be energy efficient but then they applied them in a very efficient manner, from the ground up,” he said.

A panel controls lighting throughout the house, and a multi-zone HVAC system lets thermostats set to different temperatures. (Spacecrafting)

The insulation uses structural insulated panels, which offer strength and energy efficiency, Angolkar said. The basement walls are concrete on both sides with several inches of foam between them, or as he called it, “a foam sandwich.” The above-ground walls have a similar structure with plywood instead of concrete.

“You’re essentially in a big Styrofoam cooler of a house,” Angolkar said. “That makes it really hard for energy to flow in or out without controlled entry points.”

A house that efficient can be expensive to build, he said, but is so much cheaper to heat, cool and maintain. That means savings on utility bills might eventually offset the initial price.