The surfaces designed for LEAFHouse are very much part of the working organism of our home. The floor surfaces contain a radiant heating system. Dig a little deeper and you will find a desiccant dehumidification system in our west wall, critical for relieving one of the greatest burdens of the Chesapeake Bay region: humidity. Perspiration became our inspiration.

The walls. floor and roof are filled with environmentally-friendly BioBased 1701 soy-based foam insulation -- a closed cell foam with an r-value of 5.5 per inch.  This insulation is installed with an HCFC-free blowing agent. 

In addition to the wiring which carries the life-blood of the LEAFHouse (electricity), behind the sheathing and inside the foam, the walls are laced with sensors that form the house's nervous system.  This sensor network is connected to the brain of the LEAFHouse, an adaptive control system for monitoring and regulating the home's operation.