When Doug and Laurie built The Paradigm Shift, the roof was part of the plan from the start. The low, flat roof was engineered as a working platform for the solar equipment, so the house could carry it without breaking the long horizontal lines the design depended on.
Twenty photovoltaic panels were sized to supply about a quarter of the home's electricity. The two solar thermal collectors in the foreground heat the domestic water, and they also warm the master bath floors and heat the spa. Heating and cooling draw on geothermal coils set in the lake, and spray-foam insulation keeps the house tight.
Fifteen years later, the original panels are still on the roof and still in service. The full story of the house, including what was hard to build, is on our Paradigm Shift page.