UPDATE (after one year) – Zero carbon and better than net zero energy!

Suncroft House, an all-solar net zero energy home in Eugene, Oregon, is producing significantly more energy than it consumes, with enough extra energy production to power an electric car for over 10,000 miles per year.

During the first year of full-time residence (for a family of four), 2200 kWh of electricity was taken from the grid, and 5600 kWh was sent into the grid, for a "net positive" energy production of 3400 kWh.

This extra energy could be used to power an electric car for the year (the family is living car-free, however). Since the house consumes less than half of its production, there is enough extra energy to completely power an additional home for another family.

The net cost of the solar panels that make this possible is about the same cost as an SUV. For the same budget as a conventional house of 1,500 square feet, a net zero energy home of 1,000 sf can easily be built (Suncroft House is 912 sf).

 
Potable Rainwater Update -- Zero contaminants

During the past winter and spring, our family of four has used rainwater as our sole source of household water (for drinking, bathing, etc.) without any problems.

We had this purified rainwater tested for many contaminants (bacteria, mercury, lead, etc.), and the test results showed no measurable levels for any of these potential contaminants.

In June our water storage level was getting low, so we turned a couple valves to switch over to city water for the dry summer until the rainy season arrived in the fall.