5 lessons from a house that generates more energy than it uses

toggle caption Jeff Brady/NPR

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. — With utility bills rising faster than inflation, a house that produces more energy than it consumes might sound appealing.

Robert Fortunato's "Green Idea House" has been doing that for over a decade. He remodeled his family's 1959 house into a 2,150-square-foot environmentally friendly home, and he says he did it for less than the cost of a traditional remodel.

"It's one of the first net-zero energy, zero carbon case study houses that was built for less cost than standard construction," he says, and the remodel involved "standard construction materials and off-the-shelf technologies that anyone can use."

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Shepherding such a project requires a lot of time and energy from the homeowner. There's research and planning, some stubbornness when it comes to working with contractors and suppliers, and now some updates for a climate that's warming faster than expected.

Still, Fortunato's family ended up with a stylish, contemporary, four-bedroom, two-bath home. While a project like this is not for everyone, Fortunato hopes others will learn from his family's experience and take on similar projects. In that spirit, here are five lessons from the Green Idea House.

toggle caption Jeff Brady/NPR

You'll need to get into the power business

In planning for the remodel, Fortunato wanted to stop using climate-warming fossil fuels as much as possible.

"We had just seen so many instances where the oil companies were not being responsible for the environment," he