About Us

Pacific Northwest Net-Zero is all about reducing household energy consumption. We are a source for information that is tailored for this region with its unique conditions, whether you are building a new house, remodeling, or just want to reduce the energy required for an existing house.

Our experience includes both energy-efficient building techniques and the use of solar panels to generate your own power.

We built the Demonstration House as a test bed for various energy-efficient technologies and as a tool for sharing with others our experience designing, constructing, and living in an earth-friendly home.

We are available to host tours, make presentations to groups, or work with individual homeowners, builders and architects.

We are not a business.

Why?

Mitigating the damage due to climate change requires drastically reducing the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases. While many aspects of our emissions can be most effectively controlled by governmental action, residential housing is different – building codes set minimum standards for new homes but it will be up to individual owners to build or upgrade to the much greater degree necessary to make a significant difference.

And residential housing is a major greenhouse gas contributor — according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), residential buildings accounted for about 21% of total U.S. energy consumption in 2019 [eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=86&t=1] – so it is a big part of the problem.

It is our hope that sharing our knowledge and experience with others will enable and inspire them to reduce their own energy consumption.

Our backgrounds:

David Large has, for over 40 years, lived and promoted energy efficiency and solar power for houses. The Sequim Demonstration House is his third, and most advanced, test bed. He also had a long career in telecommunications, authored three books and many technical papers, and has two patents. He has an engineering degree from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (Caltech).

Susan Harris has an extensive background in marketing. She received her bachelor’s degree in English from MacMarray College, Jacksonville, IL, and her masters degree in business administration from the University of Connecticut.