Visitor’s Guide

The RMI Headquarters is a 4,000-square-foot experimental bioshelter in Colorado designed for extreme resource efficiency. It utilizes passive solar design, superinsulation, and advanced glazing to eliminate the need for a conventional heating system, achieving a 99% reduction in space- and water-heating energy. The structure integrates a residential home, a year-round greenhouse for food production, and an office space. Key technologies include krypton-filled Heat Mirror windows, a 1,500-gallon superinsulated water storage tank, and a combination of grid-interactive and stand-alone photovoltaic systems. The document details the building's construction, including its 16-inch thick masonry walls with polyurethane foam cores, and provides economic data showing that the efficiency investments paid for themselves in approximately ten months based on 1983-84 technology.

• The building achieves extreme energy and water efficiency, using approximately 99% less space- and water-heating energy, 90% less household electricity, and less than half the normal amount of water compared to standard homes.
• The structure is designed as a passive solar, superinsulated, and semi-underground building that eliminates the need for a traditional heating system, relying instead on solar gain through windows and a greenhouse.
• Advanced 'superwindows' using krypton-filled Heat Mirror technology are critical to the building's thermal performance, allowing for high glass area without excessive heat loss and preventing winter condensation.
• The walls are 16 inches thick, consisting of two courses of masonry sandwiching 4 inches of Freon-filled polyurethane foam, providing an insulation value of approximately R-40.
• The building utilizes two types of solar electricity systems: a grid-interactive system on the roof and a stand-alone photovoltaic system with nickel-iron batteries for residential and common areas.
• A 900-square-foot greenhouse serves as the building's 'furnace,' collecting heat and light and providing year-round growing conditions for fruits, vegetables, and fish.
• The building's water heating is primarily solar-driven, utilizing a 1,500-gallon superinsulated stratified tank that maximizes winter efficiency.
• From an economic perspective, the efficiency improvements increased the total construction cost by only about 1% (approximately $6,000), and these investments paid for themselves in about ten months using 1983-84 technology.

APA

Hill, J. (n.d.). Visitor’s Guide. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_Locations_LovinsHome_Visitors_Guide_2007-2.pdf

Chicago

Hill, Judy. Visitor’s Guide. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_Locations_LovinsHome_Visitors_Guide_2007-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hill |first1=Judy |title=Visitor’s Guide |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_Locations_LovinsHome_Visitors_Guide_2007-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hillndvisitors, author = {Hill, Judy}, title = {{Visitor’s Guide}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_Locations_LovinsHome_Visitors_Guide_2007-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }