John E. Avenson

John Avenson built his Passive Solar and voice-controlled home in 1981 after observing and being inspired by the NREL (National Renewable Energy Labs) Competition for the Parade of Solar Homes in the Denver/Boulder area. He has been an advocate of low energy use homes ever since, going so far as to invite what is now a total of more than 6,000 people on personal and organized groups tours through his home. This home is of the "mass-and-glass" concept popular back then. In 2013, John took the CPHC® course and began the process of updating his “passive heated house” to “passive house” standards. It no longer needs a furnace.

John is a lead member of the ASES/CRES National Tour of Solar and Sustainable homes for the Denver area and has interviewed and photographed solar and sustainable homes for publication since 2000. John is a DMTS of AT&T Bell Labs (Distinguished Member of Technical Staff), electrical engineer -- retired after 42 years of traveling the world fixing telephone systems and training telco engineers. He became interested in passive heated homes in 1962 after his father took the family to a Geodesic dome house and to the Native Indian Cliff dwellings of Southern Colorado and as a result, dreamed of having a home like Indians all through elementary school. His goal is to be off-grid within the next decade.

John owns his own FLIR camera and other building analysis instruments. He has taught about home energy efficiency at Lockheed/Martin, Sandia Laboratories NM, NREL and many community events.