Paul And Diane Honig Get Paid By The Electric Company, Thanks To Their 'Passive' House (PHOTOS)

If you're building a new home, you too could enjoy this very real perk.

Paul and Diane Honig aren't your typical homeowners. For one thing, their house is capable of generating more energy than the family consumes. Then there's the estimated $400 paycheck they see every year as a result of selling their home's surplus energy to Connecticut Light & Power. It's no surprise that sustainable living is a huge money-saver in the long-term, but as this couple has learned, building the state's first certified "passive house" has also been a great source of income.

Features like thicker walls and multi-pane windows offer air-tight insulation and natural ventilation. Although Germany and Scandinavia have made advancements in these types of dwellings, American developers have begun paving the way for some of our own. Brooklyn's first passive home in Park Slope, for example, is a stunning three-story residence that meets the standard criteria for certification. Curbed recently featured a passive apartment building (with high-tech functions such as thermostatic controllers in each room) that's currently in construction in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

The Honigs' two-story residence is the first of its kind in the state of Connecticut, and joins the ranks of only 100 others across the nation. But after learning about their amazing feats, we're hoping we'll see more of these energy-efficient structures popping up soon.

For more photos of the house and to learn how the Honig family found unexpected ways of making income from their home (they're reportedly receiving a $25,000 check), head over to Courant's article for the full story.

Honig Residence

Connecticut's First 'Passive Home'

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that the family made $400 a month by selling surplus energy. The Honig family is estimated to receive $400 a year by a HERS rater.

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