Lanefab Design/Build recently completed the city of Vancouver’s first Net-Zero Solar Laneway House. The house, built as an infill on an existing residential lot, is 1020 square feet (the maximum allowed by the city's EcoDensity bylaw) with 1 bedroom and 2 baths, and it will be the new home for the owners of the existing main house. The project was built using prefab Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), has 95% LED lighting, a 500 gallon in-ground rainwater tank, drainwater heat recovery, a heat recovery ventilator, an air-source heat pump (for space heating and hot water), and an array of 12 solar panels on the roof. The solar energy system generates extra power in the summer - which is sold back onto the grid - and it draws on that stored power in the winter. The 18′ multi-fold doors on the living/dining space create a wide open indoor-outdoor connection while the door's southern orientation provides passive solar heating.The project's 1' thick walls (R40 - as is typical to most Lanefab projects) have been facilitated by a recent change in the city of Vancouver's green building bylaws which aimed to remove barriers to the construction of passive solar homes.Back in early 2010, Lanefab completed the city of Vancouver's first laneway house, the Mendoza lane house.Lanefab Design/Build is a partnership between designer Bryn Davidson and builder Mat Turner.http://www.lanefab.com/laneway-house-designs/57th-vivian-net-zero-solar-laneway-house/