This is the front of the greenhouse at the home of Rocky Mountain Institute founder Amory Lovins. (Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

SNOWMASS, Colo.--Residential living doesn't get much more efficient than this.

It is the home of RMI founder Amory Lovins and also serves as office space--though RMI's official headquarters is now nearby in Snowmass on a ranch property formerly owned by the late John Denver. The house has a series of systems built into it that are designed to provide all the power it needs, maintain a steady, comfortable temperature, keep it well lit, and even grow bananas at 8,000 feet.

As part of Road Trip 2009, my trek through the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions in search of the most interesting destinations, I got a tour of the facility Monday from RMI public relations manager Cory Lowe (see video below, which may require high volume). Lowe explained that the house is a manifestation of one of the nonprofit's three main focus areas. RMI consults worldwide on energy, transportation, and building issues. The house serves as a kind of physical portfolio piece for the latter.

Indeed, it is a prime example of one of RMI's chief directives: efficiency first, and then renewables. In other words, do everything you can to cut power usage and then supply what's still needed with renewable energy sources.

Among RMI's other projects are a $500 million retrofit and efficiency upgrade for New York City's Empire State Building and a long-term plan to help cities prepare for what many expect to be a future filled with electric cars.

But here in the wide-open spaces of Snowmass, the focus is on sustainable living. And from the moment you walk onto the property, you get a sense of what RMI is all about.

On the roof, which was built in 1982 but recently went through a significant renovation, is a "hodge-podge" of photo-voltaic panels. In the past, they provided a great deal of the building's electric power. But since the renovation and the addition of a new, large-scale set of solar panels, the house is now thought to be capable of producing 9.8 kilowatt hours, which is more power than it uses.

Part of that is due to two smaller solar panels that are installed on the far left side of the building's roof and which are designed to track the sun throughout the day. Most solar panels are south-facing and stationary, but thanks to a small tracking antenna mounted on their top-right corners, these two panels are able to stay in sync with the sun all day, meaning they provide 40 percent more power than traditional panels, Lowe said. They are also able to point to the brightest spot in the sky on cloudy days, meaning that even when it's overcast, they can still maximize their power production. 

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