Minnesota lakeshore home with ‘off-grid zero energy cost’ lists for $2.95 million

A few years ago Jim and Dar Walczak decided it was time to merge their house and cabin into one.

It just so happened that at the same time they started to look, Dar’s sister had just listed 5 acres of shoreline property on Beebe Lake she owned in St. Michael.

“Before we were jetting to our cabin in Wisconsin and then our house in Andover. The two houses were too much to maintain,” Jim said. “So that’s what we wanted out here — all the fun of lake living and year-round living.”

They wanted a modern house with ample square footage to accommodate their family’s needs. At the same time, the Walczaks saw it as an opportunity to build a house as renewable and energy-efficient as possible.

“It’s built so that it would have a net zero energy footprint,” Jim said. “We wanted it to be a responsible bigger home and give back more than we consume.”

A net zero footprint

When working with a team to build the house, spray foam insulation was used for the walls and roof. Solar panels were installed, as was a geothermal heating and cooling system.

“We have three 100-foot ground geothermal pipe loops that supply the majority of our heating and cooling,” Jim said. “In the summertime, we can use it nonstop and it uses almost no energy. … In the wintertime, if our geothermal doesn’t provide enough heat, we have a backup furnace.”

The house also has its own…