There's more to builder Michael Cormier's handsome showhome than meets the eye.

The house, at 11339 67th St., is loaded with features that make it super energy efficient and easy on the environment.

An open house today and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. offers Edmontonians a close-up look at what happens when an environmental design meets a creative imagination. Cormier has called the modern luxury home The Judy.

Exterior walls are concrete. They give the house nearly twice the R-value -- or insulation -- of a standard woodframe home, keeping it warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

The thick walls, made by pouring concrete into interlocking polystyrene blocks, also shield the house from outside noise and offer greater protection from fire.

To further boost the dwelling's R-values, Cormier blew in insulation around windows and doors. The product, made from soybean oil and recycled plastic bottles, is eco-friendly and helps reduce natural gas use by 50 to 80 per cent, Cormier says.

Michael Cormier stands in front of The Judy, his environmentally friendly home in east Edmonton.

Photograph by: Greg Southam, The Journal, Freelance

A highly efficient heating system and heat-recovery ventilator help the home maintain a consistent temperature while ensuring the air stays fresh.

Solar panels on the roof will heat some of the home's hot-water supply.

Even items like flooring and countertops were chosen with the environment in mind.

Carpets are made from recycled pop bottles; the engineered hardwood floors allow 30 times more flooring to be produced from a single tree; and countertops are made from a mix of recycled concrete, seashells and glass.

Cabinets and paints were picked for their low off-gassing qualities. Many of the products were bought locally, says Cormier, owner of Alkme Design. And surprisingly, he found they were not overly costly.

"It wasn't the cheapest," Cormier says pointing to the soft, thick carpet. "But there was a lot more that was more expensive."

The green features added between 10 and 30 per cent to costs, depending on the product.

But the home's owners will save in the long run -- and they won't be sacrificing esthetics to do it, Cormier says.

"It doesn't have to look like cardboard and recycled plastic bags," he says with a laugh.

Recycled materials were used in countertops and flooring, and cabinets and paints were chosen for their low off-gassing qualities.

Photograph by: Greg Southam, The Journal, Freelance