In the surrounding hills of Silicon Valley stands the impressive Tah.Mah.Lah, the “Greenest house in America.” The home is also the brainchild and abode of Foundation Capital partner and longtime VC Paul Holland and his wife, Linda Yates. We were lucky enough to be invited into their home to hear about why and how they built the most sustainable home in the country.
So what makes the “Greenest” house in America? First, every aspect of the house, whose name draws origins from the Native American Ohlone word for puma or mountain lion, has been built to have minimal environmental impact. Second, the house has the highest LEED certification, which is the defacto third-party verification of green buildings.
Another interesting factoid from Holland and Yates — there are seven green energy and sustainable living startups represented in the project: CalStar Products (building materials), Control 4 (home automation and energy management), Serious Materials (building materials), Silver Spring Networks (energy), Sunrun (solar), Tigo (solar) and Xicato (lighting). And many of these startups are funded by Foundation Capital.
Happy Earth Day and check out the video above for an in-depth tour of the house with Holland and Yates.