SunTerra Homes

SunTerra EnergyBlockTM provides an interior decorative masonry wall surface utilizing the principle of thermal mass to create an even temperature throughout a home year-round. The thermal mass absorbs heat energy. A large-feeling, compactly-designed energy efficient home for a couple that works out of their home during the day and requires needed space for group gatherings in the evening.

Energy efficient design concepts won SunTerra the prestigious national award for energy innovation from the US Department of Energy. The SunTerra system was chosen because it offers a very high level of cost effective energy savings along with superior living comfort. Department of Energy judges recognized the SunTerra home because it incorporates features such as special design and site orientation to control indoor temperature. The home also incorporates innovative insulation value, as well as energy efficient heating, cooling, lighting and appliances.

The founder of SunTerra Homes, Inc., Jim Chauncey, relocated to Billings, Montana from Portland, Oregon with his family of five in 1974. He brought with him an education in architecture, the title of engineering specialist from Freightliner Corporation, real estate licenses in Oregon and Montana, his general contracting tools, and a desire to design and build energy-efficient, alternative-energy homes. In Billings, Jim started his design and construction business. It was this year that Jim Chauncey Design and Construction started a company named Solar Works, Incorporated to provide products for his own construction projects.