A zero-energy home is one that produces the same amount of energy as the home consumes, allowing its homeowners to reap the benefits of having no energy bills to pay.
Although zero-energy homes aren’t yet commonplace throughout the United States, or even around the world, interest in them is gaining momentum. A recent report found that the market is out there for these types of homes, and interest will continue to grow. More home buyers are trying to find ways to save money on their energy bills, along with a desire to live more environmentally conscious.
A zero-energy home is built with energy efficiency as the top priority. Each home incorporates the best construction materials on the market that offer the most energy efficiencies, along with home design features that maximize those efficiencies. These homes are often well-insulated and designed to take advantage of everything that Mother Nature has to offer by utilizing natural sunlight to heat the home. A net-zero home utilizes energy efficient appliances to further reduce its energy requirements, while also finding ways to generate energy, often through solar or wind energy production.
Solar Energy
Many zero-energy homes generate their own electricity, usually by solar energy. In addition to increasing the home’s energy-generative capacity, a net-zero home must decrease its own energy needs to pull net-zero energy from the power grid.
When a home is producing its own electricity, often with a solar photovoltaic system, that energy is stored away for when it is needed. If the home doesn’t require as much energy as it has captured through its solar panels, the extra power is sent back through the power grid, supplying neighbors and everyone else connected along the grid with “green energy.”
Zero-Energy Homes are Costly
While more consumers want to go green and purchase zero-energy homes, they may not be able to afford them – just yet. Zero-energy homes are costly, often 20 percent to 60 percent more expensive to build than your average American home, but they do offer many benefits.
Homeowners may want a net-zero home if only to not have to pay any heating or energy bills, which seem to increase each year as natural gas and oil prices continue to rise. For families who want to live closer to their ideals, a zero-energy home would provide energy independence and satisfaction that they aren’t harming the environment. In fact, they’re contributing a form of clean, alternative energy back to the power grid.
Zero-energy homes are beginning to take root in states where solar energy is abundant, such as Arizona, Texas and California.
Even if you can’t afford to construct a zero-energy home of your own, there are many ways that homeowners can save energy and money at the same time. If you’re living in a drafty older home using outdated appliances, you are likely paying much more for your energy costs than you need to be.
As conventional home construction materials and designs continue to achieve greater energy efficiencies, thanks to consumer demand for them, net-zero homes may be sprouting up in your neighborhood sooner than you think.
