What is a Net Zero home?
In short, a Net Zero home produces as much energy as it consumes. The process starts with a smart design maximizing the use of space, constructing a high-performance building envelope, and selecting windows that are right for the application. After that, the heating and cooling loads for the home are calculated and the right systems are chosen and sized for the house to achieve maximum efficiency. Then comes the interior systems including lighting, appliances and figuring the yearly energy consumption. Ultimately, the goal is to keep the energy usage as low as possible and then size an appropriate alternative energy system such as a Photovoltaic (PV) solar array to offset the rest of the energy needed to run the house.
We would like all of our projects to be Net Zero if possible and ideally net energy producers. At the very least, we’d like to make them Net Zero ready.
What is Net Zero ready?
We view a Net Zero ready project as one where the energy usage has been dropped as low as it can by using the right systems, envelope and appliances, but the home’s energy needs are not being. The project is built in a way that allows an alternative energy system to be easily installed at a later date and allow the home to become Net Zero.
What is a Net Energy producer?
A Net Energy producer would be a project that meets all the criteria of the original Net Zero home, but the system that offsets the remaining energy usage actually produces more than the project needs.
Building Net Zero takes a skilled and knowledgeable group of professionals to complete the project correctly. We have the resources and expertise to work with your design team or ours to come up with solutions to make your Net Zero project a success.