What is a Zero Energy Home?
A Zero Energy Home, also called a Zero Net-energy Home, is a house that is designed to collect about as much energy from renewable sources as is needed for basic functions, such as heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. 
These renewable sources include solar electricity (also called photovoltaic), solar thermal, geothermal, wind and biomass energy systems. Combined with an efficiently designed and built house, the result can mean living lightly on the earth and within your budget.
Frequently asked questions
Are there many Zero Energy Homes?
- While an exact count is not known, there are many Zero Energy Homes in the United States and the world with modern lifestyles. While prominent in places out West, like California and Colorado, they exist in just about every state and climate in the U.S.
How are Zero Energy Homes affordable?
- Zero Energy Homes take a number of factors into account to make this lifestyle affordable. First of all, Zero Energy Homes tend to be sized for people who do not want “McMansions”. Trading off a few hundred square feet of living area that may be seldom or not at all used often pays for the additional costs of energy systems and extra insulation.
Zero Energy Homes are also designed and built with less material wastage, saving costs there. Homes that do not have combustion systems save on the cost of chimneys. Roofs that have solar energy systems don’t have dormers built on them. To encourage daylighting and passive solar gain, open floor plans are used, reducing the costs of interior walls. Efficient heating and cooling means shorter duct runs.
In some cases, tax credits and other incentives can also reduce the cost of Zero Energy Homes. Finally, increases in construction costs and mortgages tend to be offset by lower utility bills. Mortgage interest payments often are tax deductible. Utility bills seldom are tax deductible.
Does that mean I have to give up the conveniences of modern living to be in a Zero Energy Home?
- Not at all. Zero Energy Homes have all the comforts, from state of the art heating and cooling systems to just about every appliance you need. The difference is that these systems are usually Energy Startm rated or otherwise the most efficient offered on the market.
Does a Zero Energy Home mean I won’t have a utility bill?
- There are a number of factors that will determine your utility bill. You will probably continue to pay meter charges. Utility costs that do not substitute for electricity and gas, like water and sewer, will continue, but also may be lower. You will probably have some utility payments to make, but they will probably be much lower than normal.
Your home’s utility costs depend on a number of factors – the value of the energy you generate, the cost of the energy you buy, weather factors and your lifestyle. For example, if the value of the energy you generate is lower than the value of energy that you buy, you will wind up paying something, even if your Zero Energy Home generates as much energy as it uses. If you add a number of appliances, or set heating or cooling temperatures immoderately, your energy consumption will tend to be higher and costs could add up. A very cold winter or hot summer beyond normal conditions can also mean extra costs. Higher utility rates can also mean extra costs as well.
As the saying goes with vehicles “your mileage will vary”. Your Zero Energy Home, if it incurs utility bills due to any of the above conditions, will still be way lower than business-as-usual homes.
Is it any tougher or complicated to live in a Zero Energy Home?
- Houses today have gotten more sophisticated with all sorts of new systems installed in them. Many Zero Energy homes have management systems that can be run from a computer. Essentially, the homeowner sets the temperatures that are wanted, and the computer system does the rest. These systems can be connected over the internet to a service provider that can make sure the systems are working properly and schedule maintenance.
Some homeowners find that in the comfort of a Zero Energy Home, they are more attuned with the weather without being inconvenienced. They often check to see how much their renewable energy system collected that day or over a period of time, and see whether it covered the energy they used. It almost becomes a form of gardening or farming without having to go outdoors.
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