What it means. Residential and commercial buildings gobble up 40 percent of the energy used each year in this country. The objective of zero energy, or net zero energy, is to lower that consumption by creating buildings—single-family homes and multidwelling units, office buildings, stores, warehouses, and the like—that can generate as much power as they consume.
Why the buzz? As part of his goal to make existing buildings more efficient, President Barack Obama has promoted a cash for caulkers initiative for existing homes. New construction offers a tremendous opportunity for zero energy, too. The consulting firm McKinsey & Company projects that building and appliance efficiencies in new construction could reduce total annual carbon emissions by 710 to 870 million metric tons by 2030.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Program is a big force behind zero-energy efforts, and this public-private partnership wants to make zero-energy homes marketable by 2020.
But some companies are already making zero-energy homes. Learn about one company leading the way, Massachusetts-based Rural Development Inc., which was recently covered in "Builders Zero In On New Goal of Energy-Neutral Housing," in The Wall Street Journal. And get more information about net-zero-energy buildings by checking out this infographic from Zeta, a builder based in California.
The Building Technologies Program is looking at these areas as key to making zero-energy buildings possible:
Appliances: Refrigerators, washers, water heaters, and other household appliances have already become more efficient. (If you're buying new ones, take advantage of the $300 million cash for clunkers for appliances rebate program.) Heat-pump technology and smart-grid-enhanced controls could lead to even greater energy savings.
Building envelopes: Cool roofs, improved insulation, and chromogenic windows, which change property depending on the time of day or year, are just a few elements that should make homes less expensive to heat and cool.
Indoor-air quality: Buttoned-up building envelopes will increase the need for fresh air. Task ventilation, as opposed to potentially wasteful whole-house systems, is one way to efficiently improve ventilation.
Lighting: Swapping out incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent lightbulbs is an important step. (Read our October 2009 ratings-based report on CFLs.) The next wave in lighting is solid-state lighting, including highly efficient LEDs, which could be ready for prime time in the next few years.
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