A few weeks ago, we highlighted a recent Wall Street Journal article that talked about the concept that today’s builders are striving to build homes with zero net energy use. According to the article, “While the trend is nascent, dozens of ‘net zero’ and ‘near net zero’ developments – projects designed to use only about as much power from the public grid as they can save or product on their own – have sprung up across the U.S. over the past five years.”
This morning, we came across the idea of “Zero Energy” again, so we thought we would share what the hype is all about. According to Consumer Reports’ Buzzword series, both residential and commercial buildings account for roughly 40% of the energy used each year in the U.S. Understandably then, there is a need to make existing buildings and new construction more energy efficient. Consumer Report points out that 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.”
You will be hearing more about Zero energy homes from Home Intel in the coming weeks, but for more information check this article out.
