Can "On-Bill Financing" Help You Renovate to Zero? Find out how homeowners, including those with low incomes, and renters can save money while making their residence more energy efficient.

Transparency is one cornerstone of a free market. Today, the real estate market is failing to provide homebuyers with the information they need to make sound purchasing decisions. At the same time, sellers are failing to realize the full value of their homes. One essential solution is to make energy disclosures readily available and to include them in a national database of green and energy-efficient homes.

Home buyers can have a daunting task when looking for a home that is green, healthy and energy efficient. Much of the available real estate sales information ignores vital metrics in these areas. But if you’re looking to buy or sell a home with exceptional environmental and energy efficient features, here is an online tool that will help.

Brightleaf Homes used zero energy ready homes to break into the Chicago home building market. Building higher value high performance homes was just the beginning. Then they had to make the extra cost work for buyers. Here’s how they do it.

While health is always on the list of zero energy home benefits, it was the motivating force that prompted Steve Weise and Brenda Nunes to develop this 60-unit neighborhood in Central Washington. All homes in the development include a comprehensive package of proven features that protect health, maintain durability, and guarantee zero energy ready performance. But Steve and Brenda are taking the health of their homes to a higher level.

Economists often say that markets make the best decisions. But that can be true only when markets have accurate and complete information. Today, the housing market is flying blind regarding one of the most important characteristics of a home: energy use. The solution is mandatory energy disclosure at the time of sale. It’s good for buyers, sellers and the climate.

Leading U.S. cities are filling a crucial information gap in the residential real estate market by requiring home energy disclosures for potential homebuyers: a much needed transparency measure and consumer protection practice. This process provides buyers with an energy efficiency rating on every property listed for sale. An online resource and a support network are available for local governments that want to adopt similar energy disclosure measures.

Zero energy homes are poised to go mainstream. Large builders have the scale necessary to launch the market into this new territory. Homebuyers save and builders profit.

Real estate appraisers and mortgage lenders have never embraced the market value of energy efficient homes despite convincing evidence. A new study by Freddie Mac provides more data in support of this added value.

There is a housing affordability crisis across the United States. Here are eight ways that zero energy helps make homes affordable for those that need it most.

High performance homes are a great investment for the homebuyer, no matter how you measure it, as described in Part One of this series. But there are also many non-monetary benefits for the homeowner. These highly efficient homes are a win for everyone involved, including builders, realtors, lenders and utilities. Here’s a powerful list.

In Part One of this two-part series we show the real financial returns for zero energy homeowners. — “A penny saved is a penny earned,” according to Benjamin Franklin. Let’s start thinking about energy improvements as investments that bring a financial return. Here are four ways to evaluate the financial performance of zero energy homes. They all demonstrate that zero energy homeowners benefit financially, making zero a wise investment.