The top building material categories that account for most embodied carbon in home construction include concrete, rebar, insulation, glazing, and finishes. There are proven low-embodied-carbon solutions that can be broken down into three main categories: whole-building design, one-for-one material substitution, and specification. In general, whole-building design solutions can drive the greatest embodied carbon savings along with following low-embodied-carbon best practices throughout the building design and construction process.

One important step toward making zero energy homes affordable is to make them smaller. However, smaller homes don’t mean sacrificing comfort or function. Here are 20 design ideas that allow you to live big in a small footprint.