No matter where you live, there is financial assistance to help you improve the energy efficiency of your home and save money. These states are leading the pack, but even if you live elsewhere, you can still find technical and financial help.

For most people, developing a vacation rental would be about profit. For these two Washington state couples, it was about much more. Oh, and the profit is there too.

To stay competitive, a production builder must find a good balance between cost, price, and profit. Here’s the story of one builder who has successfully added high-performance, clean energy features to their standard offering. More importantly this builder has developed an elegant solution to the challenge of solar-powered homes producing energy when it is not needed by the grid.

A new study shows that the cost of zero energy homes is very close to that of homes built to code. Best of all, costs are dropping and the trend is expected to continue.

Location is one of the first decisions made about a new home purchase, and it is one of the most consequential. While it may not occur to you that location affects energy efficiency… it does!

The only reason that most people feel that their new home is okay is that their old home was even worse.

This analysis, using standard business investment metrics, shows that a complete zero energy home retrofit can return 15% a year with zero risk. Beat that Wall Street!

People often make choices with negative impacts to their health, wealth, and overall well being without realizing it. These are called risk behaviors, and there is a large body of research about techniques to help people make healthier, more positive decisions. Here are ways these techniques can be used to influence people to buy zero energy homes.

The first certified Passive House in Scranton, Pennsylvania, offers more than super energy efficiency. It demonstrates that high-performance homes can be built for the same price as code-built homes.

Third-party certifier, Earth Advantage, has evolved their zero energy home standards to make it easier for builders to include natural gas in their zero energy homes. Here’s what they did.

The Baby Boomer generation has lived a lifestyle powered by fossil fuels. As they transition into retirement, they are uniquely positioned to lead the way to clean energy.

At some point, homes can become too broken to fix. Instead of pumping public funds into lost causes, combine existing funding sources to provide new homes that are safe, healthy and dignified for a longer-term, smarter solution.