Electrifying our homes, lives, and businesses is one of the most effective strategies to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, as we add more renewable energy to the electric grid. But do we have the capacity to produce, transport, and use the increase in renewable electricity that will result? Spoiler alert — the answer is yes – if.

Two trends are now converging that will promote a zero energy lifestyle. First, electric vehicle sales are poised to grow dramatically. Second, positive energy homes are growing in popularity. These homes create enough energy to supply all at-home energy use and much of the transportation energy for households. It's time for building professionals to build positive energy homes for homebuyers who will soon be driving and charging electric vehicles.

New homes and buildings will stand for decades, if not centuries. The carbon emissions embodied in the building materials and resulting from the manufacturing and construction processes must be factored into their overall carbon footprints. These four steps will get us started on the path to zero carbon.

Zero energy buildings are here and growing in the market. Now it’s time to set our sights on the next step in the evolution of building design and construction: zero carbon.

Although the price of solar panels has plunged in recent years, they are still the most expensive element of a zero energy home. It’s okay to defer installing panels until the time is right. Here’s how to plan your zero energy ready home so it’s ready for solar when you are.

This middle-class family disconnected from fossil methane and saved money. See their step-by-step approach to powering their home and car with renewable energy.

For decades, buildings have been influenced by transportation trends. But the reverse is also true: transportation can be influenced through building location and design. It’s time for green building professionals to make both buildings and their associated transportation carbon-neutral.

Swimming pools are great fun, but they have high running costs and a high carbon footprint. David Green cut both. Now his pool running cost is zero and so is its carbon footprint.

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.

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!

Uncertainty around net metering is hampering the growth of solar electric installations in certain parts of the country. Net metering is an arrangement that permits owners of solar electric systems to bank their excess power with the local utility company. Consumers redeem these energy credits when they use more power than they produce. Net metering […]