Zero Energy Project Newsletter – July 2022

Factory-built Homes — Another Path to Zero

The future of residential construction will include more factory buildings. BrightBuilt Home builds modular homes that are modern, durable, and zero energy ready. The precision of factory construction is a perfect match for zero energy homes, and BrightBuilt has been building zero energy homes this way since 2010.

Radical Change Takes Radical Cooperation

Times of world-wide crisis call for radical cooperation. Given the magnitude of the climate crisis, the potential devastation of its effects, and the inability of central governments to manage the crisis, it is up to local governments, non-profit organizations and citizens to move the world on the path to zero carbon. EEBA, Team Zero, and Zero Energy Project are joining hands to build a citizens’ movement for zero carbon. Please join us on this exciting path!

Shedding Light on the “Dark Side of Solar Power”

The dark side of solar power includes trashing millions of used solar panels and batteries in landfills, intermittent production, and taking large tracts of land out of productive use. But new recycling approaches, and energy management and land use strategies are keeping the light on solar. It has a bright future.

Go Small, Live Well

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.

Interior Design Ideas for Living Big in Small Spaces

Small homes are attractive to many younger home buyers and renters because they are more affordable. Small homes are also more energy efficient. Whether you’re in a new smaller zero energy home or an existing small home, these interior design tips will help you live big in a smaller space.

Low-Cost, High-Value Opportunities to Reduce Embodied Carbon

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

The 2021 EEBA Team Zero Inventory of Zero Energy Homes Is Now Underway

The Inventory of Zero Energy Homes is the definitive metric of market growth in this housing sector. Now is the time to add your new project to the database or update your current listing.

Placeholder

No one sees this.

First Fossil-Free Steel Delivered to Volvo Cars In Sweden

Steel is one essential element of modern industry and human society. It’s in everything from railcars to buildings to automobiles and it’s responsible for about 8% of total global carbon emissions. Conventional steel uses massive quantities of coal for fuel and is especially difficult to wean from fossil inputs. A consortium of Swedish companies recently demonstrated a way to make carbon neutral steel which will be used in Volvos.
Other car makers, including Mercedes-Benz, are talking with the innovator, SSAB Steel, about using the steel in their cars.

Heat Pumps Are the Answer to Heat Waves

In northern climates, air-conditioning used to be considered unnecessary or maybe just a luxury. When the thermometer leapt well over the 100-degree mark in the normally mild Pacific Northwest, it was a clear wake up call. Even homes with standard A/C were often uncomfortable. Now A/C is being installed in most new homes in the
region and is rapidly making inroads in existing homes as well. As the new normal develops, the cooling equipment installed in homes must be effective and efficient – with low carbon emissions. Heat pumps provide the answer. When sized right, they are the most energy efficient cooling technology capable of handling the emerging high cooling loads that summer is now bringing – and they are readily available off the shelf.

Electrify Ride Hailing and Make it Equitable

Addressing the carbon
emissions from private transportation requires a reduction in vehicle miles traveled and a rapid transition to zero emission electric vehicles powered by renewable energy. Ride hailing through companies, such as Uber and Lyft, may provide one way to reduce dependence on private vehicles and reduce the many non-essential miles independent drivers often drive. At present, the lack of convenient charging stations is a significant barrier to adoption of EVs for ride hailing, especially in poorer neighborhoods. We must plan for an equitable EV transition by providing charging opportunities in working class neighborhoods.

Solar Panels Pair Surprisingly Well With Tomatoes, Peppers, and Pollinators

A comprehensive look at “agrivoltaics” — the happy combination of farm crops and photovoltaic panels. Leasing land for PV arrays can help financially stressed farmers, but they don’t have to stop growing crops. They may be able to adjust the type of crops they grow or their growing methods. Under the partial shade of PV panels the soil holds more moisture, the crops need less irrigation, many plants thrive with less intense sunlight, and the cool air improves the electrical output of the panels.

Swappable Batteries a Success

While most electric vehicle drivers charge their rides at home, there will always be a need for the confidence to make long trips that require more energy than can be contained in one fully charged battery. Most of the attention is directed at fast charging infrastructure that look a lot like gasoline filling stations.There is another way: remove the depleted battery and replace it with a full one. It’s called battery swapping. Taiwanese company Gogorro leads the world in battery swapping technology with 400,000 subscribers to its network. Battery swapping certainly will have a key role to
play in a world where we need “all of the above” solutions to slow the progress of climate change.

Climate Change is Causing Sickness and Premature Deaths

An in depth analysis, recently published in the medical research journal The Lancet, finds that heat waves, air
pollution and extreme weather increasingly damage human health. Listen to this NPR program segment on these findings.

LEARN MORE

Indoor Air Quality – The Path to a Healthy Home

Today, the air outside can be just as polluted as the air indoors. Zero energy homes protect your family’s health through tight construction, advanced ventilation and effective filtration. Share this 90-second video with your colleagues, clients, and social media contacts.

WATCH NOW

Watch more on the Zero Energy Project YouTube Channel

Electrify Outdoor Tools

There may be only one thing that everyone would agree on. Leaf blowers are a noisy nuisance. So are lawnmowers, trimmers, and chainsaws. Plus, these small internal combustion engines produce far more air pollution than a full-size automobile. We all wish that they didn’t disturb our neighborhoods and
office parks. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an alternative? There is! All typical outdoor tools now have cleaner, quieter electric options. These have plenty of power and are much more pleasant to use. Like electric vehicles, electric outdoor equipment is more expensive to buy, but far cheaper to operate and maintain. Learn about the risks of gas-powered tools and the many benefits of electric outdoor tools in this highly informative, detailed, webinar.

WATCH NOW