Homeowners have a responsibility to the planet to switch to renewable energy, but these duties should not fall exclusively on homebuyers and rental property managers. Construction companies must do their fair share in building homes designed and optimised to produce zero energy.

How does this impact construction budgets and operations? Will the housing market see a dramatic increase in renewable and eco-conscious properties as these enterprises try to align more with global climate mitigation efforts?

Defining a zero energy home

Zero energy and net zero are not interchangeable terms. Net zero buildings generate power through renewable energy while producing no emissions. Ideally, the structure makes as much energy as it uses to be net zero. It is an extension of carbon neutrality and aims to remove more than emissions.

A zero-energy home means producing zero carbon in its lifetime. Therefore it has no emissions to offset. It embraces active designs like renewable power and passive strategies like energy-efficient appliances. These strategies apply to zero-energy and net-zero design intentions.

Zero-energy homes consider more than what technology will keep the lights on. It has to plan these elements to ensure a holistic blueprint:

• Orientation and positioning of the house
• Geography, climate, and weather patterns, like wind patterns and cloud cover
• Renewable energy access and availability in the area
• Installation that does not negatively affect habitats and biodiversity
• Green construction methods
• Passive methods and eco-conscious design choices, like weatherstripping

Almost 80 per cent of American power comes from fossil fuels, so renewable energy will be non-negotiable in zero-energy transitions.

Overcoming construction excuses and challenges

Grid modernisation is a central challenge to widespread zero-energy construction because homes without grid connectivity fail to contribute to the energy economy that stabilises renewable energy inconsistencies. Buildings must reduce energy consumption to help the grid adapt to increased energy pressure.

Buildings account for almost 40 per cent of energy use in the U.S., signifying how much improvement the world can make. Zero-energy homes — and eventually commercial buildings — will reduce that to nothing.

However, worldwide legislation is inconsistent in funding and advocacy for residential green infrastructure. Some nations have committees, laws and compliance benchmarks to push businesses in the right direction, like the Green Building Council of Australia. But these are not standards worldwide, making zero-energy homes varied in building practices.

Constructing a zero-energy home is only part of the picture. Ideally, the whole process would use no energy, from material acquisition to structuring. Construction companies must look outside their energy use and collaborate with third parties to control energy monitoring, reporting and management. Tools like Internet of Things smart devices and energy management systems automate optimisation and gather data for companies to use for process discovery.

Building homes for green futures

Businesses must begin the development of zero-energy homes to meet climate mitigation goals set forth by the Paris Agreement and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. It must include a combination of new builds and deep retrofits that reconsider the building’s envelope instead of one-off structural upgrades.

Upcycling an old building will save construction costs and resource expenditure, encouraging circular economic thinking as it decreases energy use in a building by over 50 per cent per square metre. These changes include:

• Reskinning or installing more exterior insulation
• Modular construction, which helps minimise the demolition of compartmental buildings
• Energy audits, which outline which systems need replacing to adapt to renewables
• Incorporating infrastructure for ambient temperature loops that heat and cool areas

The first zero energy home in Canada is a jaw-dropping 418 square metre building that pushed the boundaries of energy efficiency in 2019. It included triple-paned windows and an open-concept design that benefits from oceanic temperature regulation, property line shelter, and shade.

Building zero-energy homes also extends outside of the building. Cities have to edit infrastructure to supplement their efficiency. For example, cities can redirect and repipe their wastewater transportation systems using heat exchangers to promote zero energy heating and cooling with heat pumps.

Zero energy homes are a construction must

Zero energy construction means building using sustainable methods for a house that produces clean energy for its lifetime. Homeowners and construction companies must advocate for governmental support to make these standards a requirement for new builds and retrofits. Eventually, the massive carbon emissions buildings are responsible for will dwindle to nothing in an ideal future.