Buildings
Social Equity, Affordable Housing, and the Net-Zero Energy Opportunity
Think of a net-zero energy (NZE) home, and it’s likely that you imagine a single-family house in a well-to-do neighborhood, with a roof covered in solar panels and an electric car parked in the driveway. This is a pleasant picture, but it highlights two underlying assumptions many of us have:…
An Existing Building Portfolio on a Path to Net-Zero Energy
Many developers cite first-cost as a barrier to pursuing net-zero energy in their new and existing building projects. But one leading developer in Colorado is flipping the script on this assumption, showing that prioritizing energy performance can open up new cash flows, as opposed to draining existing ones. John Madden…
Driving Industrial Revitalization with Net-Zero Energy
City leaders around the world are looking to rejuvenate their urban cores, boost quality of life for all residents, and improve resiliency. Revitalizing old industrial sites with net-zero energy (NZE) projects can help to advance these goals—while also advancing carbon emissions reductions citywide. Cities like Pittsburgh, PA; Syracuse, NY; Detroit,…
Four Insights from the Most Successful NZE Home Builders
The number of net-zero energy (NZE) homes in the US is growing at an exciting rate (it has grown by 33 percent from 2015 to 2016), but this growth is nowhere near fast enough to make NZE homes mainstream. Today, they are a very niche offering, comprising roughly…
Can Massachusetts Correct a Market Failure by Making Home Energy Use More Transparent?
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) is leading a new effort that could benefit Massachusetts’ homeowners and the US real estate sector as a whole. Yesterday, he introduced An Act Relative to Consumer Access to Residential Energy Information, which has the potential to simultaneously improve the quality and energy performance…
