January 25, 2024

Heat Pump Clothes Dryers: Low-Impact Laundry

Heat pump clothes dryers are an exciting, relatively new electrification technology. One can cut perhaps 10% of your household energy use.

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January 19, 2023

Electrifying? You May Not Need an Electrical Panel Upgrade

Abandoning gas for all-electric appliances? The electrical panel is the unsung hero of any home electrification project.

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January 2, 2023

Cold Climate Heat Pumps Warm Homes on the Coldest Days

We know that decarbonization requires electrifiction, and we know that heat pumps work in many situations. But many people still wonder: Will heat pumps work in cold temperatures?

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September 28, 2022

Builder Training & Consumer Demand Are Key To Getting to Zero

Together we are  building demand for zero energy homes by arming consumers and professionals with resources to plan their own path to zero

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May 16, 2022

Energy Efficient Building Suppliers Make It Easy 

Finding a building supplier that can provide sustainable building products and materials can make all the difference.

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November 12, 2021

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.

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September 20, 2021

Act Now: List or Update Your Home in the Inventory of Zero Homes

Tracking the growth of zero energy homes in all their different forms is essential to building momentum for the growth of zero. If you are an owner, builder, or designer of a zero home, be sure your home is listed and help grow the movement toward zero.

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September 20, 2021

Thinking Inside the Box

Factory-built homes show great promise for zero energy housing. This company is combining high performance and small size with low cost to meet the housing challenges of the coming decade. 

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August 6, 2021

Financing Energy-Efficient Housing on a Massive Scale 

There is one major obstacle to the widespread transition to zero energy homes: The mortgage industry has been slow to recognize their higher market value and reluctant to finance the additional upfront cost of financially sound energy efficiency features. One solution is a system to create mortgage backed securities specifically for energy efficient homes. 

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August 5, 2021

Zero Homes Are Great: Let’s Make Them Better — Zero 2.0

Ten years ago, making a home or building generate as much energy as it uses over the course of a year seemed an immense challenge. Tens of thousands of these advanced energy-efficient structures have been built. But they need to be better to meet the challenges of climate change, health, security, and resilience. So what’s next? Zero 2.0! 

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July 19, 2021

Simple Steps to Maintain Zero Energy Home Appliances

Zero energy homes have many advanced features and systems. After you have your very own zero energy home, you’ll want to keep it operating at peak efficiency. Fortunately, home maintenance for these homes is not more difficult or time consuming than for conventional homes.  

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June 14, 2021

Low Carbon Kitchens

Whether you’re building a new home or replacing worn out appliances, you’ll want to choose products that reduce energy use and your carbon footprint. Some choices are just improved versions of familiar products, and other options may be completely new. Make your next kitchen a 21st century kitchen — ready for our zero carbon future.

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