What is a Zero Energy Home?
A Zero Energy Home, also called a Zero Net-energy Home, is a house that is designed to collect about as much energy from renewable sources as is needed for basic functions, such as heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. These renewable sources include solar electricity (also called photovoltaic), solar thermal, geothermal, wind and biomass energy systems. Combined with an efficiently designed and built house, the result can mean living lightly on the earth and within your budget.
Zero Energy Homes combine energy-efficient construction, equipment, lighting and appliances with commercially-available renewable energy systems to provide homeowners with annual net-zero energy consumption. With its reduced energy needs and solar energy systems, a Zero Energy Home (ZEH) can return as much energy as it takes from the utility on an annual basis.
The zero energy home is a revolutionary technology that aims to create homes that produce as much energy as they consume. The main idea is to cut energy consumption in the home by at least 50 to 70%. To do this, the zero energy home utilizes solar panels and a low-power appliances. There are a number of different techniques used by the zero energy home in order to cut power consumption. Spectrally selective windows block solar heat in the summer and retain indoor heat in cold weather. A tankless, gas-powered water heater will save energy by only warming the water when the tap is turned on. The implementation of fluorescent bulbs throughout the zero energy home uses only two thirds of the power of normal bulbs. Solar units in the zero energy home account for a huge chunk of the energy savings. The solar panels are set flush with roof tiles and use two-kilowatt photovoltaic panels. With the help of an inverter in the garage, they unobtrusively turn the sun’s rays into AC power. A display
