EEBA Academy

Zer0 Place is a net-zero, mixed-use development with 46 residential units, including affordable and accessible units, as well as retail space. Designed to provide a community of “zero energy living,” this NY State Building of Excellence award winner is intended to meet LEED, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, EPA Indoor airPlus, and Energy Star requirements and will deliver zero energy bills for residents.

This 1924 Colonial home had fallen into severe disrepair before coming up for sale. As part of the muchneeded renovation, the new homeowners (two Steven Winter Associates, Inc. employees) wanted to eliminate onsite combustion and produce as much of their operating electricity as possible. Other goals included lower embodied energy materials and a healthy indoor environment. LEED v4.1 for Homes offered one platform to address energy, health, and materials. The home was gutted down to the foundation, framing, and floors before the year-long renovation. After the first 8 months of occupancy (July-February), the home produced 14% more energy than it consumed.

This panel will introduce the EEBA / ProBuilder Ultimate ZEN All Electric Home and discuss its key features, the hurdles encountered, and key points of buyer acceptance. This will lead into a discussion on what is next in high performance building, ways to get there, and an example of one unique builder and energy rater partnership designed to take on the question of "What's next and how do we get there?"

In this presentation, we’ll show how affordable home builders like United Way of Long Island, along with production, custom, and multifamily builders across the country, are building healthy, durable, energy-efficient homes that are achieving remarkably high performance and low Home Energy Rating System scores – with a program average of HERS 43 without PV and HERS 6 with PV.