Page 17 - Green Builder Magazine Sept-Oct 2017

Normalizing

Net Zero

HAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A TRULY
GREEN HOME? For builders, it’s
attention to detail: what types of

materials are used, how those items
W were made, how they are assembled or

installed, and how well they perform when it comes to
meeting the standards required to be considered energy
efficient or environmentally friendly.

It’s a scenario that the U.S. Department of Energy knows
well, with its Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program.
ZERH participants must be certified to Energy Star

Certified Homes Version 3.0 and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Indoor airPLUS Program, meet the EPA
WaterSense program’s hot water distribution requirements

and match or exceed insulation requirements of the 2012
International Energy Conservation Code. Homes must also
have solar electric panels installed, or have the conduit and

electrical panel space in place for it.

Many of this year’s ZERH homes are DOE Innovation
Award winners. Here’s a look at the what we hope is the

next evolution of “conventional” housing.

September/October 2017 GREEN BUILDER 15

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