In a way the goal for a sustainable planet has always been peak energy, peak people and peak consumption at stable levels. These are ways towards peak energy. I suppose it is the easiest of the three.
Powering the Future
Net-zero energy homes have arrived — and are shaking up the US housing market
Key Points
- In California most new homes and multi-family residential buildings up to three stories high will include solar rooftop panels beginning in 2020.
- Net-zero energy homes can produce as much energy as they consume and are built to optimize energy efficiency through airtight construction of roofs, walls, windows and foundations.
- The U.S. has an estimated 5,000 net-zero energy single-family homes today; California could add 100,000 a year.
In 2013 De Young Properties built a single-family house in central California that defied nearly three generations worth of homes the family business had constructed. It was a net-zero energy building — it had the potential to produce as much energy as it would consume in a year. De Young didn’t build another one for four years, but within that period the company refined its designs to be more energy-efficient and technology-focused and drove down costs.
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Go there and read. More next week.
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