While home ownership remains an important goal for many, the ongoing operational cost of living in that home can be a real eye opener. Beyond the expected mortgage payments and property taxes, new homeowners are often shocked by the high energy bills for heating and cooling their dwellings.
Rather than just accepting excessive energy costs of typical homes as a given, consider instead investing in a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) home—a home that produces as much energy as it consumes over the course of a year.
This is not science fiction. In fact, leading-edge building science is behind all of those cost savings. In a recent in-depth editorial piece we developed for the team at NewHomeSource.com, we covered the ABCs of ZNE homes and their energy-efficient relatives. This includes what goes into a ZNE home, as well as a drill-down on the NZ (Near Zero Energy) and ZER (Zero Energy Ready) options out there.
The article also delves into the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score and its importance in understanding just how energy efficient a home is. The HERS score can be used to compare estimated energy costs between various homes you are considering in your purchase process.
You can read the entire article—“Just Say No to High Energy Costs with a Zero Net Energy Home”—at NewHomeSource.com.
