Our first zero-energy home project, in Seattle, WA.
How do people interested in building a zero-energy home get started? The process usually begins with a lot of online research. Over the course of building two net-zero homes, we've read a lot, learned a ton, and gathered a lot of resources. Below are some of the top websites and online resources for homeowners and building professionals looking to expand their knowledge of zero-energy building. Enjoy!
Zero-Energy Home Builders
TC Legend Homes (Bellingham, WA)
Clifton View Homes (Coupeville, WA)
Hammer & Hand (Portland, OR)
Palo Duro Homes (Farmington, NM)
Mandalay Homes (Arizona)
Mutual Housing (Sacramento, CA)
Greenhill Contracting (Esopus, NY)
BPC Green Builders (Wilton, CT)
BrightLeaf Homes (Brookfield, IL)
Evolutionary Homebuilders (Geneva, IL)
Paul Castrucci (New York, NY)
Amaris Homes (Maplewood, MN)
Dwell Development (Seattle, WA)
High Performance Homes Gettysburg, PA)
Durable Residential Builders (Houston, TX)
Preferred Builders (Old Greenwich, TC)
Addison Homes (Greer, SC)
Amerisips Construction (Charleston, SC)
Montpellier Construction (Plainfield, VT)
Near Zero Maine (Vassalboro, ME)
Zero-Energy Home Designers and Architects
Ten Over Studio (San Luis Obispo, CA) The designers of Artemisia Cabin!
Velocipede Architects (Seattle, WA)
Zero-Energy Plans (Coupeville, WA) Stock plans designed for net-zero.
Rodwin Architecture (Coulder, CO)
Vandervort Architects (Seattle, WA)
Zero-Energy Home Directories
Zerohomes.org (Good listing by state)
Zero-Energy Home Projects and Blogs
Artemisia Cabin (Winthrop, WA) Possibly the first net-zero nightly rental.
Ballard Net-Zero House (Seattle, WA) Our first zero-energy house.
Vision House (Tucson, AZ)
Edge House (Boulder, CO)
Vivint Zero Home (Herriman, UT) A cold-climate net-zero home open for tours.
Modern Solar (Seattle, WA)
Corgi House (Seattle, WA)
Ballard Emerald Star Net Zero House (Seattle, WA)
107-Year-Old Net-Zero-Energy Home (Seattle, WA)
Carkeek Park Net Zero (Seattle, WA)
Sustainable Dreams Pay Off (Edmonds, WA)
Smugglers Cove (Whidbey Island, WA) Built to nearly the same plans as our Seattle home.
Full Plane Passive House (Portland, OR)
Trekhaus (Portland, OR)
Net Zero Home (Charlotte, VT)
zHome (Issaquah, WA)
Zero-Energy House Video Resources
12 Essential Steps to Zero Energy An excellent intro video by Ted Clifton Sr., the designer of our Seattle house.
Definitions of Net-Zero
Green Building Advisor Glossary Has tons of definitions of terms you'll encounter over the course of your project.
Wikipedia Of course!
Case Studies
IDeAz Z2 Design Facility (San Jose, CA)
David & Lucile Packard Foundation Headquarters (Los Altos, CA)
Zero Energy House (Auckland, New Zeland)
American Samoa EPA Office (Utulei, American Samoa)
Center for Sustainable Landscapes (Pittsburgh, PA)
Willowbrook House (Austin, TX)
Zero Cottage (San Francisco, CA)
Hood River Middle School Music and Science Building (Hood River, OR)
Sacred Heart Lower and Middle School Stevens Library (Atherton, CA)
Mission Zero House (Ann Arbor, MI)
West Berkeley Public Library (Berkeley, CA)
Brookside Development (Derby, CT)
Caldwell and Johnson (Charlestown, RI)
Greenhill Contracting (New Paltz, NY)
Healthy Efficient Homes (Spirit Lake, IA)
Craftsman Net Zero Energy Home (Bend, OR)
Award-Winning Zero-Energy Homes
Johns Island Custom by Amerisips Homes (Charleston, SC)
Eco-Village Ithaca by Aquazephyr (Ithaca, NY)
Lakeside Cottage by BPC Green Builders (Wilton, CT)
Zed 2 by Boulder Zed Design Build (Boulder, CO)
Candlewood Hills Rebuild by BPC Green Builders (Wilton, CT)
Singer Village by Brookside Development (Woodbridge, CT)
Edies Lane House by Caldwell and Johnson (North Kingston, RI)
Clinton Two-Story by Clifton View Homes (Coupeville, WA)
Isler Residence by Clifton View Homes (Coupeville, WA)
First DOE Zero Energy Retrofit by Green Extreme Homes (Lewisville, TX)
The Preserve by Greenhill Contracting (Esopus, NY)
Laurel Gardens by Habitat for Humanity (Sarasota, FL)
Double Zerohouse by KB Homes (Los Angeles, CA)
Proud Green Home by the Imery Group (Athens, GA)
Home Tours
Build It Green Home Tour (Portland, OR)
Prefab Zero-Energy Homes
Net-Zero Certification Programs
This list is a little bit scrappy and definitely incomplete, but we hope it provides you with plenty of inspiration and information as you tackle your own green building project. If there's a resource we forgot, please let us know in the comments section, and we will add it to the list.
