Net-Zero Homes Now Sought By New Buyers: Here’s Why

Climate realities, rising utility bills, and other factors are spurring the adoption of net-zero housing.

Climate concerns are steering new home buyers toward net-zero homes and more sustainable lifestyles, reports Jane Margolies in her recent New York Times article, which addresses the growth of the net-zero housing industry:

… across the country, more home buyers are seeking net zero residences, so called because they produce as much energy as they consume and, because they typically achieve this via solar power, do not add carbon to the atmosphere. And developers are increasingly stepping up to meet the demand. ...

[While ] many consumers are still more interested in granite kitchen counters and other cosmetic details than in electric heat pumps, surveys indicate that millennials are likely to bring their concerns about the environment to their home-buying decisions, said Sara Gutterman, chief executive of Green Builder Media, which has conducted surveys of this demographic group.

Investors, too, are getting in on the game, particularly as solar becomes more affordable and because it addresses global temperature rise. At the recent COP26 meetings in Glasgow, leaders agreed that CO₂ emissions must be cut by at least 45 percent by 2030 from 2010 levels, and reach net zero by around 2050.

Reducing the carbon footprint of buildings is high on the list of objectives to get to new climate goals. Read the full article here.