General

For the obvious reason, solar power plays a big part in home energy efficiency. It’s the component that allows most homes within Vermont to become energy independent and achieve annual net-zero energy consumption. Just how important is solar in achieving net-zero construction in Vermont? And what are the big differences you’ll find between solar-powered, high-performance homes in Vermont, and the…

One of the main questions people ask about building a net zero home in Vermont is, “How much will it cost?” Building a net zero home costs about 10 percent more than building the same house without the high tech, high performance, money-saving elements.  But spending 10 percent more during construction may save between $3,000…

Net Zero Energy is the coming norm for new home construction in several states, including Vermont. While the Vermont Legislature has mandated that all new homes achieve net zero energy standards by 2030, net zero energy is rapidly growing in popularity in states like New Hampshire, that don’t have a mandate. To construct a new home…

When you begin your buying journey to build a net zero home in Vermont or New Hampshire, where should you start? What resources should you employ? Typically, buyers and even more so, sellers, of conventional residential homes will contact a real estate broker early in their journey. But what about a net zero energy home?…

Air barrier Minimizing air movement in and out of a house is key to building an energy-efficient home. Many of the materials used in a house as structural and finish components can act as air barriers. Sealing all the holes and seams between sheet goods such as drywall, sheathing, and subflooring with durable caulk, gaskets, tape,…

Solar panels with sunflowers in Net Zero Construction in Vermont: Building Delivery Systems that work. Whenever a new term grows to a certain level of popularity, it can become a buzzword in any given industry. When the term becomes a buzzword, its original definition can become skewed. The term “net-zero energy” is one of those terms.…

In this article, we are going to give you some of the top questions to ask a high-performance builder during the interview process. These are questions that they should be able to answer based on the knowledge and experience of building high-performance homes. How do air barriers differ from vapor barriers? What is a Breathable…

How do we achieve a Prudent Living, Net-Zero home? Here’s our approach: Keep it simple – There are only two questions worth asking.  What are the facts? What’s in it for me? Avoid complicating conversations about Net-Zero with useless discussions about micro-mathematics, Scientific R-values vs Builder R-values, charts and graphs that show every cause and…

One way to build a truly Net-Zero house is to design the house in such a way that all heating and cooling and lighting devices are electric.  Everything in the house gets its power from the grid. If this is the case, then it’s very easy to measure our consumption of electricity because the electric…