In 1998 a home builder, some photovoltaic (PV) and solar system engineers, renewable energy scientists, university researchers, the city of Lakeland, FL and the State of Florida constructed two homes in a Lakeland suburb.

The 2,425 square foot homes had identical compass orientations and floor plans. One was a conventional home, the other was what's called a Zero Energy Home (ZEH) -- engineered to reduce the home's energy loads to as near zero as possible with most of the cooling, water heating, and other daytime electrical needs met by solar energy systems.

The energy use of both homes was monitored for more than a year.

The findings?

"Based on a side-by-side evaluation, energy efficient housing incorporating utility integrated PV power can reduce total electrical consumption by 70 percent or more over traditional housing," according to a detailed analysis of the field test, "Field Evaluation of Efficient Building Technology with Photovoltaic Power Production in New Florida Residential Housing," written by the Florida Solar Energy Center at the University of Central Florida.

Within a few years, a Northern California home builder was mass producing ZEHs.

"We are the only builder in the nation doing 100 percent Zero Energy Homes with standard equipment. Power from the sun is non-polluting, it's free and there are incentives to homeowners who get rebates for installing systems," said Nicole Gittleson, vice president of marketing at Clarum Homes, a Palo Alto, CA developer that has constructed ZEHs in the California cities of East Palo Alto, Watsonville, and Menlo Park -- for starters.

"The electric meters spin backwards," said Gittleson.

There is a small cost for the safety and security that comes with the legal requirement for each home to be tied to the local power grid, but in many cases ZEHs produce all the energy they need -- with stored power, even in a blackout.

ZEH's are a first big step toward reducing reliance upon fuels and energy imported, often from unstable regions. The new ZEHs use free and clean renewable energy sources that reduce pollution and help sustain a healthy environment.

What's most remarkable is that most of the ZEHs under construction are priced competitively with conventional homes.

Rob Hammon, chief consultant on ZEHs for ConSol, a Stockton, CA-based energy consulting firm, says builders are remiss about going zero-energy because of the up-front retooling and training costs which can add $8,000 to $16,000 to the cost of building the home. Once builders are set up to construct the homes, however, mass production helps stabilize cost.

"In the Clarum case, their homes are competitive with other builders down the street," said Hammon.

Over the long haul, the homes actually can be cheaper.

"The increased cost of the home is cut down by the energy cost savings. It's unlikely they are selling energy back to the utility, but it's possible to get right to the break-even point. You eventually recoup (any extra cost added to the new home) and it takes a while to do that, but the good news is from the first day, you don't have much of an electric bill other than a service fee," said Hammon.

Another cost benefit is available in the form of Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEMs) which allow home buyers to qualify for a mortgage that a buyer may not have been otherwise able to afford. The idea is that less money spent on energy can be spent on the home. Likewise, EEMs can let buyers qualify for a larger mortgage and the loans come with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and U.S. Housing and Urban Affairs Department (HUD) guidelines.

Other studies show energy-efficient homes can be more valuable on the resale market.

ZEH homes employ three basic strategies:

Published: February 12, 2004

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.