Financing your energy-efficient, passive-house construction on a slim budget.
Naomi Beal is Director of passivhousMAINE, a nonprofit that works to support energy efficiency in building and construction in Maine, North America, and internationally. She service also as chair of the building committee for the Friends School of Portland (Maine).
"Net Zero" denotes an achievement in energy-efficient building design and construction, and for on-site clean energy generation, that will produce a balance between user consumption and user generation. The concept is simple. Net zero means that the consumer generates as much energy on site as he or she takes from the grid, if not more.
Demand for net zero building is rising, but for many the apparent obstacles to achieving this balance may appear too dissuading. Yet, as the featured case study will demonstrate, by incorporating available project level solutions, net zero can fall within reach on slim budgets, even at a commercial scale.
Starting Out
No matter your geographic location, the first challenge to achieving Net Zero is to reduce current energy consumption as significantly as possible. The minimization of consumption effectively reduces the required amount of generation to achieve the offset balance. And that need is increased if generation is at all limited by factors such as space, budget, and geography or climate.