It’s coming, the prototypes are out there, and they’re receiving critical acclaim – Zero Energy Ready Homes.

As defined by the Department of Energy, a Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) is a high performance home which is so energy efficient, that a renewable energy system can offset all or most of its annual energy consumption.

Since 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Builders Challenge program has recognized hundreds of leading builders for their achievements in energy efficiency. The program’s efforts have resulted in over 14,000 energy efficient homes and millions of dollars in energy savings. That stands as a formidable feat to build on, and that’s exactly what the DOE has done with the Zero Energy Ready Home (formerly Zero Energy Challenge Home). It’s a whole new step up; the future of energy homes, you might say, with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability.

The graphic below displays the considerable differences in execution between a Zero Energy Ready Home (Challenge Home), an ENERGY STAR home, and a standard existing home without Zero Energy efficiency.

zero energy ready

Performance levels for a Zero Energy Ready (Challenge) Home include:

  • Comfort/Quiet—focuses on thermal comfort measures, construction details which dampen sound transmission, air sealing, and both air and hot water distribution as components of comfort built into a home.
  • Healthy Indoor Living—employs EPA’s Indoor airPlus system to focus on ventilation, moisture control, and pollutant control that provides improved indoor health.
  • Enhanced Durability—focuses on moisture protection, as well as inspections that should ensure a better, more durable product with fewer needs for later repairs.
  • Advanced Technology—focuses on the number of innovations and advanced systems required by the construction level as mandatory items, prescriptive requirements, or checklists.
  • Quality Construction—focuses on the number of inspection and checklists needed for compliance, using inspection as a proxy for quality. Unlike Enhanced Durability, it does not focus on other measures that impact the need for future retrofit.
  • Energy Efficiency—The HERS system (Home Energy Rating System) is a nationally used rating standard for comparing energy efficient homes to a code minimum and presents an ideal way to estimate energy efficiency in each home category.

Zero Energy Ready Homes are now just part of the building science, technology, and operations available to builders like R.E.A. Homes. We’re the only “100% ENERGY STAR committed” custom builder in St. Louis that’s building green to maximize both economic and environmental performance.

R.E.A. Homes—creating luxury homes with superior energy efficiency.