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As more consumers demand high-performance components in their homes, builders have gone from lowering energy costs to eliminating them – and are now building comfortable homes that actually produce more energy than they consume in a year. And thanks to the popularity of the fast-growing green building movement, those homes are in high demand.

“These people are able to find us and they know what they want,” said Mike Trolle, co-founder with his brother Chris of BPC Green Builders in Wilton. “They don’t need a lot of education on the differences between conventional construction and what we do. The passive house movement has been a big help in helping people understand exactly what’s possible in terms of load reduction via building a thermal envelope in a carefully calculated manner. We can now offer to build a net-zero house for anyone under almost any circumstance.”

The firm last year built a home between 6,000 and 7,000 square feet which they expect will be will be net-zero, meaning in the course of a year, the house will produce as much energy as it consumes.

Several Factors Driving The Trend

Millennials aren’t buying as many of these homes (or indeed, any homes) as people expected them to, according to Russ Smith, of Amity Construction in Old Lyme. Most of his clients are Baby Boomers looking to make a lifestyle change. They want a solid, efficient, low maintenance home with whatever bells and whistles they can afford, he said.

“In most cases, they are looking for energy efficiency,” Smith said. “The typical buyer isn’t aware of what green construction entails. They’re concerned with simplicity, open floor plans for entertaining. The want to age in place, so they’re concerned about mobility issues and minimal maintenance. They also want central air good quality cabinets and appliances. All of this is tempered by a budget.”

Reducing a carbon footprint to protects the environment – as well as buyers’ wallets, said Bill Freeman of Celebration Green Design Build Madison.

“I think people are obviously aware of the conversation around global climate change,” he said. “The concept of reducing your footprint definitely appeals to people. [And] you do end up with lower utility bills.”

High-performance, energy efficient homes are not all alike. Each builder interviewed for this story said he spends a significant amount of time with clients to find out exactly what they need, what they want and what it will take to get it – and the conversation continues throughout the project.

“One thing I talk to people about is their ability to shelter in place for a long time, if the power goes out and they don’t have a generator,” Freeman said. “If your house is built to a passive house standard or close to it, you’ll have energy efficient windows, more insulation in the walls and you’re going to have thermal bridging and an efficient heating system. Sometimes a gas fireplace is sufficient to heat the house.”

Smith said he gets deep in the details of his client’s wish list and aligns the details of the blueprint accordingly.

“We have an interview sheet with 40-plus questions that touches on every aspect of the house,” Smith said. “It’s the only way you can properly direct a client toward what might be the right product for them. We discuss each aspect and the benefits of what different choices might be. The physical aspect is very important. You have to have someplace to put the house and you have to know how the site impacts every aspect of the house.”

Beyond The Building Code

Improvements to the state building code include many upgrades to insulation requirements, energy-efficient windows and doors, and fewer air leaks, so even a conventionally built home is much more efficient than it was 10 years ago – but these builders take it to extremes.

“We have at least four homes that I’m aware of that are achieving net-zero and a handful of others that are close,” Trolle said. “There are still others that have chosen not to install photovoltaic (PV) solar panels but still could and achieve net-zero.”

Only clients whose homes are sited such that it doesn’t make sense to install PV solar panels have elected not to install them, Freeman said; the panels make more energy for homes that use less and less.

“Most people who have the ability to do it have done it,” Freeman said. “A lot of them drive Priuses or electric cars. The PV helps offset the charging of the car. And everyone uses LED lighting.

We’ve even gone from using a 100-watt incandescent light bulb in a fixture to having a whole room that’s lit with less than 100 watts.”

The homes have better air quality than conventional homes, too, he said.

“They have cleaner air because there is a filter on the heating/cooling system,” Freeman said. “And the heat recovery ventilator is also filtered, so fresh air is being constantly introduced and filtered, which also helps distribute the heating and cooling.”

Each of the builders interviewed offer paints, floor finishes and cabinets that won’t off-gas harmful volatile organic compounds into the building. They also typically build a passive radon mitigation system into the homes, since tight homes can be associated with higher radon levels.

“There’s always more energy efficient products coming all the time,” Trolle said. “The biggest deal is really getting the basic elements of a high quality thermal envelope spread throughout the construction world so they become standard. One strategy we’re using and is building these high efficiency building assemblies so there is virtually no risk of condensation or moisture issues in the wall or roof assembly by using vapor-open materials. In other words: they breathe. This is more important the more efficient the assembly becomes.”

Freeman said he looks forward to the day that low-voltage lighting becomes readily available and will lower his customers’ electric bills even further.

“Now we’re looking on low voltage lighting in general lighting,” Freeman said. “That means going from 120 volts to 24 volts, and it would be a lot less amps, too.”